News & Updates

Professor Anna Carpenter discusses her passion for access to justice, exciting developments in legal innovation, and what it means to receive the inaugural Alli Gerkman Legal Visionary Award.

Like the United States, the United Kingdom has historically faced a lack of legal representation for low income individuals. The apparent lack of resources in both countries has highlighted a perceived remedy: law students working with those in need of legal services. While many people view this solution as beneficial for society, law schools, and students, others have warned against law schools taking up the slack because students still need an opportunity to learn.

The judicial selection commission sponsored by Senators Inouye and Akaka submitted to the senators a list of three candidates for an upcoming vacancy on the U.S. District Court for the District of Hawaii. The vacancy is due to Judge David Ezra taking senior status on June 27.

With great sadness, IAALS mourns the passing of John E. Moye, one of our founders. His passion for justice and the betterment of society were at the forefront throughout his life and career. As Coloradans, we are proud to have had John among our leaders—and at IAALS, we are proud to have had him as family. He will be greatly missed.

As has become standard operating procedure in the last several sessions, the Kansas legislature is once again considering proposals to alter the process for selecting the state's appellate judges. Chief Justice Lawton Nuss has spoken out against efforts to end Kansas' merit selection process for appellate judges and has found an ally in O'Connor Advisory Committee member and former Chief Justice of Texas Wallace Jefferson.

When Michael Madison left Silicon Valley to begin teaching law, he thought a lot about how to teach judgment. Today, he offers an upper level copyright law course that teaches students judgment, along with legal analysis, factual investigation and analysis, confidence to express an opinion regarding what a client should do (or not), and the ability to express all of those things in writing.

In January, the inaugural Legal Paraprofessional Summit brought together active and future legal paraprofessionals, as well as leaders from a number of states, to learn about the different components of each state’s ALP program and the steps Arizona took to create its program.

On April 29, 2015, the United States Supreme Court adopted amendments to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and submitted them to Congress. The long-awaited amendments, often described as a “package” of complementary amendments, focus on increasing cooperation, achieving proportionality in discovery, and encouraging early case management by judges.

Denver, Colo. – IAALS, the Institute for the Advancement of the American Legal System at the University of Denver, announces the release of Cornerstones of State Judicial Selection: Laying the Foundation for Quality Court Systems and Judges, a new publication from IAALS' Quality Judges Initiative.

For states looking to implement or improve an allied legal professional program, IAALS' new report provides best practices regarding considerations like in-court representation; eligibility, education, and practical training; and testing.

Family court is often the only experience that people will have with the judicial process, through divorce, separation, and parental responsibility/custody matters. Unfortunately, even though family court judges are responsible for handling some of…

While the state bar association supports Proposition 115, which goes before voters in November, other members of the legal community oppose its passage. Among other changes, the measure would increase the number of nominees from which the governor makes judicial appointments and give the governor greater control over the membership of the commission that makes the nominations.

Although many navigate the legal system without representation, their lack of counsel shouldn't compromise their access to justice. While not all self-help materials are created equally, courts can implement certain key principles to empower self-represented litigants to navigate proceedings with confidence.

Colorado Senator Michael Bennet has announced the formation of a bipartisan screening committee to consider potential nominees for an upcoming vacancy on the state’s federal trial court. We at IAALS are pleased that, as Senator Bennet states in his…

The Superior Court of Maricopa County, Arizona has prepared a short video that describes its process for selecting, evaluating, and retaining judges. Appellate courts and trial courts in the three largest counties use the O'Connor Judicial Selection Plan, and Justice Sandra Day O'Connor is featured in the video.

Today, the promise of our justice system is under siege. We face unprecedented attacks on the judiciary, attacks that aren’t just political, but fundamental. Collective action is needed not only to defend the rule of law, but to improve our justice system for all.

The North Carolina Bar Association is exploring how tweaks in its judicial evaluation process can have real impact on results. As recommended by both the NCSC and IAALS, the latest performance evaluation surveys included a structured free recall exercise that urged attorneys to think of specific experiences with the judges they are about to rate, rather than general impressions, along with both positive and negative aspects of those experiences.

Iowans for Freedom announced plans for a statewide “NO Wiggins” bus tour that will oppose judicial activism and the retention of one of the seven justices who in 2009 recognized a right to same-sex marriage in the state’s constitution. The state bar is launching its own weeklong bus tour—the “Yes Iowa Justice Tour.”

On December 1, 2015, the long awaited amendments to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure went into effect, including changes focused on cooperation, active judicial case management, proportionality in discovery, and preservation/sanctions. Proving…

Chief Justice Ruth V. McGregor (Ret.) served on the Arizona Supreme Court from February 1998 until June 30, 2009. She was the Court's Chief Justice from June 2005 until her retirement. As we launch IAALS Online, she joins three other former Chief Justices in the conversation about IAALS and its initiatives. "This election season will give all of us an opportunity to think about how much – or how little – we know about our state supreme court justices. Most of you can name the candidates for President, for Congress, and for your Governor. But do you know how your state supreme court justices are selected and whether any judicial candidates will appear on the November ballot in your state?"