News & Updates

This month, IAALS will convene a group of plaintiffs’ attorneys from Colorado and around the country to discuss the present and future impact of civil justice reform in the United States. We look to others for input on how best to implement the upcoming changes and what culture shifts are necessary to achieve the intended positive impact, and have held a number of convenings this spring to gather input.

Regent University School of Law, the newest partner of Educating Tomorrow's Lawyers, integrates some form of professional identity development in nearly all courses. During their time at Regent, students continually revisit the question, 'What Kind…

For states looking to implement or improve an allied legal professional program, IAALS' new report provides best practices regarding considerations like fee sharing, regulatory requirements, and program costs.

The California State Bar recently issued a final opinion weighing in on the question of an attorney’s ethical duties in handling the discovery of electronically stored information. In its Formal Opinion No. 2015-193, the State Bar of California…

Senator Durbin of Illinois formed a thirteen-member, bipartisan screening committee to recommend potential candidates to President Obama for three judicial vacancies in the Northern District. Before making final recommendations, Durbin plans to consult with his Republican counterpart, Senator Kirk, who uses a similar committee process.

IAALS has launched a new project to understand and incorporate public perspectives on regulatory reform in the legal profession. This initiative provides states with essential tools and resources to engage the public—those most affected by legal reform—in these complex discussions.

Today, December 1, the long awaited amendments to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure go into effect. The “package” of amendments include rule changes across a number of rules (specifically Rules 1, 4, 16, 26, 30, 31, 33, and 34) and focus on increasing cooperation, achieving proportionality in discovery, and encouraging early case management by judges.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit affirmed a lower court decision that rejected a constitutional challenge to the state’s merit selection system. Opponents of the process argued that having five lawyers on the nine-member supreme court nominating commission, who are not popularly elected or appointed by an elected official, violates the Equal Protection Clause’s “one person, one vote” requirement.

The World Justice Forum 2025 in Warsaw, Poland, was a gathering of global leaders, jurists, and human rights champions who came together to confront the rising tide of authoritarianism and reverse the global rule of law recession. The event provided a space to share lessons learned and chart a path forward of hope and action.

At the mid-winter Conference of Chief Justices meeting in late January, the Civil Justice Improvements Committee presented its draft recommendations to the Chiefs. I was present as an observer so that, as we complete the work of the recommendations, we can take the input from the midwinter meeting into account.

Based on Colorado’s Know Your Judge PSA, the North Carolina Bar Association has released a its own PSA that urges voters to take the initiative to become informed about their judicial candidates before they vote and not to skip the judicial portion of the ballot.

Despite efforts by courts, communities, and bar associations around the country, there remains a serious need for tools that provide self-represented litigants with easy access to the information and resources required to appropriately navigate the court system. Technology is increasingly being leveraged in self-help solutions, and the concept of the litigant portal is at the core of this strategy.

A pro-business group known as the Montana Growth Network funded a radio ad attacking a supreme court candidate’s position on the death penalty. The candidate asked his opponent to denounce the ad, as the code of judicial conduct recommends when third parties make false statements about candidates, but she responded that she would need to do extensive research to determine the ad’s factuality.

The National Center for State Courts’ 2016 Trends in State Courts includes an article focused on the impact that high-volume cases, such as consumer debt collection, landlord/tenant, and small claims, have on the overall civil caseload. Authored by…

LawWeek Colorado recently interviewed Executive Director Rebecca Love Kourlis about IAALS' efforts to build public confidence and trust for judges and the court system. Referencing a recent publication of the Quality Judges Initiative, "Cornerstones of State Judicial Selection," Kourlis asserts that constituents expect judges to be honest, fair, and faithful to the rule of law and for courts to be impartial, accountable, and transparent. To achieve these principles, Kourlis says that citizens need to think critically about whether the current judicial retention system is delivering what they want out of judges and the courts.

In July, the Conference of Chief Justices Civil Justices approved a resolution endorsing the Recommendations of its Civil Justice Improvements Committee. The Committee’s report, Call to Action: Achieving Justice for All, issues a call to action to the state courts to improve our civil justice system—and a strategic response in the form of thirteen recommendations for restoring function and faith in our civil justice system.

IAALS Advisory Board Member and Educating Tomorrow's Lawyers Advisory Committee Member Richard Baer will be joining Liberty Media Corporation on January 1, 2013, as Senior Vice President and General Counsel. Baer will be returning to Denver after serving as the Executive Vice President and Chief Legal Officer for UnitedHealth Group since May 2011.

IAALS Executive Director Rebecca Love Korulis wrote in this week's Denver Post, “But in the legal system as in football, the judges on the bench and the referees on the field are charged with enforcing the rules – sometimes in close calls. While we may not like a ruling, we respect and accept the authority of those entrusted with making it.”

When state courts are strained or crippled by budget cuts—and it’s all too familiar a scenario around the country—how can we make the strongest case possible for adequate funding? At the National Center for State Courts and at Justice at Stake, we’ve compiled "Funding Justice: Strategies and Messages for Restoring Court Funding." It offers a comprehensive blueprint for legal groups and civic leaders to champion effectively the needs of America’s courts.

John Moye was recently named Chair of the Alumni Visiting Committee for his alma mater, Cornell Law School.