News & Updates

The senate approved a proposed ballot measure that would raise the retirement age for judges from 70 to 75. A similar measure is stalled in the house.

The regulatory reform signal shines brightly over Utah and your help is needed—will you answer the call? The public comment period on Utah's proposals to expand the delivery of legal services is open until Thursday, July 23. It is imperative for all those who are committed to making justice available for all to submit comments in favor of these important advancements.

With many state legislatures around the country wrapping up their 2014 sessions, IAALS Online offers this update on the progress of measures related to the selection and tenure of state judges. Developments in: Alabama, Alaska, Florida, Louisiana, Minnesota, and Oklahoma.

Supreme court justice Joan Orie Melvin’s sister was convicted on 24 corruption charges, but not on theft and ethics-related charges involving the justice’s past campaigns. Legal experts said this did not rule out a grand jury indictment of Justice Melvin.

On October 20, IAALS hosted a virtual Rebuilding Justice Award Celebration instead of gathering for our annual gala as we normally do, and we were joined by people from all over the country and world via Zoom to honor both Margaret Hagan and the late Iowa Supreme Court Chief Justice Mark Cady for their leadership and innovation in advancing our justice system.

IAALS announces a first-of-its-kind national project to examine the growing trend of American families who represent themselves in family court. The project will include a study of self-represented litigants to discover how family courts can help them navigate the justice system to achieve fair outcomes. Study results will be used to develop recommendations for ways that state courts can meet the needs of those without an attorney.

The Legal Skills Prof Blog provides seven tips for how law firms and attorneys can make sure that skills-based legal education is a priority--including making a commitment to interview at schools with strong skills programs, like those in our Consortium.

Andrew Arruda has joined IAALS as its first-ever entrepreneur-in-residence. Arruda is initially focusing on the organization’s legal education and legal profession efforts, including the Unlocking Legal Regulation and Foundations for Practice projects.

Over the last seven years, we have focused much of our time and effort on ways to improve the effectiveness of discovery, due in large part to the expanding world of electronically stored information. In our new report, we review the laws in the United States and other countries and provide examples of, and analogies to, various cost allocation models. One of the key takeaways is the importance of proportionality.

Imagine a country without courts—where the legislative and executive branches of government hold sway. Imagine that the legislative branch makes the laws, and the executive branch has an administrative system for determining both criminal and civil liability and enforcing consequences. What would change? Why would it matter?

Each year on Constitution Day, all Americans should take the time to celebrate and reflect—celebrate, because the Constitution has served as the basic architecture for our system of government for over 200 years, and reflect, because its flaws and shortcomings have shaped our nation, too.

In November, IAALS convened a group of senior in-house counsel and corporate management from around the country to discuss discovery and the challenges of preservation and production. The convening focused on the proposed federal amendments to Rule 37(e) and the realities companies face on a daily basis, providing an opportunity for attendees to talk to their peers about current practices, challenges, and solutions, for both small and large companies.

The Summer 2012 edition of Transparent Courthouse® Quarterly is now available. Transparent Courthouse® Quarterly is a quarterly newsletter reporting highlights from all IAALS initiatives. Sign up for Transparent Courthouse® Quarterly and other IAALS…

IAALS has announced that CEO David Yellen has accepted the position of dean at the University of Miami School of Law. IAALS will now undertake a full strategic assessment over the summer on how best to address pressing issues in the legal system and legal profession.

New York has set its sights on access to justice and alleviating some of the issues that low-income litigants face needing help from justice system. In his annual State of the Judiciary address on February 17, New York Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman put forth a number of innovative methods for making the state's judiciary more equitable and accessible.

The ABA Journal discusses the impact of Big Law's preference for graduates from Ivy League and other “elite” law schools. The article notes that such “near obsession with pedigree . . . is damaging to the entire profession” because new statistics…

Harassment, threats, and attacks targeting judges pose dangers not just to judges' safety, but to the rule of law. Across the country, leaders are speaking out on this critical issue.

In a ruling that took some fair courts advocates by surprise, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the authority of states to bar judges and judicial candidates from personally soliciting campaign contributions. Chief Justice Roberts delivered the majority opinion in Williams-Yulee v. The Florida Bar, holding that “[a] State’s decision to elect judges does not compel it to compromise public confidence in their integrity.”

Earlier this year, the Kansas Senate rejected by a 22-17 vote a proposed statute that would have eliminated the role of the nominating commission in screening court of appeals candidates and required senate confirmation of gubernatorial appointments—a move strongly favored by Governor Brownback and conservative legislators.

While acknowledging the crucial role of our Constitution and its enduring significance in our nation, we can also advocate for the ongoing enhancement of our justice system to fully uphold the principles of the rule of law.