News & Updates

On January 17, The University of Arkansas at Little Rock announced that Michael Hunter Schwartz had been appointed the new dean of the William H. Bowen School of Law. Schwartz is an Educating Tomorrow’s Lawyers fellow, who has demonstrated a commitment to integrating practice-based learning and professionalism into the classroom. We thank Schwartz for his commitment to improving legal education and congratulate him on his much deserved appointment.

In the United States, divorce has been present as far back as the colonization. However, it was not until 2010 that all 50 states had a no-fault divorce law in place, with New York being the last state. Abraham Lincoln is not the first image of a divorce attorney that comes to mind, yet he handled over 125 divorce cases between 1837 and 1861.

For children of divorcing parents, grandparents can provide the safety and security that is so vitally needed by them during this time of transition. Often, grandparents are caught in the middle of the high emotion and stress that accompanies divorce.

Two candidates have filed to challenge Justice Pat Roggensack’s bid for another six-year term on the Wisconsin high court. One of those candidates has encouraged his opponents to discuss their party affiliation and how they would rule on hot-button issues with voters, despite the fact that Wisconsin judicial elections are officially nonpartisan.

Elizabeth Phillips, a third year law student at the University of Denver Sturm College of Law, knew she wanted to go to law school, but she also knew that selecting the right school that could equip her with the tools needed to actually practice law was essential. Having done her research, "it became clear to [her] that DU’s practical education was paying off" for new grads in the area and could afford her the best opportunities upon graduation.

Alabama has passed legislation, SB 47 (Act 2012-492), which requires the Alabama Supreme Court to adopt expedited trial procedures for cases in circuit court where the amount in controversy does not exceed $50,000. In contrast, Louisiana also passed legislation, HCR 81, which requests the Louisiana State Law Institute study jury trial procedures and make recommendations for an expedited or summary jury trial program.

The Supreme Court of New Hampshire entered an order last week amending the Superior Court Proportional Discovery/Automatic Disclosure Pilot Project Rules to implement the PAD Pilot Rules in all counties beginning March 1, 2013.

The New York Times has reported that the divorce rate in Spain is 17 percent lower than it was in 2006, when changes to the law simplified divorce proceedings. The Spanish Judicial Council attributes this decrease in divorce to Spain's protracted economic crisis.

Ben Madison, an Educating Tomorrow's Lawyers Fellow, recently discussed teaching materials and help available for those who want to try Carnegie methods in a post on the Best Practices for Legal Education blog. He noted that “plenty know about Carnegie’s recommendations, but too few know of the steps taken, since the report, to implement it.”

In response to anticipated legislative proposals to alter the process for selecting the state’s appellate judges, with the most prominent being the discontinuance of the judicial nominating commission and the addition of senate confirmation, the Kansas Bar Association endorsed a plan to restructure the nominating commission.

With Justice Diane Hathaway resigning in the face of serious ethics charges, some are urging Governor Rick Snyder to follow a task force’s recommendations in appointing Hathaway’s successor on the Michigan Supreme Court.

In recent weeks, Governor Dannel P. Malloy has made significant strides toward diversifying the state supreme court, nominating the court’s first Hispanic justice and first openly gay justice.

In his first news conference, new Republican Governor Pat McCrory rescinded the executive order enacted by his predecessor, Democratic Governor Bev Perdue, creating a judicial nominating commission for filling midterm vacancies on the state’s courts.

Last fall, New York University School of Law made news for reorganizing its third-year offerings to better meet the needs of today’s law students. Today, we welcome NYU to the Educating Tomorrow’s Lawyers Consortium of law schools demonstrating significant institutional commitment to legal education reform along the lines proposed in the 2007 Carnegie Report, Educating Lawyers.

IAALS is privileged to benefit from the expertise of a diverse board of advisors that includes judges, practitioners, and others committed to our mission: the continuous improvement of the civil justice system. At the close of 2012, we said farewell to two board members: Justice Patricio Serna and Sue Dosal. And, on January 1, 2013, we welcomed three new board members: Judge Lee Rosenthal, Alan Carlson, and Sheila Slocum Hollis.

David Thomson, Lawyering Process Professor and Director of the Lawyering Process Program at the University of Denver Sturm College of Law, will be the first IAALS Visiting Scholar for the spring semester of 2013. Thomson will be spending parts of his sabbatical here with us, working on several projects. Thomson is a longtime friend of IAALS and we look forward to working more closely with him over the coming months.

The National Center for State Courts and the Harvard Kennedy School of Government recently published a paper, "Keeping Courts Funded: Recommendations on How Courts Can Avoid the Budget Axe", which offers a perspective on how state courts can more effectively argue for sufficient funding by approaching the budgetary process proactively, effectively, and humbly.

Denver Law alumni James “Jim” Mulligan (JD ’74) and Joan Burleson (JD ’85) made a $2.25 million endowment to the University of Denver Sturm College of Law's Mulligan Burleson Chair in Modern Learning, which will ensure experimental learning is integrated throughout the school's curriculum. This gift is augmented by IAALS's Educating Tomorrow’s Lawyers advisory committee member, Doug Scrivner (JD ’77) and his wife, Mary.

iCivics, an organization founded by Justice Sandra Day O’Connor and dedicated to increasing civic knowledge and participation, has created the jury service game, We the Jury. In this game, students play the role of jury members who must deliberate to reach a fair and impartial verdict.

In most states that elect their judges, vacancies that arise between elections are filled by gubernatorial appointment. Some governors opt to use an advisory panel in making these appointments, while others have opted not to seek the assistance of such committees.