News & Updates

A recent study by IAALS board member Russell Wheeler analyzes the politics behind the high number of judicial vacancies without nominees. Wheeler examines judicial nominations during the Obama administration and hypothesizes that delays from the White House, combined with tensions between the political parties, are responsible for the high number of long-lasting, nominee-less judicial vacancies and to the longer periods between vacancy and nomination.

At a recent event in her honor, Sandra Day O'Connor acknowledged her unlikely path to the Supreme Court, which resulted in her being the first female justice on the Court. And now she is "breaking ground again and creating her own template for life after the court."

Many law school staff, administration, and faculty members have reached out to IAALS to learn more about how the foundations we have identified can improve their own programs, or to share with us how they use the foundations to inform their teaching models—and we are going to continue the conversation in an upcoming webinar.

On Sunday, June 23, 2013, former IAALS Board Member and Justice of the New Mexico Supreme Court Patricio M. Serna will be honored as a Santa Fe Living Treasure. Justice Serna graciously served on the IAALS Board of Advisors from our very beginning in 2006 until just last year. Our gratitude for his guidance over the years continues, and we congratulate Justice Serna on this exciting and deserved recognition. A living treasure indeed.

Two Saturdays ago, the New York Times posted this article about the failure of law schools to adequately prepare lawyers for the practice of law.

State courts, where 95 percent of all cases are filed, are powerful. Their decisions can have profound effects on our rights and our lives—from whether Massachusetts officials can detain people based on a request from federal immigration authorities to whether a Michigan voter-initiated redistricting proposal could appear on the ballot.

The ABA Task Force on the Future of Legal Education released its Working Paper late last week. If you have been following the discussions, you’ve heard about the current landscape of legal education and you may not find many surprises in this precursor to the final report. But here’s what is surprising: everyone seems to agree that the Task Force is on the right track. The Working Paper describes initiatives that can facilitate change, and cites our Consortium of law schools as a promising example. And our 2nd Annual Conference focuses on three key highlights from the Working Paper.

A Republican candidate for governor voiced his support for commission-based appointment of the state’s judges. According to Lieutenant Governor Bill Bolling, there is too much “horse-trading” in the current system, in which the legislature chooses judges.

“Justice for all.” It is a promise of American democracy and enshrined in our Pledge of Allegiance. And yet, it is not a reality. IAALS wants to change all of that. We are proud to present you with our 2018 Annual Report, which highlights our work and accomplishments within this important context.

The front lines of electronic discovery are moving beyond the federal courts. In a world where everyone with a smart phone is an ESI custodian, the problems of e-discovery affect all types of litigants in all types of cases. E-discovery has arrived in the state courts, and the problems there are every bit as big, and every bit as complicated, as they are in federal court. On September 19th and 20th, state court judges and e-discovery experts from around the country gathered to discuss the challenges that e-discovery poses for state courts.

American Bar Association (ABA) President William Robinson recently spoke with Thomson Reuters to respond to growing criticism of the ABA's role "in fostering high expectations about legal jobs."

The legal profession is facing an unprecedented crisis in serving the needs of people with legal problems. If ever we needed an era of regulatory reform, now, during the age of technological disruption, is the time. California, Arizona, and Utah are all taking bold action—and IAALS is in the thick of it.

Republican and Democratic lawmakers have introduced a bill calling for a move to merit selection for judges of Pennsylvania's appellate courts. The proposed constitutional amendment would replace partisan elections with a commission-based gubernatorial appointment and senate confirmation process. And, the time may be right for selection reform in the state, according to a recent survey.

According to campaign finance records, two trial court judges made $100 contributions to an anti-abortion PAC after hearing cases involving abortion-related issues. The two judges serve in Sedgwick County, where judges are chosen in partisan elections, and are up for reelection this fall.

This spring, IAALS and the Sturm College of Law will host a three-part speaker series, bringing together perspectives from the legal profession, academia, and state supreme courts. How people access legal services not only profoundly affects justice, but also has important implications for those who study, teach, or practice law. Join us in this stimulating series of talks about changes that can help us move towards the goal of justice for all.

In his Voices from the Field interview, Bill Walters, Partner at Heizer Paul and former president of the Colorado Bar Association, suggests that law schools need to expose students to the various career options they have following law school, which extend far beyond the traditional big firm practice of law.

The senate rejected a proposal supported by Governor Brownback that would have eliminated the judicial nominating commission's role in screening applicants for the state's court of appeals and given the senate a role in confirming appointments to this court.

The Advisory Committee on Civil Rules met virtually on April 1 and covered a number of different updates and discussion topics, including proposed amendments to Rule 30(b)(6). And, instead of the usual legislative update, Judge Bates provided an update on recent pandemic-related events related to the Committee. 

In a classic example of "two heads are better than one," a group of stakeholders and legislators has come together to accomplish a substantial compromise on parental responsibility legislation and the family court process in Minnesota. The group took what were two sets of polarized opinions and came to a compromise that encompasses changes to parenting time, custody issues, and other family court processes in the state.

One of the most fundamental skills an attorney can learn is how to properly counsel a client. Client counseling begins from the first meeting and flows through every step of the case. Sometimes it even continues after the case is over. In order to effectively counsel your client when emotion is involved, a lawyer has to be able to let her client express emotion but still gather facts and present the client with legal options to guide the case.