News & Updates

Pennsylvania is one of at least four states that holds judicial elections in off-years. This November, two candidates competed for a seat on the superior court (an intermediate appellate court) and four appellate judges, including two supreme court justices, stood for retention. Additionally, in New York, voters considered a proposed constitutional amendment that would have raised the mandatory retirement age for judges on the state's highest court and major trials courts.

The latest edition of Rule One Review is now available. Rule One Review is a quarterly newsletter that shares information about pilot projects and other civil rules projects being monitored by the Rule One Initiative. Sign up for Rule One Review and…

Last month, Australia’s Attorney-General announced he would continue with a plan to merge the specialist Family Court of Australia with the lower-level Federal Circuit Court, with the aim to improve efficiency, but not everyone is convinced.

IAALS will be closed from December 25 through January 1, but we promise to pick up where we left off in the new year! Thanks for reading and being a part of our mission to change the American legal system for the better. We look forward to more big projects in 2014 and hope you’ll be there to help us spread the word. See you on January 2!

Stanford Law School announced today the completion of the first phase of comprehensive reforms to its legal curriculum that began in November 2006—successfully transforming its traditional law degree into a multi-dimensional JD, which combines the study of other disciplines with team-oriented, problem-solving techniques together with expanded clinical training that enables students to represent clients and litigate cases while in law school.

The United States of America leads the world in many areas of democracy, technology, economy, and culture, but what holds back American citizens from accessing justice when they need it? In times of extreme uncertainty, such as the current COVID-19 pandemic, this is a critical question.

In a recent post on the long-awaited results from pilot project experimentation around the country, we shared evaluations from the New Hampshire and Boston Litigation Session pilot projects. Initial data is now available from Utah as well, where significant rule changes were implemented in 2011, including comprehensive initial disclosures, a requirement that discovery be proportional, and tiered discovery based on amount in controversy.

There are three supreme court seats up for election in November, one of which is an open seat. Though the parties do not officially nominate candidates until their conventions later this year, Democrats give non-binding nods to favorites at the spring convention.

For the second year in a row, Ohio is on track to make significant amendments to its Rules of Civil Procedure and to pilot a second civil justice case management reform project. These amendments align with national recommendations for reform and reflect similar reforms made in Idaho, Maine, Missouri, and Texas.

In the world of choosing law schools, we have generic rankings and recommendations—including US News & World Report, and a number of others that have popped up over the years—which can provide a certain value, but they hardly give the whole picture. Last year, we launched Law Jobs: By the Numbers, an employment calculator that allows you to review school employment numbers based on the criteria you care about most—and with the new 2013 ABA employment numbers, we've made some big upgrades.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit upheld a lower federal court decision that rejected a challenge to the role of lawyers on the state’s judicial nominating commissions. The lawsuit alleged that it is unconstitutional for the lawyer members to play a part in selecting judges because they are chosen by the state bar association, rather than by voters or an elected official.

In advance of the 2020 election, Our Courts Colorado has released a series of PSAs featuring diverse and well-known members of the community who explain why voters should take the time to educate themselves about the judges up for retention and then cast their votes accordingly.

Recent national media coverage paints a highly positive picture of the current pace of federal judicial nominations and confirmations. After all, 2014 has seen 50 confirmations so far, compared to 43 in all of 2013 and 48 in 2012. Not so fast, says Russell Wheeler, an IAALS Board Member and Visiting Fellow at the Brookings Institution. The outlook has improved, but according to Wheeler, a case can be made for a more cautious assessment.

Anyone who has stopped by our site knows that we’re building a robust set of resources for law professors and law schools committed to—or even just curious about—innovating legal education. From teaching strategies to course portfolios, we’re…

Earlier this year, Arizona began training people to give limited legal advice on civil matters stemming from domestic violence. These advocates, the first of their kind in the state, are learning to provide legal advice on topics such as protective orders, divorce, child custody, consumer protection, and housing.

One year ago, the Resource Center for Separating and Divorcing Families opened its doors at the University of Denver to serve families in metro area. Based on an interdisciplinary out-of-court model developed by the Honoring Families Initiative, the RCSDF is operating at full-force today, helping numerous parents transition in a positive and constructive manner that better serves them and their children.

The May 2012 edition of Selection Snapshots is now available. Sign up for Selection Snapshots and other IAALS newsletters here.

IAALS and HiiL have released the results of our US Justice Needs study, providing data on the justice problems Americans experience and the ways they seek to resolve them. Now that we know what people need help with most, we can begin to chart a new path forward to improve our justice system nationwide.

A recent article in the Denver Bar Association’s The Docket reviewed the dilemma that surrounds how states select and retain judges. In the article, Colorado's merit selection system is highlighted as a nationally recognized model for ensuring a judiciary that is free from politics, while also affording citizen input. Colorado's process for choosing judges mirrors the four-part O'Connor Plan, IAALS' collaboration with Justice Sandra Day O'Connor.

Professor Andrew Schepard was among our first ETL Fellows. Here, his school recognizes the honor. He teaches Family Law with Skills with, a course he co-created with Professor J. Herbie DiFonzo. It is based on the Carnegie Model and incorporates the traditional content of a family law course with court observation and extended simulation exercises.