News & Updates

As reported previously, the cuts to legal aid in England have had a serious impact on the public’s ability to access the legal system and obtain representation. A recent article describes additional consequences stemming from the 2012 cuts. A survey of barristers indicated that 69% of respondents who worked as family legal aid practitioners reported a decline in fee income.

An effort to impose seven-year term limits on judges failed to pass the house and is dead for this legislative session. New Hampshire is one of three states where judges serve for life, or to a mandatory retirement age of 70.

Throughout the past year, our courts have been engaged in informal pilot projects—they’ve tried out different technologies and processes, all in an effort to continue the administration of justice amid the pandemic. Now, we have the opportunity to learn from this experience and chart a path forward long term.

Law Professor Cara Cunningham Warren has written a paper about "Achieving the American Bar Association's Pedagogy Mandate." In order for professors to meet with ABA expectations, they will have to come up with new approaches to assessing student learning—something that was recently discussed the 2014 Educating Tomorrow’s Lawyers Conference.

Terre Rushton is Associate Executive Director of Programs for the National Institute for Trial Advocacy (NITA) as well as serving as a member of the Educating Tomorrow's Lawyers Advisory Committee. In her Voices from the Field interview, Rushton comments about learning professionalism, practical learning as a gateway to understanding the role of a lawyer, and developing common skills and understanding different perspectives.

IAALS submitted this comment to the Michigan Supreme Court and the Lessons Learned Committee in response to the state’s preliminary report, Michigan Trial Courts: Lessons Learned from the Pandemic of 2020-21, Preliminary Findings, Best Practices, and Recommendations. The report highlights the common experiences that shaped the Michigan justice system throughout the pandemic.

In the upcoming legislative session in a handful of states, lawmakers are expected to propose legislation aimed at courts and judges. Some Washington legislators have filed a bill that would make the state's judicial elections partisan. Two bills that Wisconsin lawmakers plan to file in 2015 would impact the Chief Justice. And, the Kansas legislature will likely take up a proposed constitutional amendment to change the way supreme court justices are chosen.

June 22nd and 23rd are just around the corner and IAALS is excited to host two days of summits on electronic discovery. The Friday June 22nd session, co-sponsored by DISH Network L.L.C., is a “Best in Class” E-Discovery Summit for practitioners. We…

In January, the i4j Program at the University of Arizona James E. Rogers College of Law proposed expanding several legal paraprofessional programs to include a housing training certificate, equipping community members to provide limited-scope representation related to housing issues.

Whether law students are practice-ready after graduation depends greatly upon whom you ask. In BARBRI's first “State of the Legal Field Survey,” 70% of third-year law students thought they possessed “sufficient practice skills” and 76% believed they were ready to practice law “right now.” However, practitioners thought quite differently on the matter. Alli Gerkman weighs in on the discrepancies.

Governor Martinez asked the judicial nominating commission to submit more names for a trial court vacancy, after the commission forwarded the name of one of only two applicants. The nominating commission reopened the application period and will submit any additional potential appointees to the governor in late August. If the governor declines to make an appointment, the supreme court will fill the seat.

IAALS’ Lawyers Council is a new national group of law firms and businesses, whose members engage in IAALS’ process while also providing insight into their experiences in the justice system to inform our work.

Congratulations to Professor JoNel Newman, University of Miami School of Law, on her selection for the AALS Section on Clinical Legal Education’s M. Shanara Gilbert Award.

In addition to the court of appeals vacancy for which the commission on judicial nomination is currently accepting applications, there are several upcoming vacancies on the seven-member court. Two justices will reach the mandatory retirement age of 70, and one justice’s term will end, in 2014. Two more justices reach mandatory retirement in 2015 and 2016.

In October, IAALS convened leaders from various regulatory innovation initiatives to discuss sandbox and alternative business structure efforts and research, improve stakeholder engagement, and emphasize the importance of community relations.

Educating Tomorrow’s Lawyers Director Alli Gerkman was invited to speak on “The Changing Legal Landscape” at the opening plenary session for the National Conference of Bar Presidents in July. In a prepared presentation (below), she said that…

The Minnesota Supreme Court has ordered a hearing for October 30, 2012 to consider comments submitted in response to select portions of the Minnesota Supreme Court Civil Justice Reform Task Force’s Final Report dated December 23, 2011 and its Supplemental Report dated May 22, 2012.

Justice Alito's recusal controversy highlights the urgent need for clear judicial recusal procedures. IAALS' recommendations strive to boost transparency, efficiency, and trust in our judiciary.

Honoring Families recently convened a diverse cross-section of the national family law bar, with the goal of identifying and discussing improvements to the system that would allow all practitioners to better serve clients and children. The Family Bar Summit: Shaping the System for the Families We Serve challenged participants to shed preconceived notions about the system and engage in forward-thinking discussion on various aspects of the family justice system.

Chief Judge David Sentelle of the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia warns that the federal judiciary will be at risk if Congress cannot reach a budget deal to prevent the implementation of $600 billion in automatic spending cuts. While civil trials before judges without juries would likely be unaffected, Chief Judge Sentelle states federal civil jury trials would possibly be suspended due to lack of funding to pay jurors and that budget cuts would affect the probation system and payment for public defenders.