News & Updates

On August 12, retired U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor delivered the keynote address at the 2013 Legislative Summit of the National Conference of State Legislatures in Atlanta, Georgia. Justice O'Connor expressed concern that processes for selecting judges are becoming increasingly politicized, and that civics education is essential in helping young people understand that judges are obligated to make decisions based on the law, even if those decisions are politically unpopular.

The supreme court requested that the legislature create 72 new judgeships, but budget shortfalls make such a step unlikely. The court has requested new judgeships in each of the past five budget years.

Kim Kardashian West wears many hats: reality television star, media personality, businesswoman, wife, and mother. But the second eldest Kardashian told Vogue she has plans to add “lawyer” to her list of titles, though she has no plans to take the LSAT or apply to law schools. Instead, she is “reading the law”—an alternate, apprenticeship-based path to becoming a lawyer.

Earlier this year, a local news channel praised the University of Miami's Health and Elder Law Medical Legal Partnership in a piece entitled "Joining Forces.” The clinic, run in part by JoNel Newman of the University of Miami School of Law (an ETL Consortium school), takes an innovative approach to treating the legal and medical issues patients face when seeking care by assigning both a medical student and law student to each case.

Governor Malloy promised to look for diversity of thought, experience, and gender in making judicial appointments in 2012, a year in which he is expected to fill more than two dozen judgeships. Three of Malloy’s four judicial appointees during 2011 were racial minorities.

IAALS submitted this comment to the California State Bar Task Force on Access Through Innovation for Legal Services (ATILS) as part of its request for public comment on its tentative regulatory recommendations for enhancing the delivery of, and access to, legal services. Through our Unlocking Legal Regulation project, which is launching soon, we are partnering with Utah to bring bold innovation to the realm of legal regulation and the provision of legal services.

Harvard Law School's “Case Studies Blog” recently featured the University of Denver Sturm College of Law's Lawyering Process Program as one that helps students begin to develop their identities as lawyers in the first year of law school. Lawyering Process retains all of the traditional research and writing instruction, while also integrating problem solving, practical simulations, self-reflection, and feedback from professors, peers, and practitioners.

Harvard's new Initiative for Learning and Teaching recently kicked off with a conference focused on teaching and learning, including demonstrations of innovative teaching methods.

Technology has always been a key component of efforts to expand the realm of legal services. Yet, Ontario's former Attorney General Chris Bentley argues that the biggest roadblock to the development of direct to consumer legal technology tools is the lawyer monopoly on legal services.

Dean Rachel Van Cleave of Golden Gate University School of Law recently published an article discussing the optimism of current law students and the responsibility of law schools to "have the courage to make our students' success our first priority." She advocates for law schools to commit to their students by providing them an education that matches their enthusiasm.

The house of representatives approved a measure that would expand the governor’s power over the state’s judicial nominating commissions. The governor appoints the nine members of each commission, with the bar making recommendations for four of those members.

In this unprecedented time, IAALS continues in its work to ensure everyone who needs it has access to justice we can believe in. Our mission is critical, now more than ever—and we rely on a tremendous group of partners who help guide our work. We are thrilled to announce three new advisors: James J. Sandman, Kathryn A. Reilly, and Joey Orduña Hastings.

Change is happening in law schools across the country. While most are evolving independently, many schools are working toward the same end: developing new teaching methods and strategies that teach students skills that will give them an edge with employers. A recent U.S. News and World Report article highlights a few of these efforts from Educating Tomorrow's Lawyers Consortium schools, which emphasize practical skills training and a more hands-on understanding of what it means to be a lawyer.

The three supreme court justices up for retention in November are, reluctantly, campaigning to keep their seats. An effort known as Restore Justice 2012 has been launched to defeat them, citing “activist” decisions in cases involving health care, school vouchers, and corporate liability.

​Last month, the National Center for State Courts released their 2020 Trends in State Courts, which includes discussion of the Family Justice Initiative and its Principles for Family Justice Reform. The principles emphasize problem solving and cooperation between parties—especially when children are involved.

A 93% satisfaction measure is not something you see every day. And, it is even more unusual in circumstances where people reporting such a high percentage account for both winners and losers, which is exactly why Chief Justice Matthew B. Durrant focused on this measure during his 2014 Utah State of the Judiciary Address. Chief Justice Durrants's explanation for the measure can be summed up in two words: procedural fairness.

Competing proposals for judicial recusal were offered by the chief justice and a supreme court candidate. One plan would allow the other justices to determine when a colleague should recuse, while the other would leave the decision to an independent person or group. The full court must approve a rules change.

IAALS has released a new report which showcases the innovation occurring in courts, self-help centers, legal aid centers, and law/public libraries throughout the country to address the needs of self-represented litigants in the midst of a global pandemic.

A recently published a paper, entitled “A Primer on Professionalism for Doctrinal Professors,” discusses how and why doctrinal professors should incorporate attorney professionalism into their curriculum. Professor Schaefer offers guidance in developing course outcomes that connect legal subject matter with issues of professionalism and methods for doing so.

As of mid-April, the three supreme court justices standing for retention in November had each raised between $156,000 and $160,000 for their retention effort, most of which came from lawyers and law firms. Committees handle the justices’ campaign finances, as the code of judicial conduct bars them from personally soliciting contributions.