The Center for Out-of-Court Divorce closed in 2017. IAALS does not provide legal services.
The current family justice system often works against the capacity of parents to reach fair, amicable, and cooperative solutions. The adversarial nature of… MORE
What skills and qualities do clients value in the lawyers they hire? This project, which tapped into years of client reviews of lawyers, explored that important question.
Objective:
To begin to fill the gap in our collective knowledge… MORE
The fairness, efficacy, and validity of the bar exam all depend upon one thing: a clear definition of what minimum competence means when it comes to allowing lawyers to practice law. Only through a clear understanding of what minimum competence is… MORE
There have been significant efforts toward reform at the state court level, including the creation of numerous task forces and pilot projects around the country. In partnership with the National Center for State Courts, we have supported the… MORE
The Cady Initiative for Family Justice Reform (formerly the Family Justice Initiative) is a collaboration between IAALS, the National Center for State Courts (NCSC), the Conference of Chief Justices (CCJ), the Conference of State Court… MORE
Justice is a complicated concept. It’s not just about courts and laws. What constitutes justice can vary across individuals, situations, and cultures. Whether civil or criminal, whether family- or business-related, or whether urban or rural, the… MORE
The courts in the United States exist to uphold the rule of law. But they do not operate in a vacuum, separate from the people they serve. To operate effectively, courts rely on the trust and confidence of the public—and we know the public’s trust… MORE
Since 2007, IAALS and the American College of Trial Lawyers Task Force on Discovery and Civil Justice have partnered to study cost and delay in America’s civil justice system, and propose solutions.
One of the major themes that emerged was that our… MORE
In recent years, law schools have been the subject of great scrutiny—by media, by the profession, by law students, and even by legal educators within the schools—about the quality of legal education and training they offer students.
Educating… MORE
Family court judges make significant decisions affecting our nation's families, yet these judges are often undervalued—even by their peers on the bench. And, there is insufficient acknowledgement of the broad expertise required to do the job well.… MORE