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Nearly 110 years ago, Roscoe Pound proclaimed: “Dissatisfaction with the administration of justice is as old as the law itself.” In 2015, that sentiment endures and is echoed in the mounting call for real, meaningful change in our civil justice… MORE
News and Updates
Judges are the linchpin of the court system—the piece that that holds the wheels on. When a judge is engaged, attentive, and dedicated to assuring that each litigant gets the best the system can offer, then the process moves smoothly. When a judge… MORE
News and Updates
For the last ten years, IAALS—the Institute for the Advancement of the American Legal System—has worked to rebuild the civil justice system. After much work, and through collaboration with some of the very best minds in the country, we are finally… MORE
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Nancy Ver Steegh, J.D., M.S.W., is a professor at Mitchell Hamline School of Law in St. Paul, Minnesota, where she teaches courses on family law, domestic violence, family law residency, and family mediation. Her publications include articles… MORE
News and Updates
The number of people representing themselves in court is on the rise, especially in family court. Some people feel they can handle the legal process on their own, or don't trust a lawyer to make things better. And for many, the cost of hiring a… MORE
News and Updates
Multiple states have recently amended their divorce laws in order to expedite the process and facilitate better, more cooperative outcomes for couples parting ways. While none of the reforms contain drastic or sweeping change, they are the first… MORE
News and Updates
In response to record-breaking judicial election spending, and an unprecedented series of scandals involving supreme court justices, reform-minded folks in Pennsylvania are making historic strides toward change.
The November 3 election for three… MORE
News and Updates
We kicked off the 4th Annual Educating Tomorrow’s Lawyers Conference with a story about math—or, more specifically, with a story about how long it took one mathematician to solve one not-so-simple problem. It’s a great story (and one you can hear… MORE
News and Updates
The New York Times is running a series of articles on consumer-business arbitration (read them here, here, and here). The writers observe that arbitration takes away transparency, due process, the right of appeal, and assurance of an impartial… MORE
News and Updates
Colorado Senator Michael Bennet has announced the formation of a bipartisan screening committee to consider potential nominees for an upcoming vacancy on the state’s federal trial court. We at IAALS are pleased that, as Senator Bennet states in his… MORE