10th Anniversary

Ten years ago, few would have predicted that IAALS would have such an impact on the legal system. The world wasn’t exactly clamoring for another legal think tank, and aside from a few visionaries in Denver, no one foresaw the need for an organization dedicated to the improvement of the legal system rather than partisan advocacy. Yet ten years later, IAALS has succeeded not only in prompting a conversation about how cases get litigated but in touching off a broader reexamination of a number of assumptions about attorney control over litigation, discovery, and the relationship of the legal system to the people it serves.

IAALS is celebrating our 10th Anniversary, which means our 2015 Annual Report marks a milestone in our history. This report takes a look back at our past decade of accomplishments as well as gazes forward into the future. Hard copies also include a special, pull-out timeline—a tour de force that showcases how far we’ve come in advancing excellence in the American legal system.

As IAALS celebrates its tenth year, the Denver Business Journal sat down with Executive Director Rebecca Love Kourlis to recap her motivation for leaving the Colorado Supreme Court and founding IAALS, and the impacts made over the last decade.

In 2012, when I first started researching Splitopia, my book on today’s good divorce, I assumed there were dearth of good ideas around for helping families transition out of marriage smoothly. It would be my job, I decided, to develop new thinking for the age-old problem of marriage’s end. Upon further investigation, I discovered that many legal professionals, reformers, and mental health practitioners did have good ideas for helping adults and children navigate this difficult transition, but they weren’t communicating them adequately between disciplines and across states, let alone to divorcing families. I would start a national divorce communication program, perhaps affiliating with a think tank in Washington, D.C.!

I spent half my legal career as a civil trial lawyer in New Hampshire trying all manner of cases in state and federal court and sometimes trying or preparing to try cases in other states and jurisdictions. I learned from some great lawyers and mentors over those years. They viewed a jury trial not as a failure of the system but as an integral part of American justice. They tried many of their cases with four or five depositions, twenty key exhibits, an expert or two, and a theory of the case. Justice was almost always served. The lawyers I admired understood the probing value of focused, incisive cross examination, the transformative power of a witness's solemn oath, the value of the courtroom's sterile unfamiliarity in a search for the truth, and the capacity and integrity of juries to render fair verdicts. They viewed trial lawyering as a craft with a noble purpose and never viewed discovery as an end it itself.

When I was first contacted by IAALS in early 2014 about the possibility of replicating the methodology used to investigate the lived experiences of self-represented litigants in three Canadian provinces, I was thrilled. I had spent the previous two years conducting this (qualitative, interview-based) research and our results were published in 2013. While the data revealed many multi-layered complexities, diversities, and variables in the experiences of those without counsel, it underscored one new reality.

Rebuilding justice. This is an awesome charge. And it is one that IAALS has embraced since its beginnings in 2006. IAALS was started as an attempt to remake the American legal system. While our system has many virtues, it is inefficient. It is unequal. Fundamentally, it is imperfect. But we are a country of laws, and the legal process is the thread that holds together our enviable conception of democracy. Therefore, the desire for a perfect system of justice is a natural outgrowth of that foundational goal of a more perfect union. But justice is more than systems. Justice is about people. Justice is about hopes and dreams and goals. Justice is about dignity. This is why the idea of rebuilding justice is so awesome, so ambitious, and so necessary.  

This year marks the 10th anniversary of IAALS’ work to continuously improve America’s legal system and reestablish it as the aspirational model for justice globally. To mark this milestone, IAALS celebrates both its accomplishments and its bright future, all while tackling the most critical issues of the day. Having a trusted and trustworthy legal system is essential to our democracy, our economy, and our freedom. IAALS staff, founders, partners, sponsors, and advisors all recognize that to earn that trust, the legal system must be just, impartial, and responsive.

On the occasion of IAALS’ 10th anniversary, I’ve been reflecting on the strength of our partnership over the years, and on the value of that partnership as our shared work for fair, high quality courts takes on ever-greater significance. Justice at Stake is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization working to keep America's courts fair and impartial. We work for reforms to keep politics and special interests out of the courtroom—so judges can protect our Constitution, our rights, and the rule of law. As you can see, our mission aligns pretty perfectly with that of IAALS and its Quality Judges Initiative.

Over the last decade, it has been a great pleasure to work with IAALS on efforts to improve our legal process and to change our legal culture. Chief Justice John Roberts devoted his recent  “2015 Year-End Report on the Federal Judiciary” to a discussion of the groundbreaking amendments to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. The Chief Justice began with a description of the practice of dueling in the early 1800s and the public disgust with this means of dispute resolution that led to a wider use of the courts for resolving disputes. And, he alluded to a similar distaste for modern litigation practices characterized by “antagonistic tactics, wasteful procedural maneuvers, and teetering brinksmanship” for “wearing down opponents with creatively burdensome discovery requests or evading legitimate requests through dilatory tactics.” Clearly, there is growing recognition that we are ripe for a change in legal culture.