Announcements

IAALS has promoted Michael Houlberg to director of special projects; joining IAALS are Jessica Bednarz as director of legal services and the profession along with Kirk Jones as senior director of operations.

IAALS has released a landscape report along with an accompanying online Knowledge Center that offer a compilation and comparison of existing programs nationwide for establishing new tiers of legal professionals who can provide legal services to the public.

IAALS has released Unbundled Legal Services in the New Normal, a new report highlighting key takeaways from the national 2021 conference, as well as a new resource center to help consumers, lawyers, and courts get how-to information on promoting and utilizing unbundled legal services.

Brittany Kauffman has been chosen as IAALS' new CEO, effective immediately. Kauffman has been serving as interim CEO since May 2022, and previously served as a senior director overseeing IAALS' programmatic strategy, projects, and research.

IAALS has announced that CEO David Yellen has accepted the position of dean at the University of Miami School of Law. IAALS will now undertake a full strategic assessment over the summer on how best to address pressing issues in the legal system and legal profession.

A new project will help standardize a new tier of legal professionals nationally. Allied legal professionals—similar to nurse practitioners—hold a key to bringing more accessible and affordable legal help where it is needed most. IAALS seeks to facilitate the adoption of allied legal professional programs around the country and assist states in making informed decisions on how to structure these efforts.

The challenges we face continue to upend our lives. But we cannot go back, so instead we must forge a better future. Our work in 2021, as described in our Annual Report, has moved the needle and opened new doors for those in need of justice.

IAALS is thrilled to announce that Dan Rodriguez, former dean and current Howard Washington Professor of Law of Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law, will join the organization as our scholar-in-residence for two weeks this year, with ongoing collaboration on our projects. 

IAALS is awarding Rohan Pavuluri, CEO and co-founder of Upsolve, the second annual Alli Gerkman Legal Visionary Award. “IAALS is thrilled to present Rohan with this award, recognizing his efforts to shake up the status quo and push the boundaries of our justice system,” said David Yellen, CEO of IAALS.

After a year of collaboration and innovation, IAALS Board of Advisors member Andrew Arruda has completed his term as our first entrepreneur-in-residence. We are deeply grateful to Arruda for his tireless work and invaluable expertise over this past year—and for everything he’s done to move our mission forward.