Events

In an age where much of the evidence presented in American courtrooms is never printed or available in a paper format, it is essential that judges understand the unique challenges that electronically stored information creates, both for litigants and the court. In June 2014, IAALS and the NJC co-hosting Fundamentals of E-Discovery for State Court Judges, a free webcast that judges can still access for CLE credit.

On June 11, 2014, IAALS and the NJC will co-host a webcast for state court judges at no cost. This webcast will enable judges to: adjudicate disputes involving ESI, including the identification, preservation, search, review, production, and admission of ESI; apply ESI terminology such as metadata and native format correctly; and use resources developed by IAALS to assist state court judges in effectively handling e-discovery.

On April 24, 2014, IAALS was pleased to host its 7th Annual Rebuilding Justice Award Dinner at the Ralph L. Carr Colorado Judicial Center in downtown Denver. The evening was capped by surprise video introductions for our esteemed honorees, filmed by their wives, who each told the story of their husband’s enduring passion and dedication from a uniquely personal perspective.

This spring, IAALS will hold its annual Rebuilding Justice Award Dinner, which recognizes individuals who exemplify the spirit of innovation and leadership that we champion across all of our work. We are thrilled to be honoring two longtime supporters of IAALS: Colorado Supreme Court Chief Justice Michael L. Bender (Ret.) and University of Denver Chancellor Robert D. Coombe.

Recently, the Civil Rules Advisory Committee held the first of three hearings on the proposed amendments to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. In an effort to provide input and offer comments with a fresh perspective, IAALS is hosting A Forum for Understanding and Comment on the Proposed Federal Rules Amendments in Denver, Colorado on December 5-6, 2013 for a small group of stakeholders from around the country.

The front lines of electronic discovery are moving beyond the federal courts. In a world where everyone with a smart phone is an ESI custodian, the problems of e-discovery affect all types of litigants in all types of cases. E-discovery has arrived in the state courts, and the problems there are every bit as big, and every bit as complicated, as they are in federal court. On September 19th and 20th, state court judges and e-discovery experts from around the country gathered to discuss the challenges that e-discovery poses for state courts.

Last week, during a town hall at Binghamton University, President Obama jumped into the legal education fray when he suggested that law schools could increase the value of a law degree without sacrificing its quality by moving from a three-year program to a two-year program. The two-year/three-year debate has been alive and well in legal education reform circles for some time, but the President’s comments catapulted the conversation into the national spotlight. What do you think?

This September, IAALS and the National Judicial College will host an educational summit exclusively tailored for state court judges on all facets of the discovery of electronically stored information (ESI)—from preservation to production to eventual use at trial. The Summit will feature nationally renowned speakers and will provide both a core of basic training for judges on e-discovery and in-depth and interactive discussions on the more complex issues facing judges in state courts across the nation.

Rebecca Love Kourlis, Executive Director of IAALS, will speak about the organization’s work to improve the use of financial experts in litigation on December 5. She will discuss how civil pretrial processes involving financial experts might be streamlined to increase the experts’ effectiveness and reduce client costs, which is the focus of a recently published report, Another Voice: Financial Experts on Reducing Client Costs in Litigation.