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Message from Our Executive Director |
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This summer, IAALS has grown in remarkable ways, both in terms of our capacity for impact and in the literal expansion of our ranks. Our new Director of Strategic Partnerships, Carol Miller, has taken the helm of our development planning and fundraising campaigns. Nathaniel Baca and Zack DeMeola have joined us as Managers to support our myriad projects across all substantive areas of our work. And James Swearingen has joined our Research team to help manage the collection of data that informs our policy recommendations. We're thrilled to have them at IAALS and we know their experience and dedication will be assets to our work.
Rebecca Love Kourlis, IAALS Executive Director
July 2017
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Partner Profile: Judge Jack Zouhary
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IAALS simply would not be what it is without the support of our partners and friends. They are essential to our efforts and hail from a wide range of backgrounds, viewpoints, and sectors. Every month, IAALS will shine the spotlight on one such person and take you behind the scenes for a lighthearted profile of someone who is shoulder to shoulder with us.
This month, we profile Judge Jack Zouhary, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio, Western Division, who also shares with us his famous "Deliberation Cake" recipe. |
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Announcing Our Court
Compass Project to Benefit
Self-Represented Litigants
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IAALS recently released
Court Compass: Mapping the Future of User Access Through Technology, a compendium and analysis of court-offered solutions for assisting self-represented litigants. Court Compass, a first-of-its-kind project, compiled services currently available and those in development, so courts can learn from one another and embrace solutions that benefit the most people. Along with the report’s release, IAALS made its entire database publicly available for all to explore.
Because it is unlikely that most organizations will be able to build a complete portal, it is critical that modules created by different sources be interoperable. The OASIS Litigant Portal Technical Committee is currently developing technical standards to mitigate the interoperability challenges.
Read more.
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With New JPE Legislation, Colorado Staves Off
Scheduled Repeal
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In June, Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper signed legislation to reauthorize and restructure the state’s judicial performance evaluation (JPE) program. Colorado was one of the first states in the nation to establish a JPE program to help judges improve their own performance on the bench and inform voters about that performance for judicial retention elections.
The new JPE law is the product of extensive public input. In addition to a hearing convened by the legislature’s Joint Judiciary Committee to take public testimony, the State Commission on JPE held eleven meetings around the state to solicit citizen feedback. Aspects of the JPE program that have worked well over the years were retained and the new law makes key improvements as well.
Read more.
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Let's Stop Arguing About Unemployment Rates for New Lawyers and Start Fixing Them
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Alli Gerkman, Director of
Educating Tomorrow's Lawyers, writes in a blog post about the frequent dischord around lackluster employment rates for new law school graduates. Even while the American Bar Association compiles employment data directly from law schools (which we make more easily navigable through our Law Jobs: By the Numbers tool), some people insist employment outcomes are slightly better or slightly worse than the data suggests.
However, Gerkman believes that we should be beyond arguing about what jobs qualify as acceptable employment outcomes, because whether the unemployment rate is 25% or 15%, the number is still higher than it should be. Instead, our time and energy should be invested in improving the outcomes for new graduates.
Read more.
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Two Federal District Courts Launch Initial Discovery
Pilot Projects
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Last month, the Northern District of Illinois launched a three-year pilot project, known as the Mandatory Initial Discovery Pilot Project (MIDP). The pilot project requires robust mandatory initial discovery with the goal of reducing cost and delay in civil litigation. They join the District of Arizona, which launched its pilot effective May 1, as one of two districts thus far participating in the three-year pilot project.
A number of resources have been developed to support the successful implementation of the pilot projects, including a Users’ Manual, a checklist that itemizes the requirements for participating judges and attorneys, and a set of videos that introduce the pilots and speak to their purpose. We look forward to additional jurisdictions joining the pilot project, as well as the implementation of a second pilot around the country known as the “Expedited Procedures Pilot Project.”
Read more.
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Wisconsin Supreme Court Supports Enhanced Role for Lawyer Mediators
The Wisconsin Supreme Court recently approved a rule allowing a lawyer-mediator to draft and file settlement documents in family law cases, which can provide a more cost-effective path to divorce for families. Read more.
Civil Justice Roadmap for State Innovation Gaining Momentum and Participation
In an article published in June,
Law Week Colorado covered the new roadmap for civil justice reform developed by IAALS and the National Center for State Courts (NCSC). The two organizations announced their "Roadmap for Implementation" in May, on the heels of the Conference of Chief Justices' recommendations for increasing efficiency and effectiveness. Read more.
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