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Message from Our Executive Director |
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Our 6th Annual Educating Tomorrow’s Lawyers Conference is just one month away. As the institutions entrusted with educating lawyers, law schools are uniquely positioned to ensure that new lawyers are not only prepared to enter the profession, but also to
serve clients. This year's conference puts clients front and center by exploring client needs; by showcasing lawyers, organizations, and others leading the way to improved delivery of legal services; and by tapping into the collective wisdom of innovative legal educators to bring these concepts to life in law schools. We hope you'll register and join us October 5-7 in downtown Denver.
Rebecca Love Kourlis, IAALS Executive Director
September 2017
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Partner Profile: Family Law Attorney Bill Howe
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IAALS simply would not be what it is without the support of our partners and friends. This month, we profile Bill Howe, Of Counsel, Gevurtz Menashe, who has been our partner in the
Honoring Families Initiative since its inception.
Bill’s generosity goes beyond the gifts of his time and talent. His charitable giving will make it possible for several very deserving professionals working in the area of family law to join us for the Better Access through Unbundling Conference. During his Partner Profile interview, Bill also told us that, “If you want to get something done, get IAALS to do it.” However, we don’t do it alone, which is why we hope you will consider joining Bill in our common cause to improve access to justice for families by making a gift to IAALS.
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States Get New Tools to Help the Civil Justice System Reform Process
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Across the nation, states are reforming the civil justice system. To aid that process, IAALS and the National Center for State Courts (NCSC) have rolled out several new tools as part of a three-year Implementation Plan to provide states with education and technical assistance.
This month we released two new tools:
The
Impact Questionnaire provides a structured self-assessment tool to help court leaders highlight areas within their civil justice system in need of reform as well as potential implementation barriers. The
Performance Measures document provides a description of common metrics and methods for assessing the effectiveness of existing and newly implemented civil justice rules and business practices. Both are essential aspects of civil justice reform that are often skipped.
Read more.
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Better Access through Unbundling: From Ideation to Implementation
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What if in two days we could bring together leaders across North America to create paths that help close the justice gap through unbundled legal services?
IAALS and the ABA are hosting a conference in Denver from October 26-27 to provide participants with information and strategies to advance limited scope representation and engage participants in highly interactive exchanges that will lay the foundation to create strategic plans for a broader implementation of unbundled legal services.
National authorities will lead discussions about:
- The role of unbundling in the justice ecosystem;
- Perspectives of practitioners;
- Best practices of state and local entities that are encouraging unbundling;
- Collaborative opportunities to expand unbundling; and
- The role technology can play to deliver legal services.
Register now!
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We May Soon Know Less About Employment Outcomes for
New Lawyers
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In the name of simplicity, the ABA Council for the Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar approved a proposal that could have the effect of rolling back transparency in employment outcomes for law school graduates in a process that, itself, came under attack for its lack of transparency.
Understanding how law graduates are employed is critical for prospective students, current students, law schools, and the profession. However, the “simplified” Employment Summary Report collapses several data points, which could impact what we know about the jobs law graduates are obtaining and limit our ability to understand trends in the legal marketplace.
IAALS submitted this comment in advance of the Council’s August meeting in New York and will continue to monitor the issue.
Read more.
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Seven Recommendations for Building a Diverse Bench
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Last month, the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law and the ABA Judicial Division released
Building a Diverse Bench: Selecting Federal Magistrate and Bankruptcy Judges, a resource that offers practical steps the federal judiciary can take to promote a more diverse bench.
A diverse bench is essential to an effective judiciary. A bench that reflects the diversity of the public it serves enhances public confidence in the role of the courts in our democracy, and provides role models for groups underrepresented in the legal profession. And diversity is more than symbolic—having broader perspectives on the bench produces a richer jurisprudence, incorporating a wider and more representative range of experiences, backgrounds, and perspectives.
Building a Diverse Bench details concrete steps that federal courts—whose judges are responsible for appointing magistrate and bankruptcy judges—can take to increase diversity among magistrate and bankruptcy benches
Read more.
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IAALS Talks Modernizing State Courts in Metropolitan Corporate Counsel
In a recent article for Metropolitan Corporate Counsel, IAALS Executive Director Rebecca Love Kourlis and
Rule One Initiative Director Brittany Kauffman discuss how state court and bar leaders across the country are gearing up for major civil justice reforms using the recently released
Roadmap for Implementation. Read more.
ABA Adopts Resolution Supporting Trial Experience for Young Lawyers
At its annual meeting, the ABA House of Delegates adopted Resolution 116 urging courts to implement plans that provide meaningful courtroom experience to new lawyers. The resolution also urges law firms and clients to take advantage of those plans. Read more.
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