Going through divorce is often a turbulent time for families, particularly when children are involved. However, parents, practitioners, and courts can adopt more mindful approaches that prioritize children’s well-being and help families find smoother processes through difficult changes.Recent attention has been directed towards child-centered divorce practices, which put divorce’s effects on children in focus and

IAALS, the Institute for the Advancement of the American Legal System, and the Law School Admission Council (LSAC), today announced a new joint project—Foundations 2.0—designed to provide a comprehensive updated view of the skills and competencies new lawyers need to succeed and serve clients well in the rapidly evolving legal profession. The Foundations 2.0 project represents

On January 4, 2024, the North Carolina Justice for All Project (JFAP) filed a First Amendment lawsuit against the state of North Carolina claiming unlawful infringement upon their fundamental right of free speech to provide simple legal advice to North Carolinians. While this lawsuit isn’t the first or even second step by JFAP to improve

IAALS, the Institute for the Advancement of the American Legal System, has conceptualized regulatory models as consisting of four pathways to change: regulatory sandboxes, alternative business structures, allied legal professionals, and community-based justice worker models.(1) According to IAALS, a community-based justice worker model “involve[s] training and certifying individuals working at community-based organizations to offer legal

An important addition to the national access to justice landscape, the Above the Line Network (ATLN) has launched today to tackle the daunting challenges that middle-class Americans face when seeking legal help that doesn’t break the bank. While most organized access to justice efforts rightly focus on low-income and poor people who are especially vulnerable,

January is Child-Centered Divorce Awareness Month, highlighting the impact that divorce can have on children and emphasizing the need for a more child-centric approach to the separation process. This month serves as a reminder for lawyers, judges, other legal professionals, and parents alike to prioritize the well-being and emotional health of children during divorce proceedings.

As we jump into 2024, IAALS is profoundly grateful for the unwavering dedication and support of our partners and colleagues. We’re inspired by the remarkable people working alongside us to create transformative change in our civil justice system. Last year brought significant advancements on various fronts of justice—and IAALS is proud to have played a

To say that Sandra Day O’Connor fundamentally changed the legal landscape for good is really only a beginning, not a summation, of the contributions she made.A daughter of the West, her first job after graduating from high school two years early and Stanford Law School at a breathtaking two-year clip was to work as an

Judicial performance evaluation (JPE) programs have existed across the U.S. for almost 50 years and were designed to assess the job performance of judges. These assessments center not on case outcomes but rather on desirable judicial qualities: legal knowledge, impartiality, written and oral communication, judicial temperament, and administrative capacity. All JPE programs share the goal

Our Allied Legal Professionals: A National Framework for Program Growth report provides a comprehensive overview of the discussions held during our 2022 convening, including agreement on best practices, differences in program approaches, and insights gained from current programs. In previous posts, here and here, we explored key recommendation areas crucial to allied legal professional programs,