Current Projects
Civil Justice Reform
IAALS 21st Century Rules Initiative
IAALS is currently working on its most ambitious project to date, the 21st Century Rules Initiative (TCRI), which seeks to reform the civil justice system to better meet the needs of our citizens.
As part of this project, IAALS is partnering with the American College of Trial Lawyers (ACTL) Task Force on Discovery to identify and quantify the problems of delay and disproportionate cost in the U.S. civil justice system. The two organizations undertook a survey of the Fellows of the ACTL, which addressed most procedural aspects of our civil justice system. Based on the survey findings, IAALS and the ACTL Task Force released a report featuring a set of 29 Principles that may one day underpin reform of civil rules in both state and federal systems. In the fall of 2009, Pilot Project Rules will be released to provide guidance for jurisdictions interested in implementation of reform guidelines.
IAALS is currently conducting original research to drill down on the cost of litigation by collecting data from businesses across the United States. We are also surveying judges and lawyers in Arizona and Oregon to understand how state Rules contribute to cost and delay. We will consistently update our TCRI website to provide the most complete source of information on the Rules and their reform in the U.S.