IAALS, the Institute for the Advancement of the American Legal System at the University of Denver, with support from the State Justice Institute, in partnership with the Berkeley Judicial Institute, convened Advancing Innovation: A National Summit on Judicial Leadership and developed a complementary national webinar series—together equipping judicial leaders with the knowledge, skills, and collaborative opportunities needed to drive meaningful change in courts.
The National Summit featured keynote addresses from judicial leaders and change experts, along with interactive opportunities for peer collaboration that enabled judges to learn from one another, discuss the challenges and opportunities they face, and better understand the knowledge, skills, and abilities critical to transformative leadership.
The Summit empowered judicial leaders to thrive in the midst of challenges, respond to crises, and drive change at the speed and scale needed to address the mounting demands on the legal system. By creating space for judges to step out of their silos and engage in collaborative problem-solving, the Summit helped spark a new wave of innovation taking root in courts across the country.
“The Judicial Leadership Summit inspired me to create instructional videos for litigants using an AI avatar of myself, which are now an approved pilot project by the Illinois Supreme Court. Without attending, I would not have known that this was even a possibility. Thank you for expanding my vision and imagination!”
— Judge Maryam Ahmad, Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois
The webinar series goes beyond theory and dives deep into strategies that empower judges to navigate change, build trust, and foster a more accessible justice system for all. This series is free and open to all judges and court leaders seeking to become catalysts for positive change in the legal system.
Videos and/or resources from past webinars and registration for future webinars:
September 1, 2022
The emergence of COVID-19 has had widespread effects throughout the court system and quarantine orders slowed operations. The Supreme Court of Ohio anticipated an influx of evictions and foreclosure filings in Ohio’s trial courts, as well as a backlog of civil cases. Chief Justice Maureen O’Connor directed the Office of Court Services to convene stakeholders …
August 1, 2022
King County, Washington, was ground zero for the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States. The Washington State Supreme Court suspended most court operations in all courts on March 18, 2020. Acknowledging access to justice is of critical importance, King County Superior Court (KCSC) leadership vowed to continue to hold matters on all …
July 1, 2022
Juvenile court judges are the most important public figures in the juvenile justice system–their decisions impact whether hundreds of thousands of youth each year become court involved and for how long, whether they are involuntarily removed from their homes and communities, and the services they receive. Despite the importance of these judges, states and locales …
June 1, 2022
Each county in Mississippi contains its own Justice Court where community members bring legal actions to settle local, small-dollar disputes. Court regulations and policies vary in each county, and they can be incredibly confusing for Mississippians to navigate, almost all of which are pro se litigants. The COVID-19 pandemic created more variation as judges and …
May 2, 2022
Participating in the judicial system can be traumatic and stressful. Mediation is a tool used for resolving many judicial matters, thus mediators often encounter disputants experiencing the worst time of their lives. With this in mind, Texas Dispute Resolution System™ (TDRS) began a process to enhance their mediators’ skills and knowledge when engaging disputants during …
April 1, 2022
The State Justice Institute awarded a key grant to the District of Columbia Courts’ Office of Court Interpreting Services to launch the Courts’ Interpreter Registry and the first-ever Amharic Court Interpreter Certification Examination. These initiatives demonstrate the Courts’ commitment to increase access for Limited English Proficient (LEP) and deaf or hard-of-hearing individuals to the judicial …