IJA’s 29th Brennan Lecture with Justice Hart

The Institute of Judicial Administration (IJA) cordially invites you to attend

IJA's 29th Annual William J. Brennan, Jr. Lecture on State Courts & Social Justice
Justice Melissa Hart, Colorado Supreme Court
Our Legal Institutions Must Change. But How?

Introduction by Travis Lenkner, Burford Capital
Welcoming remarks: Dean Troy McKenzie '00 Cecelia Goetz Professor of Law
IJA Faculty Drector: Prof. Samuel Estreicher, Dwight D. Opperman Professor of Law

Tuesday, January 28, 2025
NYU School of Law, Vanderbilt Hall
Greenberg Lounge, 40 Washington Square Park South, NY, NY

Doors open 6:00pm. Lecture 6:15 - 7:30 pm

Light refreshments will be served until 8:00pm

This event is applying for NYS CLE

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Register Here!

In August 2023, the Conference of Chief Justices and Conference of State Court Administrators passed Resolution 1 In Support of Establishing the Working Committee on Legal Education and Admissions Reform (CLEAR). CLEAR was established because these organizations, representing the Chief Justices and head administrative officers of every state in the country, have observed that (1) law schools are not graduating practice-ready lawyers; (2) the bar exam is not a good way to evaluate minimum competence to practice law; and (3) the growing gap between people’s legal needs and lawyers’ ability to meet them has a direct impact on the public’s perception of justice and its confidence in the courts. The Resolution concluded with the directive that the Working Committee of Chief Justices, after meeting with critical stakeholders around the country, “shall issue a report on its work including recommendations for any changes or reform that it considers necessary to improve preparation to practice law, increase the professionalism of the bar, and expand access to justice.”

These three problems – the disconnect between much of legal education and the practical skills demanded of new lawyers, the inadequacy of our current mechanisms for testing minimum competence for admission to the bar, and the justice gap that leaves the large majority of people without access to legal assistance to meet their basic legal needs – demand reevaluation of our legal institutions. And ultimately they demand change. But legal institutions, for all kinds of reasons, are resistant to change. Justice Hart will discuss some of the conversations happening around the country about the need for change, including some of the proposals being explored and the pushback these efforts are facing.

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 Pre-registration is required. 

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