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20 years ago, our founders started with a clear and driving question: how do we make our justice system work better for the people it’s meant to serve? That is a question that continues to drive our work every day, and it was a common theme of our gathering this past month for IAALS’ Forum on Innovation and Impact and IAALS’ Rebuilding Justice Award Dinner, which you can read more about here. We gathered to reflect on what has been built and focus on what comes next. There were people there who have been part of IAALS’ journey from the beginning, and people who were just encountering it for the first time. Long-time partners and new collaborators. That mix matters. Meaningful reform doesn’t come from a single perspective. It comes from bringing the right people together, listening carefully, and building something better.
In the midst of celebration, we continued to drive this work forward in April. We hired Amanda Fudala, our Senior Director of Operations, to help drive our strategic initiatives and accelerate our impact nationwide. Praise Adejimi, IAALS’ Law School Intern, completed her time with us and left us with a fantastic article about self-represented litigants. It has truly been an April to remember.
All these events have left me feeling incredibly grateful for the people who power this work, the people who inspire us to keep pushing forward, and the people we do this for. The outpouring of love for IAALS during our 20th anniversary has been extraordinary. Thank you all for your support, for joining us in celebration over these past few weeks, and for building something better, together.
BRITTANY K.T. KAUFFMAN, CEO
May 2026 |
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Be sure to read all of the news and updates from IAALS on our website.
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Listen to IAALS Founding Executive Director Rebecca Love Kourlis talk to the Boettcher Foundation about how she approaches leadership through listening, collaboration, and commitment to use the law as a tool to strengthen and improve communities. |  |
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This series is open to all judges seeking to become catalysts for positive change in the legal system. Click here for more details on the entire series, each individual webinar, and to register for any/all today!
NEXT UP IN THE SERIES:
Collaborative Leadership: Building Coalitions for Innovation
May 13, 2026
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UPCOMING EVENTS, EXTERNAL SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS, AND ATTENDANCE:
- May 13: Collaborative Leadership: Building Coalitions for Innovation: A Webinar Series on Judicial Innovation and Leadership (IAALS and BJI)
- May 13-16: Equal Justice Conference (Charlotte—Kauffman, Byram)
- May 20: Legal Entrepreneurs for Justice (Denver—Bednarz)
- May 28-30: Association of Family and Conciliation Courts Conference (Seattle—Houlberg)
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Noteworthy:
- April 29: “Comment of the Tennessee Access to Justice Commission to Potential Regulatory Reforms to Increase Access to Quality Legal Representation” from the Tennessee Access to Justice Commission
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