From Talk to Action: How the IAALS Summit Recommendations Can Reshape Family Justice

• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/fcre.12265
• Date: 01 January 2017
• Published date: 01 January 2017

FROM TALK TO ACTION: HOW THE IAALS SUMMIT

RECOMMENDATIONS CAN RESHAPE FAMILY JUSTICE

Natalie A. Knowlton

The recommendations contained in “The Family Law Bar: Stewards of the System, Leaders of Change” were generatedfrom

discussions among those who are steeped in the practice of family law. Their focus is much broader, however, implicating key

family justice system stakeholders beyond family law practitioners. Additionally, the recommendations are intended to benefit

family court litigants broadly—not simply those who are represented by a family law attorney. This article leverages findings

from the recent IAALS Cases Without Counsel study of self-representation in family court, illustrating areas of overlap

between this study’s findings and Family Bar Summit suggestions for family justice system reform.

Key Points for the Family Court Community:

Self-represented litigants are increasingly the bulk of the clientele in family courts around the country.

There is an opportunity for family courts and court personnel to fill the information gap that self-represented litigants

often face.

IAALS Cases Without Counsel study findings illustrate that, like represented parties, self-represented litigants have

varying experiences in the family justice system, lending credence to the notion that not all cases necessitate the same

court treatment and resources.

The Cases Without Counsel study also called attention to the challenges self-represented litigants experience as laymen

navigating a process designed for use by professionals, highlighting the potential for family court processes to be more

responsive to the unique needs of nonattorney users.

Fully realizing the role of the family law attorney as problem solver and counselor may necessitate amendments to

existing regulatory and professional ethics rules.

Attorneys, family courts, family court personnel, law schools, legal educators, and broader community partners all

have a role to play in reshaping family court processes.

Keywords: Family Court; Family Court Judges; Family Justice Reform; Family Law Attorneys; Law Schools; Legal

Education; Self-Represented Litigants; and Unbundled Legal Services.

BACKGROUND

In November 2015, the Institute for the Advancement of the American Legal System (IAALS)

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at

the University of Denver hosted the Family Bar Summit: Shaping the System for the Families We

Serve. The Summit brought together national thought leaders from the family law bar for the purpose

of discussing how the family justice system can best serve families.

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Participants were representative

of diverse professional organizations: the American Bar Association (ABA) Section of Family Law,

the Association of Family and Conciliation Courts, the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers,

the International Academy of Collaborative Professionals, and other national groups.

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Mostly attorneys

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participated in the two-day Summit, presenting an opportunity for honest dia-

logue among a key family justice system stakeholder group about how divorce and separation pro-

cesses might be realigned to meet the needs of the families it serves. The Summit was also designed

as a relatively attorney-centric event in order to specifically target and engage members of the family

law bar as active participants in the larger movement to facilitate change. Indeed, one of the key ten-

ets that emerged from the Summit recognizes: “[a]s stewards of the family justice system and leaders

of change, family law attorneys have an ongoing responsibility to foster continuous system

improvement.”

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Correspondence: Natalie.Knowlton@du.edu

FAMILY COURT REVIEW, Vol. 55 No. 1, January 2017 97–106

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C2017 University of Denver – IAALS