Webinars, Videos, and Bears Oh My!

 

Just kidding about the Bears.  There have been a lot of training and information sessions posted online lately plus some court pandemic response training and ODR news.  Check it out below.

---

 NCSC Webinars Web Page

From NCSC VP, Jesse Rutledge:  The number of webinars that we are collectively organizing, and hosting has grown exponentially in the last few months, so we have established a new page on the NCSC site that will serve as a one-stop-shop for all things webinar, regardless of subject matter. It includes links to sign-up for future webinars and a directory, by date, of recorded webinars.  The web page is: www.ncsc.org/webinars

Online webinar: A more productive court for a post-pandemic society

From NACM

The National Association of Court Management (NACM) has just announced an additional guest speaker for the forthcoming thought leadership webinar, which is being sponsored by Thomson Reuters: Judge Samuel A. Thumma, Arizona Court of Appeals.

Arizona’s Post-Pandemic Vision

During the pandemic, Judge Thumma has co-chaired Arizona’s COVID-19 Continuity of Court Operations During a Public Health Emergency Workgroup (the “Plan B Workgroup”). He will share the group’s recommendations for practices and technologies to retain or adapt post-pandemic, with a special focus on access to justice, expanding use of technology, and jury and trial management.

In addition to Judge Thumma, you will also hear from:

• Greg Lambard, Vice-Chair of Communications Committee at NACM; Trial Court Administrator at Superior Court of New Jersey, Middlesex Vicinage
• Cesia Y. Rodriguez, Court Administrator, and Interpreter at Webb County Court At Law II, Texas
• Karen Gorham, Superior Court Administrator at New Hampshire Judicial Branch
• David Jackson, Senior Director, Digital Evidence Center, Thomson Reuters

There will also be a moderated Q&A, where you can put your questions to our panel. You can find full details in the attached invitation (PDF).

Webinar details are:

• Date: Wednesday, November 10, 2021
• Time: 3:30 PM EST | 12:30 PM PST (fall time change happens Sunday, November 7, 2021 in the USA)
• Topic: A more productive court for a post-pandemic society
• Registration: https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_tsVA1djtQ5eJHXD-zZtf-g

NCSC Tiny Chat Hosts Chief Justice Bridget Mary McCormack of the Michigan Supreme Court

This week's Tiny Chat is a really great one. CJ McCormack doesn't just think that judges may participate in legal system reform efforts, she thinks they have an obligation to do so. We could not agree more, and in this Tiny Chat, we explore Chief Justice McCormack's latest article in the Yale Law Journal with her, "Staying Off the Sidelines: Judges as Agents for Justice System Reform."

Please watch this Chat here: Staying Off the Sidelines https://www.ncsc.org/newsroom/public-health-emergency/tiny-chats

 The NACM Board of Directors invite you to join them at the 2022 NACM Midyear Conference

The 2022 Midyear Conference theme is Resilience and Reinvention: Transforming the Future of Courts. This theme recognizes that the path ahead for courts will not be a straight line. There will certainly be a series of ups and downs that will require resilience. It is likely that viral resurgences and unforeseen events will continue to impact our nation’s courts. The reality is that many courts made choices over the years that traded resilience for increased efficiency. It may be time to re-explore these trade-offs. This is not to say that there are no efficiencies to be found, but more than the relationship between efficiency and resilience needs to be more clearly defined.

https://nacmnet.org/conferences/2022midyearconference/

 Other Webinars and Resources

50 Years of Caseflow Management: What have we learned? and July 2021 webinar Caseflow Management: The Next Generation will be found here under Best Practices: https://www.ncsc.org/services-and-experts/areas-of-expertise/caseflow-and-workflow-management/best-practices

High Performance Court Framework: https://www.ncsc.org/information-and-resources/resource-centers/resource-centers-items/high-performance-courts

NCSC Caseflow Management Initiatives

Elements of Effective Criminal Case Management (https://www.ncsc.org/services-and-experts/areas-of-expertise/caseflow-and-workflow-management/effective-criminal-case-management)

Civil Justice Initiative (http://www.ncsc.org/cji)

 Court Observation Hub Announced

From Ms. Nóra Al Haider of Stanford University Law School…

“Nowadays, in many jurisdictions, litigants can opt to use Zoom to access their hearing. This is one of the many effects that the pandemic had on the legal system. WebEx, Teams and Zoom are starting to feel like a regular part of courts.

Online courts increased the amount of court observation groups around the country. In essence, court observation groups are community-driven clubs that structurally observe hearings in their jurisdiction. These groups do not only draw attention to individual cases but can also, due to the sheer number of observers, detect structural problems in the system. This development is incredibly interesting. The increased interest in court observation groups will be an opportunity for academics and non-profits to work together with community partners to unearth and gather more data about structural issues in the legal system.

This increase in attention for court watchers and the ease of accessibility boosted the interest of many individuals to join an observation group. To facilitate this process, we developed the Court Observation Hub at the Legal Design Lab. This hub provides an overview of links to online proceedings and court watch groups in different jurisdictions.

The hub also gives an overview of tools on how to set up court watch groups. Hopefully, in the future, we’ll be able to expand this website with measurement instruments that are free to use by community court watchers. It could have a monumental impact on the legal system if community groups are able to systematically collect and share information. This development could trigger positive policy changes, increase transparency in the legal system and strengthen the rule of law.

For more visit the Court Observation Hub at https://virtuallegal.systems/observation/”

Mediation (ODR) as a Service Announced

We heard from Online Dispute Resolution International (https://odri.us/) that they have released their system as an online “software as a solution (SaaS)” or in this case, “mediation as a service (MaaS)” system. The purpose-built system for mediators focuses on helping parties negotiate a mutual agreement quickly.

The company is currently inviting international mediators to learn about their new system.