Join NAPCO in Bellevue, Washington August 17-20, 2025
Read more →NAPCO membership is open to presiding, chief and leadership judges, court executives and others …
Read more →Over the years, many have wondered why legal writing is so tangled and complicated. Though some judges are sophisticated stylists, most legal language is a maze of over-intricate phrases far from easy or pithy to grasp. But do lawyers write that way to impress, to bewilder—or perhaps because they must?
Soft skills matter in leading. Writing in the Harvard Business Review last year, Raffaella Sadun of Harvard Business School and her co-authors analyzed almost 5,000 job descriptions that Russell Reynolds, a headhunter, had developed for a variety of c-suite roles between 2000 and 2017. Their work showed that companies have shifted away from emphasizing financial and operational skills towards social skills—an ability to listen, reflect, communicate and empathize. Other research has reached similar conclusions about jobs lower down the pay scale: being able to work well with people is seen not as some fluffy bonus but as a vital attribute.
New data from Microsoft shows why it can be so hard to get things done at work. Workers now spend two full days a week on email and in meetings. Court leaders may spend more.
The Colorado Supreme Court has approved a new rule that allows licensed nonlawyer paraprofessionals to perform limited legal work in some divorce and child-custody matters. Paraprofessionals will be allowed to complete and file standard pleadings, represent their clients in mediation, accompany their clients to court and answer a court’s factual questions, according to a March 27 press release.
On April 20, 2023, NAPCO held a webinar titled “Mental Health Cases: Crisis and Opportunity for State and Local Courts”. The panel was led by Hon. Paula M. Carey.
Federal Judge Esther Salas, whose son was killed in a targeted attack at her New Jersey home, will be the keynote speaker at a free, online forum about judicial safety scheduled at 3:00 PM (Eastern Time) on Wednesday, April 12, 2023. It is sponsored by the William J. Hughes Center for Public Policy at Stockton University and the New Jersey Hispanic Bar Association.
It is a myth that 22-million people comprising the American Asian communities have “gained” social and economic equality. As a racial/ethnic group they are extremely diverse, representing more than 20 countries in East and Southeast Asia, Hawai’i, the Pacific Islands, and the Indian subcontinent, each with unique histories, cultures, languages and other characteristics. Their education, economic situation, and occupation levels are wide-ranging.
