Court Leader's Advantage

September 26, 2024, Question of Ethics Conversation Problem Analysis is an often-overlooked component of decision-making. There are several highly effective business problem analysis models, each tailored for different types of challenges. Some of the most popular models: • Root Cause Analysis which includes techniques such as “The Five Whys” and the “Ishikawa Fishbone Diagram” • SWOT Analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) • Gap Analysis which includes identifying gaps between where an organization is and where it needs to be, then focusing on areas of improvement. There are several ethical concerns when conducting good problem identification and analysis. • What if you cannot obtain the political buy-in needed to properly analyze the problem? • How do you properly identify and analyze a business problem with a strong political undercurrent? • How do you proceed if a solution is already laid out for you? • When we become operationally aligned with a decision-maker do we run the risk of “pre

October 15, 2024, Court Leader’s Advantage Podcast Episode Forbes Magazine recently published an article titled “10 Biggest Business Trends Everyone Must Be Ready For Now.”   The list? 1. Generative Artificial Intelligence Will Be Everywhere. 2. Demand for Interpersonal Skills 3. The Move to Sustainable Business 4. Business Resilience 5. Personalization of the Customer Experience at Scale 6. A Customer Experience Revolution 7. The Data Economy 8. The Search for Skills Solutions 9. Employees Demand Remote Work opportunities 10. The Shift to Diversity and Inclusivity  Many court administrators appear to see artificial intelligence as an IT issue. However, it is definitely a consumer-based concept now. A short time ago, the venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz announced its top 100 consumer AI apps.  The most popular one by far? ChatGPT, trailed by other tools including Microsoft CoPilot, Google’s Gemini and Bing, Character AI, Perplexity, Claude, and even Grammarly. These tools can create compelling text in

June 27, 2024, A Question of Ethics Conversation Robert Granzow, Director of the Office of Judicial District Security at the Pennsylvania Supreme Court’s Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts, talks about safety, security, and dealing with disabilities in the court environment. Equal access to justice can only be realized in an environment of safety and security.  We must ensure the safety of those with and those without disabilities. Disabilities can include, physical, traumatic, psychological, mental illness, congenital birth defects, personality disorders, addictive disabilities, as well as cultural and language differences. We live in a rapidly changing threat landscape. Courts all stakeholders at the table and need to conduct a comprehensive security assessment, preferably using a gap analysis. Courts must have political buy-in from the highest level. We need to make data-driven decisions. Solutions include training in de-escalation and non-escalation; recognizing the signs of people in crisis; u

September 17th, 2024 Court Leader’s Advantage Podcast Episode The world-renowned technology advisory firm, The Gartner Group, has come out with its Nine Future Work Trends for 2024. These are trends that Gartner has said will reshape the future of work. They are driven by the need to attract and retain top talent, reduce operational costs, and enhance productivity.  The trends are: · Skills Will Become More Important than Degrees and Certificates in Recruitment and Selection · Career Stereotypes Will Collapse in the Face of a Changing Workforce · Employee Conflict Resolution will be the Next “Must Have” Management Skill · The “Cost of Work” Crisis Will Reach a Breaking Point as employees calculate the cost of traveling every day to and from a brick & mortar courthouse · The Four-Day Workweek Becomes Routine · We will stop talking about DEI.  It just becomes the Way We Work  · Generative Artificial Intelligence Experiments Will Likely Yield Hard Lessons & Painful Costs.  These experiments will emphasi

August 20th 2024 Court Leader’s Advantage Podcast Episode The 2024 NACM annual conference brought together court professionals from across the country to share best practices, address common challenges, and discover innovative solutions.  Titled Leadership Opportunities & Challenges for Our Nation’s Courts: Leading Leaders into the New Tomorrow, it convened a dynamic mix of professionals, including many emerging voices in the field, who are passionate about the future of our judicial system.  From discussions on the latest technological advancements like AI to strategies for enhancing access to justice, the conference provided a rich platform for learning and collaboration. This month we are asking young court professionals the question, “What was your biggest takeaway from this year’s NACM Conference?”  You will hear directly from young attendees about valuable insights, practical tools, and inspiring connections.  Whether you are a seasoned administrator or just starting on your career, this episode wil

July 16th, 2024, Court Leader’s Advantage Podcast Episode In previous podcasts, we have discussed the unprecedented hiring crunch facing our country.  Intensified by the COVID-19 pandemic, it has been characterized by a significant mismatch between the supply of, and demand for young talent.  Despite robust economic recovery efforts, employers in general and courts in particular are struggling to fill empty desks.  All the while, jobseekers are running up against barriers that make traditional careers less attractive.  Throughout this challenge, a question badgers many employers:  What do young job applicants want? Panelists on previous episodes have suggested a lack of flexible scheduling, hybrid work options, and career advancement opportunities as reasons job seekers go elsewhere. Are these the factors now driving job candidates or does it just come down to money?   This month we will take a deeper dive into how courts are scrambling to recruit and retain skilled employees.  Questions we will explore incl

June 18th Court Leader’s Advantage Podcast Episode Civil filings are falling.  They have been for some time.  In fact, most court filings have been on a slow decline.  In 2018, The National Center for State Courts put out a bulletin stating that nationally every major case category had declined from 2008 to 2016. There are indications that in some states (California for example), the decline in civil filings started as far back as 1980.  This gradual decline seems little affected by economics, court organization, the presence or absence of court self-help centers, the state of the local bar, the type of case management system the court uses, or the amount of filing fees charged.  With the possible exception of Texas, this decline appears widespread.  This inevitably leads to the critical yet unanswered question “Why is this happening?” This month we’re talking about a new book just out by Alan Carlson and John Greacen called What is Happening to State Trial Court Civil Filings?  We will explore questions

March 28, 2024, A Question of Ethics Conversation Join Kevin Bowling as we discuss the ethical issues surrounding the burgeoning topic of courts’ use of artificial intelligence (AI).  Kevin discusses a definition of AI and specifically generative AI, existing practical uses in the courts, some misuses of IA, the need for policy and data governance, ethics issues, and the need for transparency to promote public trust and confidence.  Kevin also publicly acknowledges the work of Roger Rand and Casey Kennedy, the entire Joint Technology Committee, as well as gives a sneak peek of the, soon-to-be-released, NACM AI Guide.   Moderator  Kevin Bowling, Retired Circuit Court Administrator, Ottowa County, Michigan   Joining in the Conversation     Courtney Whiteside Director, Municipal Court, St. Louis, Missouri Creadell Webb: Chief Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Officer; First Judicial District, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Erika Schmid, Supervisor, Multnomah County Circuit Court, Portland, Oregon Stacy Worby: State

May 21st Court Leader’s Advantage Podcast Episode Although they are not universally accepted, court self-service centers can help prepare self-represented litigants to navigate the exotic terrain of the courtroom.  They can also expedite court proceedings and weed out inappropriate arguments.  Less obvious but equally as important, the information these centers provide helps boost the public’s trust and confidence in the courts. We well know that the public’s perception of courts has been woefully lagging over these last several years.         A basic tenet of self-service centers, in fact, a tenet of all public-facing court staff is “we cannot give legal advice.”  Yet this prohibition is more nuanced than it first appears.   There are a host of questions that seem more procedural than legal.  Questions many self-represented litigants may not even know enough to ask about.  How much should courts tell litigants? How much information should courts volunteer even if the litigants don’t know to ask?  This month

January 25, 2024, A Question of Ethics Conversation Episode Welcome to the latest episode of A Question of Ethics Conversation.  The topic for this discussion is Organization Fairness.  The October 26th, 2023, Question of Ethics Conversation hosted by Samantha Wallis, brought up many interesting questions.  One set of questions revolved around the concept of fairness. We are all dedicated to fairness and take it seriously, Canon1.3 of NACM’s Model Code for Court Professionals speaks to fairness.  It reads that the court professional makes the court accessible and conducts his or her business without bias or prejudice. The Model Code actually mentions Fairness nine different times. Fairness, however, is subjective. Everyone has their own idea of what is fair.  What I consider fair may not be the same as how you see things. What are the perceptions of fairness in an organization, particularly a court organization? Employees often express perceptions of fairness, with which we, as managers, might disagree. Alth

April 16th Court Leader’s Advantage Podcast Episode It may have started with the advent of no-fault divorce in the 1970s.  But the numbers of litigants representing themselves in court has regularly increased year after year.  This fact has presented a challenge for the community and for courts.  People pursuing legal matters in court and who have limited legal experience are at a decided disadvantage.  They are at greater risk of ending up with an unfortunate (or maybe even a disastrous) outcome.  Likewise, unschooled self-represented litigants in a courtroom can be time-consuming and lead to uncomfortable situations for litigants, judges, and court staff.   As a result, many courts around the country have created centers to assist self-represented litigants in pursuing their cases and appearing in court.  The presence of court self-service centers is a mixed bag.  Not all courts have them and the centers themselves can range from the very modest to the very extensive.  This month we’re going to look at self

March 19th Court Leader’s Advantage Podcast Episode In April of 2022, we hosted a podcast episode on “The Great Resignation.”  At the time large numbers of employees were resigning, or (after being furloughed for some period) were deciding not to return to work.  The assumption back then was that this was a temporary phenomenon. Once COVID receded, people would return to work, and things would get back to normal.  It is now a year and a half later.  COVID is receding, (or at least we think it is). Yet many courts still struggle with staffing shortages.  And this is not just limited to courts.  The World Bank has predicted that over the next decade, the number of people of working age in the U.S. (between 15 and 65) will decline by over 3 percent. This is a prospect that courts will find increasingly challenging.  This month we’re going to look at ongoing staff shortages and the battle courts are having to recruit new talent.  Not every court is short-handed; not all positions suffer from chronic vacancies.  O

February 20, 2024, Court Leader’s Advantage Podcast Episode The advent of artificial intelligence (AI) has spawned numerous questions, both practical and ethical.  These are questions that courts are going to have to grapple with in the near future, including:   Given the complexity of AI algorithms and the tens of thousands of data points used for training, can we reasonably expect that a human reviewing AI results would actually uncover bias or uncover anything significant?    Our court system is designed to move in a slow and deliberate fashion to render decisions; AI is evolving at breakneck speed. Can we afford to wait years for courts to answer questions about AI if it is changing by the month?        AI uses data as training to make better decisions in the future.  Since it does not publicly reveal sensitive or confidential information about individuals, are privacy concerns about AI irrelevant?   Automated chatbots can save time, save money, and provide a sympathetic ear for litigants who want to tal

January 16th Court Leader’s Advantage Podcast Episode Artificial Intelligence.  The media is filled with discussions of its potential to dramatically change our lives.  It will increase productivity; it will relieve us from having to make mundane decisions; it will reveal heretofore unseen connections. Conversely, it may eliminate jobs, take away our ability to make complex decisions, fill the airwaves with misinformation, and even threaten our way of life.  In addition, many think that artificial intelligence (AI) is just too obscure.  It is, frankly, not that important to normal people and everyday life.  Some of the questions we will explore include: Are there real day-to-day applications of AI affecting courts now?   Is AI applicable just for large metropolitan courts or is it also a tool for suburban and rural courts? Are there aspects of AI that courts need to safeguard against mow? Here to discuss these questions are:  Kevin Bowling: retired court administrator for the Circuit Court in Ottawa Coun

December 19th, 2023, Court Leader’s Advantage Podcast Episode The struggle to equitably and effectively allocate court resources is a challenge that faces every state.  Everywhere the question is the same: how do you allocate funds fairly to courts of different sizes and may even perform different operations such as having a Treatment Court? How do you not disadvantage suburban and rural courts when taking into account the size of each court, its caseload, the demand for service, the degree of innovation, the staffing needs of justice partners like the prosecutor, the public defender, probation, and law enforcement, allocation history, and special circumstances?  Additionally, many court budget staffing discussions are not held on a statewide level, they are local discussions where a court might find itself competing with the police, sanitation, or parks and recreation.  What do these courts use to convince funding bodies to provide new resources?  Add to the mix the specter that some funding bodies (often c

October 26, 2023, A Question of Ethics Conversation Episode   Today’s Question of Ethics Conversation looks at several ethical challenges regarding employee performance. It discusses four questions many supervisors face in their oversight role. Can you, as a supervisor, remain friends with colleagues once you have become their boss?  This is an especially critical question when it comes time to promote someone, and you promote your ‘friend’. -Are performance reviews good or bad? Are they useful tools for supervisors and managers? -Is it ethical to use a personal relationship to get promoted in the workplace?      Is it ethical to treat each worker differently instead of having the same rules for everyone? (i.e., working from home)?   This Question of Ethics Conversation looks at how technology plays a role in workplace culture for court users, for one’s co-workers, and on a court’s institutional knowledge.   Today’s Moderator Samantha Wallis: Deputy Trial Court Administrator, Supreme Court, Coeur d’Alene,

November 21st, 2023, Court Leader’s Advantage Podcast Episode Suburban and rural courts often face distinctive issues.  These issues are different from those of truly small courts, but also different from the issues faced by massive metropolitan court organizations. It is tempting to always talk about big problems in big courts. It is easy to forget that two-thirds of the courts in our country are benches made up of fewer than 10 judges.   Today’s episode is going to revisit a relatively recent phenomenon: remote hearings. But it is going to look at it from the perspective of courts that are sometimes overlooked: suburban and rural courts.   As recently as 2019, remote hearings were an oddity.  Few courts offered them; few parties asked for them. Then came COVID and remote hearings became a regular part of many court calendars.  The long-term future of remote hearings is still a question mark. Most litigants, attorneys, and the general public seem to enjoy the convenience of appearing remotely. Judges seem l

August 24, 2023, A Question of Ethics Conversation Episode Today’s Question of Ethics Conversation looks at workplace culture and technology. It focuses on the ethical challenges to workplace culture and technology as it pertains to Canon 1.1 of the NACM Model Code of Conduct which states that a court professional faithfully carries out all appropriately assigned duties, striving at all times to perform the work:           Diligently - characterized by steady, earnest, and energetic effort.         Efficiently - capable of producing desired results with little or no waste (as of time or materials)          Equitably - dealing fairly and equally with all concerned          Thoroughly -  in a complete or thorough manner          Courteously - marked by respect for and consideration of others          Honestly – without cheating, genuine, without frills          Openly -exposed to general view or knowledge          Within the Scope of the court professional’s authority.   According to the Society for Human Resou

October 17th Court Leader’s Advantage Podcast Episode In the middle of last month’s episode, the question was asked, should recidivism be a trial court performance measure? All the panelists responded negatively, but the reasons they gave are worth hearing. We have all heard the criticism that the criminal justice has turned into a “revolving door.”  Defendants are arrested and tried, most are convicted and sentenced.  Some are incarcerated, others are placed on probation. The recidivism rate for incarcerated defendants is nearly 50%; almost one out of every two incarcerated defendants is rearrested.  The recidivism rate for defendants on probation is not much better.  43% of probationers are rearrested within 3 years.   Traditionally, there are four main purposes of criminal justice sentencing. 1) Incapacitation, 2) punishment, 3) deterrence, and 4) rehabilitation.  Rehabilitation as a goal is not easily measured and yet it seems as if it is one of the standards by which the public gauges the success of the

September 19th, 2023, Court Leader’s Advantage Podcast Episode As court leaders, we are inundated with statistics and research.  We have all been taught to have a healthy skepticism of statistics.  We are given advice that includes: ask questions, go to the source of the research, and expose the assumptions behind the analysis.  We have seen what happens when research is not properly evaluated.  As a consequence, we are compelled to ensure that statistical analysis is objective and unbiased, valid and reliable, able to be replicated, and relevant to the work of your court.   Having a healthy skepticism is all the more important in this day and age of polarizing misinformation.  Most of us have heard that old joke “73.6% of all statistics are made up on the spot.” We don’t want to be the one who is naïvely hooked by questionable statistical research.  This advice is all so easy to give, but just how do we hone our critical thinking skills?   Imagine this common scenario, you are in a session with 500 attendee