The focus of the issue was inspired by the Academy’s continued commitment to access justice for families and the ability of technology to further that goal. It features three articles on improving docket management for family law cases in the places they are most likely to take place, that is state courts. One describes a system instituted in the Connecticut court system co-written by the judges who spearheaded the initiative. Another article describes the development of a portal that can be implemented on a wider scale, that screens cases in family court to guide proper service delivery. A third, written by a Kansas family court judge, expounds on the advantages and perils of the use of AI by attorneys in family court and offers a model for addressing the issue with a proposed local rule that focuses on the risks of the use of generative AI and responds with a process that includes both education and self-disclosure. The issue includes two articles on child custody matters, one focusing on educational efforts to improve the success of appropriate child custody evaluations and the other offers a critique of courts’ responses to violations of court ordered parenting plans. The final two articles continue the discussion on access to justice by describing an alternative method of handling divorce matters that can be used by family law attorneys nationwide, and the other describes a program designed to use trained community justice volunteers to assist parties involved in the legal system who are facing difficult family law situations. Two student Comments are included, and the issue concludes with an excellent annotated bibliography on the impact of technology on lawyers, courts, and access to justice.
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