Last month I attended the National Association for Court Management (NACM)[i] annual conference in Omaha, where we celebrated NACM’s 40th anniversary. As a Charter Member of NACM, it was wonderful to see how much NACM has grown and achieved over the decades. At the conference there was great professional networking, a fine vendor exhibition, and of course an outstanding educational program around the theme of “Promoting Public Trust and Confidence Through Service & Collaboration.” In this blog post I summarize what I learned and found to be of particular interest in the education sessions and the vendor exhibition. NOTE: many sessions were live-streamed & recorded and will be available for viewing soon, but not later than the end of August, on the NACM website: Conference Videos – National Association for Court Management
Education Program
Leading off the conference was a special session presented by Ileen Gerstenberger in partnership with the National Association of State Judicial Educators (NASJE), “Unlocking Human Capacity and Potential: Leading in a New Era of Work.” The courts are faced with a host of challenges, all in the context of the world having entered the “intelligence age” with the dominance of technology coloring almost every aspect of life and work. We learned about the human capacity for change and how we can coach others to tap into multiple levels of intelligences found in one’s brain (cephalic), heart (cardiac), and gut (enteric) to stay ahead of the curve, manage stress, and become better leaders of ourselves and others.
The opening plenary session, “Desperately Seeking Service,” was presented by Greg Gray. This energizing session used a lot of humor to share real-world examples of positive and negative service experiences. For instance, the overwhelming reason that loyal customers abandon using a service is an attitude of indifference. That made attendees think about how such indifference translates into the court setting, where the use of complex procedures, poor accessibility, legalese instead of plain language, and a lack of empathy by front line staff certainly come across as being uncaring and indifferent. Mr. Gray urged us to work to go so far as to “thrill” our customers with actions by the court and its staff along the lines of those he learned from a New York City cab driver: pay attention, do ordinary things well, know the big picture, offer choices up front, take ownership of your actions, under promise and over deliver, and show humility. This session was recorded.
NACM CORE® “Back to Basics: Purposes and Responsibilities of Courts” was a breakout session presented by Rhonda Gardner and Caroline Kirkpatrick.[ii] In these fraught times it is good to remind ourselves of the historical and societal context for the development of today’s courts. Think about it – what if we didn’t have courts at all? The Rule of Law and Due Process[iii] are fundamental to answering this question, and the presenters reviewed these concepts along with several definitions of the “purposes of courts.” It is important to ensure all court staff not only understand these foundations of court administration but also put them into regular practice in their work. This session was recorded.
NACM CORE® “Public Relations in the Judiciary – Building Trust, Ensuring Justice” was a breakout session presented by Amy Chack.[iv] This session explored the critical role communication plays in building public trust, safeguarding court integrity, and promoting transparency, all while preserving judicial impartiality. In doing so, courts need to balance openness with confidentiality in a strong ethical context. Every interaction with the public and court users, whether in person, online, or through the media, is an opportunity to demonstrate the values of fairness, respect, and accountability. The session ended with a set of best practices: create a communications plan, designate a trained public information officer, use plain language, engage proactively, not just reactively, train staff in communication basics, and evaluate & adjust regularly. This session was recorded.
“Using AI to Increase Access to Justice” was a breakout session presented by Mike Baliel and Mike Navin. A central message of this session was artificial intelligence is a tool, and courts considering using AI should start with defining a problem and then seeking an appropriate solution (such as AI), not begin with finding a use for AI. Nevertheless, the session gave examples of how AI is already being used to make courts more user-friendly: court help avatars linked to FAQ’s, jury service, and payment systems; multiple languages support; transcript production support; court noticing; review of document sufficiency; and basic docketing & case management. Considerations courts need to make include having an AI Policy & Advisory Committee, keeping “humans in the loop,” acquiring and managing appropriate resources, and adhering to ethical standards. Courts should start using AI with low risk, repetitive tasks/functions that solve problems for court customers. The session ended with outlining good resources: the TRI/NCSC Policy Consortium[v]; the “Courting AI, Understanding Artificial Intelligence in the Courts” NACM Guide[vi]; the NCSC AI Sandbox,[vii] and the NCSC AI webinar series.[viii]
Day two of the conference began with another plenary session: “Strengthen Court Trust – Empowering People Through Technology,” presented by Ryan Barr. This session explored how courts can combine three technology solutions – SaaS, Analytics, and AI-based systems – in an integrated way to deliver improved justice. This is done by leveraging the cloud to increase security and lower costs, using data to provide useful and understandable information for improved decision-making and processes, and the creation of AI digital agents and robots to increase productivity. Combined, these three solutions enhance service delivery and thus strengthen trust in the courts. This session was recorded.
NACM CORE® “Re-Examining Friesen’s Purposes 40 Years Later” was a breakout session presented by William Raftery. This session first reviewed Ernie Friesen’s list of the 8 Purposes of Courts that he proposed in the 1980’s[ix]:
- To promote justice in individual cases.
- To ensure the public perceptions of justice in individual cases.
- To provide an impartial forum for the resolution of legal disputes.
- To protect individuals against the arbitrary use of governmental power.
- To provide for a formal record of legal status.
- To deter criminal behavior.
- To rehabilitate individuals convicted of crime.
- To provide for the separation of convicted individuals from society where necessary.
Since that time several additional purposes have been proposed (e.g., related to therapeutic courts and their work). This very interactive session examined whether Friesen’s original purposes remain valid, require adjustment, or a rewrite. This session was recorded.
“The Science of Trust and Legitimacy” was a conference “Super Session,” presented by Caroline Nobo. This presentation discussed existing social science evidence on how to increase public trust, suggested approaches that build public trust and confidence, and reviewed the basics of procedural justice. The session focused on the importance of the legitimacy of courts for the public to have confidence in, support, and participate in the justice process. First, courts must deliver substantive justice, and secondarily, the public must feel that they received appropriate, fair handling of their cases. It is procedural justice that drives generalization from personal experience to system legitimacy. The session cited current research findings, reviewed the 4 pillars of procedural justice, and provided extensive guidance on how courts can improve in this regard. This session was recorded (and had a terrific slide deck).
“Gaining Public Confidence by Retaining Star Employees” was a breakout session presented by Dana Bartocci, Allyson Christman, Dan Ostdiek, and Stephanie Smith. This session started by discussing the cost of employee turnover (e.g., replacement cost, lost knowledge, and decreased morale), and cited the aphorism “people don’t leave jobs, they leave poor managers.” Next, the session addressed key reasons why people stay in their jobs: growth, fair treatment, being valued, work-life balance, a positive culture, having a good manager, having a sense of positive purpose, and good compensation. In addition, a good succession planning program that includes mentoring, good training, and a workplace that includes enjoyable experiences (fun!) all lead to a higher level of employee retention.
“Fireside Chat: Cyber Security” was a less formal, interactive session led by Jim Cabral, Shay Cleary, and Casey Kennedy. The session began with a discussion of the rising impact of cyberattacks on courts, using real examples. Particularly interesting was a description of how artificial intelligence is being used in cyber defense systems, such as the detection of abnormal computer activity that may be caused by malware or other intrusive activities. On the other hand, bad actors are using AI to create sophisticated phishing and deep-fake attacks which are very hard to detect and prevent. The session then covered actions that courts can do to improve their cybersecurity: automate defenses, deploy routine fake phishing messages (designed with AI!), execute risk and vulnerability assessments, conduct tabletop exercises, educate judges and staff, have a comprehensive plan, and share information with justice partners. The presenters also gave tips on how to deal with resistant judges (!). Next, the session covered the first things a court should do when they experience a cyberattack incident: be prepared already (see above); block activity and shut systems down; collect information and share with vendors, justice partners, and the FBI; be transparent with the public and media about what is going on; and invoke your cyberinsurance (if you bought a policy). The NCSC has a good cybersecurity web page that provides excellent resources and guidance.[x]
The education program at the conference closed with a plenary session, “The Compassion Advantage,” presented by Andrea Hollingsworth. In today’s workplace people are often burned out, disengaged, have low morale, and exhibit other negative traits. Our chaotic world of politics, changing economy, and international conflicts are prime causes of both hypo and hyper-arousal behaviors. A big problem is that highly stressed, wounded people in the workplace wound others – we need to work towards having transformative people who transform others instead. Compassionate, emotionally intelligent leaders who practice active empathy create increased staff trust, commitment, and morale through these four keys: self-compassion, compassionate awareness, compassionate listening, and compassionate action. The session went into helpful detail about how to accomplish all four areas, along with how to say hard things with heart. This session was recorded.
Vendor Exhibition
The exhibition hall had a wide variety of vendors with many interesting products. Some familiar vendors were there, but there were also some new ones (at least to me) that caught my eye. The main, overriding thing I noticed was the rapid adoption of artificial intelligence in many products. These included case management systems, jury systems, interpreter services, self-help tools like phone apps and chatbot-enabled kiosks, court recording and transcription systems, and teleconferencing. Comparing the sophisticated capabilities of the systems I saw to what was available when NACM was founded in 1985 is absolutely mind-boggling.
Conclusion
This NACM conference was one of the best I have ever attended (and I have gone to a lot of them). I encourage readers who either did not attend the conference or who were there and missed some of the recorded sessions to view the recordings that NACM, via a grant from the State Justice Institute, make freely available (and, for prior conferences, too).[xi] When I get a chance I intend to view these sessions (it will be like going to another conference!):
- Trust: The Foundation for Workplace Inclusivity
- NACM CORE® – Ethics: Agile and Ethical Court Leadership
- Roscoe Pound Revisited
- Inside Out: Workforce Excellence & Public Confidence
- NACM CORE® – Accountability & Court Performance
- Preserving the Future of Juries and Jury Trials
Finally, if you are not a NACM member already, consider joining this great organization dedicated to improving court administration.
[i] National Association for Court Management – Strengthening Court Professionals
[ii] Purposes and Responsibilities – National Association for Court Management
[iii] See prior Vantage Point blog posts on these concepts: Demystifying and Measuring the Rule of Law – Court Leader and What is meant by “Due Process?” – Court Leader
[iv] Public Relations – National Association for Court Management
[v] TRI/NCSC AI Policy Consortium | National Center for State Courts
[vi] NACM Store – National Association for Court Management
[vii] Artificial intelligence | National Center for State Courts
[viii] Webinars | National Center for State Courts
[x] Court cybersecurity | National Center for State Courts
[xi] Conference Videos – National Association for Court Management
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