What does the future of our courts look like? Phil Knox and Pete Kiefer are proud to present this year’s Court Futures Top Trends to Watch, a forward-looking report shaped by insights from more than 200 court professionals across the country.

For over a decade, Court Futures has been surveying stakeholders to answer one critical question: What is the most probable future for our courts?

This year’s analysis by age cohort explores how Traditionals, by Boomers, Gen X, Millennials, and Gen Z each view the challenges and opportunities ahead.

The 2025 results highlight powerful trends shaping the next decade of justice including:

  • A justice system increasingly dependent on specialized staff, conflict management skills, and AI
  • Growth in knowledge workers and supervisors with advanced problem-solving abilities
  • Artificial intelligence assisting litigants while creating new job categories in the courts
  • Persistent and escalating cybersecurity threats
  • Legislatures and interest groups exerting even more influence on judicial decisions

These findings point to a future where courts must strike a delicate balance, embracing innovation and workforce shifts while safeguarding impartiality and public trust.

If you want to understand where the judiciary is headed, and how your generation views these changes, you won’t want to miss this year’s Top Trends to Watch.

If you enjoyed this piece on the Future of Courts 2025, be sure to subscribe to this posting. By subscribing, you raise awareness of court administration and the future of courts on social media.

Click here to read the 2025 CourtFutures Top Trends to Watch by Age Cohort

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Published by Peter C. Kiefer

Peter C. Kiefer is a career court veteran with over 40 years experience working with trial courts in Oregon, Arizona, and California. He has been an administrator in general jurisdiction and limited jurisdiction trial courts; he has also worked for state court administrative offices in both Oregon and California. He has consulted with the judicial systems in Liberia, Moldova, and Beirut, Lebanon, as well as being a member of a NACM delegation that visited the People’s Republic of China. Peter graduated from Santa Clara University with his bachelor’s degree in Political Science, and received his Masters of Public Administration with a specialty in Court Administration from the University of Southern California. In 2016 he became a Fellow of the Institute for Court Management. In 2015 Peter was given the NACM Award of Merit.

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