Initial court responses to the Covid-19 pandemic have focused on implementing social distancing actions. These include implementing remote tele-hearings, canceling jury trials, and deferring many court activities. What's next? The massive national economic upheaval will upend caseloads and create very real budget pressures. What is needed now is "adaptive leadership" to face the future.
Valuable Skills for Consultants and Court Leaders
This article recaps critical skills and traits valuable for both consultants and court leaders
New Editions of IACA and NACM Journals Have Great Articles!
The latest editions of the IACA & NACM journals have great, thought-provoking articles. Here are the titles of several that caught my eye (and links to read).
Workplace Civility — How is Your Court Doing?
September 30, 2019 news headline: “Kansas federal judge reprimanded for sexual misconduct.”[1] The Judicial Council of the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals issued the public reprimand (the most severe sanction it could impose) after an extensive investigation of employee complaints. Closer to home, a local court administrator was terminated recently after many years of inappropriate … Continue reading Workplace Civility — How is Your Court Doing?
Fulfilling the Public’s Trust: Accountability
Like all governmental institutions, courts are accountable to the public they serve for their performance. What is accountability? It is being responsible for the fulfillment of obligations and being called to account for actions in the discharge of duties. The work courts do to fulfill the public's high expectations in the delivery of justice is the key to public trust and confidence in the courts.
From Trust to Courage: reflections on the NACM 2019 Annual Conference
Last week I attended the annual conference of the National Association for Court Management (NACM) in Las Vegas. Once again it was a great experience, filled with wonderful education sessions as well as meeting and networking with colleagues, and a bit of fun on the side. Here are a few things I learned during the … Continue reading From Trust to Courage: reflections on the NACM 2019 Annual Conference
Workplace Civility and Leadership
Workplace Civility and Leadership -- treating each other with respect and a positive approach goes a long way to creating the kind of workplace we all should strive for.
Fulfilling the Public’s Trust: Public Service and Accessibility
As public servants we have an obligation to fulfill the trust placed in us by the public. This the first of ten intermittent posts sharing key professional values; the first value is "Public Service and Accessibility."
Risky Business, part two: Internal Control – how do you do it?
The five key elements of Internal Control have many key principles to follow in order to have an effective program. It helps to think of internal control as strategic planning with a focus on risk assessment, avoidance, and remediation.
Risky Business, part one: Who needs “internal control?” Everyone does!
Every court needs to have a comprehensive approach to the critical area of internal control of operations. Horror stories about internal control failures demonstrate the need. In part 1 of 4, this post covers the five key components of internal control.
Court Leader 