When I started this blog I shared one of the best pieces of leadership advice I ever received: “The most important asset in any organization are people.”[i] Unfortunately, many leaders fail to follow through and properly manage staff across the entire employment cycle. Last month I read a particularly incisive Substack post about a key … Continue reading Staff Retention – Don’t Make it an Afterthought!
Justice by Design: Can We Achieve Open, Standardized Court Data?
August 18th, 2026, Court Leader’s Advantage Podcast Episode 107 This Episode was originally released on July 15, 2025 Brought to You in Cooperation with the National Association for Court Management From the Archives: We’re revisiting this important conversation about the National Open Court Data Standards (NODS) project. Although this episode was originally released in July … Continue reading Justice by Design: Can We Achieve Open, Standardized Court Data?
Credibility, the Currency of Leadership
The history of judicial administration is full of attempts to define, explain, and teach about “leadership.” For instance, here at Court Leader we have published dozens of articles, guides, and podcasts on leadership, while the National Association for Court Management identifies leadership as a core competency and has many relevant articles in The Court Manager … Continue reading Credibility, the Currency of Leadership
When the Court Scale Tips: AI, Innovation, and Trust
July 21st, 2026, Court Leader’s Advantage Podcast, Episode 106 Brought to You in Cooperation with the National Association for Court Management AI promises greater efficiency, lower costs, and better public service, but it also raises concerns about privacy, bias, job displacement, and accountability. This panel explores where courts should draw the line. Artificial intelligence is currently … Continue reading When the Court Scale Tips: AI, Innovation, and Trust
Justice by Algorithm? AI, Job Anxiety, and the Future of Courts
June 16th, 2026, Court Leader’s Advantage Podcast Episode Brought to You in Cooperation with the National Association for Court Management When former Google CEO Eric Schmidt, real estate executive Gloria Caulfield, and music executive Scott Borchetta praised artificial intelligence during recent commencement addresses, graduates responded not with applause but with boos. For a growing number of … Continue reading Justice by Algorithm? AI, Job Anxiety, and the Future of Courts
Creating the Future
I have always been a “big picture” person, focusing more on the macro rather than the micro aspects of life. Early in my career I heard a speaker talk about the need for strategic thinking and it really resonated with me. The biggest takeaway I got from this session was the need to think big … Continue reading Creating the Future
The Eight Tasks of Leadership
When we think about leadership, what comes to mind? Usually, we focus on what are the best attributes and skills of an effective leader. These include such things as emotional intelligence, resiliency, modeling behaviors, accountability, competency, leadership styles, etc. Leaders need to be capable of using all these skills well.[i] Sometimes, though, we lose sight … Continue reading The Eight Tasks of Leadership
Performance Previews, NOT Reviews
Employee performance management is a fundamental component of leadership and directly supports the judiciary’s mission to uphold the rule of law. After all, employees are the backbone of the court. To that end, in my career as a court administrator I made improving employee performance a high priority. In that time, I learned a lot … Continue reading Performance Previews, NOT Reviews
AVA and the Courts: What Can We Learn from Alaska’s Bold Experiment with Artificial Intelligence?
February 17th, 2026, Court Leader’s Advantage Podcast Episode Brought to You in Cooperation with the National Association for Court Management Alaska has quietly become a brave path-finder in court-based artificial intelligence. Last month, the state released the Alaska Virtual Assistant (AVA), an AI chatbot designed to help court users navigate the probate court system. The path … Continue reading AVA and the Courts: What Can We Learn from Alaska’s Bold Experiment with Artificial Intelligence?
Workplace Mediation: Can It Change the Way We Handle Conflict? What Courts Need to Know
January 20th, 2026, Court Leader’s Advantage Podcast Episode Brought to You in Cooperation with the National Association for Court Management Workplace mediation is rapidly becoming an accepted management tool across the U.S. Organizations facing rising conflict, legal exposure, and employee burnout are increasingly turning to mediation to resolve disputes and restore working relationships. In fiscal year … Continue reading Workplace Mediation: Can It Change the Way We Handle Conflict? What Courts Need to Know
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