Court Leader's Advantage

June 27, 2024, A Question of Ethics Conversation Robert Granzow , Director of the Office of Judicial District Security at the Pennsylvania Supreme Court’s Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts, talks about safety, security, and dealing with disabilities in the court environment. Equal access to justice can only be realized in an environment of safety and security.  We must ensure the safety...

September 17th, 2024 Court Leader’s Advantage Podcast Episode The world-renowned technology advisory firm, The Gartner Group, has come out with its Nine Future Work Trends for 2024. These are trends that Gartner has said will reshape the future of work. They are driven by the need to attract and retain top talent, reduce operational costs, and enhance productivity.  The trends are: · Skills Will B...

August 20th 2024 Court Leader’s Advantage Podcast Episode The 2024 NACM annual conference brought together court professionals from across the country to share best practices, address common challenges, and discover innovative solutions.  Titled Leadership Opportunities & Challenges for Our Nation’s Courts: Leading Leaders into the New Tomorrow , it convened a dynamic mix of professionals, inc...

July 16th, 2024, Court Leader’s Advantage Podcast Episode In previous podcasts, we have discussed the unprecedented hiring crunch facing our country.  Intensified by the COVID-19 pandemic, it has been characterized by a significant mismatch between the supply of, and demand for young talent.  Despite robust economic recovery efforts, employers in general and courts in particular are struggling to...

June 18th Court Leader’s Advantage Podcast Episode Civil filings are falling.  They have been for some time.  In fact, most court filings have been on a slow decline.  In 2018, The National Center for State Courts put out a bulletin stating that nationally every major case category had declined from 2008 to 2016. There are indications that in some states (California for example), the decline in ci...

March 28, 2024, A Question of Ethics Conversation Join Kevin Bowling as we discuss the ethical issues surrounding the burgeoning topic of courts’ use of artificial intelligence (AI).  Kevin discusses a definition of AI and specifically generative AI, existing practical uses in the courts, some misuses of IA, the need for policy and data governance, ethics issues, and the need for transparency to p...

May 21st Court Leader’s Advantage Podcast Episode Although they are not universally accepted, court self-service centers can help prepare self-represented litigants to navigate the exotic terrain of the courtroom.  They can also expedite court proceedings and weed out inappropriate arguments.  Less obvious but equally as important, the information these centers provide helps boost the public’s tru...

January 25, 2024, A Question of Ethics Conversation Episode Welcome to the latest episode of A Question of Ethics Conversation.  The topic for this discussion is Organization Fairness.  The October 26th, 2023, Question of Ethics Conversation hosted by Samantha Wallis, brought up many interesting questions.  One set of questions revolved around the concept of fairness. We are all dedicated to fairn...

April 16th Court Leader’s Advantage Podcast Episode It may have started with the advent of no-fault divorce in the 1970s.  But the numbers of litigants representing themselves in court has regularly increased year after year.  This fact has presented a challenge for the community and for courts.  People pursuing legal matters in court and who have limited legal experience are at a decided disadvan...

March 19th Court Leader’s Advantage Podcast Episode In April of 2022, we hosted a podcast episode on “The Great Resignation.”  At the time large numbers of employees were resigning, or (after being furloughed for some period) were deciding not to return to work.  The assumption back then was that this was a temporary phenomenon. Once COVID receded, people would return to work, and things would get...

February 20, 2024, Court Leader’s Advantage Podcast Episode The advent of artificial intelligence (AI) has spawned numerous questions, both practical and ethical.  These are questions that courts are going to have to grapple with in the near future, including:   Given the complexity of AI algorithms and the tens of thousands of data points used for training, can we reasonably expect that a human r...

January 16th Court Leader’s Advantage Podcast Episode Artificial Intelligence.  The media is filled with discussions of its potential to dramatically change our lives.  It will increase productivity; it will relieve us from having to make mundane decisions; it will reveal heretofore unseen connections. Conversely, it may eliminate jobs, take away our ability to make complex decisions, fill the air...

December 19th, 2023, Court Leader’s Advantage Podcast Episode The struggle to equitably and effectively allocate court resources is a challenge that faces every state.  Everywhere the question is the same: how do you allocate funds fairly to courts of different sizes and may even perform different operations such as having a Treatment Court? How do you not disadvantage suburban and rural courts wh...

October 26, 2023, A Question of Ethics Conversation Episode   Today’s Question of Ethics Conversation looks at several ethical challenges regarding employee performance. It discusses four questions many supervisors face in their oversight role. Can you, as a supervisor, remain friends with colleagues once you have become their boss?  This is an especially critical question when it comes time to pr...

November 21st, 2023, Court Leader’s Advantage Podcast Episode Suburban and rural courts often face distinctive issues.  These issues are different from those of truly small courts, but also different from the issues faced by massive metropolitan court organizations. It is tempting to always talk about big problems in big courts. It is easy to forget that two-thirds of the courts in our country are...

August 24, 2023, A Question of Ethics Conversation Episode Today’s Question of Ethics Conversation looks at workplace culture and technology. It focuses on the ethical challenges to workplace culture and technology as it pertains to Canon 1.1 of the NACM Model Code of Conduct which states that a court professional faithfully carries out all appropriately assigned duties, striving at all times to p...

October 17th Court Leader’s Advantage Podcast Episode In the middle of last month’s episode, the question was asked, should recidivism be a trial court performance measure? All the panelists responded negatively, but the reasons they gave are worth hearing. We have all heard the criticism that the criminal justice has turned into a “revolving door.”  Defendants are arrested and tried, most are con...

September 19th, 2023, Court Leader’s Advantage Podcast Episode As court leaders, we are inundated with statistics and research.  We have all been taught to have a healthy skepticism of statistics.  We are given advice that includes: ask questions, go to the source of the research, and expose the assumptions behind the analysis.  We have seen what happens when research is not properly evaluated.  A...

August 15th, 2023, Court Leader’s Advantage Podcast Episode Leaders deal with multiple circles of individuals.  Two that you as a court administrator or Clerk of Court deal with are 1) those who report to you and 2) those you either report to or deal with as fellow stakeholders.  Those reporting to you include your team, and the larger office or court staff.   The next circle centers on your Presi...

July 18th, 2023, Court Leader’s Advantage Podcast Episode As one progresses higher in an organization the challenges of leadership can become a regular test.  Increasingly responsible positions can draw leaders away from the very people they first came to rely on.  The demands of those you report to can outweigh the needs of the people who support you.   How do you keep grounded with the people wh...

June 20th, 2023, Court Leader’s Advantage Podcast Episode Is there another concept in court administration that has been discussed, studied, and analyzed more often than Leadership?  For many the image of a leader that immediately comes to mind is the person who confidently says, “follow me, I know the way.”  It implies that the leader can always be relied upon to “have the answers.”   That image,...

April 27, 2023, A Question of Ethics Conversation Episode “Quiet Quitting.”  It is a topic that many of us have heard about.  In an era where it is a challenge to hire employees, is “Quiet Quitting” an emerging change in the contract between the court and employees or is it just a new term for some staff not doing their jobs?   In the past it has been given many names: “retiring in place”, “phonin...

May 16th, 2023, Court Leader’s Advantage Podcast Episode It was not that long ago that the phrase “you’re lucky to have a job” was powerful advice.  Nowadays, employers across multiple business sectors are complaining of unfilled staff positions.  Shortages of teachers and restaurant workers immediately come to mind.  On the other hand, just lately we are once again hearing about massive layoffs. ...

April 18th, 2023, Court Leader’s Advantage Podcast Episode We have been talking about various aspects of employee recruitment and selection, often as it intersects with diversity, equity, and inclusion.  This brought up the topic of the power imbalance surrounding employee selection.  Traditionally, job candidates enter the selection process in a powerless and sometimes even in a belittling positi...

February 23, 2023, A Question of Ethics Conversation Episode This is the second of a two-part conversation on hiring ethical employees. Part-one, (held January 26th, 2023), is available on the Ethics Subcommittee Webpage, on the NACM website.   What actions can courts take to optimize the hiring of ethical staff? What can you do to ensure that the people you hire will adhere to your court’s Code o...