Rebecca Love Kourlis
Executive Director

Rebecca Love Kourlis served Colorado’s judiciary for nearly two decades, first as a trial court judge and then as a justice of the state supreme court.  In this role, she spearheaded significant reforms related to matters such as family law, juries and attorney regulation. 

Justice Kourlis resigned from the Colorado Supreme Court in January 2006 to establish the Institute for the Advancement of the American Legal System (IAALS) at the University of Denver, where she is Executive Director.  IAALS is a national, non-partisan organization dedicated to improving the process and culture of the U.S. civil justice system.       

Under her leadership, the Institute has been acknowledged as a national expert on the subject of judicial performance evaluation and on the growing impact of electronic discovery on U.S. courts and businesses.  And, it has released highly respected reports on these topics, including two publications:  The Emerging Challenge of Electronic Discovery: Strategies for American Businesses and Electronic Discovery: A View from the Front Lines.

The Institute is currently undertaking its most ambitious project to date: the 21st Century Rules Initiative, which seeks to identify and reduce the causes of disproportionate cost and delay in our legal system through changes to the Rules of Civil Procedure and case management.  IAALS recently released the most comprehensive federal caseflow management study conducted in more than a decade, Civil Case Processing in the Federal District Courts.

Justice Kourlis accepted 2007 Legal Reform Organization of the Year honors from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.  She has received numerous individual awards, including the Colorado Judicial Institute’s 2006 Judicial Independence Award and the Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers 2002 Judicial Excellence Award.  Justice Kourlis holds B.A. and J.D. degrees from Stanford University.