On Thursday, May 17, 2012, the Institute for the Advancement of the American Legal System (IAALS) at the University of Denver announced that its Executive Director, Rebecca Love Kourlis, has been named the recipient of the prestigious 2012 John Marshall Award, presented by the American Bar Association Justice Center. Kourlis will formally accept the award in Chicago in August.

The ABA Justice Center established the John Marshall Award to recognize individuals who are dedicated to the improvement of the administration of justice. Recipients are chosen based on their work to promote justice system reform and public awareness about the justice system. Previous recipients include Justice Sandra Day O’Connor (AZ), Justice Anthony Kennedy (U. S. Supreme Court), Chief Judge Judith S. Kaye (NY), Senator Howell Heflin (AL), and Governor Tom Ridge (PA).

Kourlis is a graduate of Stanford University and Stanford University School of Law. She served as a trial court judge for seven years and was appointed to the Colorado Supreme Court in 1995 where she served there for elevent years. She opened IAALS in 2006.

IAALS is a national, independent research center at the University of Denver dedicated to continuous improvement of the civil justice system. IAALS envisions a civil justice system that is accessible, efficient and accountable to the litigants it was designed to serve.

Kourlis has received numerous honors, including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Legal Reform Organization of the Year Award (2007) and the ABA Judicial Division Robert B. Yegge Award for Outstanding Contribution in the Field of Judicial Administration (2009). She is a Fellow of the Colorado Bar and American Bar Foundations. In 2010, she and husband Tom were named Citizens of the West by the National Western Stock Show.