The first efforts at developing court management occurred at the State level as a result of increasing caseloads and population increases. Court management in the trial courts followed. The essential setting for the development of professional management is the court reform movement. Issues involved in court reform efforts have included court organization, structure, and accountability; efficiency, effectiveness, caseflow management, and processing time standards; and sources of funding. Educational programs emerged in a context of the development of a professional and scholarly literature on court management. Currently, court management is an emergent profession, meeting some or most of the generally accepted criteria for a profession. These criteria include a fixed or accepted body of knowledge, continuing education requirements, entrance or specialization requirements, a code of ethics, peer review, autonomy, professional organization, professional journal, full-time occupation, and service or client orientation. 33 references (Author abstract modified)