Executive Director, D.C. Access to Justice Commission

District of Columbia Access to Justice Commission Executive Director
The D.C. Access to Justice Commission was created in 2005 by the D.C. Court of Appeals and “charged with the responsibility of assuring high quality access for low and middle income residents and others in the District of Columbia, who suffer disparate access barriers to the civil justice system, and with raising the profile in our community of the need for equal access to justice.”
The Court directed the Commission to work to:
1. Establish a coordinated planning process that includes all members of the community who are affected by the crisis in equal access to justice in an effort to develop strategies to improve access and reduce barriers.
2. Facilitate efforts to create improved coordination and support of civil legal services programs.
3. Work with the courts, administrative agencies and lawmaking bodies to propose and promote rules and systemic changes that will open greater access to the justice system; and
4. Propose and promote strategies to generate adequate levels of public, private, and volunteer resources and funding for the District’s civil justice network and the access to justice initiatives identified by the Commission.
The Commission has twenty-one members with three-year terms, including D.C. Court of Appeals and Superior Court judges, past Presidents of the D.C. Bar, representatives of legal services providers, academic leaders, and other community leaders. The Commission meets every six weeks and does substantial work through committees and working groups.
The Commission is privately funded, predominantly by area law firms.

Position Profile and Description
The position of Executive Director requires a combination of strong strategic vision, leadership, management and people skills, and, preferably, in-depth knowledge of the local legal services network and the community it serves. The Executive Director is responsible for:
(1) Facilitating the Commission’s achievement of the mission assigned to it by the Court of Appeals;
(2) Identifying impediments to access to justice and creative strategies to overcome them; and
(3) Leading the organization in implementing its work agenda.

The Executive Director ensures the Commission’s financial stability, supports the Commission and its committees in their meetings and other activities, and engages with leaders and staff of the D.C. Bar, law firms, legal services providers, judicial leaders, and elected officials and their staffs.