Sadly, there are going to be a lot of these in the next few days.

This is from an email sent out by Lisa Foster, outgoing Director of the Office for Access to Justice at DOJ.  The good news is that, as she leaves with a job wonderfully done, the Office stays not just very alive, but in very good hands under Maha Jweied who has been such a big part of everything that has been happening.

As most of you know, Thursday will be my last day as Director of the Office for Access for Justice. For a little over two years, I have had the privilege of leading a team of committed and talented attorneys and working under the leadership of two extraordinary Attorneys General. I am enormously proud of the work we have done, but none of it would have been possible without all of you.  One of the singular aspects of this Office is our mandate to reach outside the building and engage with the wide and wonderful community of advocates, judges, administrators, researchers, educators and policy makers engaged in justice reform.  Collaborating with all of you has made our work better.  And I have made so many good friends.  Thank you for welcoming me into your company and for all that you do to pursue justice.
 
And you will still be able to pursue justice with ATJ.  I am pleased to announce that Maha Jweied will be the Acting Director of the Office for Access to Justice. You can also can also contact Senior Counsel Allie Yang-Green or Senior Counsel Bob Bullock. 
 
I do not know yet exactly what I will do next.  I do know that I will continue to focus on state and local justice system reform.  In the short run, I will likely do some consulting; in the long run . . . I’ll keep you posted.  .  . 

Each Director of the Office has brought new and different strengths to the task.  We appreciate Judge Foster for many things, but I remember her in this role most of all for her ability to articulate a broad integrated and innovative vision for access to justice that did so much to get the community ready for a much deeper understanding of how to provide access.  As such, I think we will look back at her tenure and see this as a time in which that broad vision gave the movement a flexibility and strength that will enable it to do well regardless of the environment.  Moreover, her work with Karen Lash and many others on LAIR helped provide roots in the system that will help ensure the ongoing effectiveness of the bipartisan agenda, again regardless of short term environment.

We look forward to many future contributions.