Sustainable Court Governance: The Critical Role of Strategic Management

In Sustainable Court Governance: The Critical Role of Strategic Management, District of Columbia Chief Judge Eric Washington and Strategic Management Director Lisa VanDeVeer demonstrate the critical role strategic management practices can play in effective court governance. Strategic management offers an alternative way of conducting court business, one that can be implemented in any court or court system irrespective of size, structure, or other attributes. The application of strategic management in the court context and the resulting benefits are described by drawing upon the District of Columbia Courts' experience over the last decade.

Eric T. Washington has served as the Chief Judge of the District of Columbia Court of Appeals since 2006 and as a member of that Court since 1999. He also is the Chair of the Joint Committee on Judicial Administration for the District of Columbia Courts. In 2010-2012, he was the President of the Conference of Chief Justices. Lisa R. VanDeVeer has served as the Director of the Office of Strategic Management for the District of Columbia Courts since 2002. As Director, she leads the Courts' strategic planning and organizational performance management programs.

The Executive Session develops and answers questions that U.S. state courts will face in the foreseeable future, attempting to clarify what leaders of state courts can and should do to distinguish their role in our system of democratic governance.