Erin Larkin Appointed as First Ever Director of D.C. Courts’ Newly Established Access to Justice Unit

In this newly created position, Ms. Erin Larkin will be responsible for managing the daily Access to Justice operations, coordinating, and promoting the delivery of access to justice services throughout the D.C. Courts. This will include the development, implementation, and monitoring of plans to enhance services, as well as identifying areas where access to justice gaps may exist and formulating approaches to close those gaps. 

“We are thrilled to announce the appointment of Erin Larkin as Director of the DC Court’s Access to Justice Unit,” said DC Court of Appeals Chief Judge Anna Blackburne-Rigsby. “This newly established position will only enhance and expand the Courts’ efforts to best serve the public.”

Before joining the courts, Ms. Larkin had an extensive legal career serving as a Policy Attorney at the DC Coalition Against Domestic Violence and as a prosecutor in Massachusetts’ trial and appellate courts where she clerked for the Connecticut Supreme Court.

Ms. Larkin also previously served as a Senior Operations Manager in the Office of the Clerk of the Court for the D.C. Superior Court. She has a proven track record of collaborating with stakeholders to improve the justice system for District residents.

“I’m excited to have Ms. Larkin serve as the DC Courts’ first Director of our Access to Justice Unit. Her broad experience in the development, management, and expansion of affordable legal services in the District of Columbia will augment the DC Courts’ efforts to expand access to justice,” said DC Court’s Executive Officer Herb Rouson, Jr., who added, “moreover, Ms. Larkin steps into the role having a proven track record of working collaboratively with our internal and external stakeholders – in ways that will certainly further our shared interest in ensuring that the DC Courts are “Open to All.”

In her new and expanded role with the Court, Larkin is responsible for overseeing the D.C. Courts’ new Justice Resource Center, which is planned to occupy the Recorder of Deeds Building across from the Moultrie Courthouse following the historic building's renovation. The Justice Resource Center will be a one-stop location to connect court users with legal assistance and social services to meet their related needs.

“I am so pleased that the DC Courts has selected Ms. Erin Larkin to serve as Director of the new Access to Justice Unit. Her extensive experience, inside and outside of the courts, as well as her collaborative and caring approach, will launch this important initiative from a position of strength and ensure a thoughtful, balanced, and committed approach as its foundation, said Superior Court Chief Judge Anita Josey-Herring.

Ms. Larkin has volunteered her legal services in the community and was a member of the D.C. Courts’ Capital Pro Bono Honor Roll. She volunteered at the D.C. Bar Advice & Referral Clinic and served as a Volunteer Attorney Negotiator for Family Court.  Before returning to the District of the Columbia in 2002, Ms. Larkin was a Senior Associate at a Boston law firm handling mass tort litigation in state and federal courts. Prior to that, she served as a prosecutor in Massachusetts’ trial and appellate courts and clerked for the Connecticut Supreme Court.

Ms. Larkin has demonstrated throughout her career a true passion for ensuring access to justice and a capacity for removing barriers court users might experience while participating in court proceedings and services.

Ms. Larkin graduated from the University of Virginia with a double major in International Relations and French and received a J.D. with high honors from the University of Connecticut School of Law, where she co-founded and was managing editor of the Connecticut Insurance Law Journal. Prior to law school, she worked in the U.S. House of Representatives as a Legislative Assistant and Press Secretary. 

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