Former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder Jr. said Friday “I am not ashamed” to have returned to private practice after resigning last year, asserting he will continue to advance the justice reform issues he espoused in office as a private attorney.

“You can be a public interest lawyer wherever you are,” Holder told students at Georgetown University Law Center at a public discussion with National Public Radio’s Michel Martin. “I hope you will be a public interest lawyer wherever you are.”