At this time each year, I am reminded of the ancient Roman god Janus, the inspiration and namesake of our month of January. As you may know, he was a god of two faces, one looking back and one forward, and so each year begins with this tribute to him on our calendars, this old god of doorways and thresholds. This reflection feels more significant—more charged, or more important—than in previous years. This year has been remarkably challenging, and we have all been changed by the exceptional circumstances we have experienced. Along with the tremendous pain and anxiety that we have experienced this past year, we have also seen how we—as individuals, families, organizations, institutions and our society as a whole—are resilient, and adaptable in ways we would not have imagined. This is certainly true for our legal community and our justice system.

The judicial branch of our government—in some ways deliberately and by design—would not typically be regarded as particularly nimble, agile or experimental. Certainly, our court system has enacted meaningful and creative innovations, but such improvements have generally been implemented following careful and meticulous study and consideration. Yet, in response to this pandemic, we have seen our court leaders and workforce quickly embrace and refine new ways of doing business to ensure that we are able to carry on with our work. The widespread use of virtual court formats is one of the best examples, as well as changes related to remote work, and of course enacting new protocols designed to protect the health and safety of our workforce and the people we serve. As we continue to hunker down and brace for what we hope to be the final months of this pandemic, this crisis provides an opportunity to reflect on our incredible capacity for change and some of the issues that have come into such sharp focus during this time, to consider the ways in which our ability to adapt and improve might be applied in other areas of our work, and to prepare and plan to build back better.