DIANNE E. DIXON was happy enough working for New York Attorney General Eliot L. Spitzer in the Civil Rights Bureau. But then came what the boss told her was the opportunity of a lifetime.

“Eliot was very supportive,” said Ms. Dixon, appointed early this year as the first executive director of the Access to Justice Center, initiated by Chief Judge Judith S. Kaye. “He respects Judge Kaye, and he was my cheerleader in coming to this job.