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Terry Harrell, longtime leader of the Indiana Supreme Court’s Judges and Lawyers Assistance Program, is retiring, the state’s high court announced Friday.
The court named Ashley Hart, JLAP’s current deputy director, as its new executive director.
“It has been the greatest honor of my career to lead the JLAP office and to work alongside so many exceptional lawyers and staff who believe wholeheartedly in our mission,” Harrell said in a news release. “Hoosier lawyers and judges need a place to seek help when they struggle to balance their humanity with their professional responsibility. I know that JLAP will continue to be that place in the very capable hands of incoming director Ashley Hart.”
According to the court, Harrell joined JLAP in 2000 when it was a newly formed agency. She was promoted to the executive director position in 2002, where her background in law, psychology, and social work came together.
Harrell graduated from DePauw University, the Indiana University Maurer School of Law, and the IU School of Social Work.
In addition to her law license, she is a licensed social worker and addictions counselor.
Before joining JLAP, Harrell worked as a therapist, social worker, judicial law clerk, and private practice attorney. She is a past chair of the American Bar Association’s Commission on Lawyer Assistance Programs and a founding member of the National Task Force on Lawyer Well-Being.
“Terry guided JLAP from its early days into a resource Indiana’s legal community relies on,” said Indiana Supreme Court Chief Justice Loretta Rush in a released statement. “Her work has strengthened the profession and will continue to do so well into the future.”
Incoming director Hart holds a Master of Social Work from IU and her J.D. from the IU McKinney School of Law.
Before joining JLAP as its deputy director in 2024, Hart served as a staff attorney for the U.S. District Court in the Southern District of Indiana and worked in private practice.
She is a certified grief educator and a graduate of the Indiana State Bar Association’s Leadership Development Academy.
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