NDLI ensures that all public defense leaders have access to the knowledge, skills, attitudes, and tools they need to garner sufficient resources, provide the highest quality and constitutionally effective representation to clients, and establish themselves as visible and equal partners in the improvement of their criminal justice systems. In coordination with the Research and Evaluation division, NDLI plays a central role in public defense system reform efforts, providing coalition-building, communications, training, and strategic planning expertise to reform advocates in the field.

The hallmark professional obligation of all criminal defense lawyers is zealous, high-quality representation of each client. Providing effective client-centered advocacy is the core mission of every individual defender and defender organization. Yet public defense systems throughout the country face powerful forces that threaten their ability and the ability of individual public defense attorneys to provide this constitutionally required representation.

At the opening of the twenty-first century, NLADA recognized that strong leadership in public defense is an essential element for building and maintaining effective public defense systems capable of providing high-quality effective representation to clients. Yet there was no national program in existence capable of providing the leadership skills in indigent defense that were direly needed throughout the country.