Everlaw interviewed Michael Sarich, former Director of FOIA at the VA, on the evolving landscape of FOIA and public records requests. Here are the highlights.

Probably nobody knows more about the ins and outs of FOIA and public records requests than Mike. He’s not only knowledgeable about the process – he’s also very “tech forward” in his thinking about how to make the process more efficient.

Everlaw published their interview with Mike in a two-part series, as follows:

• Part 1: How Balancing Automation and Talent Reshapes the Flow of FOIA and Public Records Requests
• Part 2: Cultivating Leadership and Security for the Future of FOIA

Here’s an example of one of the questions Everlaw asked Mike and his response:

What have been the most significant changes to the public records requests process that you’ve seen in recent years?

Three things are shifting in tandem, and the first shift is a shrinking workforce. The Deferred Resignation Program pulled out a layer of senior practitioners who carried institutional knowledge that doesn’t transfer well. 

The second shift is that, while request volume keeps rising, tools keep advancing. AI capabilities that were demos in 2024 are now FedRAMP-authorized, in production, and changing what’s possible inside the agencies that know how to deploy them.

The third shift is the one reshaping the field. Two years ago, the conversation about AI in FOIA was forward-looking. Today the conversation is divergent, it’s a growing distance between the agencies operationalizing the new capabilities and the ones still treating them as a future-state problem. 

The fast movers are setting a new performance floor for cycle time, defensibility, and requester experience. The agencies that haven’t engaged are not just standing still, they’re falling further behind every quarter the commercial AI market advances. That divergence is the most consequential change in federal FOIA since I started in this work. It’s also the most fixable, because the tools are now in procurement reach for any agency willing to make the call.

So, what else does Mike have to say about the landscape for FOIA and public records requests? Find out here and here, it’s only one, er, two clicks! You have the freedom to obtain the information, so act! 😉

So, what do you think? Have you dealt with government information requests before? Please share any comments you might have or if you’d like to know more about a particular topic.

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