1. law, govt and politics

YOU SHOULD KNOW
…there is a lot going on at the NHBA! Including…
BOARD EDITION – October 2014
There is a lot going on through the New Hampshire Bar Association! While it is difficult to paint a concise
and complete picture of what your professional organization produces, this report is intended to give you
just a glimpse of some of what has gone on lately.
This is by no means an exhaustive compilation of activities…
LEGAL SERVICES
Foreclosure Relief Project: FRP held a Home Retention Clinic in Derry drawing six
households. There are two additional clinics being held in October in Laconia and Keene. On
September 25th, FRP held a Brown Bag which was an open discussion mostly about the
Foreclosure Commission.
FRP continues to organize and prepare for the half day training for attorneys that will be called
“FRP: Be Prepared for 2015”. This will take place on November 13th at the NH Bar Center.
Pro Bono Program: Events to Date for October
Walk a Mile in Her Shoes fundraiser for Concord Crisis Center: Pam Dodge organized a
group of DOVE volunteers and Pro Bono staff to participate in the walk. Walkers for the
DOVE team raised over $1,500. Special thanks to our walkers: Attorneys James Shepard,
Dennis Thivierge, Mike Mathaisel, and Molly Lynch. NHBA staffers Carolann Wooding,
Ginny Martin, Pam Dodge and Dan Wise in absentia.
DOVE Training for new and experienced DOVE attorneys: 41 registrants attended.
Strafford County Referral Marathon at the office of Burns, Bryant, Cox, Rockefeller &
Durkin PA on 10/2/14. Attorneys Christine Rockefeller, Sarah Lavoie and Ted Clancy
placed 9 cases…and counting.
Foreclosure/Bankruptcy Clinic I: four clients received intensive bankruptcy preparation
by two volunteer attorneys who will stay with the case through completion.
Veteran’s Stand Down Clinic was held on October 9th at Harbor Homes in Nashua. Four
attorneys volunteered their time for individual sessions with Veterans. As well, a few
hundred veterans stopped by the Pro Bono table for information.
Pro Bono staff participated in the United Way event at Lincoln Financial on October 14th.
Over 200 Lincoln Financial employees stopped by the Pro Bono table to learn what
volunteer attorneys do for low-income families in the state.
These are just some of the many Pro Bono Month events. Another 9 events will take place
between October 15th- and November 3rd.
Low -Income Taxpayer Project:
The Low-Income Taxpayer Project took part in the Veterans Stand Down event on Thursday,
October 7. One client – an indigent, disabled, combat veteran – had his five-year re-enlist bonus
taken by the IRS for unpaid taxes, despite his inability to feed his family of five. The LITP is
helping him settle with the IRS and possibly win a refund of the levied funds.
On Thursday, October 14, the Low-Income Taxpayer Project will present a CLE on Offers in
Compromise, featuring a well-regarded attorney/accountant from a Tennessee low-income
taxpayer clinic. Thanks to the help of the CLE department, the program will be available as a
webcast.
Lawyer Referral Service & Reduced-Fee Program
LRS referrals have steadily increased since the beginning of the year. Full-fee Referrals are up
18%. Reduced-fee referrals are about the same.
BAR CENTER USE
In the 4 weeks between September 13th through October 4th our meeting conference rooms were
used as follows:
>415 members held 38 meetings in Conference Rooms
(wkly average 103 mbrs ; 9 mtgs. )
> 122 Lawyers and guests held 48 meetings in small meeting rooms
(wkly average 30 mbrs ; 12 mtgs. )
EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT
Law Related Education
We the People: The Citizen and the Constitution – WTP teacher, Mr. William
Souza, and a WTP Student Alum from 2012-13 were honored to take part in a
luncheon hosted by Sandra Day O’Connor at the Warren B. Rudman Center
in celebration of “Constitution Day”. O’Connor and Ret. Justice Souter also
headlined a Constitutionally Speaking event in Concord where WTP students
had the opportunity of a life time having pictures taken with O’Connor and
Souter. Law Related Education is gearing up at this time for the We the
People Season – there is the potential to host 6 teams this year. Past volunteers have
been notified of the tentative dates for the District Hearings and State Finals.
Civics in Action Goes Viral – “Constitution Day” visits to schools
were made by Ambassadors of the Civics in Action programs for the
Rotary and Kiwanis Clubs. This was our “kick-off” event for school
presentations. The visits were well received by students and teacher
feed-back was all positive and generating more visits later in the school
year.
Civics in Action - Kiwanis – 2 Kiwanis Club visits remain to be
given in Peterborough and Winchester, NH.
Teen Dating Violence Program – Schools are beginning to inquire about
inviting attorneys into the classroom to present this program that began last
year in classrooms around the state as part of Law Day. Plans are underway
for media attention in the new year for more classroom visits as part of
Teen Dating Violence Month which is in February.
Leadership Academy
Leadership Academy – Class of 2014
RECEPTION:
The 14-member class had a terrific time at the kick-off Reception of the 4th NHBA Leadership
Academy on October 9th which was held at the Bar Center. 50 people attended, including the
participants and their guests, and alumni.
RETREAT:
On Friday, Oct. 17 the Academy kicks off with the Retreat at Wolfeboro Inn, Oct 17th continuing
with a half-day on Saturday.
This year's leadership program looks great! The time and effort in putting this calendar
together shows. We have received many positive comments.
Past Presidents Dinner
This year’s Past Presidents Dinner will be held October 27th in Portsmouth. This is a wonderful
event where our past presidents get to visit with each other and with the Board officers.
MEMBER SERVICES
The Solo/Small Firm Discussion Group meets November 4th at 3:00 p.m. at the Bar Center.
Janet Devito and Craig Calaman from the Attorney Discipline Office will be speaking to the
group on the NH Supreme Court amended rules governing IOLTA and Firm record keeping.
Which is perfect timing for further review and questions after the NHBA CLE that is being
hosted to the September 17th on “Avoiding the Problems and Pitfalls of Lawyers’ Trust
Accounting.”
The New Lawyers Committee
Jaye Rancourt, Immediate Past President recently spoke on behalf of the BOG President, Lisa
Wellman-Ally about mentoring and the New Lawyers Mentoring Program at the UNH School of
Law campus as part of a two-part series on mentoring to promote professionalism and excellence
in the practice of law.
A collaborative program put on by the Webster-Batchelder and Gajarsa American Inns of Court,
University of New Hampshire School of Law, the New Hampshire Bar Association and the New
Hampshire Women’s Bar Association. Attorney Micheal Connolly a member of the New
Lawyers Committee was on hand to provide members with the Mentor Program information and
to hand out applications. A very successful event that has so far provided the program with three
new MENTORS! A big than you for everyone’s initiatives!
Swearing-In Ceremonies
Welcome! 134 applicants passed the July 2014 New Hampshire Bar Exam. These applicants are
scheduled to be sworn-in at a ceremony on November 17th at the Rudman Courthouse. If you
have the opportunity to meet a new member please say hello.
COMMUNICATIONS
Communications Director Dan Wise was on the faculty for a media relations training
program at the NABE Communications Section Workshop in Indianapolis Oct. 1-3.
Managing Editor Kristen Senz also attended workshop - which included meetings with
other bar associations undergoing website updates.
The Massachusetts Superior Court requested permission to include an Aug. 23, 2013 Bar
News article by Kristen Senz on Voir Dire at an upcoming training it is holding as
Massachusetts gets ready to enact an attorney-directed voir dire law.
Received several calls and overheard comments from attorneys remarking on the
prevalence of NH attorneys with agricultural interests in the wake of our September
photo feature.
October issue of Bar News features op-ed by Superior Court Chief Justice Tina Nadeau,
written expressly for Bar News, accompanied by front-page article on conference on
felony case processing changes – Bar News allowed to attend invitation-only event.
Advertising sales – continue to outpace last year.
E-Bulletin continues to increase in value as “open-rate” exceeds email averages:
Also, Casemaker has begun adding Admin Law Decisions to the library:
FINANCE AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
FINANCE:
All departments are ahead of budget thru Aug. 31, 2014 – first three months of the fiscal;
year.
Fiscal Year 2014 on-site financial audit that began on July 15, 2014 with NH Pro Bono
Referral System, then on to NHBA, NHBA Insurance Agency and Court Rules, then ending
with the NH Bar Foundation audit which ended the full on-site audit on July 30. The Draft
Audited Financial Statements for New Hampshire Bar Association and its Affiliate NHBA
Insurance Agency was reviewed by the NHBA Board of Governors Committee on
Administration, Friday, September 26, 2014 at a meeting held at the Bar Center. NH Pro
Bono Referral System IRS Form 990 and SAS 114 Drafts have been forwarded from Nathan
Wechsler for review and comment. IRS Forms 990 are due on October 15, 2014 for the
previous fiscal year; for timing purposes, an extension has been filed with the IRS to file the
tax returns while Nathan Wechsler finalized the reports. All other outstanding drafts of
audited financial statements and tax returns are expected by end of next week. Planning
for next year’s financial audit will begin in December.
Notices were delivered, via email, to 196 members who have NHBA Dues and/or NH
Supreme Court Fees or related delinquency fees remaining unpaid, reminding of impending
administrative suspension and additional fees charged. A link to pay the remaining
amounts due online was included in the correspondence. Within a minute of sending the
email, the Accounts Receivable Administrator was receiving payments on line as well as
phone calls from members with questions as her contact information was also included on
the correspondence. Many members with overdue payments sent thank you notes or
stated as such on the phone for the payment reminder and great customer service.
Ninety-six (96) notices for Trust Account Compliance Forms that remain unfiled with the
Attorney Discipline Office were forwarded to the Court on October 6th for delivery to
members. This is a reduction of 85 notices from the second notice send last month.
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY:
The Communications Department is wrapping up work with Mainstay Technologies on the
architecture of the new NHBA website as the IT team continues to develop online options
for members; online payments, membership directory and membership updates. Keep an
eye on the NHBA website for updates expected to be rolled out in the next month;
www.nhbar.org.
New NHMCLE Website is in the final beta stages. IT staff have been working with the
NHMCLE staff, Mainstay Technologies, LLC and current software vendor.
Plans to upgrade NHBA’s financial software, Microsoft Dynamics GP is in the planning stages
and expected to be upgraded before the end of this fiscal year.
FOUNDATION:
Sept 23 was the NHBF Annual Dinner held at the Radisson Hotel in Manchester. Julian
Jefferson of Nashua Public Defender’s office received the Robert E. Kirby Award. Hon.
Kenneth McHugh and Amy Beth Messer of Disability Rights Center- NH received the Frank
Rowe Kenison Award. Darlene Schmidt-Brandt of Centrix Bank and the NHBF IOLTA
Enhancement Committee received special recognition for her work and commitment to legal
services in NH. There were 173 attendees with 17 sponsors.
SECTIONS
Looking back…
15 section meetings have been held between 7/1 – 10/15, including 3 with CLEs.
Public Sector Law Section – This section continues to struggle to get members to attend a
meeting. A 3-question survey was circulated to members electronically on 9/18/14 for their
input. The handful of respondents supported the existence of the section, but the lack of
response to the survey appears to indicate apathy or confusion about the future of the section
Of the 17 members, only 3 responded to the survey – an 18% response rate.
Comparing the above information with the same 3-question survey that was sent to the Section
in July 2009:
Of the 26 members, 9 responded – a 35% response rate.
Recent Election Results:
Business Litigation Section –
Jonathan M. Shirley, chair
Steven H. Slovenski, vice chair
Anthony J. Galdieri, clerk
Federal Practice Section –
Erik G. Moskowitz stepped down in September from his position as vice chair
due to his move to Texas. Edward (Ned) J. Sackman then “moved up” from clerk
to vice chair, and on 10/7/14 the Section elected W. Daniel Deane and Joshua
M. Wyatt as co-clerks for the remainder of the 2014-2015 year.
Samantha D. Elliot remains as chair.
Looking ahead…
Section Leader Luncheon – scheduled for November 12 from 12 – 1 p.m. at the Bar Center.
In addition, 11 section meetings are currently scheduled between 10/16 – 12/5. Some
upcoming highlights:
Real Property Section – will be voting at their November meeting on the proposed changes to
the Title Examination Standards and will submit those changes to the BOG for approval and
adoption effective 12/31/14.
International Law Section – Sheehan Phinney Bass + Green has graciously offered to host the
Section’s October 30th meeting, 5-7 p.m. The Section will be presenting the 2014 Daniel
Webster International Lawyer of the Year Award to attorney Rick St. Hilaire in recognition of
his national and international advocacy work to protect the world’s cultural and historical
records, art and artifacts. Special guest speaker Victoria Reed, Sadler Curator of Provenance,
Boston Museum of Fine Arts, will discuss stolen/smuggled objects of cultural heritage. A wine
and cheese reception will follow.
Elder Law, Estate Planning & Probate Section – will host Mr. Douglas McNutt in November. Mr.
McNutt is the Associate State Director-Advocacy, for AARP-NH. He’ll talk about the proposed
adoption of the Uniform Adult Guardianship and Protective Proceedings Jurisdiction Act in
NH. In December the Section hopes to host Judge David King at a meeting at the Red Blazer.
Mental & Physical Disabilities Law Section – will host Judge David King in November.
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