AFTER 10 YEARS as a legislator known for moderate views and an ability to forge compromises, State Sen. Edward M. Gordon, of Bristol, won't be in his accustomed seat in the NH Senate Chamber when the Legislature reconvenes this year.

Gordon said more lawyers should consider serving in the Legislature, but he acknowledged that it is difficult to manage legislative service and a law practice. "Being a senator is a full-time job for six months out of the year - it is difficult to put your practice on hold for that amount of time, and it is especially hard for a sole practitioner who doesn't have others in a firm to step in." Nashua Democrat Joseph Foster, representing the 13th District, will be the only Bar member serving in the upper legislative chamber this year. (Foster recently was named vice chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee and will be profiled in a future issue of Bar News.)

"It is difficult to practice as an attorney and to be a senator. It requires financial sacrifice and very long hours," Gordon said. "You end up working on your law practice at night, on weekends and holidays, and that means you have less time to spend with your family."

But he's glad he did it. "It has been extremely rewarding to have been able to make a difference and to have helped people," said Gordon, who served one two-year term in the House before running for the Senate in 1994. He cites SB 153 as his greatest accomplishment. That bill, passed last session, sets aside 5 percent of the profits from the state's liquor monopoly to be used for substance abuse treatment and prevention programs - an idea he began working on after he received a letter from an 8th grade student in his district who noticed classmates getting in trouble with drugs and alcohol and asked if there was something that could be done about it.

A soft-spoken politician more inclined to tout his successes than to attract attention through rhetoric, Gordon proudly claims to have been the primary sponsor of 130 bills that passed during his tenure as a lawmaker. He says he was a legislator who happened to be a lawyer, and that his legal training "was very helpful in understanding the practical consequences of legislation."

Other areas of activity that were important to him were his work on child protection, improvements to the probate process, updating the PCC filing system, advocating for financial support for New Hampshire students and addressing the eminent domain process to make the system fairer for property-owners. If he were to cite an overall goal he had as a legislator, Gordon said, it was to make government work better for individuals and to protect personal freedoms.

As chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Gordon sought to chart a moderate course, as frictions developed between the judiciary and the Legislature over the past couple of years, and as an increasing number of measures were introduced that sought to make changes in the legal profession and the courts. Gordon, after sitting out the Senate's impeachment trial of NH Supreme Court Chief Justice David A. Brock because of his service as a law clerk to Brock, has been both supportive of the courts and a critic.

For example, he sponsored legislation to create an independent Judicial Conduct Commission and to limit the term of the chief justice of the Supreme Court to five years. He also played a role in inserting more moderate language into a proposed constitutional amendment (CACR 5) that would have given the Legislature the ability to override court rules, and in Gordon's view, would have clarified the relationship between the legislative and judicial branches. (The measure garnered 63 percent of the vote in November, just short of the two-thirds needed for passage.) Gordon said he believes the courts generally serve the people well, but a system of checks and balances needs to be maintained. "I question whether the court should be permitted to make its own laws without any accountability. We can be proud of the judicial system we have, but that doesn't mean that the system can't be improved, and we should be willing to make that effort.'

Gordon has also been serving on a board he helped create that seeks to assure that guardians ad litem are adequately recruited, trained and held accountable for their performances.

Bar leaders, Gordon believes, have grown mistrustful of the Legislature because of the actions and statements of a few extreme lawmakers. "The Bar accuses the Legislature of being irresponsible, but if you look at the record, the legislature has not enacted legislation that would be harmful to the courts," Gordon said. "The vast majority of legislators are responsible people who simply want to do the right thing. They reflect the beliefs of the public in general."

His tenure on the Judiciary Committee has also brought Gordon in contact with various initiatives to open up the practice of law - an issue he believes will not disappear because the current system does not serve everyone adequately. "We can't expect to maintain a monopoly and then disavow our responsibility to provide services to all. We need to find a way to make legal services more available or it will put the whole profession at risk," he said.

Gordon was a member of a Task Force on the Definition of the Practice of Law that met for several months during the summer to clarify the circumstances under which non-lawyers could represent others in court. Current statutes and case law are vague on the degree to which non-lawyers may represent others, hinging on what is considered "commonly" practicing law. Gordon favored a solution that would restrict non-lawyers representing others if they were financially compensated. However, the panel was unable to reach consensus on recommendations.

Gordon said that life without the Legislature will allow him to concentrate on practicing law - he is a partner in the Laconia firm of Wescott, Millham & Dyer - but he will remain involved in public affairs. He has already been appointed to serve as a public member of the Legislative Ethics Committee.

Despite the challenges and time demands of legislative service, Gordon encourages his fellow attorneys to consider running in the future. "There are issues involving the courts where a legal background is helpful, but the main reason why the Legislature needs lawyers is that its main job is writing laws and that's where lawyers can really be of help."

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