Board of Governors Actions

THE BAR IS CONSIDERING a proposal to lease or purchase 10,000 square feet of space in a redeveloped office building that would lower the Bar's per-square foot costs for space, reduce the Bar's dependence on hotel meeting-room space for CLEs, and provide greater parking, and easier access to member services on-site. At its Sept. 18 meeting, the Board of Governors voted approval of a plan to negotiate with developers of the former Blue Cross/Blue Shield building on Pillsbury Street in the south end of Concord.

The preliminary outlines of the transaction, either as a sale or lease, would provide slightly more office space in a more efficient layout as well as considerably more meeting room space. At the Pillsbury Street location, the Bar also would have the use of a 100-seat auditorium for CLE programs.

The limitations of the current space have led Bar leaders to analyze the needs of the Association and research the market for suitable opportunities. The Pillsbury Street redevelopment project offers a number of advantages over the Bar Center in terms of price, convenience, flexibility, and on-site meeting room space, giving the Bar the ability to more closely control its costs. Abundant off-street parking is also available.

Currently, the Bar occupies 7,123 square feet in a converted townhouse on Pleasant Street. The interior space cannot be adapted to changing needs and there is insufficient parking. In addition, the Bar currently pays rent to the NH Bar Foundation but the Association has been responsible for maintenance and repair, a rising expense in recent years. In the Pillsbury Street building, the office space would be completely flexible, and it includes a series of conference rooms separated by movable room dividers, similar to the meeting rooms at the Bar Center, as well as several small meeting rooms.

Discussions ongoing with the developer represent the culmination of two years of study by Bar leaders and managers who first considered the feasibility of expanding at the current location and then examined the current and projected needs for office and meeting space. The Pillsbury Street building represents an improvement in many ways over the Bar's current accommodations.

In other action, the Board:

• Approved an endorsement agreement that will provide access to the ABA Members' Retirement Program to all members of the New Hampshire Bar, and to employees of their law firms. Details on this important new member benefit will be made available later this year.
• Approved a Resolution of Cooperation for the Bar Foundation and Association. The agreement restates and memorializes the important relationship that exists between the two organizations. It slightly modifies the existing relationship in areas such as the nomination of Board of Governors members to the Bar Foundation board. The agreement was also approved by the Bar Foundation's board, which met earlier on Sept. 18.
• Reviewed Bar member input on a question regarding the admission by motion of in-house counsel, as requested by the NH Supreme Court.

Also, NHBA President Russell Hilliard announced that the Bar had filed a brief with the NH Supreme Court on the question of whether recent legislation imposing limits on lobbying by the Bar and requiring a membership referendum on unified membership "impermissibly infringes on the constitutional authority of the New Hampshire Supreme Court to regulate the New Hampshire Bar Association." Click below to view the brief.

Bar Deunification Brief

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