NH SUPERIOR COURT Judge Jean K. Burling, one of the first women appointed to a judgeship in New Hampshire, and Emily Rice, a prominent and active attorney in Concord, were co-recipients of the 2003 Marilla M. Ricker Achievement Award presented by the NH Women's Bar Association. The Ricker Award is presented annually to women attorneys who have achieved professional excellence, paved the way to success for other women attorneys, advanced opportunities for women in the legal profession, or performed exemplary public service on behalf of women.

Supreme Court Associate Justice Linda Dalianis said Burling has not only been a pioneer as the first woman to don a judicial robe (as a Claremont District Court special justice in 1979), but she now also holds the distinction of having served on every level of the courts in the state: Burling has served as a probate court judge; she has been a Superior Court judge since 1999; and she has also served on a substitute panel for the Supreme Court. Burling has also served on various court committees, including tenure as chair of the Professional Conduct Committee.

Also honored with the Ricker Award was Emily Rice, a member of the Orr & Reno law firm and a former assistant attorney general who has been in practice since 1985. Rice recently completed a term as chair of the New Hampshire Bar Foundation. Her award was presented by her colleague, the immediate past president of the NH Bar, Marty Van Oot, and by one of Rice's two daughters, Phoebe Axtman, 11, who praised her mother for both her professional accomplishments and for being her mom.

Marilla Marks Ricker was the first woman to petition the New Hampshire Supreme Court for the right to practice law in 1890. Ricker's Petition, 66 NH 207 (1890) opened the practice of law to women in the state of New Hampshire. Although Ricker won the landmark case allowing women to petition to practice law in this state, she never so petitioned herself and thus was never admitted here.

The NHWBA also made its first presentation of the Agnes Winifred McLaughlin scholarship to a first-year Pierce Law student, Barbara Bedard, who will receive $5,000 for each of the next three years for law school tuition. Recipients are chosen based on their academic ability and demonstrated leadership in women's issues.

McLaughlin, admitted to the NH Bar in 1917, was the first woman to practice law in New Hampshire.

NHWBA President Joni Esperian said the Women's Bar Association has three programs in the works: a Family Law Update CLE in December; a program featuring author Mona Harrington, author of a study of female lawyers; and a program, not yet scheduled, by attorney Heather Burns on a precedent-setting sexual harassment case.

For more information on the association and its upcoming events, visit the NHWBA Web site at www.nhwba.org.

Previous Winners of the Ricker Award

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