JAMES D. GLEASON, a small-firm practitioner from Henniker, took office as president of the New Hampshire Bar Association for the 2004-5 year at the Annual Meeting held at Wentworth-by-the-Sea Hotel on June 26. Gleason praised his predecessor, Russell Hilliard, for his leadership and his professionalism. He called Hilliard "a lawyer's lawyer" and added, "He is the quintessential example of that cliché, 'A rising tide raises all boats.' Thanks, Russ, for raising my boat."

Gleason said his vision for his year as NHBA president will be to "rekindle and strengthen our relationship with the New Hampshire legislature" and focus the Bar's attention on determining how best to serve the needs of solo and small-firm practitioners, who comprise the majority of Bar membership. (See Gleason's speech on page 4.).

Hilliard, before turning over the gavel to Gleason, recalled that his goal at the outset was to "have a challenging, interesting and successful year-Well, I got it," he said, referring to the challenge posed by the statute passed last year that mandated a vote on the unification of the Bar that occupied most of his year. Hilliard oversaw the preparation of a brief challenging the constitutionality of the statute, and later, after the referendum was ordered to be conducted pending resolution of the case, led an education effort by Bar leaders on the merits of the unified Bar for both the profession and the public.

About 330 members and their guests attended the 2004 NHBA Annual Meeting held June 24-27 at the Wentworth-by-the-Sea Hotel in New Castle. The event included award and recognition presentations, receptions, CLEs, a one-act play, business meeting, golf tournament, guided tours of the newly restored, historic hotel, the President's Banquet, and a reception for past Bar presidents.

A highlight of the meeting was the announcement of the Supreme Court's decision to allow a unified Bar and the counting of ballots from a now non-binding referendum (see accompanying page one article). Ballots were counted on June 26 and the results in favor of the unified Bar announced at that evening's banquet. "I believe the unified Bar is more relevant and more important than ever to our profession," said Gleason, regarding the strong majority that voted in favor of unification.

Prior to transferring his office to Gleason during the induction of new NHBA officers, Hilliard recognized members of the Bar who have been in practice 50 years or more and judges who have retired or have been appointed to new judicial positions within the past year during and evening banquet on June 25.

The 50-year members (counted from their first admission to practice in any jurisdiction) are recognized as "honorary" members of the Bar. This year, nine members were recognized, although not all could attend. The group included, Arnold W. Alexander; Andre J. Barbeau; Warren R. Bolton; Emile R. Bussiere; Hon. Robert A. Carignan; Henry K. Hyder, Jr.; David Sanderson; David J. Sargent; and George W. Walker. Each was presented with a granite paperweight embossed with the Bar insignia.

The distinguished roster of judges recognized included the transitions in two Chief Justice positions. Retired judges included: Hon. Peter Smith, Associate; Justice, NH Superior Court; Hon. Philip Howorth, Presiding Justice, Nashua District Court; and W.H. Dale Townley-Tilson, Franklin District Court. New judicial appointments included: Hon. John Broderick, Chief Justice, Supreme Court; Hon. Robert Lynn, Chief Justice, NH Superior Court; Hon. Richard Galway, Associate Justice, Supreme Court; and Hon. Edward R. Thornton, Franklin District Court. During a brief speech at the dinner, Chief Justice Broderick joked that he was honored by both his "unconstitutional" and "constitutional" appointments as Chief Justice this year.

Probate Court Administrative Judge John R. Maher and criminal defense attorney Cathy J. Green were among several outstanding Bar members who received awards at the 2004 NHBA Annual Meeting. Maher received the Justice William A. Grimes Award for Judicial Professionalism while Green, who practices with Green & Utter in Manchester, is the recipient of the E. Donald Dufresne Award for Outstanding Professionalism.

Also receiving President's Awards at this meeting were: Edward J. Adamsky, President's Award for Outstanding Service to the Profession; Michael W. Holmes, President's Award for Outstanding Service to the Public; and Katherine B. Stearns, Vickie M. Bunnell Award for Community Service.

Katherine Stearns, a general practitioner in New London, was presented with the Vickie M. Bunnell Award for Community Service presented to a solo or small-firm attorney. An attorney in private practice since 1994, she has contributed an enormous num ber of hours to community service in addition to representing clients on a pro bono basis, primarily through the Bar's Pro Bono Referral program and the DOVE Project. In accepting the award Stearns acknowledged the influence of her mother, Joan Bucklin, an attorney first admitted to practice law in 1951 and an NH Bar members since 1980, who was in attendance along with other family members.

This year's CLEs were well attended and included nationally acclaimed speaker and facilitator Martin Latz, who presented the highly interactive program "Negotiation Strategies for Lawyers." Attendees role-played in groups and were given a copy of Latz's book Gain the Edge! Negotiating to Get What You Want.

Two NHBA-CLE programs (available online and on video or audiotape) were "Dealing with Corporate Misconduct in a Post-Enron World," where a panel that included Peter G. Beeson, David A. Garfunkel, C. Russell Hansen, and Alan L. Reische discussed corporate accountability with the participants. Another panel discussion, "The Impact of State v. Kidder," consisting of speakers Charles L. Greenhalgh, Patrick F. Harrigan, Hooksett District Court Judge Lucinda V. Sadler, and Andrew R. Schulman-sparked lively debate on the implications of the decision regarding attorney contacts with adversaries covered by protective orders. Superior Court Chief Justice Robert Lynn attended the program and joined in the discussion with a diverse audience made up of attorneys and legal services providers.

Attendees were able to pick up ethics credits at the Saturday morning program, "Getting from Statistics to the Real World: The Nuts & Bolts of Managing Risk," on managing professional liability risks presented by Glen Lea, a claims attorney and risk manager with Attorneys Liability Protection Society (ALPS).

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