It has been six months since a group of nearly 100 lawyers gathered in Waterville Valley to examine the New Hampshire Bar Association's concerns with leadership and relevance. Quietly, much has been accomplished since then-but much still needs to be done.

Before summarizing the accomplishments, we need to recall the premise of the conference. The Association took aim at a segment of the Bar it has not heard from before-newer lawyers and lawyers who were well known in their own circles but not in state bar activities. The startling message they delivered was that the Association was barely relevant to them, but that with new ideas, programs and work, the Association could become more valuable and lead them to participate more actively. Some of those new ideas and programs have been put into motion - with pleasing results.

Achievements stemming from Waterville Valley include:

1. Placement of two attorneys from the conference on the new Supreme Court Citizens' Commission examining the justice system. Michael Kenison of Manchester and Ken Barnes of Concord will be joining the commission, and bringing some of the innovative access to justice concepts to the discussions.

2. New and bold outreach efforts by the NHBA New Lawyers Committee to engage newer members of the bar-resulting in the largest turnout ever at a welcome reception held at Pierce Law Center last fall.

3. Waterville Valley attendees seeking office in Bar Association governance. Incoming Vice President-Elect Eleanor Dahar, and newcomers Governor-at-Large Alex Walker and Merrimack County Governor Andrew Mierins were newly elected to the Board of Governors for the coming year, and will join those Board officers and members who participated in the conference - including next year's President-Elect Rich McNamara, new NHBA Secretary Gretchen Witt, Immediate Past President Russ Hilliard, Treasurer Rob Howard, and board members Marilyn McNamara, Jennifer Parent, Larry Vogelman, Lisa Wellman-Ally and Bar Foundation Chair Paul Chant.

4. A promising new project proposed for the Hillsborough South Superior Court in which a dozen or more Nashua area lawyers hope to volunteer their time to help litigants with court paperwork and the framing of legal issues. This effort is being led by Attorneys Robert Bartis and Paul Moore, and is at present in the planning stages.

5. Appointment by Chief Justice John Broderick of attendee and Nashua public defender Soudabeh Tahmassebipour as the court's liaison to the National Consortium on Racial and Ethnic Fairness in the Courts.

6. Meetings with the CLE Committee and the New Lawyers Committee to emphasize the importance of a culture of personal welcome, the intermingling of lawyers of all experience levels and new, improved events to bring out newer lawyers. Indeed, this philosophy has carried over into events for newer lawyers planned by the Rockingham County Bar, under the leadership of conference attendee and Portsmouth lawyer Paul Pudloski, who became president of the Rockingham County Bar this year.

7. National recognition of the ground-breaking nature of the conference at the American Bar Association's National Conference of Bar Presidents, the ABA Bar Leadership Institute and in the ABA's Young Lawyers Division publication.

8. Deeper discounts on some CLE fees for newer members.

9. An e-mail discussion group for conference attendees.

10. New efforts to increase participation in the Bar, ranging from exploring technology to allow "virtual" attendance at bar committee meetings to the creation of an ombuds group of past presidents and bar leaders who can call senior partners and managers of a law firm, at a newer lawyer's request, to encourage the firm to support that lawyer's participation in Bar work.

Yet, much remains to be done.

A small group of attendees is working on an innovative externship program under discussion with Pierce Law Center for students to receive training in pro bono representation. Newer lawyers still perceive barriers to Bar governance, which must be overcome. The New Lawyers Committee always seeks help from experienced lawyers in its events and in enhancing the culture of personal welcome. The CLE Committee, too, is working on suggestions to embrace this culture at its events. The Supreme Court has expressed interest in the work of the conference - especially its work on justice system initiatives. Lawyers from both the New Lawyers Committee and the conference need to stay abreast of the Supreme Court's Task Force on the Future of the Legal Profession, which will likely have profound impacts on the practice of law for decades to come.

For my part, the principles of Waterville Valley-that of a culture of personal welcome for newer lawyers, of encouragement and involvement of all in the important work of the Bar, and of a justice system that must be valuable, relevant and accessible for those who are truly in need-will be guideposts for my presidential year. I hope you will embrace some of the bold, new ideas we will bring forward for your consideration during the next few months.

If you are interested in joining us in this work, please let me know. I can be reached at 603-224-5004 or at richarduchida@hebertanduchida.com. We plan to begin meeting again within the next few weeks. Even if you were not a part of the conference, become a part of its promise.

Richard Y. Uchida, of the Concord law firm of Hebert & Uchida, takes office as NHBA President at the end of the 2005 Annual Meeting.

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