With its headquarters in Concord, and many of the CLE events and committee meetings held in the most populous southern counties, one might think that Bar Association members in the northern counties would feel underserved by the Association. Not so, according to an analysis of Bar members’ responses to a recent member survey.

More than 1,400 members responded to part 1 of the NHBA Member Survey Series (a healthy 36.5 percent rate) which was circulated via e-mail and conventional mail last fall. By significant margins, those in the northernmost four counties tended to indicate the highest utilization of Bar services. (Responses are coded to prevent duplications but with identities shielded to protect confidentiality).  The second part of the survey –dealing principally with law office economics and management— was distributed in April and early May. Results from Part 2 are now being tabulated and checked for accuracy by an independent survey firm.

Despite being older on average than their counterparts in the southern counties, Association members in the state’s less populated upper third of the state have more readily embraced Bar services made available online, according to an analysis of responses to Part 1 of the survey. In particular, responses from NHBA members in Coos, Carroll, Grafton and Sullivan counties (grouped as Region 1), indicated the highest levels of usage of Casemaker, as well as of the member directory and the Bar’s e-mail newsletter, the E-Bulletin.

For example, 80 percent of the respondents from Region 1 said they had used Casemaker, compared to an average of about 50 percent of members in the other regions of the state. Forty-four percent used the Bar’s online membership directory, compared to 30 to 34 percent of members elsewhere in the state.

Region 1 members, too, said they were more likely (by a figure of 19 percent vs. 8 to 12 percent in other regions) to use the Web site for information about the Bar Association, and 11 percent said they sought information from the NHBA E-bulletin, almost twice the percentage of respondents in other regions.

Overall, nearly all (93.8 percent) of the Region 1 respondents ranked the Bar as “a valuable professional resource” compared to rankings in the mid-80s for other regions. Interestingly, 87 percent of out of state NHBA members also ranked the Association as a valuable resource. 

Members in Region 1 differed from their counterparts in the more populous areas by showing a slightly greater interest in access to justice issues. More than 75 percent said they believed it was “very important or important” for the Association to be helping to “increase and facilitate access to justice and the availability of legal services.” That percentage was slightly higher than 74.5 percent who rated those issues as very important or important in Region 2 (the “middle” counties of Belknap, Cheshire, Merrimack, and Strafford) or in mostly urbanized Region 3 (Hillsborough and Rockingham).

The Bar News will provide brief items drawn from the survey results on an ongoing basis. Future installments of the survey are being developed to provide more focused questions on areas of concern or interest to members of the Association. Bar members are encouraged to provide their input and their suggestions. Send your comments to Denice DeStefano, Assistant Executive Director at ddestefano@nhbar.org.

Part 2 Deals With Economics

Part 2 of the NHBA Member Survey Series, dealing as it does with law office economics and management issues, was expected to draw a lower response rate –since not all attorneys in the Association would have access to information about the management of their firms or law offices.

However, more than 900 responses were received, a response rate that heartened NHBA Executive Director Jeannine McCoy. “We are pleased that so many members took the time and effort to consult their business records to respond to Part 2 of the survey. We believe that their efforts will be rewarded by the development of more accurate economic benchmarks, and the availability of up-to-date information on the economic status of the legal profession in New Hampshire,” she said. “The survey process is providing the Association leadership with substantial information that will guide our efforts in improving existing services and in better targeting our efforts to serve members.”

Look for information from Part 2 in upcoming issues of Bar News.

We Have a Winner

To help stimulate participation, respondents to Part 2 of the Survey Series were entered in a drawing for a flat screen computer monitor. John K. Morris, who practices patent law in Lafayette, Indiana, was the random drawing winner.

Thanks to all of the Bar members who participated. Your prize will be the better, more responsive Bar Association that you are aiding by your participation.

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