“Probably the greatest news right now,” said Patricia (Patty) Frechette, new Sections Coordinator for the New Hampshire Bar Association, “is that the interest in sections has grown and participation has grown.”

Bar members who join a section have the privilege of becoming part of a collegial group that shares ideas, experiences, and resources, at section meetings and on-line.  ”Our e-mail discussion groups are really thriving,” continued Frechette.  “Each section has its own on-line group and they have proved to be a huge benefit to section members.”

At section meetings, members network, discuss the “hot topics” of the moment and also the legal issues attorneys encounter from day-to-day.  Continuing Legal Education courses may be a part of section programming; these CLEs are sometimes videotaped and added to the on-line CLE library.  Such CLEs then become accessible not only to absent section members, but to all Bar members. 

Frechette, who has been with the Bar Association for nine years, first in Legal Services for seven years and then in the NHMCLE office for two, spends a great deal of her time planning meetings with each section chair.  She coordinates locations, room set-ups, and oversees the production of materials and the taping of CLE presentations.  In addition, she keeps members informed of meetings through mailings and by postings on the Bar’s Web site.

A major part of her job is to manage membership for the e-mail groups.  “We have had quite a few changes recently—new chairs and new members—and there will be more to come as we will soon be switching providers from Yahoo to another service that will not contain advertising.” Frechette will work to make sure the transition is as seamless as possible.

“The Bar allows new admittees to try any section (and its corresponding discussion group) at no charge during the fiscal year in which they are first admitted,” said Frechette.  “It gives them a chance to decide where their interests lie—and which sections will help them most in their practices.”  There are 21 sections in all and information about each may be found on the Bar’s Web site.  The cost of joining a section varies: Bar members pay $30; non-members, $50; and law students, $15. 

Frechette is also the coordinator for the “Question of Law” column, which appears in the Union Leader and the Concord Monitor on a regular basis. 

Patty’s husband is a manager at Raytheon in Andover, Mass. and her two sons (one is a freshman in college) are very much into sports.  The family lives in Goffstown.  “I have been a ‘sports mom’ for many years,” she laughs.  “Going to their games has been a big part of my life.”  When she is not cheering on her boys, Patty enjoys reading and scrapbooking.

For further information or to join a section or an e-mail discussion group, contact Frechette at pfrechette@nhbar.org or (603) 224-6942, or write to her at the NH Bar Association at 112 Pleasant Street, Concord, NH 03301.