Two groups appointed by the Supreme Court to examine trends and make suggestions for improvements to the legal system are reaching out to solicit comments from their core constituencies in the next few months.

The Citizens Commission on State Courts, appointed by the Supreme Court to make recommendations on changes to be made to improve how the courts serve the public began holding a series of listening sessions that will reach every county by early November. (See schedule on page 10.)

“We urge members of the Bar to become informed about the work of the Citizens Commission, and to encourage people that they know who are touched by the court system—clients, friends, relatives—to take advantage of these opportunities to comment,” said NHBA President Richard Uchida. “We are not trying to pack these sessions with lawyers—instead, we know it is in the best interest of the profession, the court system and the public that the Commission obtain a wide range of informed opinion.”

Also getting underway in the next two months will be a series of focus groups being organized by the Supreme Court’s Task Force on the Status of the Legal Profession. That group, whose formation was announced by Chief Justice John T. Broderick, Jr. at last year’s Midyear Membership Meeting, is looking more closely at how the legal profession has changed and is changing, and will make recommendations for the courts and the legal community on measures to improve the legal system—measures that would directly affect lawyers, and, ultimately, could improve access to the justice system for all.

Uchida said a top priority for the Bar Association is supporting and assisting both the Citizens’ Commission’s efforts and the Task Force on the Status of the Profession. At the same time, the Association will also conduct its own efforts to examine the future of the profession and the judicial system—such as at the Fall Leadership Retreat (taking place Sept. 23-24 ) and at the Midyear Membership Meeting in February, to provide information and forums for discussion on the future of the legal profession and what the Association can do to help members take advantage of emerging trends in their practices.

The Citizens’ Commission’s first public input sessions were held in Manchester, Nashua and Concord, but with little advance publicity they did not attract large audiences. The Commission may consider additional means of stimulating greater public participation. The next sessions will be held Sept. 26 in Portsmouth, and in October.

In announcing the sessions in early September, a statement on the Commission’s Web site said:” We hope that citizens will come to a listening session near them and provide Commission members with their thoughts and recommendations on how to improve the effectiveness of our state courts.”

The Commission has also sponsored an opinion poll on public perceptions and concerns with the state’s justice system, conducted by the UNH Survey Center. The Commission will consider the poll’s findings and the comments from the public input sessions as it weighs the recommendations and directions suggested by a series of reports on the court system produced in the past few years by task forces appointed by the courts. These reports include the Task Force on Self-Represented Litigants and the Task Force on Justice System Needs and Priorities as well as the legislatively appointed Task Force on Family Law. (All three of those reports, along with information from the Family Division Implementation Committee, were summarized in the Winter 2005 issue of the NH Bar Journal, available at www.nhbar.org under Publications Archives.)

Broderick also formed a Task Force on the Status of the Legal Profession last year with the aim of:

• assessing the present state of lawyers and the legal profession in New Hampshire;
• evaluating whether the profession is fulfilling its obligations to the public, the judicial system and the Bar; and
  
• identifying important trends and challenges facing the profession in the fulfillment of its obligations.

Broderick said he wanted the task force to recommend what the judicial system and others can do to ensure that in the face of a changing legal landscape, legal services are available and affordable and that the courts remain accessible.

Retired Justice William Batchelder and Pierce Law Dean John Hutson were appointed co-chairs of the group, which began by reviewing a number of surveys and reports on the legal profession produced in other jurisdictions. One of the working sub-groups, on lawyer satisfaction, chaired by attorney Jack B. Middleton and comprised of attorney Cathy Green and NHBA Executive Director Jeannine L. McCoy, has begun working on arranging a series of focus groups to be held in various locations around the state, inviting lawyers representing a variety of practice areas and demographic categories. “We are trying to gather as much input as we can from people who represent a realistic cross-section of the bar,” said Middleton.

He said the task force’s review of previous surveys will be used to develop materials to be provided in advance to participants with the goal of provoking discussion and encouraging suggestions for improvements. “What we don’t want to do is write another report that says lawyers are unhappy and put it on a shelf to gather dust,” he said. “We think we have a handle on what the principal areas of dissatisfaction are likely to be, and we are going to be focusing on generating concrete suggestions. What can be done to make the practice of law more enjoyable – and, ultimately, how will that translate into make things better for our clients?”

Invitations and information about focus groups will be circulated to county bars, various sections and Association committees in the next few weeks.