New Hampshire Bar Association President, Richard Uchida, and Executive Director Jeannine McCoy have announced the formation of a special task force designed to create a Work-Life Creed for Bar members.  President-Elect Richard McNamara and Ellen Arnold will co-chair the task force.

“This task force has been created in response to overwhelming need expressed by bar members,” said Uchida. He pointed out that at the past two leadership conferences of the Association and that at county and local bar meetings, as well as in meetings with past bar leaders and the courts, the quality of life of those in the legal profession has been an issue that has gained increasing attention.

McCoy noted that in the first Association member e-survey, quality of life issues ranked as the most critical challenge facing the profession. “We had a very large response to the first e-survey – larger than we could have imagined,” she said.  “And more importantly, the response to the first survey was so broad that we know the answers are statistically very accurate.  When this many members list quality of life issues as important to the health of their practices and the profession, we need to respond.”

Uchida said that he has asked the Task Force to create a creed, similar of the Bar’s Professionalism Creed or the Declaration of Commitment to Clients.  “The creed will be aspirational in nature,” he said.  “We don’t want to compel law firms to adopt the creed, nor are we seeking to do that.  Instead, we want the creed to spell out a set of quality of life principles which attorneys can use and rely on to shape their lives.”

Uchida said it is critical that New Hampshire attorneys, especially those in small firms, can point to the creed as a document endorsed by the Association. “It will give the average practitioner something to refer to, when work pressures and demands become overwhelming.  For members to know that the Association adopts and believes in principles of work-life balance will be very supportive.  They will know they are not alone.”

Uchida and McCoy said they hope the creed will be completed within the next six months.

The Task Force is made up of Bar members who have expressed strong interest in work-life quality issues.  They include members of the Professionalism Committee, the Gender Equality Committee, the New Hampshire Women’s Bar Association, and others.

Uchida added that if there are attorneys interested in joining the task force, they should contact either Jeannine McCoy at jmccoy@nhbar.org or him at richarduchida@hebertanduchida.com.  “This is a timely and worthy project,” Uchida said.  “I hope the creed will become a source of guidance and comfort, as well as a statement about the quality of the legal profession in New Hampshire.”