ATTORNEYS JOHN J. Yazinski and Paul R. Moore have been confirmed by the Executive Council as presiding justice of Claremont District Court and special justice of Milford District Court, respectively.

Yazinski, 41, of Claremont, is a founding partner of Hughes, Smith & Yazinski, which has offices in Lebanon and Claremont. His is a general practice; his work ranges from business estates to banking to municipal law.

Yazinski is a 1981 graduate of East Stroudsburg University and obtained his law degree from Franklin Pierce Law Center. He was admitted to the NH Bar in 1988 and began his law career with the Hanover law firm Clauson, Smith & Whelan, where he did mainly litigation and business representation work. After three years, he set out to form his own firm with Connie Jackson, Jackson & Yazinski, which was a general practice where he concentrated mainly in municipal law. That firm evolved into Hughes, Smith & Yazinski.

He is a member of Main Street Claremont, Inc., and helped incorporate Children of Sullivan County, which is dedicated to addressing issues of child poverty and health.

Yazinski said he was "proud and humbled" when he received the call from Gov. Jeanne Shaheen informing him she’d nominated him for the Claremont presiding judgeship, which is a part-time position. Now that he has been confirmed, he said he is "excited about the possibilities" of sitting on the bench and making a difference in his community.

"I live and practice in Claremont – I love and am dedicated to this community. The court plays a tremendously important role in the life of any community – particularly this one," said Yazinski. He said that he is especially interested in working to address the juvenile problems he sees in the Claremont area.

The biggest challenge Yazinski foresees in his new role is filling the shoes of long-time Claremont District Court Judge Al Leahy, Jr., who retired in 2000 after 28 years on the bench. "The toughest part will be going into a court that had long been presided over by a legend," Yazinski said.

What he is most looking forward to is the "intellectual challenge" of being a judge. "Even the most mundane matter deserves my full attentiveness and analysis," said Yazinski.

Moore, a Bedford resident, has his own three-attorney law firm in Nashua, the Law Offices of Paul S. Moore. He concentrates his practice in personal injury, worker’s compensation, bankruptcy and family law, as well as do ing some civil litigation.

A 1980 graduate of St. Anselm College, Moore, 43, earned his law degree from Northeastern University School of Law. He also holds a master’s degree in public administration. He was admitted to the NH Bar in 1988. For his first four years as an attorney, he worked for the Nashua law firm Smith-Weiss, Connor & Wilder, where he did mainly divorce and district court work.

He is president of the New England Handicapped Sports Association, based at Mount Sunapee, and an Army veteran of the St. Anselm ROTC program.

Moore said that he is "very excited about the prospect of being able to sit on the bench" of Milford District Court, where he will be a part-time judge.

"It’ll be a challenge – but one that I’m looking forward to," he said.

Moore believes that one of the challenges of being a judge will be applying ever-changing laws to meet the needs of the community for which he will sit. "The law is changing on a daily basis. When presiding over cases, a judge needs to enforce those statutes in a way that is in the best interests of the community he or she sits in," he said.

Moore said that he is looking forward to "trying to make a difference and doing the best job I can" on the bench of Milford District Court.

Both Moore and Yazinski were sworn in by Gov. Shaheen in a ceremony at the State House on Jan. 9, as Bar News went to press.

No photo of John J. Yazinski was available at press time.

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