Duggan, who spent his career as a public defender and law professor before he joined the state Supreme Court in 2001, is co-chair of New Hampshire’s Access to Justice Commission which was established to coordinate the state’s existing legal service delivery programs and develop new initiatives. At the time he was appointed to the bench, Duggan was on the faculty of the Pierce Law Center in Concord and was director of the state’s appellate defender program, which represents indigent clients who have appealed their convictions.

In that capacity, Duggan had argued hundreds of cases before the Supreme Court on behalf of criminal defendants who could not afford a lawyer. "It is an exciting opportunity for New Hampshire to be involved in cutting -edge issues about access to justice around the country," Duggan said about his appointment to the ABA committee.

The ABA Legal Aid and Indigent Defendants Committee, which was established in the 1920s, is unique in that it is the only standing committee that can speak on behalf of the ABA without prior approval of the board of governors…..[It] also plays a key role as an advocate for preservation and adequate funding of The Legal Services Corporation, a private, non-profit corporation established by the U.S. Congress in 1974 to provide low cost civil legal assistance to the poor.