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Bar News - June 17, 2011 President's Perspective: In Closing, I Would Like to Say... By: Marilyn Billings McNamara
The Bar Association’s Midyear Meeting celebrated the Greatest Generation and welcomed Chief Justice Linda Stewart Dalianis to her new role. Again, this year, we had a full house. Our sections and committees have been hard at work. I extend thanks to all who serve our Association, with special recognition to members of the Public Protection Fund Committee (PPF). Faced with a number of small claims, the PPF members have worked long and hard to provide some reimbursement to these clients, as promptly as possible. I have written about the rules of the road and the need for civic education. This year’s legislative session has highlighted that need. Good government requires checks and balances, respect for the institutions of governance and respect for those who serve the people. I’ve been disappointed by some of the rhetoric coming from elected officials who have spoken without thought and diminished the dignity of the institution. I am concerned about some legislators who impose their own value systems through the legislation they espouse. Elected officials owe a duty to all the people, not just those of like mind. That said, I’ve been heartened by the cooperation between the legislature and the judicial branch as the two co-equal branches worked through the innovations proposed by the judicial branch. Despite the enormous challenges posed by the budget this year, the legislature largely supported the judicial branch’s initiatives. There are so many people to thank, but I can focus only on a few: Upton & Hatfield, for my colleagues’ unwavering support, the Board of Governors and the Association’s many volunteers, for contributing their time and talents; the New Hampshire Bar Foundation leaders and members, for their perseverance and steady march forward, and countless Bar members with whom I have communicated on all manner of issues. The Bar Association staff, from the unseen to the out-front, are a dedicated group of people who work to make the rest of us look like we know what we’re doing. At the Annual Meeting, I will say a few final words (well, final as to the presidency; I’m not easily silenced) and welcome Jennifer Parent to the role. Like me, she’ll be aided and abetted by a Bar staff with years of experience and expertise. The year will fly by, and at the end, she, too, will feel a touch of nostalgia and a large dose of relief. Marilyn Billings McNamara, of the Upton & Hatfield law firm, concludes her term as NHBA President at the Annual Meeting on June 25, 2011 at the Omni Mount Washington Resort in Bretton Woods. |
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