JAMES E. DUGGAN, associate justice of the NH Supreme Court, will receive the NH Bar Foundation’s Frank Rowe Kenison Award as part of the Foundation’s 25th Anniversary celebration on June 12, to be held in conjunction with the 30th Anniversary celebration of New Hampshire Legal Assistance.

Duggan will be recognized principally for his efforts prior to being named to the Supreme Court, as an attorney for indigent defendants and a mentor to those in the NH Public Defender Program and at Franklin Pierce Law Center. The Kenison Award is given annually in recognition of an individual’s contributions to strengthening the justice system in New Hampshire.

Duggan, 59, of Amherst, earned both his undergraduate degree in political science and his law degree from Georgetown University. He began his legal career as a staff attorney for the Public Defender Service in Washington, D.C., in the early ‘70s. He also worked as a civil lawyer on environmental damage cases in Micronesia before coming to NH in 1973.

Duggan was admitted to the NH Bar in 1974. That year, he joined the staff of the fledgling Hillsborough County Public Defender Office, becoming one of the state’s first public defenders and handling mostly felony cases in the Manchester and Nashua District Courts. When it was originally created, the Public Defender program was funded as part of New Hampshire Legal Assistance. Duggan credits George Bruno and Paul Semple for obtaining federal seed money to start Public Defender within the existing structure of NHLA. Public Defender remained a part of NHLA until the mid-‘80s.

Duggan became director of the Public Defender programs for Hillsborough and Merrimack Counties during his three-year tenure. He also served as acting director of NH Public Defender later in his career, from 1991 to 1992, when it had grown to a then 55-attorney statewide program.

In 1977, Duggan began teaching criminal procedure, appellate defender and other courses at Franklin Pierce Law Center. There he began the NH Appellate Defender program in 1980 to help indigent criminal defendants appeal their cases. He served as chief appellate defender of the program until being appointed to the Supreme Court bench early in 2001. Through Appellate Defender, Duggan represented some 300 indigent defendants before the Supreme Court, appealing on issues of federal or state constitutional law, statutory law, rules of evidence and common law. He is believed to have appeared before the court more times than any other lawyer in the state’s history.

The mission of the NH Bar Foundation is to ensure access to justice for all in New Hampshire. By jointly celebrating the anniversaries of the Foundation and NHLA and by naming Duggan this year’s Kenison Award winner, the Bar Foundation is emphasizing the essential connection between civil and criminal legal assistance. At the beginning of Duggan’s career as one of the first public defenders, the public defenders and NHLA worked together to provide both criminal and civil legal assistance to the state’s disadvantaged.

David Garfunkel, former executive director of NH Public Defender who is now an attorney with Gallagher, Callahan & Gartrell, has known Duggan for 23 years. Duggan was working as Hillsborough County public defender and teaching at FPLC when the two first met.

Garfunkel said that as important as his criminal defense work through Public Defender has been Duggan’s role at the law school and in the Appellate Defender program. "He spent 20-plus years at the law school, mentoring countless students and directing them to public sector jobs, where they would make less, but would contribute in a positive way to our justice system," he said.

"Through his entire career, Jim has shown a commitment to excellence in the profession and to public service through his own efforts and through teaching and mentoring many students."

It is that commitment to public service that makes Duggan deserving of the Kenison Award, Garfunkel said. "Jim’s career has been principally in criminal defense, but it is his commitment to overall excellence in the profession and to serving the poor that transcends criminal practice," said Garfunkel.

"By serving the profession and legal services, he serves all practitioners, both civil and criminal," he added.

John Tobin, the executive director of NHLA and a colleague of Duggan’s when NHLA and the Public Defender program were one, said that in the legal services community, Duggan is looked upon as a "role model and hero."

"He’s a passionate advocate for justice…an effective lawyer and a good teacher," said Tobin. "He has been a pioneer and leader in helping to create and set high standards for indigent criminal defense in New Hampshire."

In addition to his work in criminal law, Duggan has a "broader vision," according to Tobin. "He cares about making the whole justice system fair and live up to its ideals. And now that he’s elevated to the Supreme Court, it’s a wonderful opportunity to bring that perspective to the highest reaches of the legal system."

Duggan said he was "very surprised and deeply honored" when he was notified of being this year’s Kenison Award winner. "It is such an honor to receive an award from the Bar Foundation and Bar in New Hampshire, which have been tremendously committed to the provision of both civil and criminal legal services," he said.

Duggan said that civil and criminal legal services in NH fall under the same umbrella of providing high-quality legal services for those in need. "For different reasons, people become involved in the legal system – indigent folks who otherwise wouldn’t have access to legal services. Civil legal services providers and Public Defender serve those who are traditionally underrepresented in the legal system. They work to provide high-quality legal services to people in dire straits," he said.

The presentation of the Kenison Award to Duggan and of the Robert E. Kirby Award (which this year will go to attorney John T. Pendleton; see the May 3 Bar News) are just some of the festivities planned for the joint anniversary celebration of the NH Bar Foundation and NHLA. The event will take place at CR Sparks in Bedford on Wednesday, June 12, beginning at 6 p.m. ALL Bar members and supporters of the Foundation and NHLA are invited to attend. If you have not received an invitation or would like more information about the dinner, contact Angela Sepela Yanski at 224-6942 or at ayanski@nhbar.org. Dinner sponsorship opportunities are also available; underwriting of the event will enable all proceeds to go to the Community Campaign for Legal Services a fundraising initiative of the Bar Foundation aimed at substantially increasing private support for legal services. Contact Yanski for more information on sponsorship opportunities.

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