LARRY B. PLETCHER is stepping down as a marital master after 20 years (14 full-time) on the superior court bench. At age 56, though, Pletcher is not slowing down; he will simply be focusing on other pursuits.

After he hangs up his judicial robes on July 1, don't expect Pletcher to hang out a shingle any time soon, though. "I am not going to practice law. I am going to take some time off and work on my farm in Warner and concentrate on my writing," Pletcher said. One of a small number of certified organic farmers in the state, Pletcher currently has two acres of vegetables under cultivation. In addition, he is, regionally speaking, a "best-selling" author of two books, Hiker's Guide to New Hampshire and Hiking in Vermont. The New Hampshire hiking guide describes 100 different hikes, is in its second edition, and has sold 15,000 copies since it was first published in 1995.

After the growing season, Pletcher and his wife, Carol, who formerly worked on the state legislative staff, are planning a trip to Europe. Pletcher said he has some writing plans involving a different kind of book, but, like many authors, he's holding back details on the writing project he envisions.

Pletcher said he is not retiring out of dissatisfaction or because he is burned out. Sorting through marital disputes and overseeing the division of property and allocation of child support day after day didn't wear him down, he said. "I never found the position of marital master to be depressing. I found the pressure of the caseload to be stressful, but not the subject matter."

Currently sitting in Sullivan County, Pletcher has spent most of his time as a master in some of the less populous counties, including Cheshire and the Grafton County Family Division, although earlier in his judicial career he also presided in Merrimack and Rockingham counties. "I've been lucky to work where I have been," he said. "Practice differs in various parts of the state, and lawyers in certain parts of the state are not quite as litigious and the lawyers are more collegial. In Sullivan and Cheshire, you still have a sense of how practice in New Hampshire was 20 years ago."

Pletcher said his goal as a master was to encourage the parties to try to resolve their cases before trial if at all possible, or to at least limit the issues to be tried. One of five full-time masters appointed in 1988, he said the court system's greater reliance on masters over the years has improved the handling of domestic relations cases. "The advent of the marital masters was a big change, and it was welcomed by the practitioners. They were getting people on the bench who were committed to this kind of work.," he said.

The focus of the masters on this specific area and their steady assignments in particular counties provided a welcome consistency for lawyers and litigants, according to Pletcher. "The parties knew what to expect from you. The lawyers knew what my approach was to resolving issues; they knew where I was likely to come down on alimony or property division."

Pletcher does not like the idea proposed in a pilot project that will allow litigants a preemptory strike of the judge or master assigned to their case (see article below). In smaller counties, with which he is familiar, such an option could lead to significant delays, Pletcher said.

Pletcher enjoyed his stint as a marital master in the Family Division in Grafton County, although he said that the processes there are no longer that much different than procedures in superior court. The major difference is the existence of the case managers, who orient and assist pro se litigants. "Their presence relieves a lot of pressure on the staff and they are a real benefit," he said.

The continuing tightness of the court system budget is a noticeable factor in recent times, Pletcher said, especially in the Family Division. "The main effect of the budget crunch is that in using the support staff, it becomes a choice between getting out orders or processing cases." Another consequence of the budget crunch is that the court system does not currently plan to seek a replacement for Pletcher, one of 11 masters statewide, according to Superior Court Chief Justice Walter Murphy. Along with the voluntary cutback in schedule by Master Martha Copithorne, the reduction in the masters' ranks means more domestic relations cases will have to be heard by judges.

Asked whether he had any advice or pet peeves for lawyers practicing in the marital area, Pletcher instead offered an observation. "Many times, it is clear to me when lawyers are trying to present a case in a certain way to satisfy their clients, instead of telling me what I need to know to decide the case. There's a big difference between the two."

Pletcher, admitted to the Bar in 1973 after obtaining his law degree from the University of California at Berkeley, first worked in New Hampshire at the Wiggin & Nourie law firm. He also practiced in Concord and with Bruce Larson in Londonderry in the late 1970s and early 1980s. First appointed as a part-time marital master in 1982, Pletcher was one of five masters appointed full-time in 1988.

Pletcher doesn't think he will miss the legal world, at least in the short run. "For several years, I've had three lives [writing, farming and judging] and now I only have time for two."

Home | About the Bar | For Members | For the Public | Legal Links | Publications | Online Store
Lawyer Referral Service | Law-Related Education | NHBA•CLE | NHBA Insurance Agency | NHMCLE
Search | Calendar

New Hampshire Bar Association
2 Pillsbury Street, Suite 300, Concord NH 03301
phone: (603) 224-6942 fax: (603) 224-2910
email: NHBAinfo@nhbar.org
© NH Bar Association Disclaimer