Kelly Ayotte, Former head of the homicide bureau of the NH Attorney General’s Office who has served as Gov. Craig Benson’s legal counsel since January, may return to the AG’s Office. Benson has nominated Ayotte as deputy attorney general to serve directly under new AG Peter W. Heed.

If confirmed, Ayotte will succeed Stephen Judge, whose term expired March 31. Judge, who was appointed in August 2001 to finish the unexpired term of Steven Houran, said he will stay with the AG’s Office until July 1 during the transition.

Ayotte, who has also served as Benson’s lead spokesperson, said she wants to stay with the governor’s office through the state budget period.

Ayotte has been in practice 10 years. She worked as a law clerk to the New Hampshire Supreme Court and at the law firm of McLane, Graf, Raulerson & Middleton prior to joining the AG’s Office. She worked in the AG’s Office for five years until joining Benson’s staff.

In addition to the expected return of Ayotte to the AG’s Office, Attorney General Peter Heed has appointed Michael A. Delaney head of the office’s homicide bureau. Delaney is a senior assistant attorney general who has worked on many homicide cases. He co-prosecuted with Ayotte in the Zantop murder case.

Replacing Ayotte as the governor’s legal counsel will be attorney Christopher Reid, currently a partner at the Concord office of the Portland law firm of Preti Flaherty. Reidwas a law clerk for former Judge Martin F. Loughlin in the U.S. District Court – New Hampshire, and beginning in 1994 worked in the AG’s Office, where he became a senior assistant attorney general.

Reid is active politically. In 1996, while on leave from the AG’s Office, he served as deputy special counsel to the U.S. Committee on Governmental Affairs. He was also associate independent counsel in the investigation of Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt during 1998 and 1999. Reid is a former representative who represented Dover in the NH House during the 2001 and 2002 sessions and served on the House Judiciary Committee.

House Subcommittee Votes to Add $8.2 Million to Court Budget

A subcommittee of House budget writers has agreed to add $8.2 million to the court system’s budget, most of which will come from increases in court filing fees and motor vehicle fines. The remainder would come from general funds.

Gov. Craig Benson’s proposed budget suggested a $10.5 million cut to the courts’ requested budget in each of the next two fiscal years. The courts requested $64.6 million for FY 2004 and $65.2 million for FY 2005.

Court officials said that such reductions would result in layoffs and court closings, and proposed instead a "critical needs budget" that would, among other things, fill 40 to 50 vacant positions, prevent court closings and enable the courts to meet constitutional and statutory time mandates for hearing cases and getting out orders.

previously served as the prosecutor for the town of North Conway.

Albrecht is a 1979 graduate of Union College and a 1982 graduate of Franklin Pierce Law Center. He was admitted to the NH Bar in 1983.

Albrecht’s appointment will last until the next election in 2004, at which time he plans to run for election.

Lawyers See Civility Decreasing

A new survey of attorneys conducted by The Affiliates, a staffing service for legal professionals, found that 49 percent of those polled feel the level of civility between lawyers has decreased over the past five years. Only 13 percent of respondents believe attorneys today are more courteous to their peers.

Post 9/11 Jury Awards Down, Then Up

Large jury verdict awards to individual plaintiffs dropped considerably during the 12 months following the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, but have since surged, according to Lawyers Weekly USA. In particular, the end of 2002 was marked by record-setting jury awards, including an unprecedented six verdicts of $80 million-plus. At the top of the list was a record-setting $28 billion award to a smoker in California – nearly six times larger than the previous largest verdict in a tobacco case – and a $225 million verdict against Ford, one of the largest personal injury awards in history against an auto manufacturer.

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