By Anna Berry
A well-known member was introduced as the New Hampshire Bar Association’s next executive director to a standing ovation at the Annual Meeting: George R. Moore. After “an enthusiastic consensus” was reached by the Board, the former Bar president and Devine Millimet attorney is set to take the helm of the Bar in August.
“Following an extensive search process, we are very excited to have George Moore assume this important leadership role,” said Bar President David McGrath. “As a distinguished New Hampshire lawyer who has served as president of the New Hampshire and New England Bar Associations, George has the experience, diligence and vision necessary to lead the Association at a time when the legal community is experiencing rapid change and challenge.”
In his address to members of the bench and bar gathered at the Woodstock Inn & Resort for the Annual Meeting on June 30, Moore said he looked forward to public service after four decades of business and commercial litigation practice.
“I was ready to change my practice [and] I have become energized by this opportunity,” he said.
Moore said he hopes to engage the Bar’s diverse constituency in shaping the organization’s future, particularly solo practitioners.
“We’ve got to stay relevant to their lives and their practice,” he said. “The same thing goes for the younger people in the bar.”
Moore also pledged further cooperation and coordination with the New Hampshire Supreme Court and to make the Bar as responsive as possible to members.
“The Bar has gone through a lot of changes in the last year,” he said. “We’ve got some work to do … but that’s the challenge, to make it better and to make it more efficient.”
Outgoing Bar President Scott Harris recognized McGrath at the meeting for organizing and leading a search committee that represented the “breadth and depth” of the state’s bar and for gaining an “enthusiastic” consensus on Moore.
Moore will replace Acting Executive Director Denice DeStefano, who has led the Bar Association for the past year.
Moore’s experience includes real estate, eminent domain, and construction matters. Independently, he spends time mediating cases and sitting as an arbitrator. He is a shareholder in Devine, Millimet & Branch, working out of the firm’s Manchester office.
Moore served as president of the NH Bar from 1999 to 2000, when he assisted then-Governor Jeanne Shaheen in developing the Judicial Selection Commission.
He is also a former member of the state Legislature’s Judicial Council and was appointed by the New Hampshire Supreme Court to serve on committees to establish an office of dispute resolution and on the status of legal professionals.
He has served as a board member for many nonprofit organizations as well, including the NH Bar Foundation, YMCA of Manchester, NH Legal Services, and NH Legal Advice and Referral Center.
A retired captain of the U.S. Army, Moore grew up on Long Island. He is a graduate of St. Lawrence University in New York, and a 1977 graduate of the Washington & Lee University Law School in Virginia. He is a resident of Plainfield, New Hampshire.
Moore will spend the next few weeks wrapping up his practice before he assumes his new role at the Bar Center.
“It is truly an opportunity to make a difference at a critical time,” he said.