By Sean Gill

Approximately one of every six New Hampshire attorneys is practicing in the public sector or public interest sphere. Their ranks include public defenders, prosecutors, legal aid and legal assistance attorneys, judges, court staff, state, county, and municipal government attorneys, and those working for 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations.

Attorneys self-identify as public service or public interest lawyers when registering or renewing with the Bar. Currently, 946 of 5,825 active New Hampshire Bar members are registered as public sector or public interest attorneys.

Among those, 543 are employed by state, county, and municipal governments, 253 serve with nonprofit organizations, 75 work for federal agencies, and another 75 have public sector positions out of state.

At the end of her term, NHBA Immediate Past President Kate Mahan convened a special committee to examine the unique challenges facing this significant constituency of Granite State attorneys and identify ways the NHBA can support and encourage public service practitioners.

The committee is tasked with identifying statewide trends in public sector and public interest employment, encouraging law students to explore career opportunities in the field.

It is also charged with recommending ways the Bar can support public service and public interest attorneys, and devising strategies to enhance representation by public service and public interest attorneys within the profession and the Bar.

Chaired by former United States Attorney Jane Young, the 13-member committee first met in September, conducted an initial survey of public service attorneys in October, and will report its findings and recommendations to the Board of Governors by June 1.

“There’s a perception that public service requires financial sacrifices private practice does not,” Young says. “I hope the committee will be able to look at that belief and, if founded, recommend steps the Bar can undertake to mitigate financial barriers to this meaningful practice of law.”

Young continues: “We also want to make sure public service attorneys – and those considering public service – are aware of programs already available for their benefit, like the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program.”

The PSLF program provides student loan cancellation to public service attorneys who make 120 qualifying monthly payments on eligible federal student loans. Many attorneys participating in the PSLF program view it as a component of their overall compensation package.

Sean Locke, a 2013 graduate of Boston University Law School, has spent his entire legal career in public service. After a year-long fellowship with the Disability Law Center in Boston and a judicial clerkship at the New Hampshire Supreme Court, Locke joined the New Hampshire Attorney General’s office, where he is now a senior assistant attorney general leading the Civil Rights Unit.

“After making 120 monthly payments on my student loans, I was able to take advantage of the PSLF and applied to have the balance forgiven,” Locke says. “In February 2024, the remaining balance of over $200,000 was forgiven, tax-free.”

Young says compensation for public service attorneys extends beyond salary alone.

“Salaries are not the only element of attorney compensation,” Young says. “Public defenders and state attorneys, for example, are eligible for incredibly affordable health insurance, which is something I didn’t fully appreciate until I left state service.”

Now in private practice with McDowell & Morrissette, Young notes that state attorneys and public defenders pay $20 every two weeks for single-person coverage, $40 for a married couple, and $60 for a family.

While considering ways the Bar can encourage law students to pursue public service opportunities, the committee is heartened to see similar efforts already underway. As a University of New Hampshire Franklin Pierce School of Law (UNH Law) alum, Young says she was proud of the work the school has done to promote public service, like its 17th Annual Public Interest and Government Job Fair at the school on January 22.

UNH Law Assistant Dean for Career Services Neil Sirota describes the job fair as one of the largest on-campus events of the year.

“Student interest in public service seems to be increasing,” Sirota says. “We expect about 50 nonprofit and government organizations on campus for the job fair and over 100 law students, mostly 1Ls, to submit resumes and interview for public service internship opportunities.”

The law school’s efforts to promote public service are not limited to hosting the popular job fair. The UNH Law Warren B. Rudman Center for Justice, Leadership, and Public Service offers a Summer Fellows Program for students performing volunteer legal work with a government agency or nonprofit. Rudman Center Executive Director Anna Brown says 69 fellows benefited from the program last summer, while providing 22,563 hours of legal work to 44 host agencies and nonprofits.

“It’s a truly win-win scenario,” says Locke, who also oversees the New Hampshire Department of Justice Internship Program. “Law students have the opportunity to gain valuable experience working firsthand in the public sector while the government agency or nonprofit benefits from the students’ talent, enthusiasm, and fresh perspectives. Student interns can develop legal skills while serving their communities. The Department of Justice has had many law student interns return as attorneys or go on to serve in other public service or public interest roles.”

Young says that while compensation and career pathways matter, many of the benefits of public service are less easily measured.

“Some of the greatest rewards gained from public service are intangible,” she says. “Many distinguished members of our bench and Bar look back upon the years spent in public service as the most fulfilling of their careers. I’m happy to hear that the Bar News will be profiling some of those figures in future editions and hope their stories will inspire others to consider public sector and public interest opportunities.”

 

Sean Gill is the chief of staff and associate attorney general at the New Hampshire Department of Justice.