Annual Meeting 2026

E. Donald Dufresne Award for Outstanding Professionalism

To honor the memory of E. Donald Dufresne, this award is presented to an attorney that best fits the following: A professional lawyer is an expert in law, pursuing a learned art in service to clients and in the spirit of public service; and engaging in these pursuits as part of a common calling to promote justice and public good.

Mary Elizabeth Tenn is a trial attorney with Tenn and Tenn, PA, in Manchester, where her practice focuses on personal injury, domestic relations, and commercial litigation.

A highly regarded trial lawyer, Tenn has secured numerous multimillion-dollar verdicts and settlements on behalf of her personal injury clients. In her domestic relations work, she has successfully resolved complex, high-asset cases involving closely held businesses, real estate, trusts, and other contested assets through litigation, mediation, and settlement. She is known for her skill in helping clients navigate emotionally charged and high-conflict disputes. Her broad litigation experience earned her induction as a Fellow of the Litigation Counsel of America, a peer-selected honorary society of lawyers vetted for their skill, expertise, and service.

She has held several leadership positions within the legal community. She currently serves on the Board of the New Hampshire Bar Foundation, where she focuses on civics education and expanding access to civil legal services. She is a past president of both the New Hampshire Bar Association and the Manchester Bar Association. In 2005, she received the Bar Foundation’s Robert E. Kirby Award for demonstrating civility, courtesy, perspective, and excellence in the practice of law.

Appointed by the New Hampshire Supreme Court, Tenn serves as Chair of the Board of Bar Examiners and is also a Bar Examiner for the Daniel Webster Scholars Program. She is a member of the Character and Fitness Committee and previously served on both the Professional Conduct Committee and the Hearings Panel. She also serves on Governor Kelly Ayotte’s Public Safety Task Force and previously sat on Governor Chris Sununu’s Judicial Selection Commission.

Tenn earned her undergraduate degree from Boston College and her JD from Harvard Law School.

Justice William A. Grimes Award for Judicial Professionalism

To honor the memory of Justice William A. Grimes, this award is presented to a judge who best reflects the highest standards of integrity, legal knowledge and ability, judicial temperament, diligence, and compassion.

Judge Charles S. Temple is an Associate Justice of the New Hampshire Superior Court, where he presides in the Hillsborough Superior Court–Southern District. Prior to his appointment to the bench, Judge Temple served as a professor of law and director of the Criminal Practice Clinic at the University of New Hampshire Franklin Pierce School of Law. He previously spent 18 years in private practice at the firm of Upshall, Cooper & Temple, PA.

Throughout his career, Judge Temple has held numerous leadership positions, including chair of the Public Employees Labor Relations Board and roles on multiple New Hampshire Bar Association committees, including the Committee for Cooperation with the Courts. He also served on the NHBA Board of Governors. Judge Temple is currently a member of the New Hampshire Judicial Branch’s Diversity and Inclusion Steering Committee.

Judge Temple earned both his undergraduate and law degrees from the University of New Hampshire and the UNH Franklin Pierce School of Law.

Distinguished Service to the Legal Profession Award

This award is presented to the nominee who best exhibits service to the legal profession.

Justice James P. Bassett is an Associate Justice of the New Hampshire Supreme Court. He was sworn in as the 107th justice in 2012. Prior to his appointment, he spent 27 years as a trial and appellate attorney at Orr & Reno in Concord, where he focused on constitutional law, commercial litigation, medical malpractice defense, First Amendment and Right-to-Know issues, and land use matters.

Justice Bassett has held numerous leadership roles throughout his career. He currently serves as co-chair of the Supreme Court’s Committee on the Judiciary and the Media and co-chair of the Access to Justice Commission. He is the Court’s representative on the New Hampshire Judicial Council and serves as liaison to both the New Hampshire Bar Foundation and the New Hampshire Bar Association. In 2016, Chief Justice John Roberts appointed him to the Federal Advisory Committee on Rules of Evidence and he was reappointed in 2019. In 2023, he earned an LLM from Duke Law School’s Master of Judicial Studies Program.

Before joining the bench, Justice Bassett was active in several nonprofit and civic organizations. He chaired the Merrimack County United Way Campaign and served on the boards of New Hampshire Public Radio, the Capitol Center for the Arts, the Friends of the Norris Cotton Cancer Center, and Canterbury Shaker Village. He also served on the Leadership Council for the Campaign for Legal Services. In Canterbury, where he resides, Justice Bassett served for more than two decades in town government, including multiple elected terms on both the Board of Selectmen and the Planning Board, chairing each.

He earned his undergraduate degree from Dartmouth College and his law degree from the University of Virginia School of Law. He began his legal career as a law clerk to Chief Judge Andrew Caffrey of the US District Court in Boston.

Registration closes May 23

Thank you to Our Sponsors

Become one of our Sponsors!