HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.
![handle is hein.barjournals/nhbn0014 and id is 1 raw text is: NEW HAMPSHIRE Inside 'rds Issue'
N ~NHBA,.CLE ,.
El Audio and Video Catalog.
Ba ews Insert
An Offical Publicatio of the New Hampshire Bar Association wwv.nhbar.org VOL. 14, NO. 1 o JUNE 6, 2003
Head 'Em Off
at the Impasse
EDispute Resolution Service
Tackles Tough Issues for Bar
Members, Clients
By Lisa Segal
EVERY LAWYER HAS at least one: a difficult situation that
defies all attempts to be untangled; a misunderstanding on
the verge of mushrooming into a big issue for lawyer and
client; or a problem with another lawyer that's reached an
uncomfortable Impasse. These are the matters that tend to
sink to the bottom of the to-do list. They can disappear
from the lawyer's everyday radar screen. Sometimes these
problems can fade In importance over time; sometimes they
just get bigger.
Rather than waiting to find out whether the situation
disappears or resurfaces as a PCC complaint or malpractice
suit, a lawyer or client with a dispute involving a New Hamp-
shire lawyer has an alternative: the NHBA's Dispute Reso-
lution Committee (DRC), which is designed to handle those
complaints that do not rise to the level of violation of the
Rules of Professional Conduct. The committee handles all
matters on a voluntary and, at first, Informal, basis. The ser-
vice can be used by clients and attorneys having fee disputes,
or by nttorn,:Vs with complaints against other lawyers, al-
through the malority of b.sues currently handled are brought
to the DRC by clients regarding their attorneys.
Typical complaints about attorneyshandled by the DRC
include: not returning phone calls, not keeping the client
informed its to what Is happening with his or her case, mak-
ing exctuses why the case is taking so long or not relinquish-
Ing a client's file after the client has dismissed the lawyer.
The mont common dispute, though, is over ttomey's fees.
Attorney Melinda Gehris, who has served on the DRC
for five years and is its current vice chair, said that the dis-
pute resolution service helps attorneys address complaints as
soon as possible, lessening the chance that the situation will
escalate and result in a PCC complaint. (The Bar Associa.
tion has beLgun the process ofdeveloping a program to supple-
ment the DRC by contracting with a part-time or semi-re.
tired attorney or legal professional with mediation skills to
serve as an ombudsperson to provide additional assistance
in helping divert disputes from the disciplinary process. See
page 2 for an article on Association member services.)
Dispute resolution is a valuable service available to Bar
members. It significantly reduces the potential for disputes
to take time and energy away from an attorney's practice of
law. ThIsservice can eliminate substantially bigger problems.
DISPUTE continued on page 7
President's Awards at Annual Meeting
Judges Active in 'Academy' Program,
Fred Upton to be Honored
FOUR SUPERIOR COURT judges who have played key roles
in promoting the Academy alternative sentencing programs
in their courts will share the 2003 Justice William A. Grimes
Award for Judicial Professionalism to be presented June 27
at the NHBA Annual Meeting by NH Bar President Marty
Van Oot.
Van Got also announced that Frederic K. Upton, of
Concord, has been named the recipient of the Donald E.
Dufresne Professionalism Award. Upton, a Concord lawyer
and a former NHBA president, is being recognized for his
outstanding career as an attorney and as an advocate for a
strong and independent judiciary.
Recipients of the Grimes Award will be presiding jus-
tices Patricia C. Coffey, of Rockingham County; Kathleen
A. McGuire, Merrimack County; Robert E. K. Morrill, of
Sullivan County; and Hon. Carol Ann Conboy, of the
Hillsborough Northern District.
The Academy is a community-based rehabilitation
program that has been used as an alternative to Incarcera-
tion for nonviolent felons, and in some Instances, as a pre-
trial bail release program. According to a recent analysis of
the program by the New Hampshire Center for Public
Policy, an Independent think tank, the Academy has saved
the state approximately $10 million In avoided incarcera-
tion costs In the past six years while successfully protectling]
the public's safety through aggressive monitoring of the
programs' participants and the prompt incarceration of par-
ticipants who violate the program's rules or threaten pub-
lic safety. (See page 20 for mote details on this research.)
The Academy, a statewide program under the supervi-
sion of the Department of Corrections, depends on the co-
operation of all elements of the justice system in each county
- law enforcement personnel, prosecutors, defense attor-
neys and superior court judges - to make It work. Participa-
tion rates vary widely by county, and the enthusiasm, inter-
AWARDS continued on page 8
Bar Foundation Annual Event
Celebrates Service, Fundraising Success
By Dan Wise
AMID THE CHALLENGES of meeting a steadily increasing
demand for legal services for low- and moderate-income
clients, the legal services community and its supporters in
the judiciary and private bar were in a celebratory mood on
May 22 at the NH Bar Foundation's Annual Dinner held
at CR Sparks in Bedford.
There was rlenty to applaud, starting with the awards:
the Frank Rowe Kenison Award was presented to Ron
Lospennato, leg,l director for the Disabilities Rights Cen-
ter, marking a lifetime of persistent, imaginative, compas-
sionate - and successful - advocacy for the disabled; and
the Robert Kirby Award was presented to McLane attor-
ney Jennifer Parent, recognizing a young lawyer who has
already established a reputation for exemplary advocacy,
civility and leadership.
NH Bar Foundation names new executive
director, wraps up Year One of the Campaign
for Legal Services. See page 11.
Forner Georgia Gov,. Ray lames, the Foundation dinner's keynote
speaker, describes the fun he's hating adwscating fur indigent clients
during his six-month pro bono stint at Atlanta Legal Services.
Then there was the Inspiration of the keynote speaker,
former Georgia Governor Ray Barnes, who seasoned his
call to pro bono service with authentic Georgia-accented
anecdotes of his current stint with Atlanta Legal Aid. Barnes
FOUNDATION continued on page 10
Z The Year In Member Services.
The NHBA Insurance Agency,
Casemaker and Online CLE are among the
highlights of a year of progress In Bar
member services.
4Volunteer Status. Members are
asked to vote on creating a new
member status to enable Inactive or retired
attorneys to handle pro bono cases without
paying active-member dues.
18 A Pro Se Prescription. Advice for
defense attorneys facing pro se
litigants In employment cases.
20 The Rudman E.Courtuse.
20JU.S. District Court Clerk Jim
Starr updates the Bar on the advent of
electronic filing, expected to launch in
spring or summer 2004.
June 6 2003 Periodical Postage Paid at Concord NH 03301
I THE DOCKET 'I](ViewImageLocal?handle=hein.barjournals/nhbn0014&div=1&collection=&method=preview&ext=.png&size=3)