NHWBA President, Holly B. Haines,  

Receives 2011 Robert E. Kirby Award from the

New Hampshire Bar Foundation   

Photo courtesy of Craig Sander/NHBA 

The NHWBA is proud to congratulate its President, Holly B. Haines, on receiving the 2011 Robert E. Kirby Award from the New Hampshire Bar Foundation.  This award is given annually by the NH Bar Foundation to a lawyer under the age of 35 who demonstrates the traits of civility, courtesy, perspective and excellent advocacy.

Members of the NHWBA Board sponsored a table to support the NH Bar Foundation at its annual dinner and are pictured above.

(L-R: Keri Ann Roman, Cathy McKay, Kristin Mendoza, Holly Kilibarda, Holly Haines, Joceline Champagne, Nicole Cook, Katherine Brown, and Charla Stevens)

On May 6, 2011, the NHWBA presented its second Path to the Bench CLE for its members.  Six New Hampshire sitting justices recounted their paths to the bench and current and former members of the judicial selection commission explained the history and evolution of the judicial selection process and the workings of the commission.

The justices pictured above are as follows (L-R):  Hon. Landya McCafferty, Hon. Gillian Abramson, Hon. Jacalyn Colburn, Hon. Linda Dalianis, Marital Master Deborah Rein, and Hon. Susan Ashley.

The program began with Katherine Hanna of Sheehan, Phinney, Bass & Green, former chair of the Judicial Selection Commission, detailing the long embattled history of the Judicial Selection Commission, which was initially proposed in the legislature in 1975, but was vetoed by then Governor Meldrim Thomson. The current commission was established by Governor John H. Lynch in 2005.   

Emily Rice of Orr & Reno, co-chair of the current Judicial Selection Commission, explained the application process and cautioned potential applicants not to be discouraged by the vigorous process or the possibility of unsuccessful initial attempts.  Both Attorney Hanna and Attorney Rice acknowledged that because confidentiality is a critical element of the selection process, notification of non-selection does not occur and it is difficult for applicants who sometimes only learn they were not selected when the names of those who were selected are announced in the press.

The diverse panel of justices from throughout the state consisted of both those who had experienced the judicial selection commission process and those who were appointed to the bench before the commission was established.  In addition to discussing their individual paths to the bench, the justices commented on the skills they felt had best prepared them for the bench and on their experiences since their appointments.  

The program was well attended by our membership and the candor and openness of the panel of judges was appreciated by all.  The NHWBA encourages all qualified members to apply for future judgeships as they become available and the materials from this program are available from the NHWBA.

Thank you to all who made this year's food drive such an amazing success!  The Spring 2011 food drive resulted in $2,015 in monetary donations and approximately 1,113 lbs. of food donations for the New Hampshire Food Bank.  We were pleased to see significant growth from last year's food drive in the number of firms who participated, and in the amount of food and monetary donations collected by all.  

The staff at the New Hampshire Food Bank were very appreciative of our efforts, especially since community needs increase over the summer months as families are not able to rely on school hot lunch programs for providing meals to their children.  NHWBA President Holly Haines and Public Relations Officer Nicole Morse are pictured below with five trucks of the food donations collected.

Watch our next newsletter for the Food Drive Honor Roll recognizing all of the firms who so generously contributed to this worthy cause!  

New Hampshire Women's Leadership Summit Returns June 10, 2011 

The Massachusetts Women's Bar Association presents an evening with Judge Nancy Gertner, U.S. District Court, District of Massachusetts, who will be speaking about her book, In Defense of Women: Memoirs of an Unrepentant Advocate, about her experiences, and offering a question and answer session.  The program begins at 5:30 p.m. and RSVPs are recommended. 

For more information and to RSVP, please visit: www.womensbar.org at their Events and Programs Calendar. 

Women Legal 2011

A highly interactive forum connecting law firms and their clients to advance the increasingly-important dialogue  

on gender diversity

WHEN:    Wednesday, June 8, 2011 

WHERE:  AMA Executive Conference Center 

               1601 Broadway 

               New York, NY

The issue of creating an inclusive environment for women to advance is increasingly affecting the bottom line as clients begin to hold firms accountable for the status of diversity within their firms. In fact, this business imperative becomes quite clear as we increasingly find women in leadership roles in corporate law departments far outnumbering their law firm counterparts.  

Creating a path for success will require a focus on achieving tangible results. Ark Group's Women Legal 2011 has been designed to facilitate meaningful dialogue between law firms and their clients - illustrating how gender-diversity efforts factor into the selection and retention of outside counsel - as well as how to initiate constructive dialogue with clients that advance your diversity and business goals.  

Click here for more information! 

National Association of Women Lawyers

2011 Annual Meeting & Awards Luncheon

WHEN:    Wednesday, July 20 - Thursday, July 21

WHERE:  The Waldorf - Astoria

                 301 Park Avenue

                 New York, NY

Click here for more information! 

NCWBA 2011 Women's Bar Leader Summit

Strength Across Borders

August 5, 2011 - Toronto, Ontario 

You're invited to the NCWBA's 2011 Women's Bar Leader Summit on Friday, August 5th in Toronto for a full day of ideas and inspiration for women's bar groups.  Attendees will share best practices and learn from panels on 

• Combating Sex Trafficking - ways for women's bar groups to help domestically and internationally
• The Law Society's Justicia Program to promote advancement and retention of women in firms
• 30 in 30 - free or low-cost tools and technology to help organizations do more with less
• Women Supporting Women? - A discussion of women lawyers' support for other women lawyers

Throughout the day, there will be opportunities to get to know colleagues active in women's bar associations. 

Plus, to promote cross-border networking, a special feature of this year's Summit will be a "buddy" pairing for those who wish to be matched with a colleague from across the border. Please register no later than July 1 in order to facilitate the matching.

 Click HERE for more information and to register!

National Association of Women Lawyers

SAVE THE DATE: 7th Annual General Counsel Institute