December 18, 2024
On Friday, February 21, the New Hampshire Bar will host its Midyear Meeting at the Center of New Hampshire, DoubleTree Hilton, in Manchester. As many of you know, the Bar’s Midyear Meeting is one of its premier events each year and a perennial favorite amongst practitioners from all practice areas and geographic regions of our state. With more than 400 attorneys and judges in attendance, it is a great opportunity to catch up with colleagues, make new connections, and earn CLE credit – with a bonus of 120 ethics minutes! I’m also happy to report that, for the eighth year in a row, the price for the full day, including lunch, remains just $125. A reduced rate for rooms at the adjoining hotel is also available.
This year, we are thrilled to have a spectacular line up of speakers and panelists to discuss civics, civility, and their inextricable link to our democracy. David A. Grenardo, a professor with the University of St. Thomas School of Law and associate director of the Holloran Center for Ethical Leadership in the Professions, will open the day making the case for mandatory civility in the legal profession, drawing on the need for respectful disagreement and its place as a model for broader conversations, particularly in these polarizing times.
Mark Lanterman, a former sworn member of the US Secret Service Electronic Crimes TaskForce and current member of the National Judicial College, will discuss the evidentiary implications that advances in artificial intelligence and digital technology have on the reliability of digital evidence. He will explore how fabrications occur and ways attorneys and judges can educate themselves on these issues.
We also will hear from Sonu Bedi, a professor of law and political science at Dartmouth College specializing in the intersection of law, identity, and equality. Professor Bedi will discuss how principled disagreement plays a fundamental role in our democracy and how differences of opinion are actually part of the design of our Constitution – intended to strengthen democracy – rather than a flaw. He will also opine on the necessity of civility in those principled disagreements.
I am excited to moderate an exceptional panel discussing our role as lawyers in protecting the rule of law, civil discourse, and the judiciary. Our panelists include ABA Immediate Past President and founder of the ABA’s TaskForce for American Democracy Mary Smith, retired Federal Court Judge and current director of the Berkeley Judicial Institute Judge Jeremy Fogel, UNH Franklin Pierce School of Law School Dean Megan Carpenter, and Professor Grenardo. The panel will examine current challenges to the rule of law across the country. We will delve into root causes of the nationwide erosion of civics knowledge and the weakening of public trust in democratic institutions. Our discussion will touch upon macrolevel responses, and steps that we, as lawyers, can and must take to support the rule of law.
Don’t forget to kick off the day by attending the Gender Equality Breakfast. This year, the NHBA and its Gender Equality Committee are honored to welcome Judge Arianna J. Freeman. Judge Freeman is the first African American woman and first woman of color to sit on the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. In addition, we will celebrate the 2025 recipient of the Philip S. Hollman Award, Attorney Emily Rice.
New this year, Hinckley Allen will be hosting a reception on Thursday evening to welcome our Midyear Meeting speakers. This free event is open to all Bar members. Last month, I wrote about the importance of connection in our profession. Whether this is your first Midyear Meeting or your 50th, I invite you to join our legal community as we kick off this great event. Please join us on Thursday from 6:30 to 8 pm in the Penstock Room of the DoubleTree Hilton. Be on the lookout for the registration link from Hinckley Allen in your email.
We are looking forward to seeing you all at this great event!
New Hampshire Bar News, January Issue | President’s Perspective
