What are the most significant ways that New Hampshire has changed over the past 25 years? I moved to New Hampshire with my young family 25 years ago. There have been many positive changes and some not so positive. New Hampshire is less of a separate place now. Our state is part of the New England economy and in some ways inspires it. We are also a strong contributor beyond New England. Changes in technology and the expansion of the Manchester airport are largely responsible for this.
In addition to becoming more regional, the nature of our economy has changed. We are demographically a bit older and better educated. Our manufacturing economy has been replaced by high tech and other businesses that have sprung up in diverse parts of the state. I now practice law in an old mill building that was vacant 25 years ago. These changes are generally consistent with our entrepreneurial bent and allow many in our state to hold good jobs with decent pay, health insurance and other benefits.
We are also a retail and tourism driven economy. The jobs available in this sector of our economy tend to be lower paid and do not typically include benefits. The divide between rich and poor in our state has widened over the last 25 years.
Our educational system has many outstanding schools, but we also have pockets of under funded schools that cannot serve the needs of our children. At a time when our economy places more of a premium on education, some school districts fall further and further behind. These districts are often an accident of geography and are those with limited property values because they lack water frontage, ski hills, or access to an interstate highway. We have not found a way to help these districts and our policies often work to their disadvantage. In this regard, I am disappointed that we have changed little.
This leads to the final change that has struck me. We appear to have fewer true leaders. Many of our more recent state leaders are less inspiring than others in the past and are more focused on managing the status quo. There appear to be few big ideas, only a fear of losing what we have. Of course, by standing still we ensure that others catch up and that fewer and fewer residents enjoy our state’s significant advantages.
What in law has changed the most, especially in New Hampshire, over the past quarter century? As in many fields, the legal universe no longer respects boundaries of time or space. NH lawyers compete for business all over the world. The traditional in-state law firms have been joined by a number of regional firms, including mine.
Work in the legal field, as in many others, also happens more quickly. The US Mail became overnight express mail. The unlisted home phone has become the cell phone number on my business card. Decisions must be made more quickly without sacrificing good judgment. We, as lawyers, are expected to become partners with our clients and are consulted before big decisions are made. I find this strategic thinking part of my job very rewarding.
Women play a more important role in the legal field. In 1982, a number of my colleagues at the Public Defenders office were women, but their place in general civil litigation or in business representation was far more limited. Today, more women work in these areas of the practice and are leaders in our profession.
Although I did not attend law school in New Hampshire, I would be remiss not to mention the impact of the Franklin Pierce School of Law. Its graduates have moved into all areas of practice. Its alums include bar presidents, judges and political leaders. This is not bad for a plucky school that began only 30 years ago on a farm in East Concord.
What Granite Stater(s) would you say inspired you? In what way? Many of my clients have inspired me. They are often in very difficult circumstances and act with surprising grace. One client in particular is exemplary, both in his conduct during civil litigation and in his longstanding commitment to volunteering in the community. He was a small business owner who could have lost his business in the bankruptcy litigation in which we were involved yet, after winning, he acted fairly and even generously towards his adversaries. Now that he has sold his business and claims to have retired, he works harder than ever chairing a hospital board, volunteering on a school board and serving as the consumer representative on a state commission.
The second Granite Stater was my friend, Bruce Friedman. He was an unconventional legal services lawyer and law professor at the local law school. Many of his students did not know that the entry “court” on his calendar meant he was playing basketball. I try hard to follow his good example by taking on cases that have broad public policy implications. Bruce died suddenly ten years ago while teaching at a law school in China. I still miss him.
The third Granite Stater is John Tobin, Executive Director of New Hampshire Legal Assistance. John can maintain his optimism and equanimity in the eye of a hurricane.
What would you consider your favorite spot in New Hampshire and why? There are two spots that come to mind with this question. One haunts me. The other is my favorite peaceful place.
The haunting place is a bathroom in an elementary school that was converted to a learning space in a disadvantaged school district. Think of the stigma of being taught in a bathroom!
The peaceful place is the Bonds in the White Mountains. My wife and I climbed the Bonds on a backpacking trip as we were bagging NH’s forty eight 4000 footers. For that matter, the entire forty eight are a favorite place with the exception of possibly Owls Head which was incredibly buggy when we climbed it a few summers ago.
What would you like to see accomplished in New Hampshire over the next 25 years? Implementation of a fair school funding system!
I am afraid that it may require another 25 years to solve the school funding dilemma, but I hope not. New Hampshire is a state with the resources to solve our problems. The challenges we face are not insurmountable and present us with significant opportunities to bring about meaningful improvement in the lives of New Hampshire residents. We must recognize our challenges, however, and find the courage to speak truthfully about them so that we may find lasting solutions.
