New Hampshire Association for Justice - President’s Message - Summer 2023

By: Kimberly Kirkland

I am pleased to be taking on the role of President of the New Hampshire Association for Justice at this time. The association is healthy and vibrant thanks to the work of our Executive Director Marissa Chase, Operations Manager Lisa Gowern, and the leadership of our last several presidents: Jared Bedrick, John Kenison, Kristin Ross, and Holly Haines. We are in a position to think proactively about ways to further NHAJ’s mission of increasing access to justice and helping our clients hold those who cause harm accountable.

I hope that we can foster a new generation of lawyers who understand the importance of representing individuals who’ve been harmed, and who see plaintiffs’ work as a viable and attractive career path. I think most of us who do this work truly enjoy what we do. Many members of NHAJ work beyond the typical retirement age because we continue to find the work we do interesting and rewarding. We are fortunate in that we are able to choose our clients and cases. We litigate for people and causes we believe in. We control our caseloads in ways that defense attorneys, who have little choice in their clientele, and corporate lawyers, who live and die by the billable hour, cannot. Although our workloads can be stressful and vary with our trial schedules, many of us, particularly those of us who work in small and solo practices, are able to sculpt a generally healthy work-life balance.

Notwithstanding these benefits, many of which should be attractive to young lawyers, we are a graying association – out of approximately 300 members, fewer than ten percent have practiced for less than 6 years. Why is this? My assumption is that the financial risks inherent in plaintiffs’ trial work may dissuade new lawyers – many with substantial law school debt – from opening or joining solo or small plaintiffs’ practices. In addition, many new lawyers may not be familiar with NHAJ and the nature of our work. One of my aims for the coming year is for NHAJ members to engage with new lawyers about the benefits of plaintiffs’ work and better understand the barriers that discourage some of them from joining our ranks. I hope that we as an association can encourage young lawyers to take up the mantle of plaintiffs’ work.

I hope you will join me in these efforts, and will spend some time thinking about ways you might be able to help grow the association. Our collective efforts have sustained us for forty six years – here’s to a bright future for us all.