New Hampshire

Extortion Conviction Upheld for Lawyer Who Threatened Hair-Cut Pricing Suit

The New Hampshire Supreme Court has upheld the extortion conviction of a lawyer who threatened to sue a Concord hair salon for charging women more money for haircuts than men or children. Daniel Hynes is identified as a Manchester lawyer and a 2006 graduate of the Western New England College…

Aug 7, 2009 6:17 PM CDT

Same-Sex Couples Now Allowed to Marry in Maine, Maybe N.H. Soon, Too

Abandoning his earlier opposition, the governor of Maine today immediately signed new legislation allowing same-sex couples there the legal right to marry. “It’s not the way I was raised and it’s not the way that I am,” Gov. John Baldacci, a Democrat, tells the New York Times in a phone…

May 7, 2009 12:51 AM CDT

Economy & Politics Threaten State Courts, ABA House Told

Massive state budget shortfalls threaten the ability of courts to continue to operate, Massachusetts Chief Justice Margaret H. Marshall, who is president of the Conference of Chief Justices, told the ABA House of Delegates today. At least 46 states face revenue shortfalls totaling $350 billion from this year through 2001,…

Feb 16, 2009 5:13 PM CST

Judicial Diversity is Lacking, But Here’s What to Do to Improve, Report Says

Women and minorities are still underrepresented on the state trial and appellate court bench, regardless whether the judges are elected or appointed to their positions. But there are things that can be done to include their chances of winning seats proportionate to their representation in the general population, according to…

Feb 2, 2009 9:13 PM CST

N.H. Suspends Jury Trials, Leaves Judgeships Vacant

The cash-strapped court system in New Hampshire is suspending jury trials for at least a month and leaving judgeships vacant. The one-month suspension is expected to save about $73,000, the amount of money paid to jurors, the New York Times reports. The state’s chief justice, John Broderick, defended the temporary…

Dec 9, 2008 11:51 AM CST

Franklin Pierce, Only N.H. Law School, Mulls State U Merger

The only law school in New Hampshire has announced that it is considering a merger with a state university. Franklin Pierce Law Center, a private ABA-accredited institution in Concord, N.H., says in a just-issued joint press release that it is in discussions with the University of New Hampshire about combining…

Oct 9, 2008 11:33 PM CDT

Ex-Judge, Now a N.H. Lawyer, is Censured for ‘Double-Dipping’

A former New Hampshire judge who resigned from the bench after she was suspended for three years without pay earlier this year is in ethical hot water again. Patricia Coffey has accepted a censure from the New Hampshire Supreme Court’s Judicial Conduct Committee, which found that she had exceeded a…

Oct 7, 2008 7:51 PM CDT

Jury Convicts ‘Obsessed’ Ex-Client of Seeking Hit on N.H. Lawyer’s Wife

In a videotape shown to jurors late last week, a former client of a prominent New Hampshire attorney tells an undercover officer that she wants the lawyer’s wife dead. But when she took the stand herself later in the week, 27-year-old Katherine Mendola blamed her boyfriend for allegedly putting her…

Oct 1, 2008 10:06 PM CDT

Disgraced Former N.H. Judge: ‘I Cried. Who Wouldn’t?’

Cleaning out her desk at her Rockingham County Superior Court chambers on Friday, former N.H. judge Patricia Coffey was disgraced, broke and regretful. Helping her husband, a disbarred lawyer, shield assets from creditors resulted in a three-year unpaid suspension from office by the state supreme court, instead of the three…

Apr 28, 2008 6:03 PM CDT

Judge Who Hid Disbarred Spouse’s Assets Steps Down

Embattled New Hampshire Superior Court Justice Patricia Coffey, who last week was suspended for three years, is stepping down from the bench. The Nashua Telegraph reports that Coffey abruptly resigned Monday after expressing disappointment with the state supreme court sanction. The paper notes that Coffey’s resignation ends a lengthy ethics…

Apr 22, 2008 5:57 PM CDT

Judge Who Tried to Hide Assets for Disbarred Husband Gets 3-Yr Suspension

The New Hampshire Supreme Court has suspended a judge for three years, a term 12 times longer than a disciplinary panel had recommended. The unpaid suspension of Superior Court Judge Patricia Coffey comes after the court concluded she was complicit in a fraudulent property transfer involving her lawyer-husband, the Concord…

Apr 21, 2008 10:53 AM CDT

Lawyer Censured for Misrepresenting Role in ‘Law Firm’

A New Hampshire lawyer has been censured for implying that he was a partner in a small law firm when in fact he simply shared office space with his colleagues. Craig Salomon implied that he was a partner of “Salomon, Randlett & Bernard” by placing a yellow pages ad that…

Jan 9, 2008 1:11 AM CST

N.H. City Says Attorney Malpractice Nixed Insurance

A New Hampshire municipality has sued its former legal counsel for malpractice, contending that he not only failed to appropriately advise the city of Claremont of the legal risks associated with firing the city tax assessor in 2000 but also failed to advise the city that the tax assessor, Steve…

Jan 7, 2008 9:17 PM CST

Judge Helped Spouse Shield Assets

Lawyers recommended to a disciplinary panel at a hearing today that a New Hampshire judge be publicly reprimanded for helping her husband shield assets from creditors as he was being disbarred several years ago. Superior Court Judge Patricia Coffey says she didn’t realize at the time that she was doing…

Dec 10, 2007 9:37 PM CST

‘Obsessive’ Client Accused of Hiring Hit Man to Kill Lawyer’s Wife

A New Hampshire woman has been arrested on charges she hired a hit man to kill the wife of a prominent lawyer she had hired. Katherine Mandola is accused of offering to pay an undercover state trooper $4,000 to kill the wife of lawyer B.J. Branch, the Union Leader reports.…

Dec 7, 2007 3:06 PM CST