MCLANE ATTORNEY LEAHY TO SERVE ON CIVICS TASK FORCE FOR THE NEW HAMPSHIRE SUPREME COURT SOCIETY

Groundbreaking K-12 Civics Education Program Being Developed to Engage Students at All Levels

August 7, 2009, Concord, Portsmouth and Manchester, NH:  The law firm of McLane, Graf, Raulerson & Middleton, Professional Association, with offices in Manchester, Portsmouth, and Concord, as well as Woburn, Massachusetts, is pleased to announce that M. Susan Leahy is serving on the New Hampshire Supreme Court Society’s Civics Task Force.  Susan is currently a trustee and president of the organization.

The New Hampshire Supreme Court Society, established to promote an understanding and appreciation of the New Hampshire Supreme Court and the judiciary of the State of New Hampshire, is developing a civics education curriculum for K-12 public school students.

The Civics Task Force is co-chaired by John D. Hutson, Dean and President of Franklin Pierce Law Center and Thomas C. Galligan, Jr., President of Colby Sawyer College.  David H. Souter, retired Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States and a member of the Society’s Task Force, was the keynote speaker on the subject of civics education in the United States at the Opening Assembly of the American Bar Association Annual Meeting in Chicago on Saturday, August 1st. 

Susan describes the program as groundbreaking, “Because of Justice Souter’s leadership on this issue and participation on the Task Force and because of earlier work the Society did assessing the status of civics education in our public schools,” she says, “New Hampshire is poised to be a pioneer in the development of civics education in this country.”

“In our vision, we aren’t creating a civics course per se, nor are we telling teachers and school districts what they should be teaching in each grade, K-12,” said Co-Chair John Hutson. “Rather, we are identifying ultimate outcomes that can result from learning consistently over time in various courses including history, economics, social studies, and government.” 

Other members of the Society’s Civics Task Force include:

• Virginia M. Barry, Commissioner, New Hampshire Department of Education
• John T. Broderick, Chief Justice of the New Hampshire Supreme Court
• Bradford E. Cook,  Sheehan, Phinney Bass + Green, PA
• Aine Donovan, Executive Director, The Ethics Institute; Associate Professor, Tuck School of Business, Dartmouth College
• Megan Devorsey, Concord School Board Member
• Lewis M. Feldstein, President, New Hampshire Charitable Foundation
• Susan M. Frost, Mascoma School District Board Member
• John Burwell Garvey, Director, Daniel Webster Scholar Honors Program; Professor of Law, Franklin Pierce Law Center
• Gary E. Hicks, Justice of the New Hampshire Supreme Court
• Randall S. Hanson, Chair, Department of Social Services and Education, Colby-Sawyer College
• Sylvia Larsen, President, New Hampshire State Senate
• Daniel J. Marcus, Teacher, John Stark Regional High School
• Jeannine L. McCoy, Executive Director, New Hampshire Bar Association
• Christine Rath, Superintendent, Concord School District
• Tara Reardon, Commissioner, Department of Employment Security; Former State Representative
• Susan Robichaud, Fourth Grade Teacher, Beaver Meadow Elementary School
• Elizabeth Robinson, student, Colby Sawyer College
• Deborah T. Scire, Executive Director of New Hampshire Alliance for Civic Engagement
• Richard D. Schubart, Bates-Russell Distinguished Faculty Professor, Philips Exeter Academy
• Lyonel B. Tracy, former New Hampshire Education Commissioner;  former Superintendent of Schools, Portsmouth, NH
• Christopher G. Ulrich, Law Student, Franklin Pierce Law Center
• William P. Veillette, Executive Director, New Hampshire Historical Society

McLane Directors Jack B. Middleton and Greg Smith, also former Attorney General, are also trustees of the New Hampshire Supreme Court Society.

Professionally, Susan Leahy concentrates her practice with McLane in the areas of Estate Planning & Administration, Trust Administration and Foundations, Charities & Nonprofit Organizations.

She is admitted in the States of New Hampshire and Maine, as well as the Federal District Court for New Hampshire, the United States Tax Court, First Circuit Court of Appeals and the United States Supreme Court.

In addition to her work with the New Hampshire Supreme Court Society, Susan serves as a trustee of the NH Bar Foundation.  She is also a trustee of Strawbery Banke Museum in Portsmouth; and a trustee and president of Concord 2020.

Susan chairs the New Hampshire Probate Court's Uniform Trust Code Committee and is a Fellow of the American College of Trust & Estate Counsel.  She received the Marilla M. Ricker award from the New Hampshire Women's Bar and has been selected "Lawyer of the Year" by the Merrimack County Bar Association.

About the McLane Law Firm

Founded in 1919, the McLane Law Firm is the largest full-service law firm in the state of New Hampshire, with offices in Manchester, Concord and Portsmouth, as well as Woburn, Massachusetts.  Driven by the firm's depth of sophisticated legal expertise and an unwavering commitment to client service, McLane has built collaborative and lasting relationships with a broad spectrum of domestic and international clients.  www.mclane.com