UNH School of Law Announces Chief Justice John Broderick as New Dean

CONCORD, N.H., Nov. 9, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- After completing a national search, the University of New Hampshire School of Law has named outgoing Chief Justice John T. Broderick Jr. of the New Hampshire Supreme Court, as its new Dean & President.  He will replace retiring Dean John D. Hutson, who has led the school since 2000.

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"In Justice Broderick, we have found someone with years of high level experience as a lawyer, teacher, and appellate judge who can inspire faculty, students, and staff to take the University of New Hampshire School of Law to the next level," said Douglas J. Wood '76, Chair of the Board of Trustees.

Broderick will leave the New Hampshire Supreme Court on November 30 after serving for 15 years. For the past six years, he has served as Chief Justice. He has also taught as an adjunct professor at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth for over ten years. During his tenure as Chief Justice, which made him administrative head of all the state's courts in addition to his judicial duties, Broderick became nationally known for reexamining the way the court system works and redesigning it to meet the challenges of the 21st century.

"I am genuinely honored to have been selected to lead the law school at this time of great opportunity and change. The affiliation with the University of New Hampshire will enhance and expand our reach and global influence, especially in the area of intellectual property," Broderick said. "The recently established Franklin Pierce Center for Intellectual Property, with a new director and building in the works, will be the catalyst for these efforts. I am also committed to maintaining and enhancing the law school's national reputation for pioneering legal education, as exemplified by its Daniel Webster Scholar Honors Program."

The UNH School of Law, formerly known as Franklin Pierce Law Center, entered into an affiliation this fall with the University of New Hampshire. UNH President Mark W. Huddleston praised the selection of Broderick: "An extraordinarily thoughtful man, as well as a truly distinguished jurist, Justice Broderick is ideally suited to provide the type of creative, inspired leadership that will move UNH Law forward. I'm excited to begin working with him to realize the full benefits of our new affiliation."

In accepting the deanship, Broderick said, "I am committed to working collaboratively with the distinguished faculty at the law school, our 5,000 alumni, and UNH leadership to create new and exciting interdisciplinary curricula and joint degree programs for our mutual benefit."

Under Broderick's leadership, New Hampshire established an "Access to Justice Commission" to help enhance programs that provide low cost legal services to poor and low income citizens. According to Laurence Tribe, distinguished Constitutional scholar and Harvard Law School professor, as well as the Justice Department's Senior Counselor for Access to Justice, "Chief Justice Broderick has been a continuing source of ideas and inspiration for the Access to Justice Initiative. The University of New Hampshire School of Law is truly fortunate that a jurist of his distinction and vision has accepted the role of dean."

A frequent speaker around the nation on the need to improve and modernize our judicial system, Broderick was appointed by President Clinton to the Board of the Legal Services Corporation (LSC), on which he served for 10 years. Hulett "Bucky" Askew, the American Bar Association's Consultant on Legal Education, who served with Broderick on the LSC, said, "He is very wise, a natural leader, and blessed with a well-developed sense of humor, qualities that will stand him in good stead as a law school dean."

Broderick wrote, along with Ronald George, Chief Justice of the California Supreme Court, a 2010 New York Times op-ed lamenting the rise of unrepresented litigants and calling for an expansion of limited-scope representation. According to Justice George, "The people of New Hampshire are very fortunate to have had John Broderick lead their judicial system, and now to have him serve as dean of the University of New Hampshire School of Law."

"UNH School of Law is fortunate to have a dean with Chief Justice Broderick's energy, vision, and strong leadership qualities. It has made a superb choice," added Robert B. Fiske Jr., Partner at Davis Polk & Wardwell and former U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York.

Broderick will join the law school community on January 1, 2011 and will become Dean & President on January 28. According to Dean Hutson, "At this time of great change for UNH School of Law, I know that John Broderick will be a wise and visionary leader. I look forward to working with him to ensure a smooth and effective transition so that the law school may continue to flourish."

Prior to serving on the Supreme Court, Broderick was a litigation attorney in the Manchester, NH, law firm of Devine, Millimet & Branch, and was a founding shareholder of Broderick & Dean Professional Association. He is a graduate, magna cum laude, of the College of the Holy Cross and the University of Virginia School of Law.

Broderick is the recipient of several honorary degrees, is a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers, and recently became the only jurist ever to receive a Lifetime Achievement Award from the New Hampshire Business & Industry Association in recognition of his efforts to ensure that justice remains accessible, affordable, and understandable. Later this month, he will be inducted into the Warren E. Burger Society by the National Center for State Courts.  

The University of New Hampshire School of Law, affiliated with the University of New Hampshire, is a global leader in innovative legal education. Its internationally renowned intellectual property program, now housed in the Franklin Pierce Center for Intellectual Property, boasts one of the largest full-time faculties in the field, a broad range of curricular offerings, and the only academic intellectual property library in the nation. Through its Social Justice Institute, wide range of clinics, externships, and unique Daniel Webster Scholar Honors Program, UNH School of Law is a pioneer in practice-based education. Learn more at law.unh.edu

SOURCE University of New Hampshire School of Law