By Tim Gudas
Clerk of the New Hampshire Supreme Court
Nearly four years ago, in a moment of weakness, I allowed Scott Mitchell (AL) to talk me into hosting the NCACC’s 2024 conference in Burlington, Vermont. With the conference now in the rearview mirror, I can finally say that I’m thankful for Scott’s persuasiveness. There were many days in those four years, however, when “thankful” was probably the last word that came to my mind when thinking of him and his southern charm.
By the numbers, Burlington was a success. We had 66 regular members in attendance. Of those, nine were first-time attendees. Eleven retired members joined us in Burlington to share their wisdom and their passion for the organization. A total of 65 guests, including nine children, made the trip to Burlington to make sure that the conversations occasionally touched on subjects other than case processing and digital-evidence platforms. We were fortunate to have more than 20 different speakers during our educational sessions and more than ten companies, represented by over 25 professionals, during the Vendor Day organized by Casey Forbes (WV). And no discussion of numbers would be complete without noting that the auction raised over $9,000 for our Educational Fund – a huge thanks to Sherri Williamson and Deana Williamson (TX) as auction organizers, Debra Spisak (TX) and the Kitchings family (SC) as hawkers of auction items, Lisa and Tom Hall (FL, retired) as generous donors of an Italian villa, Jim Hivner (TN) as auctioneer and as purchaser of the big-ticket villa, and everyone else who donated or contributed.
The numbers tell only part of the story. Polly Brock (CO) and the Program Committee, with special thanks to Emily Wetherell (VT), put together an amazing set of educational sessions that taught us – or reminded us – that the process-based work of the clerk’s office is critical to achieving litigant satisfaction with the outcome (Judge Beth Robinson); that transparency, accountability, and outreach are necessary to foster public confidence and promote access to justice (Chantal Carbonneau); that civility and common decency still matter (Justice Harold Eaton, Jr. and Judge Thomas Zonay); that clerks must be ever-vigilant in following applicable ethical rules and codes, including the NCACC’s Code of Professional Conduct (Justice Daniel Crothers and Tom Hall); that the smooth and effective running of our courts depends on the wellbeing of ourselves and our colleagues (Doug Shima (KS), Gary Chambon (MI), and Tiffany Mortier (CO)); and that the key to approaching interactions with persons who strike us as different or unfamiliar is to be curious, not judgmental (Hayden DePorter, quoting Ted Lasso). Sherry Miscio (NH) and I are already implementing several of these lessons, as well those on plain language in court forms (Julie Clement (MI)) and digital-evidence management (Tristen Worthen (WA), Lonn Weissblum (FL), Nathan Wilson (AL), Amy Wood (AZ), and Emily Wetherell). I am still trying to get over my hesitancy (or fear, let’s call it what it is) about taking the plunge into AI, but the sessions by Justice Crothers, Jannet Okazaki, and Cindy Guerra have prepared me for when I do.
The educational sessions are why we attend, but to paraphrase Mark Twain, we never let schooling interfere with our education. The conference social events were a great way to mingle with each other, continue discussions from earlier in the day, and enjoy the scenic beauty of Burlington. On Monday evening, thanks to the sponsorship of Thomson Reuters, we cruised Lake Champlain on The Spirit of Ethan Allen while enjoying the ship’s culinary offerings. On Tuesday, we returned to the waterfront for an evening at the ECHO Leahy Center for Lake Champlain. Thanks to LexisNexis, we enjoyed a catered dinner and a chamber-of-conference sunset on the lake with the Adirondack Mountains providing the backdrop. Wednesday afternoon allowed people to do their own thing, with several opting for the Joe Lane Memorial Golf Tournament. Others headed to the Ben & Jerry’s Factory or fought a losing battle against the cornhole prowess of Doug Shima and Jim Hivner (or so they report).
To close, I want to express my appreciation and gratitude for all the members who spent countless hours planning, organizing, and implementing the educational sessions, the vendor visits, and the social events. I could not have done it without the Program Committee, the Convention Assistance Committee, the Vendor Chair, the Executive Committee, and all the other committees and members who made it happen. In the days and weeks leading up to the conference, as the stress of the still-to-be-done tasks weighed on me, I just wanted to get the conference behind me. As it turned out, I actually had an enjoyable time – thanks to all of you . . . but it may be a while before I listen to Scott Mitchell again.
