May 5, 2008, Manchester, NH – The law firm of McLane, Graf, Raulerson & Middleton, Professional Association, with offices in Manchester, Portsmouth, and Concord, is proud to announce that the firm has been named by Business NH Magazine as New Hampshire’s business service provider of the year.
McLane was chosen for its part in key economic development initiatives over the years, including fundraising for the Manchester YMCA, restoring and reopening the Palace Theater, and for being among the first to commit to leasing space in Manchester’s City Hall Plaza.
The firm also stood out for its leadership within the legal profession. Jack B. Middleton, president of the firm and a senior director in its litigation department, was instrumental in setting up the IOLTA program in the state, through which law firms can place retainer fees in interest-bearing accounts. The interest from those accounts is transferred to the NH Bar Foundation to disperse to provide legal services for disadvantaged people and for legal education. To date, the program has raised more than $20 million.
In 2003, the firm made a 3-year $100,000 pledge to the NH Bar Association’s campaign for legal services for legal access and representation of New Hampshire’s indigent population. So far this year, the firm has accepted 45 pro bono cases from the NH Pro Bono Referral Program.
“We preach professional responsibility,” says Jack Middleton, “and practice it.”
This is the 18th year Business NH Magazine has run this program to honor what is best about the state’s businesses. A screening committee made up of members of the NH Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives (NHACCE) worked with executives from the 2007 winning companies to select the winners.
The award will be presented at a luncheon for each of the honorees in different categories later this month at the Radisson Hotel at the Center of NH in Manchester.