Collaborative Law Alliance to Honor John Cameron

Published in the New Hampshire Bar News
By: Jeanmarie Papelian

The Collaborative Law Alliance of New Hampshire (CLANH) has created an annual award honoring the late attorney John Cameron, a founding member of the organization.

The award will be given at the annual meeting beginning in 2015 to a CLANH member who demonstrates the qualities Cameron displayed in his practice. CLANH co-founder Honey Hastings, a longtime friend of Cameron’s, announced the new award at the organization’s 2014 annual meeting, held Oct. 7 at the McLane Law Firm in Manchester.
CLANH co-chair Catherine McKay explains that the CLANH board wished to honor Cameron’s memory because he embraced the principles of alternative dispute resolution in every aspect of his practice. “John had a collaborative heart,” McKay said. He focused on growing the collaborative community and was known as a teacher. He not only taught mediation skills for many years, but also actively mentored every student, following along with their progress, to ensure they became certified.
After his death, Cameron’s wife, Pat, summarized his career as follows:
“Throughout his years in the legal community, John was an advocate for children and families, both in individual cases and in legislation. He was a key member of the task force on family law and lobbied for the resulting parental rights and responsibilities act that radically changed New Hampshire’s parenting statutes in 2005. John co-founded the Collaborative Law Alliance of New Hampshire, the Parenting Coordinator Association of New Hampshire, the New Hampshire Guardian Ad Litem Association and Neutral Ground Co-Parenting Solutions. He served on the Governor’s committee on family law, on the family mediation certification board, and as co-chairman of the family law section of the New Hampshire Bar Association. John was a strong proponent of mediation rather than litigation, and was a certified mediator trainer, conducting his last class in May 2014, not long before he passed.”
The Collaborative Law Alliance of New Hampshire will accept nominations for the first John Cameron Memorial Award in the spring of 2015. Further information and nomination forms will be available on the CLANH website, www.collaborativelawnh.org.
Jeanmarie Papelian is a director at McLane, Graf, Raulerson & Middleton, where she serves as co-chair of the Domestic Relations Practice Group. She serves on the board of the Collaborative Law Alliance of New Hampshire, and is an experienced collaborative practitioner, marital mediator and parenting coordinator.

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