SIDE BARS

John D. Hutson, dean of the Franklin Pierce Law Center in Concord.

New Hampshire is home to one little law school, but it is an institution that packs a big wallop: A third of the lawyers in the state are graduates of Franklin Pierce Law Center in Concord.

Dean John D. Hutson says that number may be the high-water mark because of retirements starting with the members of the first graduating class in 1976. The center, with a current enrollment of about 500, puts $35 million into the New Hampshire economy annually.

Hutson said there is more focus today on practical education, as opposed to theoretical, so that people are ready to practice once they graduate.

Last year, the business of making lawyers opened a new front in testing practical skills to decide the admission to the New Hampshire Bar. The Daniel Webster Scholar Program, based at Franklin Pierce Law Center, is designed to prepare law school graduates for admission by moving beyond the academic rigors of the classroom.

Linda S. Dalianis, an Associate Justice of the New Hampshire Supreme Court and chairwoman of the Webster Scholar Committee, said too many new lawyers lack mentors and often toil in a “sink or swim” work life. The end result should be new lawyers who are better prepared to serve their clients and the public, Webster Scholar Program Director John B. Garvey said when the lawyer boot camp was launched a year ago.

The Supreme Court, which oversees Bar admissions, initiated the program in collaboration with Franklin Pierce Law Center.

Hutson, who is chairman of the judiciary’s commission on the status of the profession, hailed the program. “It’s clear that a number of young lawyers enter the profession and leave,” he said.

Some of the professional challenges are coupled with financial demands related to college debt. The tuition at Franklin Pierce Law Center is $29,000 a year; some students graduate with $100,000 in school loans. Contrary to public perception that lawyers are rolling in money, Hutson said many new lawyers are making $40,000 a year.

“Some lawyers make a lot of money but some are earning just average salaries,” he said.

There are more than 5,920 lawyers in New Hampshire, with 4,385 of them actively practicing law.

And reflective of the large role of small business in the region, there are 1,035 law firms with just one lawyer, according to a survey by the New Hampshire Bar Association.

While Franklin Pierce Law Center is known for its intellectual property studies, Hutson reports a growth in “public interest” law, providing legal services to individuals and organizations with limited financial means. He counts public defenders and county and state prosecutors in this field.

“We try to permeate everything we do with public interest,” he said.