Practice Focus

Alternative Dispute Resolution, Complex Commercial Litigation, Election Law, Employment Law Insurance Litigation, Litigation, Legal Ethics and Malpractice, Medical Malpractice and Risk Management, Media, Products Liability, Professional Liability Defense

Experience

Ms. Rice is a highly-regarded trial attorney who has practiced for over twenty-five years before courts and a wide range of administrative forums. Her practice focuses on representing defendants in commercial, professional liability, employment and media law matters.

Ms. Rice began her career at the New Hampshire Attorney General's Office where she served with distinction as a senior assistant attorney general and as chief of its Bureau of Civil Law. Since entering private practice nearly twenty years ago, Ms. Rice has practiced at a boutique litigation firm in which she was a named partner, and at Orr & Reno. Ms. Rice is a respected, effective and pragmatic problem-solver, who works in partnership with her clients to meet their goals. Client-centered solutions are the hallmark of her practice. In addition to her trial practice, she maintains a private mediation practice and is a member of the mediator panels of the United States District Court for the District of New Hampshire, the New Hampshire Superior Court and the New Hampshire Commission on Human Rights.

Ms. Rice is the co-chair of the New Hampshire Judicial Selection Commission. She is a member of the Advisory Committee on Rules for the New Hampshire Supreme Court, and the former Chair of the Advisory Committee on Rules of the First Circuit Court of Appeals. Ms. Rice is the former chair of the Board of the New Hampshire Bar Foundation and co-chaired New Hampshire's successful inaugural Campaign for Legal Services, which she continues to strongly support.

Ms. Rice is AV-rated by Martindale Hubbell, and is recognized in the Best Lawyers in America for legal malpractice defense, New England Super Lawyers for professional liability defense, and Chambers USA, America's Leading Lawyers for Business, in both litigation and employment law, as “experienced and wise – a top-notch attorney.” She is a recipient of the New Hampshire Bar Association's Dufresne Award for Outstanding Professionalism and the Marilla Ricker Award. Ms. Rice is a member of the adjunct faculty and the University of New Hampshire School of Law where she teaches both pretrial advocacy and trial advocacy in the Daniel Webster Scholars Honors Program. She is a frequent speaker on ethics, evidence, trial practice, employment law, gender equity and the economics of the practice of law.

Ms. Rice was the founding President of Red River Theatres, and continues serves as a member of its board. She is also a trustee of the Capitol Region Food Program.

Practice Areas

• Alternative Dispute Resolution
• Commercial Litigation
• Employment
• Insurance Litigation
• Legal Ethics and Malpractice
• Litigation
• Media and First Amendment
• Medical Malpractice and Risk Management
• Products Liability

Professional Activities

• Co-Chair New Hampshire Judicial Selection Commission
• Member of the mediation panels of the New Hampshire Superior Court, the United States District Court for New Hampshire, and the New Hampshire Commission for Human Rights
• Member, New Hampshire Supreme Court Advisory Committee on Rules
• Defense Research Institute
• Adjunct professor of law at the University of New Hampshire School of Law
• Former member, Ballot Law Commission
• Former chair and member of the Board of Directors, New Hampshire Bar Foundation

Honors and Distinctions

• AV Peer Review Rated, Martindale-Hubbell
• Recognized in The Best Lawyers in America, for legal malpractice defense
• Recognized in Chambers USA, America's Leading Business Lawyers, as a leading individual in both commercial litigation and employment law
• Recognized in New England Super Lawyers for professional liability defense
• New Hampshire Women's Bar Association's Marilla Ricker Achievement Award
• New Hampshire Bar Association's E. Donald Dufresne Award for Outstanding Professionalism

Community Involvement

• Chair, Board of Directors, Red River Theatres, Inc.
• Trustee, Board of Directors, Capitol Region Food Program

Bar Admissions

Emily is admitted to practice in the state courts in New Hampshire, the United States District Court for the District of New Hampshire, and the First Circuit Court of Appeals.

Education

Boston University, B.A., cum laude, Philosophy and Political Science, 1977; Boston University, M.A., Political Science, 1979; Northeastern University Law School, J.D., 1984; Appellate Advocacy Course, Attorney General's Advocacy Institute at the United States Department of Justice.