William L. O'Brien is a lawyer and legislator from Mont Vernon, New Hampshire

Mont Vernon, New Hampshire

Mont Vernon is a town in Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 2,409 at the 2010 census.It is not clear why it is spelled differently from the many other towns in the United States named after Mount Vernon, the home of George Washington...

 who has been a member of the New Hampshire House of Representatives

New Hampshire House of Representatives

The New Hampshire House of Representatives is the lower house in the New Hampshire General Court. The House of Representatives consists of 400 members coming from 103 districts across the state, created from divisions of the state's counties. On average, each legislator represents about 3,300...

 since 2004, representing district Hillsborough-4, and was elected the Speaker of the House in 2011.

Biography

O'Brien obtained his bachelors degree in history from Framingham State College

Framingham State College

Framingham State University is located in Framingham, Massachusetts, from Boston. It offers undergraduate programs in a range of subjects from Art to Biology to Communication Arts, and graduate programs including MBA, MEd, and MSc...

 (1974), law degree from Suffolk University Law School

Suffolk University Law School

Suffolk University Law School, also known as Suffolk Law School or SULS, is one of the professional graduate schools of Suffolk University. Suffolk University Law School is a private, non-sectarian, law school located in downtown Boston, Massachusetts. Suffolk University Law School was founded in...

 (1977) and received an LLM in Intellectual Property from the University of New Hampshire School of Law (2003).

He has served as Chair of the NH Republican Party Platform Committee, Vice-Chair of the Granite State Taxpayers, and Co-Chair of the House Republican Alliance. He is a past member of the Mont Vernon School Board and the Mont Vernon Police Advisory Commission. He has contributed to the Democratic campaigns of John Kerry

John Kerry

John Forbes Kerry is the senior United States Senator from Massachusetts, the 10th most senior U.S. Senator and chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He was the presidential nominee of the Democratic Party in the 2004 presidential election, but lost to former President George W...

 (04/23/96 & 09/04/96), Al Gore

Al Gore

Albert Arnold "Al" Gore, Jr. served as the 45th Vice President of the United States , under President Bill Clinton. He was the Democratic Party's nominee for President in the 2000 U.S. presidential election....

 (10/20/00), Mary Landrieu

Mary Landrieu

Mary Loretta Landrieu is the senior United States Senator from the State of Louisiana and a member of the Democratic Party.Born in Arlington, Virginia, Landrieu was raised in New Orleans, Louisiana...

 (03/31/02). He then contributed to the Republican campaigns of NH Republican Committee (06/14/06, 05/24/07), John McCain

John McCain

John Sidney McCain III is the senior United States Senator from Arizona. He was the Republican nominee for president in the 2008 United States election....

 (09/07/08), Republican National Committee (09/15/08), Robert Giuda

Robert "Bob" J. Giuda

Robert "Bob" J. Giuda is an International Airline Captain from Warren, New Hampshire, a former United States Marine and New Hampshire State Legislator with a long history of Humanitarian Action in Pakistani controlled Kashmir...

 (07/13/09 & 03/15/10), and Ovide Lamontagne (03/31/10).

O'Brien is a member of the New Hampshire and Massachusetts Bar Association

Massachusetts Bar Association

The Massachusetts Bar Association is a voluntary, non-profit bar association in Massachusetts with a headquarters on West Street in Boston's Downtown Crossing. The MBA also has a Western Massachusetts office....

s, Executive Director of the New Hampshire Legal Rights Foundation, and a former equity partner at Finneran

Thomas Finneran

Thomas M. Finneran , is a radio talk host and former Massachusetts Democratic politician who served as Speaker of the Massachusetts House of Representatives from April 1996 to September 2004...

, Byrne, Drechsler & O'Brien (Massachusetts), then was associated with Byrne and Drechsler LLP (Massachusetts). Additionally, he was a professor of law at the New England School of Law

New England School of Law

New England School of Law is a private law school in Boston, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1908 as a law school for women.-History:...

. In 2011, O'Brien and his wife, Roxanne, were married for 37 years and had three grown children.

Controversy closing NH House Gallery

O'Brien closed the New Hampshire House gallery to the public on March 31, 2011 due to unruly union protestors. O'Brien recessed the House for 10 minutes to allow state police time to clear the gallery which holds over 100 people. As the House discussion continued, several representatives were upset that the gallery closed. Assistant Democratic Leader Gary Richardson of Hopkinton asked O'Brien to allow the public back in. Richardson cited a provision of the New Hampshire Constitution, which states, "The doors of the galleries . . . shall be kept open to all persons who behave decently." O'Brien refused. He said the proceedings were not conducted secretly, since they were streamed on live video and the press was present. "The House of Representatives has the right to conduct itself with decorum without being interrupted by members of the public," O'Brien said. Richardson responded, "The Constitution doesn't talk about streaming video. (It says) the doors of the gallery should be kept open." In Merrimack County Superior Court Judge Richard McNamara was hearing arguments about closing the gallery and was told that it was open again. Judge McNamara declined to issue an order warning O'Brien not to close the gallery again.

External links

• Representative O'Brien's page on official New Hampshire House of Representatives website
• NH House Speaker Bill O'Brien Acceptance Speech