Attorney Jesse Friedman was born in New York City and grew up in Woodstock, NY with a family who believed in helping those in need and fighting for social justice. Jesse’s mother was a local activist and social worker who guided troubled youth while volunteering her time at a crisis intervention center. His grandmother was a family court judge in New York City and Jesse was inspired by her professionalism and charismatic leadership in her role on the bench.
Jesse attended Vassar College and graduated from the State University of New York at New Paltz, majoring in Political Science with a concentration in International Relations. While in college, Jesse externed at the county court in Dutchess County, NY, further reaffirming his desire to become an advocate and to attend law school.
In 1997, Jesse moved to Vermont and enrolled at Vermont Law School. He graduated cum laude from Vermont Law School in 2000. In his first year of law school, Jesse interned for the Honorable William K. Sessions III, Senior United State District Court Judge for the District of Vermont. Judge Sessions later became the Chair of the United States Sentencing Commission. Jesse was a member of Law Review in his 2nd year and participated in the South Royalton Legal Clinic representing low income families with civil issues throughout the State of Vermont.
From 2000–2007 Jesse was a staff attorney at the New Hampshire Public Defenders Office, fighting for justice and representing clients throughout New Hampshire. From 2007–2019 he was the Managing Attorney of the Laconia office of the New Hampshire Public Defender, which provides legal representation in both Belknap and Carroll counties. As Managing Attorney, Jesse was responsible for mentoring and training all new attorneys and interns hired each year. Jesse was also a member of the hiring committee and traveled throughout the country recruiting new talent to represent indigent clients. While at the Public Defender, Jesse has also served as a technology consultant and web master for the Program and has overseen the implementation of various document management and case management systems.
Jesse has appeared and represented clients throughout the State of NH and has supervised over 25,000 cases in Belknap and Carroll counties for the past 22 years. Jesse has personally represented thousands of clients throughout the State - from juvenile delinquency offenses through homicides. He has extensive trial and litigation experience and has obtained favorable outcomes for thousands of clients throughout the years. Jesse has appeared and been lead counsel on some of the highest profile cases in NH history. In addition, Jesse is a founding member of numerous alternative sentencing programs and court initiatives to currently include the Belknap County Recovery Court and the Carroll County Adult Drug Treatment Court. Jesse currently serves as a member of the NH Bar Board of Governors serving Belknap County.
Jesse resides with his family in Holderness where he has lived since he moved to New Hampshire in 2000. Jesse has twin children that are in their junior year of college at the University of New Hampshire and Middlebury College. Jesse is passionate about sports. He loves his dogs and can be seen conversing with them about his latest trial strategy and musings on life. While not immersed in the law, Jesse can be seen hanging off one of NH’s 48 highest peaks.
