He joined that firm as an associate in 1972, after graduation from Cornell Law School. Bruce served as the President of the New Hampshire Bar Association in 1995 to 1996, and was elected a Fellow to the American College of Trial Lawyers in 1990. From 2006 to 2010, he served on the Board of Regents of the American College of Trial Lawyers. He is an elected member of the American Law Institute, has served multiple terms on the New Hampshire Board of Bar Examiners, and chaired the New Hampshire Supreme Court Long-Range Strategic Planning Effort for the Court System in 2003.