Last modified: Tuesday, April 22, 2008 1:02 AM EDT Fall River lawyer running for county register of probate FALL RIVER - Attorney Dave Dennis of Fall River has announced he is a candidate for register of probate in Bristol County in the Sept. 16 election. It has been 30 years since the county has had a new register of probate. "More than ever the next register of probate must restore openness, accessibility and accountability to the Office of Register of Probate and make customer service the number one priority," Dennis said. Dennis said he has the legal and business knowledge, skills and experience needed for the job. He has represented clients in probate and family court. "My management experience and training gives me the skills to effectively manage staff, work with judges and the public to create a system that is efficient and responsive to everyone who uses the resources of the probate and family courts," Dennis said. Born in Fall River, Dennis graduated from Durfee High School in 1973, and served in the U.S. Air Force as a medic during the Vietnam Era. Dennis then attended the University of New England in Maine, earning a bachelor's degree in business management in 1980. During the early '80s he formed a family real estate partnership and was then employed by the former Rhode Island Group Health Association in Providence, where he became a division manager. He subsequently attended Southern New England School of Law. Dennis then co-founded the Cambodian Legal Resources and Development Center in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. There he lectured at the Faculty of Law and Economic and at the Cambodian Legal Resources Development Center and served as personal advisor to the Secretary of the State of Commerce of the Royal Cambodian Government. In 2003, Dennis opened his law practice, and in addition to the Massachusetts Bar, he is admitted to practice before the federal District Court and the Supreme Court. Dennis is a member of the SMILES Mentoring Program and last fall was appointed a member of the Massachusetts Bar Association's Eco-Challenge Task Force. He is also an officer on the boards of the Fall River Bar Association and the Bristol County Bar Advocates and is active in various other civic and professional organizations.