Two-and-a-half years ago, while delivering the commencement address at the Franklin Pierce Law Center, Linda Dalianis took a moment to recognize one of her two sons, who was among the graduates that day.

“Matt: Dad, Ben, Sarah, Courtney and I are very, very proud of you,” said the then-associate justice to the New Hampshire Supreme Court, referring to members of their family.

On Wednesday, family and friends got to return the favor, when the 62-year-old Nashua native was sworn into office as the first woman ever to be named chief justice of the state’s highest court.

Gov. John Lynch nominated her last month to replace outgoing Chief Justice John Broderick, who retired to become dean of the University of New Hampshire School of Law, formerly Franklin Pierce.

“Linda has a keen intelligence, obviously many years on the court, and she is able to relate the law to people in a way that’s wonderfully compassionate,” Lynch said before administering the oath of office.

Dalianis is also no stranger to setting milestones in this state – all achieved at the start of a new decade, no less.

In 1980, she became the first woman to be named an associate justice to a superior court by the late Gov. Hugh Gallen.

In 2000, Gov. Jeanne Shaheen appointed her to serve on the Supreme Court, making her the first woman ever to sit on that judicial body.

And now, in 2010, she is the high court’s 35th chief justice, one of 20 women now serving in that capacity in the United States, according to the National Center for State Courts.

Besides her friends and family, the swearing-in ceremony was attended by about 150 state officials, lawmakers and attorneys, including Attorney General Michael Delaney, Senate President Peter Bragdon, R-Milford, House Speaker William O’Brien, R-Mont Vernon, and Sen. Lou D’Allesandro, D-Manchester, a former executive councilor who voted to confirm Dalianis as a superior court judge 30 years ago.

“She had a good feeling for the law and how justice should be dispensed,” he said. “She believes justice for all means equal justice for all, not just for the ‘haves.’”

Dalianis also drew praise from longtime Nashua attorney Gerald Prunier, who said she is well-suited to guide the court through these difficult financial times.

“She just has an approach that is very disarming to people,” he said. “I think she’ll be very effective. She’s excelled at everything she’s ever done.”

Still, “excelling” in her new role won’t be easy, as she takes control of a judicial branch that is trying to cope with a budget-balancing $3.1 million cut. That has resulted in unpaid furlough days for court employees, reduced operating hours at courts across the state, and a suspension of civil trials, among other belt-tightening measures.

Dalianis shared a few thoughts about that after the ceremony, saying it would be important to find efficiencies in the day-to-day operation of the judicial branch.

But she said that would require a short-term investment of money to make the necessary technological improvements, such as the ability to file court documents and judicial notices electronically.

Whether the governor and the Republican-controlled Legislature will be willing to make that kind of an investment in the face of an anticipated $600 million shortfall in the next two-year budget, of course, remains to be seen.

But those are all problems for another day. On Wednesday, it was all about accepting the congratulations and well wishes of family and friends.

Dalianis also had an opportunity to reminisce a bit in addressing nearly 40 students from the Villa Augustina School in Goffstown who were on hand for the historic ceremony.

The independent Catholic school, which now serves students between preschool and eighth grade, was a high school when Dalianis graduated from there in 1966.

“I believed there were no limits on what I could do,” she told them. “I hope that you students all believe that, too. Anything is possible for you.”

If they didn’t believe that before, they certainly do now.