Gov. Kelly Ayotte has announced her picks for two key state legal positions, tapping Concord lawyer Bryan Gould to fill a vacancy on New Hampshire’s highest court, and nominating Attorney General John Formella to serve another term as the state’s top law enforcement official.

The moves amount to some of Ayotte’s most significant personnel decisions since taking office in January, and both follow plenty of speculation in Concord. Several trial judges applied to fill the Supreme Court opening, but in Gould — who is 66 and lives in Bow — Ayotte chose a well-regarded and experienced litigator with deep ties to Republican politics in the state.

Gould attended college and law school in Utah, and started his legal career in Nevada, before joining the New Hampshire bar in 1990.

Since then, Goul

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