During his campaign for governor, Charlie Baker repeatedly criticized Martha Coakley for defending the state against a lawsuit brought by a New York children's rights group, saying she should have settled the suit instead.

Asked this week if he would try to negotiate the case when he becomes governor in January, Baker adopted a more measured tone.

Baker said he'd meet with the group, but declined to say whether he would seek to settle the lawsuit, saying he wasn't ``intimately familiar with the details of the case.''

Baker's comments not only reflect an inevitable shift away from the heat of the campaign, but may give Massachusetts residents a hint of Baker's style of governing.

Baker has portrayed that approach as more pragmatic, drawing ideas from fellow Republicans and Democrats alike.

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