A.Organization of the State Bar of New Mexico. In order to aid the courts in improving the administration of justice, to promote the interests of the legal profession in the State of New Mexico, to promote and support the needs of all members, to be cognizant of the needs of individual and minority members of the profession, including the full and equal participation of minorities and women in the State Bar of New Mexico and the profession at large, to improve the relations between the legal profession and the public, to encourage and assist in the delivery of legal services to all in need of those services, to foster and maintain high ideals of integrity, learning, competence, and public service, to provide a forum for the discussion of subjects pertaining to the practice of law and law reform, to promote and provide continuing legal education in technical fields of substantive law and practice and to participate in the legislative, executive, and judicial processes by informing its membership about issues affecting the legal system and relating to the purpose of the State Bar of New Mexico, and on approval by the Board of Bar Commissioners, to take any further action as may be necessary to present the views of the bar commission to the appropriate court, executive office, or legislative body for consideration; and to the end that the responsibility of the legal profession and the individual members of the legal profession may be more effectively and efficiently discharged in the public interest, and acting within the powers vested in it by the New Mexico Constitution and its inherent power over members of the legal profession as officers of the court, the Supreme Court does hereby create and continue an organization known as the State Bar of New Mexico, and all persons now or hereafter licensed in this state to engage in the practice of law shall be members of the State Bar of New Mexico in accordance with the rules of this Court. The State Bar of New Mexico may incorporate, sue and be sued, enter into contracts and acquire, hold, encumber, dispose of, and deal in and with real and personal property, and promote and further the aims as set forth herein and hereinafter in these rules. Except as otherwise provided by rules adopted by the Supreme Court, no person shall practice law in this state or hold himself or herself out as one who may practice law in this state unless that person is an active member of the State Bar of New Mexico, and no suspended or disbarred member shall practice law in this state or hold himself or herself out as one who may practice law in this state, while suspended or disbarred.
B.Divisions created. The Supreme Court does hereby create the following divisions of the State Bar of New Mexico:(1) a young lawyers division. Membership in the Young Lawyers Division shall consist of all members of the State Bar of New Mexico in good standing who have been admitted to the practice of law in any state for ten (10) years or less. Membership shall begin on admission to practice in New Mexico and shall terminate automatically as of December 31 at the close of a member's tenth year of practice in any state. A person who qualifies for membership in the Young Lawyers Division because that person has not been admitted to any state bar for more than ten (10) years shall not serve as an officer of the Young Lawyers Division if the service would extend more than ten (10) years beyond that person's admission to any state bar. The Young Lawyers Division shall adopt bylaws applicable to its division which shall be approved by the Board of Bar Commissioners. The bylaws shall not be inconsistent with these rules. The bylaws of the Young Lawyers Division shall establish the process for the election of its officers and directors; (2) a senior lawyers division. Membership in the Senior Lawyers Division shall consist of (a) all members of the State Bar of New Mexico in good standing who are fifty-five (55) years of age or older and who have practiced law for twenty-five (25) years or more; and(b) any member of the State Bar of New Mexico in good standing who(i) is fifty-five (55) years of age or older; or(ii) has practiced law for twenty-five (25) years or more; and(iii) gives written notice to the executive director of the State Bar of New Mexico of the member's election to become a member of this division and of the member's qualification of membership in the division. The Senior Lawyers Division shall adopt bylaws applicable to its division which shall be approved by the Board of Bar Commissioners. The bylaws shall not be inconsistent with these rules. The bylaws of the Senior Lawyers Division shall establish the process for the election of its officers and directors; and
(3) a paralegal division. A person may become a member of the Paralegal Division if the person meets the requirements of Rule 24-101.1 NMRA. The Paralegal Division shall adopt bylaws applicable to its division which shall have been approved by the Board of Bar Commissioners. The bylaws shall not be inconsistent with these rules. The bylaws of the Paralegal Division shall establish the process for the election of its officers and directors.C.Board membership and powers. The Board of Bar Commissioners shall be the governing board of the State Bar of New Mexico. Each commissioner shall have one (1) vote. Except as otherwise provided by Paragraph J, theBoard of Bar Commissioners shall consist of twenty-two (22) bar commissioners, consisting of those district bar commissioners elected under Paragraph D, and the chair of the Young Lawyers Division and the elected delegate of the Senior 9 Lawyers Division. The Board of Bar Commissioners has perpetual succession and may use a common seal. The Board of Bar Commissioners may employ an executive director. The Board of Bar Commissioners may adopt bylaws applicable to the State Bar of New Mexico and the Board of Bar Commissioners; provided, however, any bylaws inconsistent with these rules shall be invalid. D.Bar commissioner districts. Bar Commissioner Districts shall follow the established State Judicial Districts and each district shall be represented by the indicated number of district bar commissioners, each of whom shall have their principal place of practice in the judicial district(s) represented and shall be nominated and elected by the members of the State Bar of New Mexico in accordance with this rule and the bylaws of the State Bar of New Mexico, as follows: (1) the first judicial district, which consists of Rio Arriba, Los Alamos, and Santa Fe counties, shall be represented by three bar commissioners;(2) the second judicial district, which consists of Bernalillo County, shall be represented by six (6) bar commissioners;(3) the third and sixth judicial districts, which consist of Dona Ana, Grant, Hidalgo, and Luna counties, shall be represented by three (3) bar commissioners;(4) the fourth and eighth judicial districts, which consist of Taos, Colfax, Union, Mora, San Miguel, and Guadalupe counties, shall be represented by one (1) bar commissioner;(5) the fifth judicial district, which consists of Chaves, Eddy, and Lea counties, shall be represented by one (1) bar commissioner;(6) the seventh and thirteenth judicial districts, which consist of Catron, Sierra, Socorro, Torrance, Cibola, Sandoval, and Valencia counties, shall be represented by two (2) bar commissioners;(7) the ninth and tenth judicial districts, which consist of Curry, Roosevelt, De Baca, Harding, and Quay counties, shall be represented by one (1) bar commissioner;(8) the eleventh judicial district, which consists of McKinley and San Juan counties, shall be represented by one (1) bar commissioner; and(9) the twelfth judicial district, which consists of Lincoln and Otero counties, shall be represented by one (1) bar commissioner.(10) Out-of-state district. There shall be one (1) bar commissioner whose principal place of practice is in New Mexico and who shall represent the interests of all out-of state members except for those members who reside in El Paso County, Texas, who shall be represented by the commissioners of the third and sixth judicial districts. The commissioner for the out-of-state district shall be a full commissioner of the Board of Bar Commissioners and entitled to hold office, vote, participate in committees, and seek reimbursement as any commissioner.E.Terms of office. The district bar commissioners shall be elected to terms of three (3) years and shall hold office until their successors are elected or appointed and qualified. No district bar commissioner shall be elected to more than three (3) consecutive three (3)-year terms or serve more than ten (10) consecutive years.F.Vacancies. Vacancies of district bar commissioners shall be filled by appointment of the Board of Bar Commissioners, and district bar commissioners so appointed shall serve until December 31. An election of a district bar commissioner to fill the unexpired term shall be held with the next regular election of district bar commissioners following the appointment to fill the vacancy. G.Nominations for district commissioners. Nominations to the office of district bar commissioner shall be by the written petition of any ten (10) or more active status members of the State Bar of New Mexico in good standing. Any number of candidates may be nominated on a single petition which shall be received by the executive director within a period to be fixed by the bylaws of the State Bar of New Mexico. No state or federal judge shall be eligible to serve as a member of the Board of Bar Commissioners of the State Bar of New Mexico while in office.H.Election results. The annual election of commissioners shall close at noon on November 30th and the ballots canvassed by at least three (3) commissioners not running for reelection as appointed by the president, and the results shall be published in the Bar Bulletin and posted to the State Bar of New Mexico's web site.I.Officers of Board of Bar Commissioners; election. In accordance with the bylaws of the State Bar of New Mexico, the Board of Bar Commissioners shall elect a president, a presidentelect, and a secretary-treasurer, who shall take office. The immediate past president shall also be an officer of the Board of Bar Commissioners. All officers shall be members of the Board of Bar Commissioners and shall be officers of the State Bar of New Mexico and of its Board of Bar Commissioners. Terms of office for the officers of the Board of Bar Commissioners shall commence January 1st and those officers shall serve for one (1) year.J.Extension of commissioner terms. If a district bar commissioner's term of office expires after the commissioner has been elected to the position of secretary-treasurer, president-elect, or president, that commissioner's term shall be extended until the completion of his or her term as immediate past president provided that the commissioner was elected to the Board of Bar Commissioners for his or her current term. During the extended term, there shall be elected fromthat commissioner's district one fewer member to the Board of Bar Commissioners than that district would be otherwise entitled to under these rules. As amended, effective 1/1/1987;7/1/1987;6/1/1992;10/1/1992;12/1/1993;6/15/1994;2/7/1995;6/8/1998;4/17/2000;8/14/2000;1/30/2004;8/31/2004; as amended by Supreme Court Order 06-8300-035, effective 1/1/2007; as amended by Supreme Court Order 13-8300-039, effective 12/31/2013; as amended by Supreme Court Order No. 16-8300-036, effective immediately for the 2016 elections; as amended by Supreme Court Order No. 19-8300-007, effective 7/1/2019; amended by Supreme Court Order No. 20-8300-016, effective 12/31/2020; as amended by Supreme Court Order No. S-1-RCR-2023-00033, effective 12/31/2023. ANNOTATIONS The 2019 amendment, approved by Supreme Court Order No. 19-8300-007, effective July 1, 2019, added an additional eligibility provision for membership in the Senior Lawyers Division, and made technical and clarifying changes; in Paragraph B, in Subparagraph (1), after "extend more", deleted "that" and added "than", and in Subparagraph (2), added new subparagraph designation "(a)" and added new Subparagraph (b); and in Paragraph H, after "Bar Bulletin", added "and posted to the State Bar of New Mexico's web site". The 2016 amendment, approved by Supreme Court Order No. 16-8300-036, effective immediately for the 2016 elections, revised the list of officers that comprise the Board of Bar Commissioners, and made certain technical amendments throughout the rule; in Paragraph A, in the second paragraph, after "provided by", deleted "the" and changed "rule" to "rules"; in Paragraph C, after "shall have one", added "(1)", and after "commissioners elected", deleted "pursuant to" and added "under"; in Paragraph H, after "reelection", added "as", and after "and the results", added "shall be"; in Paragraph I, after "president-elect", deleted "a vice president", and added "The immediate past president shall also be an officer of the board."; and in Paragraph J, after "secretary-treasurer", deleted "vice president". The 2013 amendment, approved by Supreme Court Order No. 13-8300-039, effective December 31, 2013, provided for limits on successive terms and consecutive years in office; provided that appointments to fill vacancies expire on December 31; required that an election to fill the unexpired term be held at the next regular election following the appointment to fill a vacancy; provided for the extension of a commissioner's term when the term expires during the commissioner's term as secretary-treasurer or vice-president; in Paragraph E, in the first sentence, after "successors are elected", added "or appointed", and added the second sentence; in Paragraph F, in the first sentence, after "shall serve until", deleted "the next regular election of district bar commissioners, at which time an" and added "December 31", and in the second sentence, added "An", and after "shall be held", added the remainder of the sentence; and in Paragraph J, in the first sentence, after "serving in the position of", added "secretary-treasurer, vice-president", after "president-elect", added "or", after "or president", deleted "or immediate past president", after "term shall be extended", deleted "for an additional three-year term; but the commissioner shall serve only the portion of the term which ends one (1) year after the commissioner's term as president" and added the remainder of the sentence, and deleted the former last sentence, which required that an election be held in the district at the regular election one year after the year the president's term expired to elect a member to serve for the remainder of the president's term. The 2006 amendment, approved by Supreme Court Order 06-8300-35, effective January 1, 2007, revised Subparagraph (1) of Paragraph B, relating to the young lawyers division, to terminate membership automatically December 31 rather than at the adjournment of the annual bar convention, to add the third, fourth and fifth paragraphs relating to officers serving after attaining the age of thirty-six (36) and to prohibit a person from serving as an officer if it would extend that person's membership beyond five (5) years from the date of admission to any state bar. The second 2004 amendment, effective August 31, 2004, substituted "five (5)" for "three (3)" in the first and second sentences in Subparagraph (1) of Paragraph B. The first 2004 amendment, effective January 30, 2004, rewrote the first paragraph and substituted "paralegal" for "legal assistants" in the first and last sentences of the second paragraph in Subparagraph (3) of Paragraph B. The second 2000 amendment, effective August 14, 2000, redesignated former Paragraphs H and J as Paragraphs I and J; added Paragraph H concerning election results; in Paragraph I, deleted "at the annual meeting of the state bar" at the end of the first sentence, substituted "January 1st" for "as of the annual meeting of the state bar" and substituted "for one (1) year" for "until the next annual meeting of the state bar unless said officer(s) resign in which case they shall serve until their successors are elected and take office" in the third sentence. The first 2000 amendment, effective April 17, 2000, inserted "to promote and support the needs of all members" and "including the full and equal participation of minorities and women in the State Bar and the profession at large" near the beginning of Paragraph A. The 1998 amendment, effective June 8, 1998, substituted "applied for membership before April 30, 1998" for "become members within three (3) years after the effective date of the amendment of this rule to establish the legal assistance division" in Subparagraph B(3)(f). The 1995 amendment, effective February 7, 1995, added Subparagraph B(3) relating to the legal assistants division. The 1994 amendment, effective June 15, 1994, substituted "the chair of the Young Lawyers Division and the elected delegate of the Senior Lawyers Division" for "the chairs of the Young Lawyers Division and the Senior Lawyers Division" in the second sentence of Paragraph C. The 1993 amendment, effective December 1, 1993, in Paragraph B, substituted the present paragraph heading for "Young lawyers division established", inserted the Subparagraph B(1) designation, added Subparagraph B(2), and made stylistic changes; in Paragraph C, substituted "membership and powers" for "established" in the paragraph heading, substituted "The Board of Bar Commissioners shall be" for "A Board of Bar Commissioners is established as" in the first sentence, and substituted "twenty-one (21)" for "twenty (20)" and "the chairs of the Young Lawyers Division and the Senior Lawyers Division" for "the chair of the Young Lawyers Division" in the second sentence; and substituted "in accordance with the bylaws of the state bar" for "from the district in which the member's principal place of practice is located" at the end of the introductory language of Paragraph D. The second 1992 amendment, effective October 1, 1992, in the third sentence in Paragraph C, substituted "twenty (20)" for "twenty-one (21)" and deleted "as well as the immediate past president of the state bar" preceding "and the chair"; in Paragraph H, deleted the former second paragraph, relating to the immediate past president as a voting member for one year; and rewrote Paragraph I. The first 1992 amendment, effective June 1, 1992, in Paragraph A, rewrote the first paragraph and made gender neutral changes in the second paragraph; in Paragraph B, substituted "practice of law in any state" for "State Bar of New Mexico" in two places and made minor stylistic changes; in the third sentence in Paragraph C, substituted "twenty-one (21) bar commissioners" for "twenty (20) bar commissioners" and inserted "immediate past" and "of the state bar and the chair"; in Paragraph H, substituted "Board of Bar Commissioners" for "board of commissioners" in the second sentence of the first paragraph, and, in the second paragraph, substituted "a voting member" for "ex officio member", made a gender neutral change, and deleted ", but shall have no vote unless he is serving as an elected member of the board" from the end; rewrote Paragraph I; and deleted former Paragraph J, a temporary provision relating to two new district bar commissioners elected pursuant to the 1986 amendment.
For Parental Responsibility Act, see Chapter 40, Article 5A NMSA 1978. For effect of Parental Responsibility Act on licensing of lawyers and other persons by the supreme court, see 40-5A-10 NMSA 1978. Rule 24-101 NMRA applies to all courts of this state without exception. - The practice of law in any court is limited to duly licensed attorneys who are members of the State Bar or otherwise authorized by the Supreme Court's rules in specific, limited circumstances. The limited exceptions that allow certain individuals without a bar license to practice law in New Mexico courts require that a proper authority must be notified in writing of their non-licensed status, the State Bar in the case of an out-of-state attorney and the judge presiding over the proceeding in the case of a clinical law student. State v. Rivera, 2012-NMSC-003, 268 P.3d 40, rev'g in part 2010-NMCA-109, 149 N.M. 406, 249 P.3d 944. Prosecution of criminal case by a non-licensed individual. - Where an assistant district attorney and an individual who was not licensed to practice law in New Mexico participated in the prosecution of a DWI case in Metropolitan Court; the assistant district attorney was present for the entire trial and personally conducted most of the trial; and the unlicensed individual examined only one of the state's witnesses, defendant was not prejudiced by the unlicensed individual's impermissible participation at trial. State v. Rivera, 2012-NMSC-003, 268 P.3d 40, rev'g in part 2010-NMCA-109, 149 N.M. 406, 249 P.3d 944. "State bar" deemed generic term. - "State bar" is a generic term referring to that group of attorneys which has been admitted to practice before the courts of this state. State Bar v. Guardian Abstract & Title Co., 1978-NMSC-016, 91 N.M. 434, 575 P.2d 943. Am. Jur. 2d, A.L.R. and C.J.S. references. - 7 Am. Jur. 2d Attorneys at Law §§ 2, 7. 7 C.J.S. Attorney and Client § 8.