State Bar of New Mexico Ethics Opinions
Free plain-English summaries of legal ethics opinions issued by the State Bar of New Mexico, with full citations and source links on every page.
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Can a New Mexico lawyer send a direct-mail letter to loan agencies and lenders advertising his student loan collection services and fees?
The opinion concluded that if the statements in the proposed advertising letter are true and correct, it is appropriate for the attorney to send it to prospective clients, relying on the U.S. Supreme …
Can a lawyer who won a damages judgment against a man for one client take on that man's wife as a client in her divorce, where both are pursuing the husband's property?
The opinion concluded that whether a conflict existed turned on whether the judgment against the husband was a community or separate debt, and that even a possible conflict did not automatically precl…
Can attorneys who regularly practice before a state agency also serve under contract as the agency's part-time hearing officers?
The opinion concluded the proposal created an appearance of impropriety, because attorneys who both advocate before and adjudicate in the same forum create an unavoidable impression of potential influ…
If a client tried to defraud an insurer with a falsified report and the fraud was discovered, must the lawyer report it to the district attorney, and may the lawyer help the insurer prosecute the former client?
The opinion concluded the firm had no obligation to report the attempted fraud to the district attorney, because the client only attempted rather than perpetrated the fraud and the insurer (the intend…
In settling a case, can a plaintiff's lawyer agree to keep the terms secret, hand over and seal her entire file, and promise never to take other cases against the same defendants?
The opinion concluded the lawyer could agree to keep the settlement terms confidential (a client secret) and that whether to surrender and seal the file was the client's decision since the file is the…
When an attorney leaves a firm in the middle of a contingent-fee case, can the firm hold the client's files as a retaining lien to force a fee-split agreement with the departing lawyer?
The opinion concluded the firm could not use a retaining lien, or the threat of one, on the client's files to compel a separation agreement with the departing attorney, because until the client is giv…
In a federal civil rights case, may a defendant offer and a plaintiff accept a single lump-sum settlement that bundles damages, costs, and the plaintiff's statutory attorney's fees?
The opinion concluded that in cases involving only damages it is not ethically improper for a defendant to offer, or a plaintiff to accept, a lump-sum settlement covering damages, costs, and attorney'…
When federal investigators want to open a lawyer's intercepted letter to a client and want help locating a client who used an alias for fraud, what can the lawyer disclose?
The opinion concluded the lawyer should not permit the FBI to open the intercepted letter and that only the client could waive the attorney-client privilege, even though the client had used an alias, …
Can a law partnership keep paying a former partner a percentage of its gross fees under a buy-out agreement if that former partner resigns, is suspended, or is disbarred and becomes a nonlawyer?
The opinion concluded the buy-out payments were permissible under Rules 2-107 and 3-102, even if the former partner later resigned, was suspended, or was disbarred, because they were deferred payment …
Can a lawyer represent an employer both in a tort suit (where the injured employee is an involuntary counterclaimant) and in defending against that same employee's workers' compensation claim?
The opinion concluded that no conflict presently existed and that neither the Code nor the Model Rules required the lawyer to withdraw from representing the employer in either suit, but cautioned that…
Can a full-time assistant district attorney in one district volunteer, without pay, as a village prosecutor handling municipal traffic cases in a second district?
The opinion concluded the assistant district attorney was not directly violating any ethical standard by serving without pay as a village prosecutor in a second district, but cautioned that a statutor…
Can a lawyer hired by an insurer to defend an insured withdraw from that defense and then bring a coverage suit against the insured on a related matter?
The opinion concluded the proposed conduct gave rise to at least the appearance of a conflict of interest under Rules 5-105 and 5-107(B), even though the lawyer had no actual contact with or confident…
Can a collection agency manager who became a lawyer write to the agency's current clients to continue their collection work through his new law office?
The opinion concluded that the proposed letter was not objectionable, provided distribution was limited to the collection agency's present clients; if sent to others, the lawyer would have to modify i…
Can a lawyer who drafted and mediated agreements between two parties later represent one of them in arbitration against the other over the same project?
The opinion concluded that the lawyer had to withdraw: if the general contractor was a current client, an undivided duty of loyalty required it; and if a former client, the substantial-relationship te…
Can a salaried in-house bank lawyer seek court-awarded attorney fees in collection and foreclosure suits, and may the bank keep more than the lawyer's cost?
The opinion concluded that a salaried in-house bank lawyer had to disclose to the court that she was exclusively on salary when requesting fees, that it would be improper for the bank to collect more …
Is it unethical or an unfair trade practice for the defense bar to use a release that reserves the releasee's own claims while the releasor gives up all claims?
The opinion concluded that a non-mutual release, which reserved the releasee's rights while the releasor released all claims, was not an unfair or deceptive trade practice under New Mexico law and was…
Can a lawyer keep a former client's papers as security for unpaid fees when the client needs them for other litigation?
The opinion concluded that a lawyer could assert a retaining lien and withhold a former client's papers despite other litigation, but only if a valid lien existed, the client did not fall within the u…
Can a New Mexico lawyer send a direct-mail letter advertising services and fees to banks and other potential clients?
The opinion concluded that a lawyer could send a truthful, non-misleading direct-mail letter advertising services and fees to potential clients, following the federal ruling in L.M. v. Disciplinary Bo…
Can a lawyer help an insolvent client pay some creditors over others, and must the lawyer disclose the client's past fraud or failure to file tax returns?
The opinion concluded that, outside bankruptcy, a lawyer could help an insolvent client negotiate payments to general creditors and could assist payments even if that reduced the chance of an investig…
When a bank charges borrowers a documentation fee for work done by its salaried in-house lawyer, is the lawyer improperly sharing legal fees with a nonlawyer by letting the bank keep that fee?
The opinion concluded it was ethical for the salaried in-house lawyer to acquiesce in the bank's billing, because the fee did not exceed her salary (so the bank made no profit on her services), she re…
Can a lawyer keep prepaid legal service enrollment materials available in the office, and can the lawyer's secretary enroll clients in the plan for a per-person commission?
The opinion concluded the lawyer could make prepaid legal service information available in the office under Rule 2-101(B)(15), provided he did not call undue attention to it, but that his secretary sh…
Can a lawyer be employed to run a legal clinic organized by a nonprofit corporation that has no lawyers on its board, and run a private practice on the same premises in exchange for the use of those premises?
The opinion concluded the employment came within Rule 2-103(D) if the clinic's users were beneficiaries of the nonprofit and the listed conditions were met, and the dual arrangement was not objectiona…
Can a district attorney release an information sheet to the news media about criminal cases, including the reasons cases were dismissed, without violating the trial-publicity rule?
The opinion concluded that an information sheet of public-record case data was acceptable under Rule 7-107, but that the reasons for dismissing criminal cases should not be included, because giving su…
Can a lawyer pay a witness for time lost from work while being interviewed, and can a witness who has both firsthand knowledge and expertise be paid an expert fee?
The opinion concluded that under Rule 7-109(C) a lawyer could compensate lay and expert witnesses for expenses, including time lost from work to be interviewed, but could not pay a lay witness for tes…
Can a public agency hire a lawyer whose spouse works at a law firm that represents a business the agency regulates?
The opinion concluded that the Code did not bar a regulatory commission from hiring a lawyer whose spouse's firm represented a regulated utility, with qualifications, because the better rule rejected …
Can a lawyer in a firm represent a client against someone the firm's other lawyer represented, when that person refuses to consent?
The opinion concluded that if the adverse party was still a current client of the firm when the new matter was first discussed, the lawyer had to decline because the firm owed an absolute duty of loya…
Can a combined New Mexico and Arizona law firm use a single combined firm name in New Mexico when some named partners are not licensed here?
The opinion concluded that a combined New Mexico and Arizona firm could use one combined firm name in New Mexico under DR 2-102(D), provided letterheads and other listings made clear the jurisdictiona…
What must a New Mexico lawyer or legal services program do with client trust funds when the client can no longer be located?
The opinion concluded that the lawyer had to use a high degree of diligence to locate the client and, if that failed, dispose of the funds under New Mexico's Uniform Disposition of Unclaimed Property …
Can a lawyer admitted in another state announce to New Mexico lawyers that he is available to consult in a specialized field and associate with a New Mexico lawyer?
The opinion concluded that an out-of-state lawyer could announce his availability to consult in a particular branch of law under DR 2-105, and that the consulting arrangement did not violate the Code …
Can a New Mexico lawyer pay to join a private lawyer referral service that the State Bar has not approved?
The opinion concluded that a lawyer who participated in a privately owned referral service not approved by the State Bar of New Mexico violated Rule 2-103 of the New Mexico Code of Professional Respon…
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Legal ethics opinions from the State Bar of New Mexico interpret the rules of professional conduct for working lawyers, in response to inquiries from members and committees. They are not binding like court discipline decisions, but courts and discipline boards treat formal opinions as substantial guidance on how the rules apply. Every opinion above has a plain-English question and short answer, plus a link to the original source on the bar's site.