The University of New Mexico School of Law invites artist submissions for display in the
School of Law Art Gallery. The Gallery provides a space for artists, both affiliated and not
affiliated with UNM…

Joaquin Baca, a University of New Mexico Master of Studies in Law (MSL) alumnus was elected to serve on the Albuquerque City Council in 2023. Baca currently serves as City Councilor for District 2, an…

Professor Pacyniak shares his thoughts on the community impact that the New Mexico Match Act could have if passed in this upcoming legislative session. Full Story

Each Fall a group of law students teach high school students from underserved schools about their Constitutional rights and how to interact with law enforcement. This week the program will be …

"Maryam Ahranjani, the Ron and Susan Friedman Professor of Law and an expert in constitutional rights, criminal law and procedure, and education law, joined First Amendment scholars and attorneys fro…

Staff and students from the UNM School of Law traveled to the State Capitol in Santa Fe on January 29, 2024, to represent the school’s academic programs at UNM Day during the 2024 state legisla…

Three class of 2024 School of Law students play a significant role in the Graduate and Professional Student Association (GPSA) at UNM. Justin Lauriano serves as GPSA President, Paul Havern serves as …

What should a 16-year-old say if a police officer asks to search them? Law students from the UNM chapter of the Marshall-Brennan Constitutional Literacy Project have spent months teaching students fr…

The University of New Mexico Alumni Association award ceremony was held on February 28, 2024. Nine UNM alumni were recognized at the ceremony, one of whom was UNM School of Law alumnus Harold Lavende…

The University Administrative Policies (UAP) at the University of New Mexico are getting a makeover after members of a UNM task force charged with reviewing the policies for equity and inclusion foun…

The inaugural School of Law Faculty Scholarship Reception took place on April 18, 2024, in celebration of faculty that have published in 2023 and 2024. Twenty two faculty members published 48 forms o…

The Federal Bar Association Indian Law Section hosted its 49th Annual Indian Law Conference on April 4 - 5, 2024 at Sandia Resort and Casino. This year’s Indian Law Conference hosted over 800 l…

Advance at UNM, the UNM Office of Academic Affairs, the UNM Center for Teaching and Learning, and the UNM School of Law hosted two events for faculty and staff to explore freedom of speech best pract…

Victor Reyes (1L) was appointed the Student Regent for the Board of Regents of the University of New Mexico. The Student Regent is one of seven voting members of the Board of Regents. Reyes will serv…

The University of New Mexico School of Law continues to climb the U.S. News & World Report rankings for Environmental Law, ranking number 25 for the first time. The Law School's Natural Resources and…

Justice C. Shannon Bacon will serve as the distinguished speaker for the UNM School of Law's 2024 commencement ceremony on May 11, 2024. “I am honored and delighted to speak with the University…

Erinna “Erin” Atkins, a 2009 graduate of the University of New Mexico School of Law, took office in January as the President of the State Bar of New Mexico. Even now as she leads the Stat…

Crestencia Pihlaja, a 2L at the School of Law, earned second place for Best Oral Argument at the Hispanic National Bar Association Moot Court Competition in Seattle in March.

Pihlaja competed against…

Professor Aliza Organick has been named director of the Law and Indigenous Peoples Program at the School of Law.

“Professor Organick brings a wealth of knowledge, experience, leadership, and gr…

On May 1, 2024, the University of New Mexico School of Law honored Dean Emeritus Theodore “Ted” Parnall by dedicating a classroom to him. The School of Law marked the occasion with a cere…

Erlinda Ocampo Johnson, University of New Mexico School of Law graduate (’95), has been appointed the special prosecutor in the Alec Baldwin case, which is currently scheduled for trial in July…

Dominique Lange joins the School of Law as the Associate Director of Admissions and Pathway Initiatives, a new staff position created to support admissions growth, enhanced recruiting, and broader out…

The School of Law has created a new staff position dedicated to helping students prepare for the bar exam. Patrick Lopez, who served as the School of Law’s Associate Director of Career Services…

U.S. Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland, who made history when she became the first Native American cabinet secretary in U.S. history, delivered the commencement address at the University of New M…

On May 11, 2024, 110 students at the School of Law celebrated their commencement. The commencement ceremony took place on the School of Law’s back lawn, where over 1,000 family and friends gath…

Rachel Swanteson-Franz, a rising 2L at the University of New Mexico School of Law, was named a 2024 Peggy Browning Fellow and will spend the summer working at the New Mexico Center on Law and Poverty…

The UNM School of Law’s Border Justice Initiative hosted a Continuing Legal Education (CLE) program for immigration practitioners from across the country on June 28 that reported great s…

In the Fall of 2022, the UNM School of Law launched its Border Justice Initiative Fellowship Program. As the program’s inaugural fellows – Jorge Rodriguez and Ari Banks – complete th…

Siix students from the UNM School of Law participated in the inaugural clinic at the Border Service Corps over Spring Break as part of the Border Justice Initiative’s Spring Break Intensive cou…

The School of Law Alumni Association Board of Directors has elected five new board members to serve on the Board. The Recent Graduate Chapter has selected two representatives from the cl…

School of Law alumna, Aimeé González (’08), was recently featured in a One-on-One interview in the Albuquerque Journal, where she shared her inspiring journey from immigrant to lawyer…

Professor Gabriel Pacyniak has been named the new Director of the Natural Resources and Environmental Law (NREL) Program at the School of Law. Professor Pacyniak assumed the role following the retirem…

Regents’ Professor Jennifer Moore continues to use experiences from her field research in Uganda, Burundi, and Sierra Leone to shine a spotlight on the need for humanitarianism and human rights…

School of Law Professor Vinay Harpalani has been elected to the American Law Institute (ALI), the foremost United States institution dedicated to creating scholarly works that improve and clarify the…

The American Indian Law Center (AILC) hosted the 2024 Pre Law Summer-Institute (PLSI) Orientation on May 31, 2024 at the School of Law. The AILC is a non-profit organization that, among other things,…

School of Law faculty members presented at the AALS Conference on Clinic Legal Education this past May in St. Louis. The conference had more than 700 legal educators and advocates in attendance to en…

The New Mexico Law Review, a semiannual student-edited legal journal, publishes scholarly articles by professors, attorneys, judges, and Law Review staff members. Volume 54, Issue 2 (2024) Summer was…

photo credit: Jon Austria

Gabriel Pacyniak loves it when his University of New Mexico law students bring home a win, especially if the victory involves battling climate change or benefiting low-incom…

The Foundation for Natural Resources and Energy Law, previously known as the Rocky Mountain Mineral Law Foundation, has proudly awarded scholarships to three exceptional School of Law students from t…

The 2024 UNM Law Scholarship Golf Classic presented by Nusenda Credit Union was held on June 7, 2024 at the University of New Mexico Championship Golf Course to raise funds for law student scholarshi…

On August 23, 2024, the UNM School of Law hosted its annual Back to School Fiesta.

The event was held on the School of Law back patio and welcomed over 400 attendees in celebration of the new semester…

The School of Law’s Natural Resources and Environmental Law (NREL) Program is thrilled to welcome Professor Warigia Bowman. Professor Bowman is a nationally known expert in in water, natural re…

Congratulations, Othmer Award and APIL Fellowship Recipients!

The Association for Public Interest Law (“APIL”) celebrates the recipient of the 2024 Othmer Award, as well as the recipients …

David B. Martinez, Kelly Stout Sanchez, and Julio C. Romero, partners at Martinez, Hart, Sanchez & Romero P.C., have contributed $2.5 million to the University of New Mexico School of Law. &#160…

The Community Governance Attorney Program (CGAP) was established by the New Mexico Legislature in 2019 to provide legal services for land grant, acequia, and colonias Communities. When these communiti…

The Law Library is open to the public 8 a.m.-8 p.m. (MT) Monday through Thursday and 8 a.m.-6 p.m. (MT) on Fridays. We are happy to assist members of the public and attorneys during those hours via c…

The UNM School of Law and the Board of the UNM School of Law Alumni/ae Association hosted the 2024 Distinguished Achievement Awards Dinner on October 18, 2024. The 2024 Distinguished Achievement…

On October 16, 2024, the School of Law and the Law and Indigenous Peoples Program hosted the Gathering of Communities and Nations Convocation, featuring Distinguished Alumnus John Echohawk of the Pawn…

The School of Law is excited to announce two outstanding student achievements. Damon Nieto has been awarded the 2024 Justice Pamela Burgy Minzner Award, and Rebecca Myers has received the 2024 Salaza…

Friends of the late Professor Albert E. Utton from New Mexico’s water management community and the University of New Mexico gathered at the School of Law on September 19, 2024, to celebrate the…

The Marshall-Brennan Constitutional Literacy Project celebrated Constitution Day on September 27, 2024, bringing together over 100 participants, including students from Atrisco Heritage Academy, West…

On September 18, 2024, the School of Law, in partnership with the UNM Alumni Association, hosted the annual UNM homecoming event, Diner en Rouge. Students, staff, faculty, alumni, and community membe…

The Latiné American Law Student Association (LALSA) recently changed its name from the Mexican American Law Student Association (MALSA) to better reflect its multifaceted membership.&#…

New Mexico Constitutional Amendment 3 is on the ballot this November. It can be found at https://www.nmlegis.gov/Sessions/24%20Regular/final/SJR01.pdf.

Passage of the amendment would allow the D…

Willis (Bill) Ellis, esteemed Professor Emeritus of the School of Law, passed away on August 20, 2024, at the age of 96.

In 1945, Professor Emeritus Ellis enlisted in the Navy and served as a Hospital…

The class of 2004 celebrated its 20th reunion on September 6, 2024. Ninety-two students graduated in 2004, and 29 were in attendance at the reunion.

The event was organized by School of Law alumnae El…

The 2024 Clinic swearing-in ceremony marks another successful beginning for the School of Law’s experiential learning program. On Monday, August 15, 2024, School of Law students took the oath of…

Migrating the School of Law’s three Law Journals to the UNM Digital Repository has not only made the work of UNM’s legal scholars more accessible to users worldwide, but it has also create…

The School of Law is excited to introduce Rachel O. Woods as the new Associate Director of Career Services. In this role, she will provide career guidance, lead professional development workshops, and…

David B. Martinez, Kelly Stout Sanchez, and Julio C. Romero, partners at Martinez, Hart, Sanchez & Romero P.C., contributed $2.5 million to the University of New Mexico School of Law. Their gift estab…

The University of New Mexico School of Law has extended the deadline for artist submissions for works to be displayed in the School of Law Art Gallery in Spring 2025. The new deadline is Friday, Janu…

On Tuesday, 10 December 2024, UNM ‘s Just Transition Grand Challenge hosted Dr. Noah Kaufman, co-chair of the Resilient Energy Economies Initiative for a lecture. The Resilient Energy Economies…

The Corinne Wolfe Center for Child & Family Justice at the UNM School of Law is home to the Children’s Code Reform Task Force (CCRTF), an initiative funded by the New Mexico Legislature. The CCR…