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 use generative AI tools like ChatGPT in the practice of law?
Yes. A New Mexico lawyer may use generative AI in practice, but must do so responsibly, protecting client confidences, verifying AI output for accuracy and candor to courts, charging only for time act…
Can a New Mexico lawyer practice New Mexico law remotely while physically located in another state?
Yes. A New Mexico lawyer may practice New Mexico law through technology from another state or country, provided they do not violate the rules of the place where they are physically located, do not hol…
Does New Mexico require every practicing lawyer to have a written succession plan, and what must it contain?
Yes. Rule 16-119 NMRA requires every lawyer practicing in New Mexico to keep a written succession plan naming an assisting lawyer and locating client and trust-account information, to notify clients o…
Can a New Mexico lawyer publicly comment on or criticize a judge or candidate for legal office?
The opinion concluded that lawyers are encouraged to give honest, candid opinions about judges and candidates for legal office, but must not make statements they know to be false or that are made with…
Can a lawyer answer legal questions and post articles on an online listserve or message board without violating the confidentiality, conflict, and advertising rules?
The committee concluded there is no single answer: answering general legal questions usually does not create representation, but answering specific questions can create an attorney-client relationship…
Can an insurance defense lawyer send the insured's detailed legal bills to the insurer's third-party auditing company without the insured's informed consent?
The committee concluded the lawyer may not disclose the insured's defense bills to a third-party auditor without the insured's informed consent, and that the lawyer ordinarily may not even seek that c…
After a client dies, can the lawyer disclose the client's confidential statements to police investigating the death, or must the lawyer keep asserting the privilege?
The committee concluded the lawyer must continue to assert the deceased client's privilege until either a court-appointed personal representative makes an informed waiver after consultation, or a cour…
Does a criminal defense lawyer have to volunteer information to the court (a guilty plea, or a sentencing hearing that was never scheduled) when neither the lawyer nor the client was asked and the client did not lie?
The committee concluded the candor and truthfulness rules require a lawyer not to make a false statement of material fact, but impose no duty to volunteer the disposition of a related charge when no o…
When federal law forces a lawyer to report a client's $10,000-plus cash fee and the client's identity, how does that square with the duty of client confidentiality?
The committee did not resolve the conflict between 26 U.S.C. Section 6050I and the confidentiality rule, but it concluded a lawyer who knows a reportable cash payment is coming must, before accepting …
Do the ethics rules require a lawyer to report serious crimes she discovers an opposing party committed while pursuing a civil claim, especially after a confidential settlement?
The opinion concluded the rules do not impose a special reporting duty for a non-client, non-lawyer's crimes beyond an ordinary citizen's, except for the criminal laws on compounding a felony or being…
Must a lawyer disclose a client's financial fraud when the lawyer himself was used to give a third party a false assurance the client never intended to honor?
The opinion concluded that although disclosure of a client's crime causing only financial harm is ordinarily optional, disclosure became mandatory here because the lawyer had communicated with the thi…
May a lawyer refer collection of unpaid fees against clients to a credit bureau or a commercial collection agency?
The opinion concluded it is improper to report a client's unpaid account to a credit bureau solely to impede the client's credit, but a lawyer may generally use a contingent-fee commercial collection …
May a lawyer who drafted a husband's antenuptial agreement twelve years ago now represent the wife in a divorce, where the agreement's property is still in existence?
The opinion concluded the lawyer may not represent the wife unless the husband consents after consultation, because the divorce's division of property is substantially related to drafting the antenupt…
How should a lawyer handle the destruction of closed client files, and what must be retained?
The opinion concluded a lawyer may destroy closed files only after returning all client property and original documents, indefinitely keeping documents of intrinsic value (such as wills and deeds), re…
When a lawyer may be called as a witness against a former client in a case his current firm is defending, must he keep silent, talk to opposing counsel, or tell his own firm about the potential conflict?
The opinion concluded the lawyer was not required to talk to the former client's new counsel, but he could and probably should tell his own firm that he might be a witness, so the firm could evaluate …
Does a lawyer have an ethical duty to disclose that a client has told the lawyer she intends to commit suicide?
The opinion concluded that because suicide is not a crime under New Mexico law and a lawyer who fails to disclose it does not aid a crime or fraud, the lawyer had no duty to disclose the client's stat…
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 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 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…
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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.