New Mexico Supreme Court approves alternative licensure program for lawyers

The New Mexico Supreme Court on Tuesday announced its approval of a new skill-based pathway for law-school graduates to become licensed lawyers.

Justices previewed the program for state legislators in June, saying it could help address the state’s shortage of lawyers. A news release Tuesday noted that New Mexico officially qualifies as a “legal desert” under the American Bar Association’s definition, as two-thirds of its 33 counties have fewer than one lawyer for each 1,000 residents.

 “The skills-based pathway to licensure ensures that new attorneys possess the practical, on-the-job lawyering skills needed to help New Mexicans,” Chief Justice Julie J. Vargas said in a statement. “This new option for admission to the practice of law also has the potential to increase the number of attorneys in New Mexico to address unmet legal needs, particularly in rural areas where it is difficult to find a lawyer.”

The new approach will offer alternatives to the two-day bar state exam required for law-school graduates, and follows recommendations made by a Supreme Court-appointed committee of lawyers, judges, and law professors who studied the issue for more than a year.

Under an order issued last week, the court will work with the State Board of Bar Examiners to establish various requirements for alternative licensure and issue an additional order with the program’s start date, anticipated to occur in mid-2027.

The new licensure pathway will require participants to work with a supervising lawyer and submit a portfolio demonstrating their legal skills. Specifically, they will be required to finish at least 675 hours of legal work within a 12-month period under that supervision and submit portfolios that demonstrate abilities in a variety of areas, including legal writing, client meetings and various negotiations. The State Board of Bar Examiners will evaluate the portfolios.

A news release said New Mexico’s new program is akin to one Oregon launched in 2024. Approximately half a dozen other states also have alternative licensure programs, and at least seven are exploring them.

“New Mexicans will benefit from these reforms to the legal profession,” Justice C. Shannon Bacon, who served on the court’s study committee and as vice chair of a national group that issued a report last year on the issues of legal education and licensure. “Skills-based licensure will enhance the readiness of new attorneys to practice law and expand access to our justice system for people with legal issues, whether it is custody of children, housing problems, or consumer debt.”