Sitting down to talk with John Salazar about his legal career is like sitting down to talk with a couple who have been happily married for 60 plus years about marriage—it’s tinged with a lot of awe and a bit of jealousy. John attended college at UNM, and law school at Stanford. One of three summer clerks at Rodey during his second law school summer, all of whom had long careers at Rodey to follow, John has held many prestig-ious titles at the firm. Among other posts, he has chaired Rodey’s Environmental and Natural Resources Section and Business Department, and served as a member of its Ex-ecutive Committee. As firm-citizenship goes, John’s doing exceptional.

John’s citizenship in the community at-large is no less impressive. Drawing from his expansive experience in real estate and transactional law, John has worked to help the community by serving on local non-profit boards, the Albuquerque Hispano and Greater Albuquerque Chambers of Commerce Boards of Directors, numerous sections of the American Bar Association, the Albuquerque Bar Association Board of Directors, and local economic development foundations—to name a few. Judging by quantity alone, John has been elected “chair” or “chairman” of at least ten boards or committees of foundations, non-profits and associations, all of which have a significant presence in their respective communities by any measure. Most impressive is John’s current post as Chairman of the Board of Directors for the Inter-American Foundation, a national organization charged with helping to stabilize and empower the people of Latin America through the soft-power of directly financing projects proposed and carried out by locals.

MEMBER PROFILE: JOHN SALAZAR INSIDE THIS ISSUE:

CALENDAR 2

NEWS CORNER 2

A DAY IN THE LIFE OF DREAM

3

FIGHTING FOR JUS-

TICE BANQUET

4

ANOTHER SUCCESS-

FUL AHA EVENT 5

DISCOVERING PROBATE COURT Hello from the Probate Court of Bernalillo County and your new probate judge,

Willow Misty Parks. I took office on January 1st, 2011. Many people, even attorneys, are unfamiliar with the Probate Court—what it does and what it can do. New Mexico has 33 Probate Courts, one per county. Probate judges do not have to be attor-neys. Our court is the only Probate Court serving all of Bernalillo County.

Probate Court is a court of limited jurisdiction set by the New Mexico Legislature. Probate Courts have concurrent ju-risdiction with District Courts over informal probate. An informal probate case may be initiated and filed in either court. There is also no monetary limit for an estate that may be filed in Probate Court. Estates ranging from a few thousand dol-lars to millions of dollars have been filed at the Probate Court. If disputes arise, a case must be transferred to the District Court. Fewer than 2% of cases are transferred each year. Most transfers involve motions to remove a Personal Representa-tive, questions about proper distributions of assets, not having an original will, or failure to obtain all necessary consents for appointing a Personal Representative. The Probate Court staff are very familiar with the probate process and can often be of great assistance and guidance to our customers. While the law limits us on giving legal advice at the Court, we can give guidance and explanation of the probate process.

Informal probate is primarily filed to appoint a Personal Representative (PR)/Executor. PRs appointed in Probate Court have all the powers of a PR under New Mexico law. They can fully administer the estate, collect, subdivide, and dis-tribute personal and real property while having the case in the Probate Court. Hence, a probate judge must be familiar with the probate code and areas of law including priority of PR appointment, informal probate jurisdiction, consents, the determi-nation of validity of wills, identifying heirs and devisees, statutory time limitations, venue and domicile. The Probate Court

MONTHLY NEWSLETTER March 31, 2011 VOLUME 1, ISSUE 4

By Willow Misty Parks, Bernalillo County Probate Judge

By Rebecca Avitia

Cont. at p. 3

Cont. at p. 4

Congratulations to the following Members on their recent accomplishments and good news!

Erika Anderson has been elected as the Secretary-Treasurer for the State Bar of New Mexico.

Rebecca L. Avitia was appointed to the leadership of the ABA Health Law Section’s Healthcare Litigation and Risk Management Interest Group as its Membership Committee Liaison.

Ernestina Cruz has been elected Chair of the Young Lawyers Division for the State Bar of New Mexico.

Michelle A. Hernandez was appointed by the New Mexico Supreme Court to the Rules of Civil Procedure Committee .

Lisa Vigil, a UNM law student and the NMHBA Administrative Assistant, welcomed her son Noah Joseph on January 20, 2011. He weighed in at 6 pounds, 11 ounces, and measured 19 inches.

MEMBERS’ NEWS CORNER

PAGE 2

UPCOMING EVENTS

April 4th, 3L Deadline to Sub-mit NMHBA Bar Scholarship Applications

April 28th, NMHBA Bar Schol-arship Reception and Mentor-ship Event

May 2nd, Law Day, Atrisco Heritage Academy

May 7th, Fighting for Justice Banquet & Silent Auction, Ho-tel Albuquerque

June 12-17th & June 17-July 1st, NMHBA Law Camp

July 15th, New Mexico Bench & Bar Conference

APRIL

Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

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To submit accomplishments and other good news, email Rebecca Avitia at rla@nmcounsel.com.

By Rebecca L. Avitia

Michelle Hernandez

A DAY IN THE LIFE OF DREAM

It is now Friday December 17th at 10:47, and though I am ex-hausted, I had to chronicle my historic day with the DREAMERS. I have just left the Senate Debate on DREAM. The Senate will reconvene at 9:00 a.m. tomorrow for an hour and a half of additional debate and the procedural cloture vote requiring 60 yeas to proceed on the merits. I began my day at DREAMER headquarters at the National Immigration Forum at 7:00 a.m. where I witnessed the execution of a laser focused strategy that encompassed the myriad of talents the DREAMERS possess. After each advocate was given a specific mission, we descended upon the Senate Office buildings fueled by the mo-mentum of the House successful 216 to 198 vote on December 8th.

Hispanic National Bar Association (“HNBA”) volunteers (too many to name but we thank you all!!!) not only walked miles with the DREAMERS to all key Legislators, but also housed DREAMERS for weeks. At 11:00 DREAMERS conducted a "study in" in the Dirksen Senate building cafeteria where their demonstration showed all they need is a forum to study. At 4:30 on the dot, they fanned out across every level of the Hart Senate office building and recited the pledge of allegiance followed by a Christmas Carol you all know well: "O Senator, O Senator please pass the DREAM Act now…." We then went to the United Methodist Church next to the Supreme Court to center ourselves for the vote through prayer. Each one of the roughly 100 advocates recited what they were grateful for. I simply said I'm grateful for the DREAMER example which puts into perspective what really matters at the end of the day—actualizing one another's potential.

At 8:45 p.m. we headed to the Senate to witness the Senate debate. Senator Durbin opened with a moving tribute to the exceptional DREAMERS seated alongside me. He held up 10 5' x 4' posters with their pictures while describing their re-markable accomplishments. One celebrated student is a 3L 3.8 g.p.a. law student from CUNY who trains to serve in the Ma-rines JAG Corps. Senator Menendez then gave an impassioned plea to his fellow Senators to vote on the merits of the bill. As he spoke of the DREAMERS present he said he would be proud to call any one of them his son or daughter. I wanted to write this tonight, before the vote, before the post-quarterbacking, to capture the essence of passion I felt today that proves, whether tomorrow or a distant tomorrow, a new tide in Latino leadership will make Comprehensive Immigration Reform (CIR) a reality.

Of course the post-quarterbacking of the failed 55-41 cloture vote requiring 60 votes on December 18th has produced a litany of theories on the future of the DREAM movement. As we go on to write the next chapter in this Civil Rights saga, we must remain focused on capitalizing upon the diverse collaborative base of this movement.

Cont. at p. 4

PAGE 3 VOLUME 1, ISSUE 4

DISCOVERING PROBATE COURT, CONT. does not and cannot oversee or supervise the administration of the estate. If allegations of PR wrongdoing arise, the case must be transferred to District Court for a formal proceeding and evidentiary findings. However, a lot can and does get ac-complished in Probate Court.

Many attorneys use the court. The Probate Court in many cases is a professional, efficient and economical option for clients. Our clerk hours are 8:30am to 4:30pm, Monday through Friday. Our filing fee is $30 compared to Second Judicial District Court’s $132 fee. Moreover, a greater proportion of those who use our court are pro se. Indeed 358 of the 573 cases filed in 2010 were pro se, making up 62% of all cases filed. To appreciate this increase, 192 total cases were filed in 1999 in the Bernalillo County Probate Court, and eight were pro se. This increase can be linked in part to the NM Supreme Court-approved probate forms. We have packets of these forms available at the court for $5. We look favorably on their use in our court, even by attorneys. Completing these forms can help assure that nothing is overlooked. The forms can also be found on-line and downloaded for free.

At the Probate Court, we also conduct wedding ceremonies. Some are very simple, sweet ceremonies, while others fill our little court with guests, bridal bouquets and the full décor. The court also houses wills that date to the late 1800’s. Many are handwritten; some are in Spanish. Law school classes tour the court, entertaining and educating students with our file of strange, interesting and complicated wills.

We are a busy court with the largest caseload in the state! We have a lot coming up. We will have staff and a table on-site to serve the public at the Law-La-Polooza Free Legal Fair on April 14, 2011. I will be speaking at the New Mexico State Bar and Elder Law Wills/Probate workshop on November 9, 2011. We will also present a program at the New Mexico Bench and Bar annual conference on July 15, 2011. Please stop by anytime or make an appointment; we will be happy to show you around the court. We are located in the City-County Building at One Civic Plaza NW on the 6th floor with the County Clerk and Elections Bureau.

By Guest Columnist Claudine Martinez, HNBA Vice-President of External Affairs, Adelante con SUENOS Unidos

PAGE 4

MEMBER PROFILE: JOHN SALAZAR, CONT.

The Mexican American Law Student Association will be hosting the 16th Annual Fighting for Justice Banquet on Satur-day, May 7, 2011. This Banquet is held to award an individual or organization whose efforts have greatly increased access of legal services to those who have traditionally had little or no access to legal services. This year, MALSA has chosen to honor the New Mexico Center on Law and Poverty for its efforts in litigation and administrative advocacy on behalf of underrepre-sented groups such as farm workers and recipients of public benefits. The event will be held at Hotel Albuquerque, 800 Rio Grande Blvd. NW, Albuquerque, NM 87104. A silent auction, cocktails, and music will begin at 6 pm. Dinner and the eve-ning’s program will begin at 7. For more information or to RSVP, contact Ernest Herrera by email at Herre-rer@law.unm.edu or by phone at (210) 219-1462.

If you ask John what drives his exceptional efforts in the community, he will explain that it’s the same one behind his zeal in private practice: “to help make things happen.” John started out as a litigator, but found his calling in transactional work, which has evolved to consist largely of commercial real estate transactions. For those of us with tunnel vision for the courtroom, this means John’s practice is made up of helping folks purchase, sell, lease, or otherwise convey interests in real estate, including the ancillary requirements for doing so—like coordinating financing; hiring of contractors, subcontractors, labor; purchasing equipment, furniture, title insurance; addressing zoning issues; and others. This brings John into contact with a “lot of professional people”, which he enjoys. What John clearly enjoys most about his practice, though, is the multi-plier impact of his work. As he aptly explains, “a real estate transaction helps economic development in our community, which helps city bread winners, which creates jobs, and puts money back into the consumer economy.” To use an oft-quoted phrase in today’s political climate, for John, it’s about job-creation and economic development. But, the relationships built along the way don’t hurt either. And, John is the first to admit that. It’s John’s adept navigation of these relationships that have likely led to his selection for numerous honors, including selection by the New Mexico Business Weekly as one of New Mexico’s “Best of the Bar” in 2010, selection for inclusion in the 1989 through 2011 editions of The Best Lawyers in America in the area of real estate, and selection for inclusion in the 2007 through 2010 editions of Southwest Super Lawyers in the area of real estate law.

With all his success, it’s a pleasant surprise to sit down with the actual person. To put it bluntly, despite an arguable license to be arrogant, John is just the opposite. He is gracious, engaging and thoughtful. In fact, John disapproves of the belittling attitudes of some senior attorneys, and the “Rambo-style” of some litigators. His advice to new attorneys: “Be pro-fessional. You can’t go wrong by being professional. It’s all anyone can really aspire to.”

MALSA’S UPCOMING FIGHTING FOR JUSTICE BANQUET

A DAY IN THE LIFE OF DREAM, CONT.

My personal DREAM advocacy as HNBA Vice President of External Affairs which began September 14th—the date DREAM was first reintroduced this Congress—has taught me the breadth of collaboration the DREAM movement has gen-erated can act as a catalyst for all policy issues facing our national Latino community including: CIR; Arizona Senate Bill 1070 and the at least 22 states following Arizona’s example; challenges to the birthright citizenship provision of the 14th Amendment; and incendiary rhetoric concerns raised by the tragedy in Tucson. I have been fortunate to collaborate with HNBA President Sen; our HNBA Board of Governors; HNBA members who within days signed on to our interactive DREAM petition presented to the Legislators; our HNBA National Office colleagues; President Obama’s Administration; over 60 Senators, Representatives or their staff; and over 50 coalition groups including the National Hispanic Leadership Agenda and the United We DREAM organization (http://www.unitedwedream.org) led by the DREAMERS.

HNBA’s next steps on DREAM include continuing our vital input into the DREAM coalition by engaging in the follow-ing. First, at the national level, we will continue our efforts to reintroduce federal DREAM legislation, and work with the Obama Administration on administrative efforts. Second, at the local level, our Regional Presidents and Affiliates can spearhead local outreach strategies including passing state and local resolutions supporting the DREAM Act, disseminate the facts on DREAM through outreach such as Op-Ed pieces and community forums, as well as mentor DREAM youth. Finally, I look forward to you witnessing the DREAMERS leadership first hand when they collaborate with us on our pro-grams.

Please accept my sincere appreciation to everyone who has worked on the HNBA DREAM Campaign, and my invitation to participate in the next chapter of our DREAM endeavors. We must do all we can to ensure others can follow in our foot-steps and surpass our achievements.

A DAY IN THE LIFE OF DREAM, CONT.

Hello my name is Matias and first of all I just wanted to say thank you for having us at the court houses. I really appreciate attending this field trip. It really was beneficial because we got to see a live D.U.I case also Traffic court cases. We also had the honor to be at a case where it was taking place through a T.V. The criminal side of the courts sounded very interesting too but we didn’t have the opportunity to see a live case.

Secondly, I want to say that being there and talking to the judges and lawyers was really an honor and I felt very lucky to have this opportunity. I learned a lot of interesting things in the time I was there. For example I learned about how being in probation was very diffi-cult because the people that are in probation have to visit their probation officers on a certain day. Also I got a better understanding of how court cases work from being at the courts.

I write this to say thank you and to say it was really an honor to be there and meet all the judges and lawyers that were there.

ANOTHER SUCCESSFUL AHA EVENT

NMHBA had yet another successful event with Atrisco Heritage Law Academy students on March 9, 2011, when we were able to take Atrisco Heritage Academy students, faculty and administration to the Bernalillo County District Court-house and Albuquerque Metro Court to observe proceedings and interact with the judges. The success of this recent pro-gram is owed to the participation by many, including Judges Denise Barela Sheperd, Brianna Zamora, Jackie Flores, Linda Rodgers, Ben Chavez, Reed Sheperd, Daniel Preciado, as well as our wonderful and informative tour guides Mannie Amaya, Amy Plank and Janet Blair, and the continued efforts of our NMHBA Education and Mentorship Committee. The kind at-tention and responses of the participants to the students’ questions and comments were educational and truly inspiring. We especially appreciated the participants’ willingness to share their personal experiences with the students. As it turns out, the students themselves are also very appreciative. Below are just some of the short letters of gratitude we have re-ceived from students, unedited.

Hello my name is Ray, I would like to start off by thanking you for the awesome experience of the tour around the Metropolitan Court. I really enjoyed learning about how exactly the traffic court was held and the charges that could be brought against a person. When you really think about it, a small traffic violation could become a serious problem, if not dealt with quickly or properly. Something that caught my attention would have to be the DWI case because of the details and precaution a police officer has to look out for. All of the judges involved in the cases or just plainly part of the tour were really inspiring on the fact that they made it so far. They were really encouraging. Thanks again.

PAGE 5 VOLUME 1, ISSUE 4

By Rebecca Avitia

We the students at AHA were quite fortunate to be able to witness a D.W.I. case down at metro court and also witness many traffic court cases. This was my first time being able to go through the courts system without me sitting in the de-fendant’s seat and seeing how the courts operate first hand. We also were able to get a tour of the court house and we were shown what people do there and how they do their jobs on a daily basis. We got to learn what it is that the judge does and about how the court system works. We got a chance to talk to the judge and get to learn how it is from her point of view. I am very thankful for this experience. It has shown me how I can better understand the legal system and the way it operates.

First of all we thank you for the wonderful opportunity to attend to this affair which was in fact a great experience for me and all of the law students that attended. We had the opportunity to witness an actual traffic case which showed us how exiting being in our law system really is. There were many judges that gave us their time in their very busy schedule to inspire and motivate us. A judge told us all of his past life and how he was able to surpass every obstacle in order to be what he wanted to be which was to become a lawyer. “Play now and pay later” or “pay now and play later”, this was the choice he gave us and it very much made me reflect on what I wanted to do and of course paying now is way better than paying later. This experience was and still is very important to me because it showed the importance of working hard on a goal or a dream one has. Again I thank you for the chance to attend.

First and foremost would like to thank all state em-ployees for taking the time out of their day to give us the amazing exclusive tour of both court houses. The judges were incredible peoples, gracious to their work space and day to day work lives. It gave us stu-dents with a want to thrive in the law field a one of a kind insight towards our future profession. The judges gave us a fluent transition from explanation of their work, to the actual hands on part of their work. They came to us with open arms and meaning-ful smiles, the wondering minds of us (the students) served as inquisition to the judges and staff which they handled in an astute manner. Speaking on be-half of the student body for our law academy, we were grateful for the experience and generosity you granted us. Would love to come back again!

Cont. at p. 6

Fundraising Vanessa Chavez & Christina Anaya

Scholarship

Roxie Rawls De Santiago & Mary Torres

Membership

Daniel Ivey-Soto

Election Christina Anaya

Budget/Finance Robert Lara &

Roxie Rawls De Santiago

Judicial Vacancies/Endorsements

Frank Baca

Mentorship & Education Mike Gallegos

Vanessa Chavez

NMHBA Law Camp Carlos Pacheco &

Brian Colon

PO Box 26326 Albuquerque, New Mexico 87125

President Antonia Roybal-Mack

antonia@melendreslaw.com

Vice President Christina Anaya

tina@roblesrael.com

Secretary Mary Torres

mtorres@beall-biehler.com

Treasurer Robert Lara

rlara@dianedenish.com

Immediate Past President Christina A. Vigil

christina.vigil@eeoc.gov

Members at Large Roxie Rawls De Santiago roxie@thejonesfirm.com

& Vanessa Chavez vanessa@roblesrael.com

2010-2011 COMMITTEES & CHAIRS

2010-2011 EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

*** FOR QUESTIONS, COMMENTS AND SUBMISSIONS REGARDING THE NMHBA NEWSLETTERS, CONTACT OUR

NEWSLETTER EDITOR REBECCA AVITIA AT RLA@NMCOUNSEL.COM OR 505.837.1900.

[I]t is possible for anyone to succeed at any career that they put hard work into.

- AHA Law Academy

Student

I have a fascination for law, and being able to travel to the courts was extremely rewarding. I hadn’t imagined that I would be able to sit in an actual trial until I was well in my college life, the fact that I was able to visit one when I was sixteen and be considered a guest, is a bit unbelievable. The Law academy at AHA High School/ Law School mentorship program was able to visit the courts for a day, and we had the opportunity to receive tours from our generous tour guides . First, we visited the Metro Court, where we eventually were able to sit in a DWI trial. Afterwards, we crossed the street to the District Court; there we were able to meet Judges Denise Barela Sheperd; Brianna Zamora; Jackie Flores; Linda Rod-gers; Ben Chavez; Reed Sheppard; and Daniel Preciado. We spoke to the judges about internships and it was really a reali-zation that we, the students, can make it in Law if we really try.

I want to sincerely thank the Hispanic Bar Association for giving us an opportunity to go and visit the Metro Court and the District Court on the day of March 9, 2011. It was a wonderful experience for all of us. I had the opportunity to learn what goes on inside the courts. We had the chance to take a look at the traffic court which looks awfully hard to do and to try and maintain Judge Chavez does a very good job at keeping the Traffic Court in order. We also had the chance to go and look at the District Court. I found it fascinating how they deal with the criminal cases there. All of the judges do a fantastic job at keeping everything in or-der. On behalf of our school and myself I would like to thank you for this opportunity I have learned a lot and you have inspired me even more to pursue the profes-sion of law when I am older.

Ever since I was a little kid I always wanted to be involved with the law, and after having the opportunity to travel and experi-ence real court cases it has convinced me even more that this is the profession that I want to follow. It was a great experience for my peers and I to see how the system ran. I also like how the judges told us about their background and showing us that it is possible for anyone to succeed at any career that they put hard work into...Thank you for this wonderful and once in a life-time opportunity...