The New Mexico Judiciary is initiating a Rural Justice Initiative Clerkship Program to tackle the lack of lawyers in the state’s rural areas. This program will create four paid clerkship positions for attorneys to work closely with the judicial district chief judges. The clerks will be stationed in Farmington, Aztec or Gallup, Clovis, and Portales. Among the varied duties of these clerks will be conducting legal research and analysis, assisting with document drafting, and working on assigned cases.
This initiative comes as a response to the significant shortage of legal professionals in rural New Mexico. Eleventh Judicial District Chief Judge Curtis R. Gurley, whose district houses two of the new clerkship positions, highlighted that merely 135 active attorneys served over 190,000 residents in his district. Similarly, the Ninth Judicial District has less than 60 lawyers for over 66,000 residents.
This sobering issue is not exclusive to New Mexico. Rural communities across America are experiencing these shortages. A Legal Services Corporation Justice Gap Study from 2021 found that 92% of significant civil legal issues faced by low-income Americans went unaddressed.
Applicants for these new clerkship roles are asked to commit two years to their positions, earning a $70,000 annual salary inclusive of full benefits. The deadline for applications is March 1. Through this strategy, the New Mexico judiciary hopes to fortify legal aid resources in rural communities while creating career opportunities and increasing justice accessibility in these areas.
For more information on the clerkship program and further comments from industry stakeholders, visit the original Law360 article.