NEW-MEXICO

County hires new attorney

Jacqueline Devine
Alamogordo Daily News
Otero County Attorney Lisa B. Jenkins was hired to be the County's new attorney on Oct. 8. Jenkins is a New Mexico native with 15 years experience practicing law.

Lisa B. Jenkins is the new in-house attorney for Otero County. Jenkins was hired by County Commissioners Oct.8.

She will take over Daniel A. Bryant’s position that Bryant had coveted for over 30 years. Bryant was appointed in June to the 12th Judicial District Court Division III Judge's seat in Carrizozo.

The 12th Judicial District Division III in Carrizozo covers Lincoln County but is part of the 12th Judicial District Court which encompasses both Lincoln and Otero counties.

Bryant 's appointment filled the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Karen Parsons.

Jenkins has 15 years experience in corporate, government and contract law in New Mexico, California, Colorado and Washington. She was born in Iowa but was raised in Los Alamos, New Mexico with her two brothers. Jenkins has four children.

“I was raised in Los Alamos, my mom and dad worked at the lab there. I have two brothers. After my dad retired they moved down here. They bought some land and built a house in Lincoln County,” Jenkins said. “We’ve been coming down here for 20 years, my kids only know this area as grandma and grandpa’s place. I worked in Denver for a while. I thought to myself that I really wanted to go back to New Mexico because my mom is getting older and I want to spend more time with her.”

Jenkins has a Juris Doctorate from the University of New Mexico School of Law. She has been a member of the New Mexico Bar Association since January 1991.

“For my undergraduate education I went to Ottawa University, it’s small liberal arts college in Kansas, it’s where my mom had gone. I went to the University of New Mexico Law School, I graduated in 1990. I worked with the county attorney in Los Alamos and that’s where I got my first experience,” she said. “I worked with a city attorney in California for a couple of years and moved to Denver, Colorado where I worked for government contractors as a corporate attorney. I also worked at a small firm in Seattle where I was working part time because of my children but moved back to Denver to work full time. My last position was with Xcel Energy in Denver.”

Otero County Attorney Lisa B. Jenkins sits in her new office in the County Administrative building on 1101 N. New York Avenue.

Jenkins said she has visited Alamogordo many times as a child and still has fond memories.

“I’ve been to Alamogordo many times, I went to church camp here when I was kid up in Cloudcroft. I love Alamogordo, I love the fact that you can be in the desert and go to the mountains, there’s not too many place like that,” she said. “I like the people, everyone is extremely nice. Northern New Mexico has grown so much that southern New Mexico has retained its rural character.”

Jenkins said she has been preparing to become the new county attorney by doing research and educating herself on Otero County.

“Being an attorney, I did a lot of preparation. I did a lot research on Otero County and I think they really appreciated that in my interview. To be a county attorney you have to be a jack of all trades and know a lot,” she said. “I was well aware that there were disputes. I’m here to support the Commission and the voters in any way they want to move forward.”

During the Oct. 8 County Commission meeting, Commission Chairman Ronny Rardin said he couldn’t be happier to have Jenkins on board. Rardin said Jenkins was the perfect match for the job.

“I’m very excited, I think you fit like a glove. She won our hearts, she did a great job in her interview,” he said. “We interviewed three or four attorneys, they were all good and when she came it was like night and day in the interview process. It was so obvious to the board, we looked at each other and said do we need to go any further? We asked our manager if we can make an offer and we welcome you and look forward to working with you.”

In the case of the United States v. Otero County regarding the Lincoln National Forest, Jenkins said she feels she couldn’t have stepped in at a better time. She said she feels a new perspective on the case could possibly help the County move forward in winning their appeal.

“It takes a long time for facts like these to come up to be presented in the right case and we didn’t do anything wrong so that makes it an even better case,” Jenkins said. “This could affect law, the law of public land in a very big way that you don’t often get a chance to have the U.S. Supreme Court review. It is a big deal.”

As far as taking on the County’s past and present projects she feels she is ready to take them on with a little help from Bryant’s team and start learning the County’s plans.