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I know there are people that post jobs that pop up there once in a while and I know they're still chronically short on personnel and cash across the state. Have any of you made the move to go there using their limited program after you've been barred in your own state?

I took the NM bar but worked with tons of folks who sat after taking another bar. Do you have questions about the bar mechanics or the experience of being out there?

andythefir wrote:I took the NM bar but worked with tons of folks who sat after taking another bar. Do you have questions about the bar mechanics or the experience of being out there?

Andy, I'm referring to the program they have in place that allows an attorney barred in another state to work at a public agency or organization that does the same work under Rule 15-301.1 NMRA. (Not taking the NM bar, simply working there)

But please tell me what you do. Feel free to pm. I'll be taking the Texas Bar next July. I'm working as a Legal Intern at a local PD office doing misd work and am enjoying my work so I'll continue doing it post-bar. I'm interested in hearing any first hand experiences of attorneys using the NM program and moving out there to work.

It looks like it only lasts a year and its non-renewable, so I'm not sure how much of a boon it is. It wouldn't convince me to move out to NM if I knew I had to take the bar later anyway.

It's almost always less than a year, you have to sit for the next bar with some reasonable accommodations-a guy i worked with started in June and was allowed to sit in February. It's certainly not a boon in any sense other than access to a market with jobs for everyone with a license. Right now the 5th, 6th, 7th, and 12th are all hiring, and the 5th and 6th are particularly desperate. I agree that it's not a magic bullet, but it is a job. The 5th, in particular, is an ideal job to stay for 12-14 months and then split with a ton of trial experience (I did 30 jury trials in my first year).

The jobs themselves can be brutal, no getting around that. They're desperate for attorneys for a reason. Leadership/management is usually a disaster. But if you go in knowing you're there for the experience to leverage back to where you want to be, it's doable.

andythefir wrote:It's almost always less than a year, you have to sit for the next bar with some reasonable accommodations-a guy i worked with started in June and was allowed to sit in February. It's certainly not a boon in any sense other than access to a market with jobs for everyone with a license. Right now the 5th, 6th, 7th, and 12th are all hiring, and the 5th and 6th are particularly desperate. I agree that it's not a magic bullet, but it is a job. The 5th, in particular, is an ideal job to stay for 12-14 months and then split with a ton of trial experience (I did 30 jury trials in my first year).

The jobs themselves can be brutal, no getting around that. They're desperate for attorneys for a reason. Leadership/management is usually a disaster. But if you go in knowing you're there for the experience to leverage back to where you want to be, it's doable.

Thanks for the insight.

PD offices in TX generally require a year of related work before they look at you (many require felony trial experience, but not all). The work I'm doing as an Ohio Legal Intern will only encompass misdemeanor offenses. What it's coming down to is figuring if I'd be able get that felony work on my own once I pass the TX bar or would doing this actually help more.

RCSOB657 wrote:
Thanks for the insight.

PD offices in TX generally require a year of related work before they look at you (many require felony trial experience, but not all). The work I'm doing as an Ohio Legal Intern will only encompass misdemeanor offenses. What it's coming down to is figuring if I'd be able get that felony work on my own once I pass the TX bar or would doing this actually help more.

Those jobs are probably best for people that need to check arbitrary boxes like felony experience, felony trial experience, etc. I tried my 1st felony maybe 6 months in.

andythefir wrote:

RCSOB657 wrote:
Thanks for the insight.

PD offices in TX generally require a year of related work before they look at you (many require felony trial experience, but not all). The work I'm doing as an Ohio Legal Intern will only encompass misdemeanor offenses. What it's coming down to is figuring if I'd be able get that felony work on my own once I pass the TX bar or would doing this actually help more.

Those jobs are probably best for people that need to check arbitrary boxes like felony experience, felony trial experience, etc. I tried my 1st felony maybe 6 months in.

That's pretty much what I'd use it for. Okay, I'll keep it in my what if list. Thanks!