Rule 24-107 Lawyer limited liability entities.

Lawyers in New Mexico can set up their law practice as a business, like a limited liability company (LLC), a professional corporation, or a limited liability partnership. This gives them some of the legal protections that come with those business structures, similar to other professionals and business owners.

However, there's an important catch. A lawyer can only use one of these business structures if the law creating that structure does two things. First, it must not ban lawyers from using that business form to practice law. Second, it must make clear that the business structure cannot be used to shield a lawyer from responsibility for their own mistakes or wrongdoing. In other words, forming an LLC or similar entity might protect a lawyer's personal assets from some business debts, but it cannot protect them from being held accountable if they mess up a client's case or act improperly.

This rule applies retroactively. That means it covers law practices that were already set up as these types of business entities before the rule existed, not just new ones formed after the rule took effect.