By Jackie Johnson
STAFF WRITER
jjohnson@pntonline.com
In addition to hosting an opportunity for the community to get free legal advice, Eastern New Mexico University will be welcoming New Mexico Supreme Court Chief Justice Barbara J. Vigil to speak to students interested in law.
Vigil said she will be discussing the “personal journey of a very fulfilling career” in the Pecos Room in the Campus Union Ballroom from 10:45 a.m. to 11:15 a.m. on Friday.
“It’s an opportunity for me to share my journey of becoming a lawyer and becoming a chief justice, and encourage others to pursue their dreams,” she said. “I’ll share with them what I experienced growing up in New Mexico and attending our state universities and working hard to achieve what I hoped to become.”
Vigil previously served as a district judge and chief judge on the First Judicial District Court, which is comprised of Santa Fe, Rio Arriba and Los Alamos counties.
While serving on the district court bench for over 12 years, Vigil presided over 16,000 court cases in the areas of complex civil litigation, family and domestic relation matters, child abuse and neglect cases, juvenile delinquency cases, criminal proceedings and appeals of administrative decisions.
Vigil was elected to the New Mexico Supreme Court in November 2012. She was elected to serve as chief justice in 2014.
Vigil will also be speaking in support of the Ask-a-Lawyer program at the recognition luncheon.
The Ask-a-Lawyer program, which is being sponsored by Ninth Judicial District Court in Portales, will take place in the CUB from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.
According to Vigil, the event is lawyers volunteering their time to provide free legal services to people in need.
“October is pro-bono month, and a number of district courts around New Mexico engage in different activities to help provide free legal services to indigent people who cannot otherwise afford a lawyer,” Vigil said.
Vigil said the event will offer legal advice in a number of areas including divorce, custody, bankruptcy, child support, personal injury, power of attorney, public benefits, unemployment and immigration.
Ninth Judicial District Court Senior Court Attorney Benjamin S. Cross said there will be 20 lawyers in attendance to provide the free legal consultations.
“They are private attorneys from Portales and Clovis, local government attorneys and legal aid attorneys (local and from across the state),” he said.
Cross said the event, which began in 2012, rotates between Clovis and Portales each year.
“This year, we are in Portales, and we chose ENMU because it is a jewel in our community,” he said. “It has great facilities, and we wanted to make our event more accessible to college students.”
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