Disclaimer and Notice

THIS BLOG SITE IS INTENDED AND DESIGNED FOR INFORMATION PURPOSES ONLY, AND DOES NOT CONSTITUTE EITHER LEGAL ADVICE OR THE FORMATION OF AN ATTORNEY-CLIENT RELATIONSHIP.

Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Hard Times Get Tougher?

I am an Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) Professional in New Mexico, and I wrote earlier in the year on another blog about "the new normal" of low, slow growth.  Recently, the Chief Economist for the Bank of New York Mellon, Richard B. Hoey, suggested that the situation could now be quite worse.  

Monday, August 15, 2011

Bankruptcy, Short Sale and Deed in Lieu in Foreclosure

A significant part of my neutral practice involves New Mexico foreclosure mediation, and I have written several posts recently regarding foreclosure.  See Foreclosure Mediation - Limitations and Concerns and How a Mediator Can Help in Foreclosure - More Thoughts.  Today, I'd like to look at a couple of particularly thorny issues that often arise in foreclosure mediation.  

First, it may be that the homeowner will need to consider whether he or she is even able to afford the home.  If the homeowner is not offered a loan modification that will

Wednesday, August 3, 2011

Court Debates Whether Secret Potty Pics = Sexual Exploitation

As a guardian ad litem (GAL) and domestic relations mediator in New Mexico, I take special interest in unusual court cases involving children.  In State v. Myers, 2011-NMSC-028, the New Mexico Supreme Court rejected the Court of Appeals' chastisement, and concluded that the Sexual Exploitation of Children Act, NMSA §§ 30-6A-1 et seq. applies to taking covert pictures of the genitals of female minors' while they used the restroom.

In what was an unusual twist, the Court of Appeals, on remand, had concluded that the State Supreme Court had impermissibly expanded the scope of the Act.  Specifically, it