Our Law Firm

Sutin, Thayer & Browne has provided exceptional legal services in New Mexico since 1946. The Firm is engaged in a broad general civil and commercial practice, offering world-class services from New Mexico. Approximately 30 lawyers in Albuquerque and Santa Fe provide representation in business transactions and litigation matters. Innovative, aggressive representation sets us apart from other law firms.

We represent sophisticated business clients who require a full range of legal services. Our practice includes trials and appeals in a wide range of public and private financing, bankruptcy, general corporate law, commercial and tax matters, business acquisitions and sales, securities, administrative law, real estate transactions and litigation, civil matters, creditor rights, legislative advocacy, environmental law, construction law, labor law, health law, family law, municipal law, consumer law, Indian law, franchise matters, copyright and trademark matters, and regulatory and compliance matters. We appear in trials and appeals in tribal, state and federal courts. We represent an array of financial institutions, retailers, privately and publicly held corporations, educational institutions, nonprofit organizations, utilities, hospitals, municipalities, insurers, individuals, and government entities.

Key Facts

• Established in 1946.
• Headquartered in Albuquerque.
• Santa Fe capital office opened in 1972.
• Committed to diversity in the legal profession.
• Ninety-five percent of our peer-reviewed lawyers are AV-rated.
• Approximately 60 people, including lawyers, paralegals and staff.

For General Counsel: We are Your Legal Team in New Mexico ®

Sutin, Thayer & Browne lawyers understand the needs and challenges of general counsel and in-house counsel. For decades we have offered our significant experience as the preeminent legal team in New Mexico, with systems that allow for a smooth extension of your client services into our state.

We work closely with businesses and corporate legal departments at all levels to serve your clients; we determine needs, set schedules, assemble appropriate teams and monitor progress and efficiency for both short-term and long-term commitments. We routinely work in most of the state’s 33 counties, and in state, tribal and federal court, and we have experience handling cases from long distances. Our steady presence provides consistent, exceptional expertise, availability and staffing virtually around the clock to serve the needs of legal departments across the United States. With New Mexico’s largest group of transactional lawyers under one umbrella, our firm is routinely hired in the capacity of local counsel in a wide variety of circumstances. When it is important to engage well-respected, knowledgeable lawyers who understand the political, historical and legal landscape of New Mexico, businesses call on us.

Project Management

Our project management approach is designed to enhance communication, continuity, coordination and economy. For each client, one or two lawyers assume responsibility for oversight of all work, managing the client’s matters and acting as the gatekeeper and coordinator of the client’s legal needs. The managing lawyers decide how best to use Firm resources to the client’s advantage. This involves matching the client’s work to the lawyer or lawyers with the combination of skills and experience to handle the job at the most reasonable cost.  When a case of unusual scope develops, we organize a strategy that strikes a balance between the efficiency of a more experienced lawyer and the lower billing rate of a less senior lawyer. We present and negotiate cost scenarios in advance with the client, avoiding duplication of effort in this and all circumstances.  The Firm’s practice is to promptly establish schedules, distribute timetables and stick to those timetables unless unavoidable, unforeseen circumstances cause delays. The Firm’s expectation is to treat your matters with high priority, keep a full staff available, and perform all services in a timely and efficient manner.

Project Development

The Firm’s project development team comprises lawyers with extensive experience in a broad range of practices, including project finance, mergers and acquisitions, municipal finance, acquisition finance, tax, real estate, governmental affairs and regulatory oversight.  The Firm’s project development practice is distinguished by its balanced representation of public and private owners and operators, project sponsors, developers, investment and commercial banks, institutional lenders and government entities.  We have been involved in sophisticated and unique projects that require a broad range of legal skills and disciplines ranging from traditional municipal and project financing to the structuring of public-private partnership entities and the sale or lease of existing infrastructure assets, including:

• Representing the developer of a 1,100-home master planned residential community in Albuquerque. Specifically, we negotiated the purchase of the real estate, negotiated and prepared purchase agreements with the homebuilders, prepared covenants, conditions and restrictions applicable to the subdivision, and provided advice with regard to the City of Albuquerque’s financial guaranty requirements.
• Coordinating National Environmental Policy Act NEPA and National Historic Preservation Act (Section 106) review processes for a public-private joint venture. This $250 million joint venture spanned a mix of state and private land and crossed the El Camino Real National Historic Trail.
• Representing the lead lender in a $60 million real estate secured transaction. The transaction was financed using a combination of a multi-participant construction and mini-perm loan, a financial contribution from the Fortune 500 Company tenant, industrial revenue bonds, and state appropriations funded through New Mexico’s local economic development act. Specifically, our work included preparation and negotiation of participation agreements and loan documents; review of the build-to-suit lease and industrial revenue bond lease; negotiation of SNDAs; preparation and negotiation of loan documents; review of the title commitment and exception documents, surveys, phase I environmental assessments, and zoning and entitlement information.
• Representing a lender in evaluating development rights and water rights in light of possible foreclosure on real estate assets securing a $946 million line of credit. Specifically, we evaluated what development rights, contractual rights with governmental agencies, and water rights it could foreclose on, what consents might be needed, and what to expect in public or governmental approval processes.
• Representing a midstream company engaged in gathering, processing, and marketing natural gas and natural gas liquids. We represented the company in the development of an NGL extraction/fractionation and treating facility. Our work included preparation and negotiation of a long-term site lease, the construction contract and contracts with utility companies, and other services providers. We also assisted with the development and construction of gathering systems and the negotiation and preparation of interconnect agreements.
• Representing the New Mexico Spaceport Authority in the development and construction of the world’s first purpose-built commercial spaceport. Specifically, our work included assessment of programming and related studies, negotiation and preparation of the architect’s contract, the development agreement and lease agreement and negotiation of agreements with local utilities.

Sutin, Thayer & Browne welcomes an opportunity to tell you more about how our firm can partner with yours to best represent your clients. For more information, please contact President & CEO Maria Montoya Chavez.