Wade L. Jackson

Wade L. Jackson

 

WADE L. JACKSON is a shareholder and member of the firm’s Board of Directors. He practices primarily in the areas of real estate, business, tax, corporate, economic development, public finance and tax incentives, and state and local government law.

Before joining the firm, Wade served for five years as General Counsel and Legislative Coordinator for the New Mexico Economic Development Department. During that time, he served on the Board of Directors of the New Mexico Finance Authority and chaired its Economic Development Committee, served as General Counsel for the New Mexico Spaceport Authority, served as Counsel to the Water Quality Control Commission, and represented Governor Susana Martinez in the New Mexico Supreme Court and the Water Quality Control Commission in the New Mexico Supreme Court and Court of Appeals. He helped lead the 2013 tax reform effort in New Mexico, testifying before numerous legislative committees and meetings with legislators of both parties. He helped negotiate the 2015 Tribal-State Gaming Compacts with five tribes.

Wade practiced law in Albuquerque before entering public service. During his initial tenure as a lawyer, he represented insurers and their insureds in coverage, bad faith, and products and general liability litigation, and he provided coverage opinions and counsel. He also clerked for two years for Senior United States District Judge LeRoy Hansen.

Prior to his legal career, Wade was a staff writer at the Los Angeles Times, the Santa Monica Outlook, the South Bay Daily Breeze, and the Los Angeles Daily News.

 

Admissions

  • New Mexico
  • U.S. District Court, District of New Mexico
  • U.S. Court of Appeals, 10th Circuit

Education

  • University of New Mexico Law School, 2003, J.D., cum laude
  • University of Southern California, 1999, Dual B.A.s, Political Science/Print Journalism
  • University of Southern California, 1998, Semester at USC Washington, D.C., Center, intern, press office of U.S Sen. Pete Domenici.

Publications & Speeches

  • Equal Employment Opportunity, Imagen Magazine, April 2003
  • Easley v. Cromartie, 532 U.S. 234 (2001), Race-based Redistricting and Unequal Protection, 32 N.M. L. Rev. 491 (2002)
  • The Right to Keep and Bear Arms in State Constitutions, National Rifle Association Civil Rights Defense Fund Law Students’ Writing Competition (2001)
  • Newspaper articles (too numerous to list), January 1994-December 1999

Recognitions

  • Martindale-Hubbell rating: AV Preeminent
  • Top 3 Corporate Attorneys, Albuquerque Journal Readers’ Choice Awards, 2022
  • Top Corporate Attorney, Albuquerque Journal Readers’ Choice Awards, 2021

Professional & Community Involvement

  • National Association of Industrial & Office Properties (NAIOP), New Mexico chapter
  • Sutin, Thayer & Browne, Board of Directors, 2023
  • Sutin, Thayer & Browne, Practice Group Lead, Commercial Group, 2020-2023
  • New Mexico Law Review, Managing Editor
  • Order of the Coif

Representative Experience

Mr. Jackson’s representative clients include taxpayers, a large homebuilder, the State of New Mexico, Governor Martinez, state agencies, boards and commissions, and appointed officials. Among other matters, he:

  • Obtained a permanent injunction against the City of Albuquerque’s proposed construction of a visitors center on the Elena Gallegos Open Space
  • Prevailed in an administrative protest of the valuation of an oil and gas pipeline resulting in reduced property tax of more than $1.25 million per year
  • Serves as outside general counsel to a homegrown Albuquerque technology company, and consummated a $3.35 million equity investment by a leading impact investment firm
  • Represents the New Mexico Finance Authority in New Markets Tax Credits and other financing transactions
  • Negotiated and drafted legislation, including revisions to the tax code, public finance packages and capital outlay, and tax incentives
  • Negotiated, drafted, and ensured legal compliance of local government ordinances, contracts, and security instruments for Local Economic Development Act projects
  • Administered the Angel Investment Tax Credit program
  • Represented the New Mexico Film Office, including determining eligibility for the Film Production Tax Credit and negotiating the use of state facilities for filming
  • Developed incentive packages to recruit businesses to New Mexico
  • Overseen administrative adjudications and rulemaking proceedings, including the Copper and Dairy Rules
  • Negotiated Tribal-State Gaming Compacts with five tribes
  • Negotiated numerous real estate acquisitions
  • Prevailed in an administrative protest allowing a taxpayer to obtain a tax credit in excess of $5 million
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