Session Overview

All over the country, states are considering new ways to obtain a law license and expand access to justice.  New Mexico is no exception!  We hope you will join us as New Mexico Supreme Court Chief Justice Julie Vargas and State Bar of New Mexico Past President Aja Brooks discuss our state's exploration of two initiatives aimed at modernizing the legal profession: 1) Skills-based examination for bar licensure and 2) Authorized Justice Practitioners (non-attorneys who can provide legal help). 

About the Speakers

Chief Justice Julie J. Vargas

Chief Justice Julie J. Vargas was appointed to the New Mexico Supreme Court in December 2020 by Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham, after serving for four years on the New Mexico Court of Appeals. While serving on the Court of Appeals, Justice Vargas was the co-chair of the Advisory Committee on the Code of Judicial Conduct. Before joining the Court of Appeals, Justice Vargas spent 23 years in private practice representing clients in business and real estate litigation matters. During her years in private practice, she served as co-chair of the State Bar’s Ethics Advisory Committee and was a member of both the Disciplinary Board, and the Board of Bar Commissioners. Justice Vargas is a 1990 graduate of Brown University, receiving a degree in History and English Literature. She received her J.D. from the University of New Mexico in 1993, where she was an editor of the New Mexico Law Review. She has served on the Board of Directors for the New Mexico Museum of Natural History Foundation, volunteered for the Run for the Zoo, and rappelled down a 16-story building to raise money for Special Olympics. 

Aja N. Brooks

Aja Nicole Brooks is a native New Mexican, born in Hobbs. She is a graduate of Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, where she received her Bachelor of Arts in English and Spanish. She attended the University of New Mexico School of Law and graduated with her juris doctorate in 2008. She currently works as the Statewide Rural Justice Program Coordinator for the New Mexico Administrative Office of the Courts, and previously served as the Executive Assistant United States Attorney for the District of New Mexico. Prior to that, she was employed as the Director of the Second Judicial District Court’s Center for Self-Help and Dispute Resolution. She is involved in many legal groups and activities, including serving as a mentor in the Bridge the Gap Mentorship Program and as a member of the Committee on Diversity in the Legal Profession. She is a member of the New Mexico Black Lawyers Association, a past President of the State Bar of New Mexico and the Bar Foundation, and a member of the Iota Xi Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated. She enjoys exploring and traveling near and far with her husband, Johnn and her son, Emerson.