Veteran Los Alamos Attorney Wins State Public Lawyer Award

Felicia Orth, a Los Alamos attorney with a long record of conducting public hearings across New Mexico, was honored December 27, 2025 as the Public Lawyer of the Year by the Public Law Section of the State Bar of New Mexico. The recognition acknowledged her years overseeing complex rulemaking, permitting and enforcement hearings that directly inform state regulatory decisions.

Orth said the award was meaningful because it recognized work she has performed for decades. "It was a real honor to be recognized for work that I’ve been doing now for almost 40 years, and to be honored in the State Capitol by colleagues and so many representatives of the different participants in the hearings that I conduct," she said. She also noted the cross sector nature of the nomination, with "government lawyers, environmental and profit lawyers, and industry lawyers" joining to support her candidacy.

Orth emphasized the civic dimension of the hearings she runs. She said that "public hearings are where government regulations meet with democracy." She described rulemaking as a process where government proposals, industry stakeholders and environmental groups engage in the development of law and policy, a framing that underscores the role of citizen participation and transparency in shaping regulatory outcomes.

For Los Alamos County, Orth’s work matters because many of the agencies and forums she has served influence local environmental quality, water management, energy policy and professional licensing. Since 1999 she has conducted hearings for a wide range of state and regional bodies, including the New Mexico Environment Department, the Water Quality Control Commission, the Environmental Improvement Board, the Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department, the Oil Conservation Commission, the Mining Division and Commission, the Energy Conservation Management Division, the State Parks Division, the Forestry Division, the Department of Health, the Interstate Stream Commission, the State Land Office, the Medical Board and local labor management relations boards among others.

Her portfolio of hearings has ranged from professional licensing actions to permitting and complex rulemaking, a mix that affects everyday regulatory standards and project approvals. The award highlights how procedural stewardship at hearings can shape substantive outcomes that touch local air quality, water resources and public health, and it signals the continued importance of civic engagement in state rulemaking processes.