Lisa K. Curtis

Lisa K. Curtis is the founding partner of Curtis & Co. Law Firm. She was named the Best Lawyers 2024 Plaintiff’s Medical Malpractice Lawyer of the Year in New Mexico, was inducted into the Roehl Circle of Honor as the Plaintiff’s Trial Lawyer for New Mexico in 2021, and has received numerous honors over the years, but her $40 Million Jury Verdict in an Albuquerque courtroom for a child in the summer of 2025 is the reason Lisa went to law school over 30 years ago. There is a lack of respect for patients in New Mexico that leads to devastating damage. Lisa works all over New Mexico, the state she grew up in and where she raised her four children. She has represented hundreds of families hurt by the errors of mostly corporate systems that either poorly train or set up people to fail in caring for patients. She has been in the emergency room and hospital with her children, grandchildren, and her parents here in New Mexico and knows, as we all do, there is a serious problem with healthcare right now and it has got to be fixed.

The law and the court system are extraordinarily complicated but being devoted to this single profession for so long, Lisa is at a sweet spot in her career. As a firm, we know that the best lawyers come from our own top law school. It is normal to have national law firms oppose our clients, and frankly, we prefer them. Graduating from the University of New Mexico School of Law in 1993, she was awarded the Tort Scholar Award. Tort law is the type of law people harmed by the wrongdoing of others use to find justice. Lisa has worked to develop the law since her graduation and protect our clients so the now billion-dollar corporations that harm them are forced to be accountable. New Mexicans demand respect, but what we are seeing now in the disrespect of our patients is different. No matter how horrific the care of a patient, whether a newborn, a child, or an elder, the corporations will do everything to cover up and keep the family from knowing what actually happened. We find that unless we demand justice for that baby or child or elder, no one will even look at the terrible error that occurred to fix it. We are the voice for the family against the powerful corporations that run our healthcare now.

Before, it mattered that we had a truly bad doctor’s license taken or restricted, or changed hospital policy, or changed caselaw so that a criminal background check was required for all home healthcare workers. Now, the system in general is having to be held accountable. It takes every one of the 7 brilliant New Mexican lawyers in the firm and our magnificent and devoted staff to keep the corporations honest and our clients heard. Lisa is the leader of our team, but only one of the talented people who have made it their mission to persevere until justice is done for our clients.

Some of Lisa Curtis’ history as a lawyer is listed below, but what she wants you to know is that this is what she can do to help people. She loves her job and knows that being a lawyer is being given the keys to the kingdom. She is aggressive and unyielding to corporations who lie, cover up, or refuse to take responsibility. Lawyers protect people and enforce their rights and their very importance when corporations make terrible choices that hurt and even take their lives.

We investigate every case before we will accept it to make sure it is valid before it is brought. Being right is the only way to be successful in any client’s case. Bringing our client’s cases makes New Mexico safer and our system of civil justice was created for this purpose - to compensate those harmed by the wrongdoer and to force change for the patients in the future.

Lisa was raised understanding community service is expected. For 20 years she has had the LK Curtis Children’s Fund and converted the law firm into a social benefit corporation, so that living wages, and community support and involvement are part of the culture of the firm. Lisa was Chair of the New Mexico Commission on the Status of Women from 2020-2025 and is a current member of the New Mexico Supreme Court Rules of Evidence Committee. She is the three-time Editor of the New Mexico Handbook on Evidence and is on the Board of Governors for the national organization the American Association for Justice. Her legal and community history is below. She is also devoted to bettering Albuquerque, investing in the State Theater Building she redesigned and developed on Central Ave. between 2nd and 3rd Streets. There are a myriad of coalitions and charities devoted to safety and children who benefit from the Curtis & Co. Law Firm which can be found on the Social Benefit tab on its website.

Education

• University of New Mexico School of Law, Albuquerque, New Mexico
  • J.D. - 1993
  • Honors: Tort Scholar Award

Bar Admissions

• New Mexico, 1993
• U.S. District Court District of New Mexico, 1994
• U.S. Court of Appeals 10th Circuit, 1994
• Supreme Court of the United States of America

Appellate Cases

New Mexico Supreme Court

Seminal Cases:

• Siebert v. Okun, 2021-NMSC-016, 485 P.3d 1265
• Estate of Brice v. Toyota Motor Corp., 2016-NMSC-018, 373 P.3d 977
• Spencer v. Health Force, Inc., 2005-NMSC-002, 137 N.M. 64, 107 P.3d 504
• Sloan v. State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co. (In re Sloan), 2004-NMSC-004, 135 N.M. 106, 85 P.3d 230 (also 10th Circuit Opinion)

Other Cases:

• Burge v. Kegel, S-1-SC-27836 (2002); Britton v. Rogers, S-1-SC-30360 (2007); Chavez v. Pfeffer, S-1-SC-31219 (2008); Board of Regents v. Vigil, S-1-SC-32934 (2011); Lajeuenesse v. Board of Regents, S-1-SC-33878 (2012); Ortiz y Pino v. Shepherd, S-1-SC-35240 (2015); Herald v. Board of Regents, S-1-SC-35489 (2015); Wirth v. Sun Healthcare Group Inc., S-1-SC-36129 (2016); X-Ray Assoc. v. Mathew, S-1-SC-38483 (2020); Eslin v. Levy, S-1-SC-38562 (2020); Beltran v. Agave Health, Inc., S-1-SC-40087 (2023); Eslin v. Levy, M.D., S-1-SC-40445 (2024); Thompson v. Presbyterian Healthcare Services, S-1-SC-41005 (2025).

New Mexico Court of Appeals

Seminal Cases:

• Wirth v. Sun Healthcare Grp., Inc., 2017-NMCA-007, 389 P.3d 295
• Herald v. Bd. of Regents of the Univ. of N.M., 2015-NMCA-104, 357 P.3d 438
• Estate of Lajeuenesse v. Bd. of Regents, 2013-NMCA-004, 292 P.3d 485
• Merino v. N.M. Med. Review Comm'n, 2012 N.M. App. Unpub. LEXIS 70 (Ct. App. Feb. 21, 2012)
• Otero v. City of Albuquerque, 1998-NMCA-137, 125 N.M. 770, 965 P.2d 354

Other Cases:

• Spencer v. UNM Hospital (2001); Britton v. Rogers (2005); Estate of C. Moreno v. Robill (2008); Estate of M. Cardon v. Ham (2008); Cueto v. Regents of UNM (2010); Merino v. NM Medical Review (2011); Brice v. Toyota Motor Corp. (2013); Herald v. Board of Regents (2013); Wirth v. Sun Healthcare (2014); Ortiz y Pino v. Lovelace (2015); Siebert v. Okun (2016); Woodard v. Board of Regents of UNM (2017); Estate of V. Cummings v. Leatherwood, M.D. (2018); Siebert v. Okun (2018); Aragon v. PHS (2108); Eslin v. Levy, M.D. (2020); Mascarenas v. Board of Regents of UNM (2020); X-Ray Associates v. M. Rueckhaus (2020); Beltran V. Agave Health, Inc. (2021); Estate of Dodson v. PHS (2021); Siebert v. Okun (2021); Stout Sanchez v. Rio at Rust Centre, LLC (2022); Thompson v. PHS (2022); K.A.M. v. Molina (2022); Stout v. Peralta (2023); Pegasus Legal Services v. Board of Regents of UNM (2023); Graham v. PHS (2023 & 2024); Estate of Reed v. PHS (2024); Andrade v. X-Ray Associates of NM (2025).

10th Circuit Court of Appeals

• Estate of Charley, et al. v. USA, et al.; #25-2052
• Quorum Health Resources, et al. v. Jackson, et al.; #18-705
• Estate of Cummings v. United States, 651 Fed. Appx. 822 (10th Cir. 2016)
• Smith v. Aztec Well Servicing Co., 462 F.3d 1274 (10th Cir. 2006) cert. denied USSC
• Sloan v. State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co., 360 F.3d 1220 (10th Cir. 2004)
• Gonzales v. United States, No. 96-2167, 1998 U.S. App. LEXIS 1343 (10th Cir. Jan. 30, 1998)

https://www.curtislawfirm.org/

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Honors and Awards

• The Roehl Circle of Honor, Plaintiff Trial Lawyer, 2021
• Best Lawyers, 2024 Lawyer of the Year – Medical Malpractice Law - Plaintiffs
• Best Lawyers in America® Personal Injury
• Super Lawyers - New Mexico - Medical Malpractice
• The National Trial Lawyers - Top 100
• The National Trial Lawyers - Medical Malpractice Top 25

Professional Associations and Memberships

• American Association of Justice, Leaders Forum
• American Association of Justice, Committee on the Judiciary 2022 to present
• New Mexico Trial Lawyers Association, President, 2011-2012
• New Mexico Trial Lawyers Association, Board of Directors, 2010 to present
• New Mexico Commission on the Status of Women, Chair, 2020-2025
• New Mexico Supreme Court Rules of Evidence Committee, 2020-2025
• New Mexico Supreme Court Rules of Civil Procedure Committee, two terms
• New Mexico State Senator, 2011-2012
• New Mexico Citizen Redistricting Committee, 2021
• Outcomes, Inc., Board of Directors, twice as Chair of the Board, 2000-2010
• Organization for Quality for Children, Inc., Chair and Member of the Board of Directors, 1997-2000

Pro Bono Activities

• Trustee L.K. Curtis Children's Fund