Lori Bencoe

Deborah E. Mann is the head of the health law practice group at Sutin, Thayer & Browne APC and also serves as practice group lead for the firm’s commercial group. Based in Albuquerque, New Mexico, her practice focuses on Health Care Law and Medical Malpractice Law – Defendants. She counsels health care organizations and professionals on regulatory compliance, institutional and professional malpractice matters, and risk management issues. Ms. Mann advises clients on HIPAA compl...

Tim Fields is an experienced practitioner in litigation and insurance defense. For more than thirty years, Tim has represented clients in their civil litigation matters including personal injury defense, railroad, transportation/trucking, insurance coverage/bad faith, medical malpractice, construction defects, products liability, toxic exposure and environmental, and FELA. His practice also includes nursing home/hospital/healthcare litigation defense, complex multi-party litigation, commercia...

Art Melendres concentrates his practice primarily in administrative, education, commercial and municipal finance law. For more than thirty-five years, clients have sought Art’s expertise when faced with disputes involving education, administrative law, commercial law or public financing. For more than twenty-five years, Art has served as general counsel for the Albuquerque Public Schools, a school district of more than 90,000 students and 11,000 employees. He regularly advises the Schoo...

Sonya Burke is a shareholder in the firm’s Litigation group, where she practices primarily in insurance coverage defense. She represents insurance companies and their insureds in a variety of contexts. Sonya represents professionals in professional liability matters, and has represented realtors, attorneys, and contractors. She also assists with construction and design cases, employment matters including EEOC investigations, and breach of contract litigation. Sonya has been recognized a...

Susan Miller’s primary areas of interest are in water resources and environmental law, as well as insurance, tort and personal injury litigation. Susan currently serves as Chair of the Natural Resources, Energy and Environment Department and is the past Chair of Modrall Sperling’s Water Law Practice Group. She brings over 20 years of experience providing representation, advice and counsel to businesses, industries, ranchers, farmers and individuals throughout New Mexico with respe...

Intellectual Property Law, Computer Science Professional Recognition: Listed in Best Lawyers (1997-2018), Intellectual Property Law Ethics in Business Award (2009) NM Bar Quality of Life Award Selected Work Experience: Wilcox & Myers, P.C. , Albuquerque, New Mexico Shareholder , 2018-present Peacock Myers, P.C. , Albuquerque, New Mexico Shareholder , 1995-2017 Shareholder and Registered Patent Attorney specializing in patent, trademark, copyright, licensing, and litigation matters, partic...

Alicia M. LaPado is a Senior Litigation Associate of the firm, with a practice that includes business litigation, general civil litigation, and criminal defense. Prior to becoming an associate, Ms. LaPado was employed by the firm as a law clerk where she provided support for complex civil and criminal matters, primarily in federal court. She also researched, drafted, and prepared briefs for submission in both state and federal court, as well as the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals. Ms. LaPado o...

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 la...

Lucy Sinkular is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Collaborative Law: Family Law and Family Law. Lucy, who practices law in Albuquerque, New Mexico, has been recognized since 2024. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Lucy is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.

Cliff Atkinson has practiced for more than 44 years in the areas of complex commercial and tort litigation in a broad spectrum of difficult cases. He, with his good friend and now retired colleague John Thal, founded the Firm in 1992 on the principle that a small, directed, hard hitting litigation firm can deliver the highest quality of personalized services to its clients. In his many years of practice, Cliff has litigated and tried cases to verdict, judgment, or other successful resolution ...