Danelle Smith

New Mexico attorney Danelle Smith has worked in state and local government for more than 30 years.

Smith earned her Doctor of Jurisprudence from the University of Texas School of Law at Austin in 1975 and was admitted to the New Mexico Bar in September 1975. She has practiced law in Las Vegas, New Mexico ever since.

Early in her legal career, Smith worked in the public sector. She began in Las Vegas as a contract public defender for the 4th Judicial District from 1975 to 1976. Smith served as the assistant district attorney and later as chief prosecutor in the 4th Judicial District from 1977 to 1984.

From 1984 to 1988, Smith served as the in-house city attorney for the City of Las Vegas, where she handled all areas of municipal law.

Since 1988, Smith has worked as an attorney in private practice in Las Vegas. Her legal work concentrates on real estate, probate, estate planning, and commercial law. She is also legal counsel for a number of boards of directors for various entities. She was general legal counsel for 25 years for the Miners’ Hospital, a state agency in Raton.

Smith has served on the board of directors for numerous private and state entities such as the Sangre de Cristo Sunrise Kiwanis, Community First Bank, New Mexico Commission on the Status of Women, Northeast Regional Community Foundation, several Judicial Nominating Commissions for the 4th Judicial District, and the Miners’ Colfax Medical Center.