Rule 17B-009. General provisions.

A. Public proceedings. All civil injunction proceedings and contempt proceedings filed in the Supreme Court under Rules 17B-005 and 17B-007 NMRA, including proceedings before a hearing officer or a Disciplinary Board hearing review panel, shall be public proceedings unless otherwise ordered by the Court. B. Confidentiality. Except as otherwise provided by these rules or by order of the Court, all proceedings conducted under Rule 17B-004 NMRA prior to the filing of a petition for injunctive relief with the Court shall be held confidential by disciplinary counsel and disciplinary counsel’s authorized agent, subject to the need to disclose such information as necessary for disciplinary counsel to conduct the appropriate investigation. C. Exceptions to confidentiality. Disciplinary counsel may disclose the pendency, subject matter, and status of proceedings conducted under the Rules Concerning the Unauthorized Practice of Law to the following: (1) an entity authorized to investigate the qualifications of persons for admission to practice law; (2) an entity authorized to investigate the qualifications of judicial candidates; (3) a lawyer discipline enforcement agency; (4) any person or agency requesting such information, if the respondent has waived confidentiality and the request is within the scope of the waiver; (5) an agency authorized to investigate violations of the criminal laws, other civil laws prohibiting the unauthorized practice of law, or the consumer protection laws of New Mexico, any other state, or the United States; and (6) any person or agency, once a petition for injunctive relief or contempt proceeding has been filed with the Court. D. Special counsel; special board. If an investigation under Rule 17B-004 NMRA relates to a spouse, parent, child, sibling, or other person associated with disciplinary counsel or a Disciplinary Board member, such that the impartiality of disciplinary counsel or the Disciplinary Board may reasonably be called into question, the matter shall proceed in accordance with the Rules Concerning the Unauthorized Practice of Law except for the following. (1) Chief disciplinary counsel, or when necessary chief disciplinary counsel’s designee, shall refer the matter to a special assistant disciplinary counsel who is not a paid employee of the Disciplinary Board. Special assistant disciplinary counsel shall proceed in accordance with these rules when investigating and, if appropriate, prosecuting the complaint. If the special assistant disciplinary counsel prosecutes the matter and a hearing is held before a hearing officer, the normal procedures set forth in these rules shall be used by the Disciplinary Board for selection of the hearing officer. Further, the Disciplinary Board chair, or the vice-chair in the absence of the chair, shall retain jurisdiction to perform all procedural duties pertaining to uncontested matters as set forth in these rules. (2) If the respondent is a member of the Disciplinary Board or is a spouse, parent, child, or sibling of a Disciplinary Board member, and the matter proceeds to a hearing officer as set forth in Rule 17B-005 NMRA, following the receipt of the hearing officer’s findings of fact, conclusions of law, and recommended disposition, the matter shall not be heard by any then-serving Disciplinary Board member or any former member who served on the Disciplinary Board at the time the charges were filed. Instead, the chief justice shall appoint a special board consisting of three members of the bar to perform the Disciplinary Board’s functions under Paragraphs J through K of Rule 17B-005 NMRA and to proceed in accordance with these rules. E. Service of process. Disciplinary counsel shall serve on the respondent a petition for injunction filed under Rule 17B-005 NMRA in the same manner that a civil complaint may be served under Rule 1-004 NMRA of the Rules of Civil Procedure for the District Courts. Unless otherwise ordered by the Court, service of all documents after the petition shall be made upon the respondent or the respondent’s attorney in accordance with Rule 1-005 NMRA of the Rules of Civil Procedure for the District Courts. F. Payment of fines. In the absence of a Court order to the contrary, any fine imposed against a respondent under these rules shall be paid to the New Mexico Client Protection Fund. G. Retention of records. Records of proceedings pertaining to the unauthorized practice of law shall be maintained as follows. (1) If the complaint was dismissed, the paper file may be destroyed three (3) years after the dismissal. The complaint, the respondent’s response, and any other public records shall be scanned and electronically saved indefinitely. (2) If a consent agreement was reached with the respondent, the complaint, the response, the petition, the answer, if any, the agreement, all orders, and any other public records shall be maintained in paper form for ten (10) years and, thereafter, scanned and electronically saved indefinitely. (3) If a petition is filed in the Supreme Court for injunc tive relief or contempt proceedings, the petition, the respondent’s answer, all orders, and any other public records shall be maintained in paper form for ten (10) years, and, thereafter, scanned and electronically saved indefinitely. H. Non-attorney representation in state and local public body administrative matters. Except as provided in Rule 17-212(C) NMRA, to the extent authorized by a state administrative agency or local public body, a non-attorney may participate in and represent an individual or organization in such state agency’s or local public body’s administrative matters and hearings in accordance with the rules and procedures of such agency or public body unless prohibited from doing so or otherwise limited by the Supreme Court.