Ms. Chanez is a Director in the Albuquerque office and serves as the group leader of the Health Law and Medical Malpractice Defense section. She practices in the Litigation Department with an emphasis on defending healthcare providers in medical malpractice cases. Ms. Chanez also has experience in the areas of employment, civil rights, education, personal injury, and media law. Ms. Chanez has defended healthcare providers, government entities and private employers at the trial and appellate levels in both state and federal courts, as well as before administrative tribunals. After graduating from law school, Ms. Chanez clerked for the Honorable Edward L. Chávez, former Chief Justice of the New Mexico Supreme Court.

Ms. Chanez has received several awards and honors. She is listed in Best Lawyers in America for her experience and expertise in Litigation – Health Care, and she has been named Albuquerque Health Care Litigation Lawyer of the Year-2020 by Best Lawyers in America. She is also listed in Southwest Super Lawyers for her experience and expertise in Medical Malpractice: Defense.

In September 2020, Ms. Chanez was honored with the State Bar of New Mexico’s President’s Award for her work as co-chair of the Bar’s Committee on Diversity in the Legal Profession.

In July 2018 Ms. Chanez was selected as one of the nation’s “Top 100 Influencers in Law” by Albuquerque Business First’s parent company, The Business Journals. In April 2018 Ms. Chanez was honored by the Mexican American Law Student Association, for her commitment to advancing diversity and inclusion in the legal profession. In February 2017 the Hispanic National Bar Association named Ms. Chanez one of the Top Lawyers Under 40. Ms. Chanez was honored as the 2016 Outstanding Young Lawyer of the Year by the State Bar of New Mexico. Ms. Chanez is included in Albuquerque Business First’s list of New Mexico’s Women of Influence for 2016 and Albuquerque Business First’s 40 Under Forty List of New Mexico’s most dynamic, successful and community-minded young business leaders for 2015. In June of 2014 Ms. Chanez was named to Lawyers of Color’s Second Annual Hot List, which recognizes early to mid-career minority attorneys with noteworthy accomplishments.

• American Bar Association
• Fellow, American Bar Foundation
• State Bar of New Mexico – Committee on Diversity in the Legal Profession (Co-Chair)
• Albuquerque Bar Association
• New Mexico Hispanic Bar Association (past President)
• Hispanic National Bar AssociationNew Mexico Defense Lawyers Association
• Defense Research Institute

• University of New Mexico School of Law (J.D. 2006, magna cum laude, Order of the Coif)
• University of New Mexico (B.A. 2001, summa cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa)

Twohig v. Blackmer: New Mexico’s Broad Protection for Trial Participant Speech and the Hurdles to Cross Before Imposing Gag Orders, 35 N.M.L. Rev. 587 (2005).

Federal Court vs. State Court: Different Approaches to Summary Judgment Following Romero v. Philip Morris, Inc., Defense News, New Mexico Defense Lawyers Association, Winter 2011 Newsletter.

Diversity in Action: An Inside Look at New Mexico’s Efforts to Create a Diverse and Inclusive Bar, Defense News, New Mexico Defense Lawyers Association, Summer 2018 Newsletter.

Mandates from Top U.S. Companies Mean Real Consequences When Outside Counsel Fail To Meet Diversity Standards, Defense News, New Mexico Defense Lawyers Association, Summer 2017 Newsletter.

Still Unequal: The Stalled Progress of Women in the Legal Profession and What Women and Men Can Do About It, Defense News, New Mexico Defense Lawyers Association, Spring 2016 Newsletter.

Diversity in the New Mexico Bar: A Journey Not A Destination, Defense News, New Mexico Defense Lawyers Association, Winter 2014/2015 Newsletter.

Making the Unconscious Conscious: How Unconscious or Implicit Bias Affects the Diversity of the Legal Profession, Defense News, New Mexico Defense Lawyers Association, Spring 2015 Newsletter.