Beall & Biehler, Attorneys at Law

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Our Team

Admitted to Bar: 1970, New Mexico; 1994, Colorado; 1970, U.S. District Court for the District of New Mexico; 1977, U.S. Court of Appeals, Tenth Circuit; 1983, U.S. Supreme Court.

Preparatory Education: University of New Mexico, B.S., 1967.

Legal Education: University of New Mexico School of Law, J.D., 1970.

Memberships: State Bar of New Mexico, American Bar Association, New Mexico Medical Legal Society Panel, Defense Research Institute, New Mexico Defense Lawyers Association.

Background: Mr. Beall has participated in general litigation of a trial nature for over 33 years. This experience has involved general casualty defense for various insurance carriers throughout the State of New Mexico, including auto liability, premises liability, property damage, insurance coverage, extra contractual liability, surety and fidelity bond defense, medical and dental malpractice defense and toxic tort defense claims. Mr. Beall has a vast amount of trial experience, in both state and federal courts, having tried over 200 civil jury trials as a defense attorney.

GREGORY L. BIEHLER

Admitted to Bar: 1981, Iowa; 1981, Northern & Southern U.S. District Courts of Iowa; 1981, Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals; 1986, New Mexico, U.S. District Court State of New Mexico, 10th Circuit Court of Appeals, U.S. Supreme Court.

Preparatory Education: University of South Dakota, B.A., 1978.

Legal Education: Drake University School of Law, J.D., 1981.

Memberships & Honors: National Order of Barristers, State Bar of New Mexico, Defense Research Institute, New Mexico Defense Lawyers Association, New Mexico Trial Lawyers Assoc., American Bar Assoc., Author: "Limiting the Right to Sue: The Civil Rights Dilemma", 33 Drake Law Review 1, 1983-1984; Selected by Governor Bill Richardson for State Board service 2003; Appointed to Supreme Court to Uniform Jury Instruction Committee 2002.

General Litigation: Upon entering the practice of law in 1981, Mr. Biehler joined a small business firm in Des Moines, Iowa. He specialized in complex business litigation in such fields as antitrust, trademark, securities, interference with business relations, and civil rights. In 1984, Mr. Biehler began his public service with the prosecuting attorneys' office in Des Moines, Iowa, and then Albuquerque, New Mexico. He prosecuted major felony crimes including sexual abuse, narcotics, gambling, property, violent crimes, and murder. Mr. Biehler joined the Beall law firm in 1988, and has concentrated his practice in employment related litigation, insurance defense including commercial and catastrophic injury, products liability, civil rights, professional liability, insurance coverage and first party representation. Mr. Biehler is a frequent lecturer in the areas of employment law and class action litigation. Mr. Biehler has extensive trial experience, having tried in excess of 150 jury trials.

JOSH A. HARRIS

Admitted to Bar: 1985, New Mexico; 1991, U.S. District Court for the District of New Mexico; 1999, 10th Circuit Court of Appeals.

Preparatory Education: University of New Mexico, B.A., 1981.

Legal Education: Drake University School of Law, J.D., 1985.

Memberships & Honors: American Bar Association, State Bar of New Mexico, Defense Research Institute, New Mexico Defense Lawyer's Association, Who's Who in American Trial Lawyers, 1990, American Jurisprudence Award - Civil Procedure, Drake Law School, 1982, Author: "Rule 37 Sanctions, " New Mexico Defense Lawyer's Association News Journal, Vol. 10, No. 1.

General Litigation: Mr. Harris began his career as a prosecutor in the District Attorney's Office. Mr. Harris was appointed as Deputy District Attorney in charge of the Economic Crimes Division just before leaving the District Attorney's Office. He prosecuted crimes such as securities fraud, embezzlement, forgery, fraud, and misuse of public funds. Mr. Harris also prosecuted high profile violent crime cases including first-degree murder cases involving the death penalty. Various cases handled by Mr. Harris received extensive local and national publicity.

Mr. Harris left the District Attorney's Office and became a Managing Attorney in the firm of Stirling & Harris, a staff counsel office for the Travelers Insurance Company. There he handled such cases as premises liability, business torts, sexual harassment and automobile liability.

For the last 12 years with Beall & Biehler, Mr. Harris has tried numerous jury trials to conclusion and has handled a multitude of complex litigation matters, including catastrophic injury, product liability, wrongful death, premises liability, dram shop, civil rights defense, insurance coverage disputes, defamation suits, accounting malpractice, dental malpractice and legal malpractice claims. Overall Mr. Harris has tried approximately 75 jury trials.

MARCIA E. LUBAR, of Counsel

Admitted to Bar: 1986, New Mexico; 1991, U.S. District Court for the District of New Mexico.

Preparatory Education: University of New Mexico, B.A., 1976, Masters 1978

Legal Education: University of New Mexico School of Law, J.D., 1986.

Memberships: American Bar Association; State Bar of New Mexico; Defense Research Institute; Law school dean’s list and honor roll; American Jurisprudence Awards of Excellence (employment discrimination law, land use and planning law); First place in the law school alumni writing competition.

General Litigation: Upon admittance to the New Mexico Bar in 1986, Ms. Lubar became associated with The Payne Law firm in Albuquerque, New Mexico, where she became a partner in 1991. In November 1992, she joined the firm of Hatch, Allen & Shepherd, P.A., an insurance defense firm, where she became a shareholder in February 1994. In May 1999, she started her own firm. In November 2002, she became of counsel to Biehler & Harris, L.L.C.

Ms. Lubar has limited her practice to employment law, defending public and private employers, including public school districts and institutions of higher learning, against claims of retaliatory and wrongful discharge and civil rights violations. She has successfully defended claims based on alleged violations of the First Amendment, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and the Civil Rights Act of 1964, including numerous claims of sexual harassment. Ms. Lubar has extensive experience in litigating complex employment cases for the State of New Mexico, involving numerous defendants in state and federal district courts. She has appellate experience in the Tenth Circuit and New Mexico appellate courts, and is also licensed to practice before the United States Claims Court. She has advised state agencies on the management of problem employees and avoiding unnecessary employment litigation.

Prior to attending law school, Ms. Lubar served as the industrial relations manager for EG&G, Inc., and the employment manager for Intel Corporation, both Fortune 500 companies. She served on the City of Albuquerque’s Personnel Board for five and one-half years, and taught personnel administration as an adjunct professor at the University of New Mexico.

Ms. Lubar frequently conducts seminars for businesses and governmental organizations concerning employment practices and polices, and preventing employment-related lawsuits, including claims of sexual harassment and violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act. She has authored a handbook on disciplining and terminating public employees.

KRISTIN MCKEEVER

Admitted to Bar: 1994, California; 1994, New Mexico; 1997, U.S. District Court for the District of New Mexico.

Preparatory Education: University of New Mexico, B.A., 1989.

Legal Education: Southwestern University School of Law, J.D., 1993.

Memberships & Honors: State Bar of New Mexico; Inactive Member State Bar of California

General Litigation: Ms. McKeever began practicing law in 1993 with the insurance defense firm of Walz & Associates. As an associate at the firm, Ms. McKeever worked in the defense of various state governmental entities, concentrating her work on pretrial motion practice. In 1997, Ms. McKeever left the firm and began providing legal contract services to other insurance defense firms, working on the defense of governmental entities primarily in the area of civil rights, employment law and negligence.

During this time Ms. McKeever has maintained her focus on legal research and writing. She has authored two appellate briefs which resulted in published opinions by the New Mexico Court of Appeals that were favorable to her clients, one of whom was the New Mexico State Highway and Transportation Department. Rivera v. Trujillo, 128 N.M. 106, 990 P.2d 219 (N.M.App.1999); Acosta v. City of Santa Fe, 129 N.M. 632, 11 P.2d 596 (N.M.App.2000). Ms. McKeever has authored numerous motions for summary judgment, many of which have resulted in the dismissal of all claims against her clients. Her writing experience has included the areas of the First Amendment, Fourth Amendment, Eighth Amendment, Fourteenth Amendment, Title VII and claims of negligence brought pursuant to the New Mexico Tort Claims Act.

JOSÉ R. BLANTON

Admitted to Bar: 2001, New Mexico.

Preparatory Education: Eastern New Mexico University, B.B.A., 1996.

Legal Education: Northwestern School of Law at Lewis & Clark College, J.D., 2000.

Memberships: New Mexico State Bar, Defense Research Institute, and New Mexico Defense Lawyers Association.

Background: Mr. Blanton is a native New Mexican with two generations of family history in New Mexico. He lived most of his life in Eastern New Mexico, coming from a family of educators. He is a Staff Sergeant in the U.S. Army Reserve, a certified EMT and graduate of the New Mexico Military Institute. He joined Beall & Biehler in 2000 as a law clerk. After admission to the bar, he has practiced in the area of products liability, oil field and insurance litigation, and automobile litigation.