Law Office of Christopher L. Green, LLC Call the office (505) 503-6103

When what’s at stake is your freedom or your family

The Law Office of Christopher L. Green, LLC is a criminal defense and family law practice serving Albuquerque, Belen, and communities across New Mexico. Chris Green is a former Thirteenth Judicial District prosecutor, and he handles your case himself from the first call to the last hearing.

Former New Mexico prosecutor Calls returned the same day Bernalillo & Valencia County courts

Start with a consultation

Bring your paperwork. Leave knowing what you’re facing and what it costs.

You work with the attorney

Not a case manager. Chris handles the hearings and answers the questions.

He prosecuted these cases

Years on the State’s side of DWI and drug cases. He knows how they’re built.

After-hours appointments

Open 9 to 6 weekdays, with evening and weekend meetings by arrangement.

Two practices, one attorney

Criminal charges and family court often arrive in the same season of someone’s life. Handling both means your case is argued by someone who already knows the whole picture.

Criminal defense

From a first DWI in Metropolitan Court to a homicide in the Second Judicial District, the work starts the same way: read the discovery, find what the State cannot prove, and put pressure there. Chris spent his last job building those cases for the prosecution.

All criminal defense pages

Arrested in Albuquerque or Bernalillo County within the last 48 hours? Call before your arraignment — (505) 503-6103.

Family law

Divorce, custody, guardianship, and adoption are decided on details: schedules, income, stability, and what the record shows about each household. The job is to build that record early and keep negotiations from turning into a trial you didn’t need.

All family law pages

Kinship guardianship matters often move fast, especially when a child is already living with a grandparent or relative. Call before a hearing date is set if you can.

How a case moves

1

Consultation

You explain what happened. You get a straight read on exposure, timeline, and fee.

2

Discovery

Police reports, video, lab results, financial records — everything the other side has.

3

Strategy

Motions to suppress, expert review, or a settlement position built from the evidence.

4

Hearing or trial

Negotiate where it serves you. Try the case where it doesn’t.

5

After

Compliance, expungement, or modification — when most firms stop returning your calls.

Christopher L. Green

Christopher L. Green, criminal defense and family law attorney in Albuquerque, New Mexico

Attorney and founder · Downtown Albuquerque

Until recently, Chris Green was the one filing the charges. Now he defends against them.

Chris is a graduate of the University of New Mexico School of Law. He most recently served as a prosecutor for the Thirteenth Judicial District Attorney’s Office, handling cases that ranged from driving while intoxicated to drug crimes. Before that he worked for the New Mexico Department of Workforce Solutions, investigating and deciding wage claim disputes.

That history is the reason to hire him. He has read the reports these cases are built on, sat through the calendar calls, and watched which arguments a New Mexico judge actually credits. When he tells you an offer is worth taking — or worth refusing — it comes from having stood on the other side of the table.

The firm appears in Bernalillo County Metropolitan Court, the Second Judicial District Court in Downtown Albuquerque, and the Thirteenth Judicial District covering Valencia, Sandoval, and Cibola Counties, including the courthouse in Belen.

Background

  • Juris Doctor, University of New Mexico School of Law
  • Former prosecutor, Thirteenth Judicial District Attorney’s Office
  • Former investigator, New Mexico Department of Workforce Solutions
  • Licensed to practice in the State of New Mexico

More about Chris Green

Where the firm practices

The office sits on Luna Circle NW, minutes from the Downtown Albuquerque courthouses, and the firm takes cases throughout the metro area and down the Rio Grande corridor to Belen and Socorro.

Pages for Albuquerque, Belen, Los Lunas, and Rio Rancho.

Not sure whether your case is in the right court? Bring your citation or summons to the consultation and you’ll have an answer in five minutes.

Albuquerque

  • Downtown and EDo
  • Old Town and Barelas
  • Nob Hill and University
  • North Valley
  • South Valley
  • Westside and Atrisco
  • Northeast Heights

Surrounding communities

  • Belen and Los Lunas
  • Rio Rancho and Corrales
  • Bernalillo and Placitas
  • Bosque Farms and Peralta
  • Valencia County
  • Sandoval County
  • Socorro County

Questions people ask first

Do I really need a lawyer for a first-offense DWI in New Mexico?

A first DWI in New Mexico carries mandatory penalties, and there are two separate proceedings: the criminal case and an administrative license revocation through the Motor Vehicle Division. The MVD deadline to request a hearing is short and easy to miss, and missing it costs you the license regardless of how the criminal case ends.

There is also more to challenge than most people expect — the reason for the stop, how field sobriety tests were administered, breath machine calibration, and blood draw procedure.

What actually happens at an arraignment?

You are formally told the charges and you enter a plea, almost always not guilty. The judge sets conditions of release — things like bond, GPS monitoring, no-contact orders, or interlock requirements. Those conditions shape the months ahead, which is why it matters to have counsel there rather than to appear alone.

How do New Mexico courts decide child custody?

New Mexico separates legal custody (decision-making about school, medical care, and religion) from timesharing (where the children actually are). Joint legal custody is presumed unless there is a reason it would not work.

Timesharing is decided on the best interests of the child: each parent’s relationship with them, stability, school and community ties, and the child’s wishes when they are old enough for those to carry weight. Cases are usually routed through mediation or a settlement facilitator before a judge decides anything.

What does representation cost?

It depends on the charge, the court, and how far the case is likely to go. You will leave the consultation knowing the fee for your matter rather than a range.

Nothing starts until the fee is in writing and you have agreed to it.

Do you take cases in Belen, Los Lunas, and Valencia County?

Yes. The firm regularly appears in the Thirteenth Judicial District Court in Belen and in the Valencia County Magistrate Court, along with the Bernalillo County Metropolitan Court and the Second Judicial District Court in Downtown Albuquerque.

What should I bring to the consultation?

For a criminal case: your citation or criminal complaint, any bond paperwork, the conditions of release, and your next court date. For a family case: anything you were served with, recent pay stubs for both parents if you have them, and a rough calendar of the current parenting schedule.

If you don’t have the documents, come anyway. Most of it can be pulled from the court record.

Request a consultation

Tell us a little about what’s going on. If your matter is urgent — an arrest, a hearing this week, an emergency custody issue — call instead of writing.

The sooner you call, the more options you have

Conditions of release, filing deadlines, and the first version of a parenting schedule are all decided early — and they are much harder to change later.

Call now Request consultation