Albuquerque Office
PRACTICE AREAS
- Civil Rights
- Criminal Law
Clay L. Wilwol is an associate attorney in our Albuquerque office. His practice focuses on criminal defense and civil rights. Before joining Rothstein Donatelli, Clay spent two years serving as a judicial law clerk, first to the Honorable Zachary A. Ives of the New Mexico Court of Appeals (2022-23), and then to the Honorable James O. Browning of the U.S. District Court for the District of New Mexico (2023-24). In these roles, Clay researched and drafted dozens of opinions on a wide range of civil and criminal law at both trial and appellate levels.
Clay was born and raised in Santa Fe. He has a B.A. from Reed College and an M.Phil, with distinction, from the University of Cambridge. He earned his law degree, summa cum laude, from the University of New Mexico School of Law. During law school, Clay served on the New Mexico Law Review, received clinical honors for his advocacy in the Community Lawyering Clinic, published an academic article on criminal evidence law, and received various awards for legal writing and academic achievement.
EDUCATION
- Reed College, B.A., 2016
- University of Cambridge, M.Phil, with distinction, 2019
- University of New Mexico School of Law, J.D., summa cum laude, 2022
• Order of the Coif
BAR ADMISSIONS
- State Bar of New Mexico
- United States District Court for the District of New Mexico
DISTINCTIONS AND HONORS
- Clinical Honors Award for Outstanding Service in the Community Lawyering Clinic, 2022
- Editorial Board for the New Mexico Law Review, 2021-22
- Helen S. Carter Prize for Outstanding Student Scholarship, 2021
- Senior Lawyers Division Attorney Memorial Scholarship Prize, 2021
- Don G. McCormick Endowed Writing Prize, 2020
- Legal Writing Tutor (2020), Criminal Law Tutor (2021)
MEMBERSHIPS AND AFFILIATIONS
- H. Vearle Payne American Inn of Court
- New Mexico Criminal Defense Lawyers Association
PUBLICATIONS
- “Reverse” 404(b) Is Not an Evidence Law Issue: A Call to Revive the Compulsory Process Clause as a Vehicle for Evidence Admission, 52 N.M. L. REV. 242 (2022)
