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Overview
Chris Muirhead concentrates his practice in the area of public finance. For more than twenty years, numerous New Mexico municipalities and counties have relied on Chris for advice on their public financing matters such as general obligation bonds, gross receipts tax revenue bonds, utility system revenue bonds, special district financings, and economic development projects. He serves as general counsel and issuer’s counsel for the New Mexico Hospital Equipment Loan Council, a state-wide issuer of conduit debt for New Mexico healthcare facilities.
Best Lawyers in America® named Chris 2023 and 2025 the “Lawyer of the Year” in Albuquerque for Public Finance Law. He was previously named “Lawyer of the Year” in 2016 for both Public Finance Law and Municipal Law, and in 2012 for Municipal Law. Chambers USA has recognized Chris in the area of Corporate/Commercial, and reported, he is a trusted and respected figure among clients, who note “he really immerses himself in our business, understanding what we do and why and contextualizing the excellent work that he does. This speaks volumes.” Additionally, Chris has achieved the AV® peer review rating from Martindale-Hubbell, the highest rating possible.
Prior to joining the firm, Chris served as a law clerk to The Honorable James A. Parker, U.S. District Judge for the District of New Mexico. Chris is a Modrall Sperling shareholder, previous Chair of the Public Finance Group, and has served as Head of the firm’s Transactions Department.
Education
University of New Mexico School of Law, J.D., 1993, magna cum laude
University of New Mexico, B.A., 1988, with distinction, Phi Beta Kappa
Bar Admissions
New Mexico
U.S. District Court for the District of New Mexico
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit
Experience
Chris’ experience includes service as bond counsel, disclosure counsel and underwriter’s counsel on numerous transactions for municipalities, counties, and school districts throughout New Mexico, including:
- Bond counsel for the City of Albuquerque and the Albuquerque Bernalillo County Water Utility Authority
- Bond counsel for the University of New Mexico and New Mexico State University
- Bond counsel for the following New Mexico counties: Sandoval, McKinley, Taos, Dona Ana, San Miguel, Guadalupe, Grant and Socorro
- Disclosure counsel for Bernalillo County
- Bond counsel for numerous municipalities
- Traditional public financings including general obligation bonds, gross receipts tax revenue bonds, utility system revenue bonds, special district financings, conduit issues, and economic development
- General counsel and issuer’s counsel for the New Mexico Hospital Equipment Loan Council, a state-wide issuer of conduit debt for New Mexico healthcare facilities. In this capacity he has worked on financings for Presbyterian Hospital, Lovelace Medical Center, St. Vincent’s Hospital, Rehoboth Hospital and San Juan Medical Center
- Represented lenders in tribal transactions in New Mexico. These include traditional public finance matters related to governmental purposes as well as economic development projects in tribal areas. In addition, he served as underwriter’s counsel on multiple New Mexico public finance projects
Activities
- National Association of Bond Lawyers
- American Bar Association
- State Bar of New Mexico
- Law Clerk, The Honorable James A. Parker, U. S. District Judge for the District of New Mexico
News & Articles
News
Honors
- Best Lawyers “Lawyer of the Year” in Public Finance Law-Albuquerque, 2016, 2023, 2025
- Best Lawyers “Lawyer of the Year” in Municipal Law-Albuquerque, 2012, 2016
- Best Lawyers in America® in Municipal Law and Public Finance Law, 2009-present
- Chambers USA Directories of America’s Leading Lawyers in Business in Corporate/Commercial, 2009-present
- Martindale-Hubbell AV® Preeminent Peer Review Rated
