Randy M. Autio

Randy Autio formed NM Local Government Law, LLC in March of 2020 after 25 years of serving local governments in New Mexico.  Randy believes that to provide the best legal services possible for local governments, a law firm must have public service experience and a passion for helping to improve our communities.  This vision has been met by the friends and family that have joined the firm who bring decades of unsurpassed legal experience representing and defending local governments and State agencies. 

Beginning in 1990, Randy has dedicated his career to representing local governmental entities.  Randy served as an Assistant City Attorney in Albuquerque for 19 years and has been General Counsel for Los Alamos County, Bernalillo County, Taos County and many New Mexico Municipalities.  As both an employee of those entities, or as outside counsel, Randy has handled all their legal needs from day-to-day business all the way to crisis management.  In addition to general counsel work, Mr. Autio has 37 years of litigation experience, beginning in 1986, in both State and Federal Courts. 

As an Assistant City Attorney for the City of Albuquerque he litigated for the City from 1990 through July 2010 handling tort, contract, land use, election, civil rights and employment cases.  Also, as a Deputy City Attorney for the City of Albuquerque, from 2002 through 2010, Mr. Autio supervised the Litigation section which litigated tort and general litigation claims, and all employment law matters. Randy continued in that position for eight years, while also serving as Interim City Clerk for the 2007 and 2009 City elections.  In addition, Mr. Autio was appointed by the Mayor to co-chair the Albuquerque City Ethics Coalition in 2004, a collaborative effort by the Mayor to work with labor, management, and the public to create a greater culture of ethics in City government.  He has additional experience as a litigator and policy advisor for Employment Law including:  FLSA, PERA, discipline, labor, equal pay, EEOC claims and management training as well as litigator for administrative hearings in personnel cases and appeals. 

Randy was the Los Alamos County Attorney from October 2010 through November 2011 where he worked through difficult and complex legal challenges and was the attorney and acting administrator, for eleven months which included the Los Conchas fire emergency and evacuation.  The strategic focus of Los Alamos was to diversify and grow all parts of their economy.  As legal advisor and administrator, Mr. Autio worked on new public/private partnerships with the Labs and developers; oversaw the approval of a new government complex; shepherded LEDA projects; and, worked to foster the relationships between the Labs, neighboring tribes and communities.

From 2011 through 2015, as the Bernalillo County Attorney, Randy resolved difficult issues surrounding the criminal justice system and jail overcrowding. Mr. Autio shepherded reform to solve employment problems, crafted a new Code of Conduct and helped craft a new County Home Rule Charter.  Mr. Autio also helped create and implement new records retention and IPRA policies, new polices for award of community service contracts, and a new Ordinance allowing the County to legally collect franchise fees from those using the County right-of-way.  He continued his career long role in solving complex employment issues and advising on the adoption of reforms to solve such problems.

Since opening NM Local Government Law, Randy continues to be general counsel for multiple local governments and has litigated complex employment cases including Whistleblower and retaliation cases. In addition, Mr. Autio has litigated cases for local government clients in the areas of construction law, election law and multiple administrative appeals from the administrative level up through the New Mexico Supreme Court.