Dennis Wallin was born in Tucumcari, New Mexico and raised in the southern towns of Alamogordo and Silver City, New Mexico. He comes from a long line of ranchers, farmers, and contractors scattered throughout the “Land of Enchantment.” He obtained his law degree in 1977 from the University of New Mexico School of Law and was admitted to practice that same year. He began his legal career at a small local firm before setting up his own private practice. Dennis worked in conjunction with The Spence Law Firm for nearly 30 years, partnering with the firm on some of the largest personal injury lawsuits in the history of New Mexico jurisprudence.
Throughout his expansive legal career, Dennis has represented injured victims and their family members in Federal Courts throughout the state of New Mexico. He has recovered millions of dollars for his clients, both in settlement and trial, in a variety of personal injury and wrongful death cases. In the groundbreaking case, Sears v. Nissan Motor, Dennis served as co-lead counsel. The case was instrumental in establishing a precedent for the measure of damages that should be awarded to the surviving loved ones of individuals who are wrongfully killed at the hands of negligent tortfeasors. Additionally, Dennis worked alongside Skip Jacobson in representing the family of an employee of a contractor at Los Alamos National Laboratories, taking over 40 depositions of co-employees, supervisors, and administrators of the labs before reaching one of the largest non-death personal injury settlements in New Mexico history. He has obtained multiple settlements in truck vs. automobile cases, ranging from $4.5 million to $9 million. Recently, he settled a distracted driver automobile wrongful death case for $6 million. Throughout his lengthy career, Dennis has taken on cases in every New Mexico State District Court, as well as the Federal District of New Mexico and the Tenth Circuit United States Court of Appeals.
In addition to personal injury and wrongful death settlements and verdicts, Dennis takes great pride in a recent settlement resulting from the bullying and beating of a transgender student in a charter high school and the successful resolution of an employment discrimination lawsuit for two elderly phlebotomists. For many years, Dennis provided legal access to prisoners at both the state and federal level, including petitions for habeas corpus, as well as other administrative and post-conviction relief.
According to Dennis, “Oftentimes the most gratifying aspect of being a lawyer is righting the wrong, which is not always measured by the amount of money received, but the tortfeasor’s acknowledgment of his wrongdoing.”
Dennis has been a long-time member of the American Trial Lawyers Association and the New Mexico Trial Lawyers Association. He is also active in the Albuquerque East Mountain community with a particular interest in youth-oriented activities, including coaching baseball and softball teams and supporting local FFA and 4-H programs.
His wife, Marcie, is a registered nurse with extensive orthopedic surgery experience. They have two grown children and will soon have their third grandchild.
