Judge Henry A. Alaniz Receives 2026 Diane F. Bosse Award for Excellence and Service in Bar Admissions
MADISON, WISCONSIN, May 1, 2026—The National Conference of Bar Examiners (NCBE) announced today that Judge Henry A. Alaniz of New Mexico has been awarded the 2026 Diane F. Bosse Award for Excellence and Service in Bar Admissions.
Judge Alaniz was nominated for the award by Judge Nan Nash on behalf of the New Mexico Board of Bar Examiners (BBE). In her nomination letter, Judge Nash writes that Judge Alaniz “consistently demonstrates a strong commitment to a fair, thorough, and well-administered admissions process. He recognizes the BBE’s role to safeguard the public on the front end of licensure and holds our board to ensuring that protection. He is a lifelong leader and volunteer, both to our BBE and New Mexico judiciary [and] to numerous other organizations.”
Judge Alaniz was a member of the State Bar of New Mexico’s Board of Bar Commissioners for nine years and served as its President in 2008. In 2022, he was selected to receive the board’s Justice Seth D. Montgomery Distinguished Judicial Service Award. Judge Alaniz was a judge at the Bernalillo County Metropolitan Court from 2011 to 2021, during which time he also served on numerous committees, including the judiciary’s budget committee. He was the Metropolitan Court’s Chief Judge from 2014 to 2018. He has been a member of the New Mexico Board of Bar Examiners since 2010, including service on multiple board committees, and has been Board Chair since 2022. Judge Alaniz retired from the Metropolitan Court at the end of 2021 and served as the Board of Bar Examiners’ interim executive director in 2022.
Judge Alaniz has been deeply involved in the evolution of the New Mexico bar examination over the years, including during New Mexico’s transition from a state-specific exam to the Uniform Bar Exam in 2016 and its adoption of the NextGen UBE in 2024, with a first administration planned for 2027. As chair of the Board of Bar Examiners, Judge Alaniz has worked with New Mexico’s character and fitness committee co-chairs to develop a review process and system to process applications uniformly and efficiently. He was also instrumental in facilitating a complete rewrite of the New Mexico Rules Governing Admission in 2023.
Judge Alaniz has served on several NCBE committees, including the Editorial Advisory Committee for NCBE’s Bar Examiner magazine, and is currently a member of NCBE’s Diversity and Inclusion Committee.
“I am humbled to have been nominated for and to be a recipient of the 2026 Diane F. Bosse Award for Excellence and Service in Bar Admissions,” said Judge Alaniz. “The law has been and continues to be a labor of love for me. I want to thank everyone for their belief in me and their continued support.”
The Bosse Award honors a bar examiner who demonstrates leadership, integrity, professionalism, and a commitment to serving the legal profession through bar admissions in their own jurisdiction and beyond. The award was established in November 2024 in memory of Diane F. Bosse, a former chair of the New York Board of Law Examiners and NCBE’s Board of Trustees, who passed away suddenly in March 2024.
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About the National Conference of Bar Examiners
The National Conference of Bar Examiners (NCBE), headquartered in Madison, Wisconsin, is a not-for-profit corporation founded in 1931. NCBE promotes fairness, integrity, and best practices in bar admissions for the benefit and protection of the public, in pursuit of its vision of a competent, ethical, and diverse legal profession. Best known for developing bar exam content used by 54 US jurisdictions, NCBE serves admission authorities, courts, the legal education community, and candidates by providing high-quality assessment products, services, and research; character investigations; and informational and educational resources and programs. In 2026, NCBE will launch the NextGen Uniform Bar Examination, ensuring that the exam continues to test the knowledge, skills, and abilities required for competent entry-level legal practice in a changing profession. For more information, visit the NCBE website at https://www.ncbex.org.