According to Part II of the Section XX of the Specific Area Requirements for Child Welfare Law, the term “child welfare law” is defined as litigating suits under Title 5, Subtitle E of the Texas Family Code and issues that arise in suits by a governmental entity for the protection of an abused or neglected child, including but not limited to:
For the purpose of becoming board certified, TBLS requires attorneys who are focused on child welfare law to have:
To become board certified in child welfare law, the attorney must show a minimum of 25% of his or her time practicing child welfare law in Texas during each of the three years immediately preceding the application.
The attorney must provide information as required by TBLS concerning specific tasks he or she has performed in Texas child welfare law. In evaluating experience, TBLS may take into consideration the nature, complexity, and duration of the tasks handled by the attorney.
In the three years immediately preceding the application, the attorney must have served as lead counsel for a party or child from inception of the case or time of appointment or engagement to final judgment in 10 cases that meet one of these requirements:
An appeal that the attorney prosecutes or defends in an intermediate appellate court and in the Supreme Court of Texas counts as one case.
In the three years immediately preceding the application, the attorney must also have participated in 20 cases that meet one of these requirements:
For purposes of certification without examination, TBLS may grant certification in child welfare law without requiring a written examination to an applicant who:
For purposes of becoming board certified in child welfare law, the TBLS's Standards for Attorney Certification require theattorney to submit a minimum of five names and addresses of persons to be contacted as references to attest to his or her competence in child welfare law.
These persons must be substantially involved in child welfare law, and be familiar with the applicant’s child welfare law practice.
For certification, the attorney must submit names of persons with whom he or she has had dealings involving child welfare law matters within the three years immediately preceding application.
For recertification, the attorney must submit names of persons with whom he or she had dealings involving child welfare law matters since certification or the most recent recertification.
The attorneys must submit the following types of references:
