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Policies and Procedures: Appointment of Ad Litem Attorneys in Parental Termination Proceedings Initiated by TDFPS — 315th District Court — posted on the court's own website — the court-procedure tier (standing procedures, policies, and preferences the court itself publishes), distinct from the TOPICs-registered local-rules tier (TRCP 3a registration applies to local rules). Operative requirements quoted verbatim; the posted document is the controlling text.
Texas > Harris County > 315th District Court
Referring to standards established by the Texas Family Code, the State Bar of Texas, and the American Bar Association (ABA), the Court shall appoint qualified attorneys to protect the best interest of children and the rights of all parties in parental termination proceedings. … Each attorney submitting a voucher for payment by the county for out of court hours shall include the Court’s form attestation that those billable hours do not include billable hours for an attorney other than the appointed ad litem. … Those exceptions will be annotated by the Court on the same attestation form.5 2.3.Each attorney submitting a voucher for payment by the county for work performed by non-attorney staff shall detail the exact duties, time expended, and job title of the individual performing such work. … To be included on the list of attorneys approved to accept ad litem appointments, lawyers must receive initial training and participate in annual continuing legal education that is specific to child welfare law; be familiar with all relevant federal, state, and applicable local laws; and decline appointments to new cases when their present caseload exceeds more than a reasonable number given the jurisdiction. … To remain on the approved ad litem list, the lawyer shall provide the Court with a written affidavit or oath that, within the last 12 months, the attorney has taken a minimum of 18 hours of continuing legal education CLE in matters pertaining to the Texas Family Code. … At least 12 hours of that CLE must be directly related to attorney ad litem appointments or TDFPS litigation. … Before the 315th District Court adds a new attorney to the list of attorneys approved to accept ad litem appointments to represent children in TDFPS litigation, the attorney must provide the Court with a written affidavit or oath that:
Reviewer note: Own-site document live-fetched by us 2026-08-22, byte-identical to the AJR-11 recon capture of 2026-08-21 (dual custody). Operative mandatory-language provisions quoted verbatim from the posted document; the full document (sha256 b3ff1a716ba7…) is the controlling text.
17 verbatim requirements extracted from 4243-01__2021-05.pdf, across 4 topics.
Judge Eckley-Moulder's courtroom policies (court starts 9:30 sharp): at the Final Pre-Trial, all trial counsel and the defendant must be physically present, phones silenced, and no recording without media clearance.