Attorneys who wish to be certified to accept assignments for appeals of CAFL cases must be approved for training and meet the requirements set forth below.
Training Requirements:
Attorneys certified by CPCS to take trial level CAFL appointments, must attend the one day course "Appealing CPCS Children and Family Law Cases."
Attorneys who are not certified by CPCS to take trial level appointments for children and family law cases must attend the one day course "Appealing CPCS Children and Family Law Cases," and the three-day portion of the trial panel certification course concerning substantive law. The two-day trial skills portion of the trial panel certification course is not required.
Appointment Requirements:
To maintain certification, attorneys must accept at least one CAFL appellate appointment within the fiscal year of the initial certification training. Thereafter, attorneys must accept at least one CAFL appellate appointment every three fiscal years. Attorneys who do not satisfy these requirements may be removed from the panel at the discretion of the CAFL Director of Appeals.
Minimum Qualifications:
1. Two years of legal experience in the field of state intervention law or substantial appellate experience.
2. Demonstrated proficiency in legal research and writing.
Application Procedure:
Applications are available from the CAFL certification coordinator. Applicants must send in a completed application, a resume, two legal writing samples, and two references from individuals who have knowledge of the applicant’s qualifications, character, integrity, thoroughness and research and writing abilities.
CPCS will notify applicants of whether they have been accepted for training. Upon acceptance for training, attorneys will be given a schedule of training programs.
Performance Requirements:
Provisional Certification:
Attorneys who are accepted for certification are provisionally certified through the filing of at least their first two appellate briefs and oral arguments, if any. For each appellate assignment, the provisionally certified attorney must work with a mentor who will review transcripts to identify appellate issues and research strategy, edit drafts of briefs prior to submission, authorize the filing of the brief, help the provisionally certified attorney prepare for oral argument and for other issues related to the appeal.
After the provisionally-certified attorney completes two briefs, the mentor
will report to CPCS regarding the work of the provisionally-certified
attorney. The CAFL Director of Appeals will determine whether the provisionally certified attorney (a) may be certified and permitted to take additional appellate assignments without supervision of a mentor, (b) may be permitted to take one or two additional children and family law appellate assignments with continued mentor supervision or (c) may not be certified and may not take additional appellate assignments.
Performance Requirements:
By accepting assignments for children and family law appeals attorneys must abide by the CPCS Performance Standards for Civil Appellate Practice. Copies of the Standards may be obtained from the CPCS Training Unit. The Standards are also contained in the CPCS Manual for Assigned Counsel.
Attorneys must submit copies of all briefs filed to the Children and Family Law program, or if the case is closed before briefing, must notify the Children and Family Law program of the reason the appellate assignment closed.
