Quality of Representation

(a) The court shall appoint as the child’s lawyer an individual who is qualified through training and experience. Lawyers practicing in dependency court or in cases arising out of NRS Chapters 432B and 128 shall receive initial training and annual continuing legal education that is specific to child welfare law. (1) Lawyers practicing solely in child welfare law shall receive a minimum of 12 hours of initial training and no less than 6 hours of continuing legal education in child welfare each year. (2) Lawyers who are appointed to represent a child in child welfare cases or who receive compensation for representing a child and otherwise have a caseload consisting of matters outside of child welfare or dependency matters should be proficient in Nevada and federal law on child welfare, as well as relevant social and child development science. Those lawyers shall receive 12 hours of initial training over a 2-year period, and no less than 2 hours of continuing legal education each year. For good cause shown, the court may waive some or all of the educational requirements to appointed counsel in a given case. (3) Lawyers who volunteer to represent a child on a pro bono basis shall receive a 2-hour introduction to child welfare law in Nevada. Pro bono children’s lawyers shall be assigned an attorney qualified under subsection 1, above, as a mentor by the agency or firm assigning the case to the volunteer. The agency will also advise the pro bono attorney of opportunities for continuing education, updates on the law as they become available, and other opportunities for support. (b) Lawyers for children should also avail themselves of training in the areas of trauma, child development, and cultural humility and bias, as well as domestic violence, substance abuse and addiction, and their respective impacts on children. (c) Lawyers for children shall continually assess the demands of their caseloads, available resources, and the need for continuing education to ensure that child clients receive zealous advocacy and competent representation. [Added; effective January 1, 2023.]