a. When law students go to look for their first legal they usually think of
traditional jobs such as working in a firm, small practice, sole practice or
for in house counsel.  Students who are dedicated to working in the public
interest may consider such possibilities as working for Legal Aid or for a
different public interest organization.  The point of this paper is to explore
the option of working in the public interest as a court appointed attorney for
children.  This paper will explore whether or not this is a viable opportunity
for new graduates and the pros and cons of working in the field.

 b. The statutory beginnings
   (1) Every state has different statutes regarding attorneys appointed for
children in need of assistance.
   (2) Most states appoint attorneys to represent children in CHINA
proceedings

 c. Types of appointed attorneys
  i. Criminal defense
   (1) states either use a public defender system or a system which appoints
attorneys to represent indigent persons who have been charged with crimes.
   (2) Many states use appointed attorneys exclusively
  ii. Guardian ad litem
   (1) some states appoint a “guardian ad litem” for children in lieu of or in
addition to an attorney
   (2) the guardian ad litem has specific duties separate from that of an
attorney
  iii. CHINA
   (1) Children who have been abused/neglected/ or charged with a crime are
considered a “child in need of assistance” The legal system and the social
welfare system attempt to help these children through the CHINA system.
   (2) CHINA cases go through court proceedings to determine what is in the
best interest of the child in order to help the child.  This help includes but
is not limited to removing the child from their home, getting support to the
family to help the child remain in the home and placing the child in an
institution.
  iv. Civil commitment
   (1) One method of helping children is to commit the child to an institution
to help them with problems.
   (2) Committing a child has its own special problems and standards.
Attorney help with the commitment process and may be appointed to represent
the child to either have the child committed or to stop the commitment.
  v. Prosecutor

 d. Basics of the system

 e. Today’s usage of the system and statistics of its use

2. CHINA basics

 a. What is CHINA?
  i. How CHINA got started
  ii. How CHINA is determined
  iii. Court process
  iv. Possible outcomes of the CHINA proceedings
  v. Statistics

 b. Who are the players
  i. There can be many players in the CHINA proceeding such as the biological
parents of a child, the adoptive parents of a child, the foster parents, the
grandparents or other family members, the state, the child, social workers,
psychologists, potential parents to the child and many other possibilities.

 c. What are the risks/benefits of the CHINA system
  i. Possibilities of harming the child by not adequately representing their
interests
  ii. Helping the child with a difficult situation

 d. The importance and drawbacks of having attorney’s for the players
  i. It is necessary for all people involved, especially the child to have
representation.

3. Appointed Attorney Funding for CHINA Cases

 a. How are attorneys appointed in CHINA cases
  i. Judges appoint attorneys

 b. Payment of fees by the state
  i. Fee schedule

 c. Feasibility for a career in appointed attorney CHINA work

 d. Statistics of attorneys working in the job

4. Realities of working with CHINA’s

 a. Ethical considerations
  i. Review of attorney censure cases
  ii. Code of professional responsibility considerations
  iii. Proper representation of client (Who’s interests are you representing)
   (1) how do you determine a child’s interest
   (2) what if the child’s interest is in conflict with the guardian ad litem
or psychologist’s view of the best interest of the child?
   (3) what if the child can not articulate or does not know their interest?
   (4) How to balance a stressful, difficult caseload while properly
representing your clients and zealously advocating for them.

5. Comparison with other Appointed Attorney Fields

 a. Criminal Defense
  i. Common elements
  ii. Common criticisms and advantages
   (1) appointed attorneys do not adequately represent the interests of their
client because they are not paid enough
   (2) appointed attorneys do not care about their clients
   (3) appointed attorneys may not have as good of outcomes as other attorneys
   (4) some of the advantages are that appointed attorneys have more
flexibility in their work load and are able to devote more time and energy to
a specific case
  iii. Remedies

 b. Civil Commitment

 c. Prosecutorial

6. How to get started in the Appointed Attorney Field

 a. What are the requirements?
  i. Sign up with court
  ii. Many judges will only appoint attorneys who they know
  iii. It is a difficult system to break into as a young attorney because of
lack of experience

 b. Where do you sign up?
  i. Courthouse procedure

 c. What is the pay like?
  i. Pay is not great but work is rewarding