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Duane L. Coker Receives Certification in Family Law from the Texas Board of Legal Specialization

Texas Board of Legal Specialization (TBLS) announced Duane L. Coker received Board Certification in Family Law. Duane Coker currently practices in Denton and Collin counties, where he is a charter member and owner of Duane L. Coker & Associates, PC.

Board Certification is a voluntary designation program certifying Texas attorneys in 21 specific areas of law. Board Certified attorneys must be licensed for at least five years, devote a required percentage of practice to a specialty area for at least three years, attend continuing education seminars, pass an evaluation by fellow lawyers and judges, and pass a 6-hour written examination.

“Board Certified attorneys have made a commitment to excellence to serve the justice system in Texas and to benefit individuals and institutions in Texas,” said Robert Valdez, Chairman of the TBLS Board of Directors. “They have dedicated their time to meeting all the requirements for initial certification and they have made an ongoing commitment to continue working and acquiring knowledge in their specialty area.”

Duane L. Coker is a 1992 graduate of Baylor Law School. He was admitted to the State Bar of Wisconsin in 1993 and to the State Bar of Texas in 1994. Duane practiced at Eisenberg, Weigel, Carlson, Blau and Clemens, one of the largest law firms in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, from 1993-1994. He also worked in Washington D.C. for a member of the United States Congress. In 1998, he opened the doors to his family law practice in Denton, TX, where it has grown from a solo practice to a full fledged law firm.

Initial Board Certification is valid for five years. To remain certified attorneys and paralegals must apply for recertification every five years and meet substantial involvement, peer review, and continuing legal education requirements for their specialty area.

To learn more about Board Certification or find a certified attorney or paralegal in your area visit www.tbls.org.

Military Service Members, Contractors and the Texas Family Code

As we approach almost a decade of military engagement in Iraq and Afghanistan, the sacrifices of those fighting for our country are becoming more apparent in the justice system. From the creation of specific courts for our veterans to the complexity of issues surrounding benefits through the Department of Defense and the Veteran’s Administration, the legal questions are numerous and growing. Family law is no exception. To add to the legal complexity, many functions of the United States Armed Forces which were previously undertaken exclusively by the branches of the military, are now undertaken by military contractors.

Increasingly, service members and contractors are faced with an additional sacrifice when they find themselves in a dispute over the conservatorship and visitation of their child during a tour of duty. In 2009, the Texas Legislature enacted legislation addressing many of the issues that can arise within a family when one parent is on military deployment. One glaring absence within the new legislation, however, is the treatment of military contractors.

The ambiguity lies within Texas Family Code §153.701, which does not define exactly who a “service member of the armed forces” is, but does, however, refer to “military deployment” as “serving in an active-duty status to another location in support of combat or some other military operation.” Arguably, this definition should encompass military contractors as well as the traditional United States Armed Forces, engaging as they oftentimes do in missions which are identical to those undertaken by the Armed Forces a generation ago.

Unfortunately, we don’t know with certainty if the Texas Family Code does apply to military contractors in the same way that it applies to the traditional armed forces. Being just over two years old, the law is too new to have produced definitive rulings from high courts on its interpretation. What this means is that for now, military contractors must continue to share the sacrifice of the protection of our nation, but when it comes to issues of child conservatorship and visitation, they may not share in the benefits afforded to the military in the Texas Family Code.