An amendment to the Tennessee Supreme Court Rule 13 authorizes the Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC) to enter into contracts for representation of indigent litigants by attorneys working on various types of cases, including representation of indigent Respondents facing contempt of court charges for failure to pay court-ordered child support in Title IV-D child support enforcement proceedings.
Under the contract, attorneys who are appointed to represent indigent Respondents in these cases will be compensated at a flat rate of $215.00 per case. The contract payment method will streamline and simplify the process of attorney payment. Attorneys will simply submit an invoice to the AOC (as opposed to completing numerous fee claims) for each case, along with a copy or copies of the order(s) appointing the attorney to the case. Because this manner of invoicing will substantially decrease the paperwork necessary to receive payment, attorneys can be paid more quickly. This contract payment system is expected to compensate attorneys the average payment per child support contempt case based on historical data from Davidson County.
If you are interested in being considered for appointment to these cases, please click on the link below to complete the contract, and return it via email to David.Byrne@tncourts.gov, or fax to David Byrne’s attention at 615-741-6285.