Attorney General names Midland child support employee ‘Managing Attorney of the Year'

Karen Lewis and First Assistant Attorney General Andrew Weber.

MIDLAND Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott recognized Midland child support attorney Karen Lewis for her commitment to Texas children.

Lewis, who was named “Managing Attorney of the Year,” received the honor recently at the Statewide Managers’ Conference in Austin.

“Lewis’s dedication and commitment to public service has helped ensure thousands of young Texans have the child support they need to grow healthy and strong,” Abbott said. “Karen is an outstanding manager and a tremendous asset to the child support division. We are grateful to Karen for her service to the children of our great state.”

Lewis was selected from among 60 managing attorneys across the state based on recommendations from her peers and supervisors, with a particular focus on her willingness to go beyond her normal duties to serve Texas children.

Lewis joined the Child Support Division in 1997 as an assistant attorney general in Beaumont, and in 1999, was promoted to managing attorney for the attorney general’s Midland child support office.

As managing attorney, Lewis represents the State of Texas in legal actions to establish the legal relationship between children and their biological fathers.

She also works to establish, enforce and modify court orders for child support and medical support.

Lewis, a graduate of South Texas College of Law, was chosen to be the division’s “Managing Attorney of the Year” because of her willingness to assist offices experiencing key personnel vacancies by covering dockets and providing case direction and guidance.

Lewis also volunteers for special projects outside the scope of her required duties.

Lewis’s colleagues praise her passion for providing young Texans the financial and medical support they need and deserve.

“Lewis is a team player who provides exceptional leadership to the Midland office,” said Senior Regional Attorney Debra Morgan. “She never hesitates to take on additional assignments, and is steadfastly focused on meeting the needs of families that her office serves.”

The Midland child support office handles more than 13,000 child support cases in Midland and nine surrounding counties.

The office collected $32 million in child support for the state fiscal year that ended Aug. 31.

The Attorney General’s Child Support Division offers an array of services to help families, including locating absent parents; establishing paternity for children born to unmarried parents; establishing, enforcing, and modifying child and medical support orders; and collecting and distributing child support payments.

For more information about the Office of the Attorney General and the child support services it offers, call 800-252-8014 or visit the agency’s Web site at www.texasattorneygeneral.gov.