CLE WITH DEREK MERGELE-RUST (November 19, 2026)

Thu, 19 Nov 2026 18:00:00 GMT

Join us for our In Person and Virtual CLE!

DCPA Welcomes Derek Mergele-Rust, Attorney

as our November 19 CLE Speaker!

Anatomy of a CPS Case

DEREK MERGELE-RUST

ATTORNEY AND COUNSELOR AT LAW

Derek Mergele-Rust is a Founding Partner at DebnamRust, P.C., where he practices estate planning, probate, and child welfare law.

Derek’s child welfare practice is built around protecting the constitutional rights of parents and children in Child Protective Services (CPS) cases. He has been appointed to represent children and parents in CPS cases in Dallas County for the last nine years.

Derek is a teacher at heart. Most recently, he was an Adjunct Professor at the Texas Tech School of Law where he taught Gender, Sexuality, and the Law, and Depositions from 2022 to 2025. He also gives numerous presentations each month in the community on the importance of estate planning and probate related topics.

Derek is also published on whether the disposition of embryos are subject to contracts under Texas Law in the Estate Planning and Community Property Law Journal at Texas Tech University School of Law.

When Derek is not practicing law, he serves as the Treasurer for the Dallas Women Lawyers Foundation and serves on the Dallas Leadership Council for Lambda Legal, an LGBTQ+ non-profit legal advocacy organization.

For those of you who are able to make it in person, we will have McAlister's boxed lunches ordered and delivered for a $15.00 fee. The cut off to order your meal will be Tuesday, November 17, 2026, at 12:00 p.m.

McAlister’s Box Lunches Options:

Classic:

Turkey

Ham

Roast Beef

Club:

McAlisters

Turkey Club Croissant

Wraps:

Turkey Bacon Ranch

Southwest chicken

Club

The Veggie Box

Salads:

Savannah Chopped Salad

Pecanberry Salad

Southwest Chicken & Avocado Salad

Please enter your selection when you register under the "Lunch" tab.

This meeting will be held In Person and Via Zoom on Thursday, November 19, 2026

at 12pm cst.

ONLINE REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED!

You may register here: CLE WITH DEREK MERGELE-RUST

DCPA members are free, non-members are $10.

The Texas Board of Legal Specialization has approved this CLE for 1 hour of Civil Trial and Family Law credit.

Thank you all for your continued support of our DCPA and we hope to see everyone.

Denton County Paralegal Association upcoming events

CLE WITH DEREK MERGELE-RUST (November 19, 2026)