Mr. Van Houten is a member of the Maine and Nebraska Bars. He is also admitted to practice before the U.S. District Court for the District of Maine, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit and the U.S. Supreme Court.

He was admitted to the Maine Bar in 1986 and has been practicing law in Maine since that time. From 1995 to 1998 he was an associate with the law firm of Schwartz and Schwartz in Portland, Maine before returning to his own practice in Sanford in 1998.