J. Kim Wright, J.D.

      Pioneer, catalyst and leader in a new paradigm of law

·        Attorney, Peace-maker, Problem-solver, Healer    ·      Writer, editor, publisher  ·     Consultant, coach, program developer
·         Speaker, conference & retreat planner     ·       Trainer and teacher

About Me

If you've come to this site without having met me, you may wonder "Who IS this woman and what is she about?" The details are spread throughout the web site and this is a summary. As with any person, the story is way too complex to put into a few words. Here are some things I'm most proud of:

Being a Mother:

I gave birth to my first child, Bryan over 30 years ago when I was 19 years old. Suddenly I was one of billions of mothers, all of whom wanted what I wanted for my baby. I was not alone any longer. The condition of the world was no longer something to think about later or something someone else should pay attention to. The full weight and privilege of motherhood exploded my view of the world.

A few years later, I had the opportunity to become the step-mother of five children and shortly thereafter Ayni was born. As the mother of seven children at age 25, running a business, volunteering in the community, and home-schooling for a while, I learned to multi-task. As my heart opened to accommodate these children, I found that there was room for other children as well. We began to take in runaway and throwaway teen-agers. Over the years, I've taken my role as part of the village in raising children. Between 1977 and 2003, sixteen children lived with me (including the original 7). I was a foster parent, a guardian ad litem, friend, and haven for children. I served on task forces for homeless teens and knew many of them intimately.

My youngest child is now 24 and I'm grandmother to several so children are not part of my daily life but remain an inspiring and motivating factor.

Being a Pioneer, Catalyst, and Leader in the Transformation of the Legal Profession:

My children inspired me to go to law school (particularly their legal challenges during their teen years). There were seven of them living at home when I began classes at the University of Florida in 1987, ages 2 to 16. From the beginning, I didn't really expect to practice law but wanted the skills and knowledge. In law school, I also went through my own divorce and a nasty custody battle. I was more convinced that I wouldn't practice since I didn't like the adversarial culture. So, I graduated, passed two bar exams, and did not practice law. Instead, at first I ran a domestic violence program and later moved to a state (NC) where I had not taken the bar exam.  But in 1993, I was blessed to meet Forrest Bayard, a Chicago lawyer who inspired me about a new way of practicing law which focused on helping couples divorce while looking out for the best interests of their children. I immediately signed up for the next NC bar exam and took it and passed it in 1994.

By 1995, I was practicing law in a small town in North Carolina, doing what has been called "door law" - whatever walks in the door. I was dealing with my own clients in a holistic, caring manner but had not yet extended that to the opposing parties. My first custody trial went well from the adversarial legal perspective - that is, my client won custody of the child. However, I saw that winning was not the end of the conflict. My client, her ex-husband, and their son remained embroiled in conflict. The trial had failed to bring the peace that was needed for them to move forward. I began to research other options. Soon, I discovered Stu Webb, a Minnesota lawyer who created a process called "collaborative law" and I became familiar with mediation. I began to focus my work as a lawyer on peacemaking. Soon, my practice was re-designed and renamed to "Divorce & Family Law Center." A mediator, social worker, and counselor became part of my holistic staff. At the time, it was so cutting-edge that I was in frequent contact with the State Bar to make sure that I was not in conflict with the ethical rules. [Since then others have been able to design similar practices. I like to think that I broke the ground.]

After practicing holistically for several years, it was time for another transition. By then I had remarried. It was 1999 and the world was nervous about Y2K. My computer professional husband was offered a job in a technology company in Portland, Oregon, and we moved. Not being a member of the Oregon Bar, I began to look for my next project. I'd recently become acquainted with the International Alliance of Holistic Lawyers and realized there were many kindred spirits who saw law as a healing, peacemaking profession. I decided to find them and to create a web site where we could all find each other. In 2000, I put nearly 400 pages of information onto the web,  www.renaissancelawyer.com. At the time, I'd been doing some coaching and I thought that there was some possibility of building a related coaching practice. Little did I know! The Renaissance Lawyer Society grew from the web site and I became a leader in a movement to transform the legal profession to a healing, peacemaking profession.

Over the years, I've published in a number of legal journals, spoken to thousands of lawyers, appeared in the media, trained, taught workshops, led retreats. I've coached many lawyers in creating their own peacemaking practices. I've attended, planned. and hosted many conferences. A couple of years ago, I returned to North Carolina to create my own law practice, the laboratory for the work. My heroes became my colleagues. I've edited and commented on many of their books.  Most of my work relates to promoting the movement. With hundreds of contacts with innovators, I have the vantage point that allows me to see what is missing, what the next stages and steps are, and to take actions that will move us forward. In 2007, the movement reached a new level of growth and mainstream acceptance. Several conferences showcased various aspects of the movement. For example, Washburn University hosted "Humanizing Legal Education" where fifty law schools were represented. The International Academy of Collaborative Professionals conference was attended by more than 600 professionals from 12 countries. And in Memphis, "Lawyers as Peacemakers" reached a mainstream audience hungry for a more holistic, healing approach to resolving legal problems.

The expansion of the movement outpaced anyone's ability to track and report about it but it seemed that I was the one who ought to be doing it. About two years ago, I began development of a web portal, www.cuttingedgelaw.com, which will be the hub of the movement that has grown since 2000. We'll be launching soon with articles, a marketplace, continuing education, a resource center with directory listings. There will be blawgs, columns, and discussion groups. It is my most exciting project to date and I'm eager to share it with everyone. [Note: a friend of mine says that 'tasks multiply' and the web portal has been a much larger project than anyone ever imagined.]

Life Challenges that have helped me grow:

Projects for 2008:

Life circumstances lined up so that I was able to cut my overhead to bare minimums (including no house and no office) and I went on the road in May, 2008. With my traveling companion/videographer, we're interviewing many of the pioneers of the legal movement. The interviews are part of the multi-media magazine and are being posted at www.youtube.com/cuttingedgelaw until the website launches and we're able to get them organized. Along the way, I'm gathering other stories and resources that will be part of the content on the web. Eventually, the footage will be part of a documentary project.

In addition to my Cutting Edge Law Magazine project, I'm developing some other projects that I expect to bring to fruition in 2008. On January 15, I'll be 50. Throughout my life, I've given up parts of myself because I judged myself as "not good enough". For example, an honorable mention in a statewide art contest had me conclude that I wasn't good enough to be an artist and I gave that up. Being second chair clarinet made it clear to me that I wasn't good enough to play a musical instrument. For my 50th birthday, I'm giving myself art, music and performance. I'll be producing a one-woman show, tentatively called "J. Kim Wright, My Life as a Work of Art." It is the most challenging project I've ever undertaken and I'm extremely excited!