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J. Kim Wright

Author, Coach, Consultant, Integrative Lawyer
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Background

A Legal Visionary and Systems Designer. Author of three American Bar Association Books. Professor. Trainer. Consultant. Coach. Integrative Lawyer. Collaborator. Mediator. Restorative Justice Practitioner. Trainer on Leadership, Trauma and Diversity, Equity, Inclusivity, and Belonging. Activist in Housing Issues.

EXPERIENCE IN LEGAL EDUCATION

2022
SENIOR FELLOW
PROJECT ON INTEGRATIVE LAW IN LEGAL EDUCATION
QUINNIPIAC SCHOOL OF LAW 
CENTER ON DISPUTE RESOLUTION PROJECT ON INTEGRATIVE LAW & LEGAL EDUCATION. CO-FOUNDER

I lead inquiry, experiential application, and scholarly research about integrative law in legal education. Among other activities, as a Fellow, I design and host the Summer Institute on Integrative Law. In 2023, I enrolled and organized about a dozen guest faculty-taught sections of an introductory program. I also represent the Project at conferences, including the International Association of Law & Mental Health in Barcelona in July 2024.

I presented and participated in the Works in Progress conference in October of 2023. I wrote a chapter on Teaching Integrative Law for the book project: “Integrative Law: A Paradigm Shift in Legal Education and Beyond” (University of Johannesburg, pending). Associate Dean of Experiential Learning (co-editor of Best Practices in Legal Education II), Carolyn Kaas, my co-teacher, Jacqueline Horani, and I co-authored a law review article as a case study in the Washington University Journal of Law & Social Policy.
2020
VISITING PROFESSOR
INTEGRATIVE LAW APPROACH TO NEGOTIATION SIMULATION COURSE
QUINNIPIAC SCHOOL OF LAW
TRANSACTIONAL LAW CLINIC & NEGOTIATION CLINIC

As a clinical professor applying Integrative Law and the Conscious Contracts® model, I teach and supervise a class of students, co-teachers, and mentors. Beginning as a one-semester clinic in 2020, the course was expanded to two semesters in 2022. The first semester is a simulation course with leadership, professional identity, and well-being components, mixed with substantive material on integrative law. Designed with the latest educational research and practice recommendations, it includes integrated well-being, self-reflection, multiple essential skills, legal design, plain language, and listening exercises. Students are trained in the integrative law models, and apply them to the creation of student practice groups; then in their second semester, they represent clients from around the world, serving as legal consultants for multi-jurisdictional contracts. One of the class assignments is to build a customized well-being plan for their law school and professional careers. We have a team of well-being mentors who work with the students and experiment with well-being practices.

From the first semester, I brought in co-teachers and mentors, training them to deliver the course. We are currently proposing courses at several other law schools. In 2024, I will lead the Teaching Integrative Law Summer Institute and a session on Trauma Awareness.
2020
CONSULTANT, INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE OF EDUCATION
VARSITY COLLEGE, SOUTH AFRICA

At IIE’s Varsity College, integrative law has been established as a curriculum and is currently being taught in fourth-year law school classes at seven South African law schools. For my part of this project, I created a 700-page reader, trained the lecturers, and consulted with educational designers. In 2022, I visited the campuses and met with students and lecturers. Varsity College has applied for accreditation of an LLM program in Integrative Law and Procedure. I was IIE’s guest and a presenter at the Southern African Law Teachers Conference at Fort Hare Nelson Mandela School of Law in July 2022. Currently, two textbooks on Integrative Law have emerged from that trip. I have written a chapter for one book and will write the preface for the other, tentatively entitled “Ubuntu Law.”
1999
GUEST LECTURER, SPEAKER, TRAINER, WORKSHOP & CLE LEADER
I have been a guest lecturer, trainer, conference designer, and presenter at law schools, universities, and bar associations on six continents. I have offered a wide range of topics that fall under the integrative law rubric including ADR topics, Collaborative Practice, Restorative Justice, stress reduction, time management, Spiral Dynamics for lawyers, and the Conscious Contracts® model. My trainings in the Conscious Contracts® model address topics such as creating a touchstone with values, purpose, mission, and principles, writing in plain language, accountability, and designing bespoke conflict resolution systems. After hundreds of live programs, in 2020 the pandemic required that I adapt to a virtual environment and offer courses on Zoom. I redesigned my topics for the new environment. I have continued to provide a mix of online and in-person trainings.

Some representative programs: Duke University Law School course on Trauma; Escola Judicial - Formacao Juridica (Brazil); UNISA (South Africa); Centro Universitário das FMU (Brazil); Monash University, Australian Centre for Legal Innovation; Sharda University & Symbiosis Law Schools (India); the Quinnipiac-Yale Dispute Resolution series; the Life in Law series at Harvard Law School; Hasselt University; Western Australia School of Law; Massachusetts School of Law; Drexel University Thomas Kline School of Law; University of Pennsylvania School of Law; Marin County Bar Association; several ABA Dispute Resolution section’s conferences. Minter-Ellison law firm (Melbourne) for the Victoria Women Lawyers Association; Legal Aid of South Africa; and at Taylor-Vinters (London).

I was an invited TEDx speaker in 2015, held at NYU.
2016
ADJUNCT PROFESSOR
BARRY UNIVERSITY - DWAYNE O. ANDREAS SCHOOL 
OF LAW, WINTER PRACTICE READY SKILLS INSTITUTE
Taught Values-Based Contract Negotiation and Drafting. The course introduced students to values-based approaches to contracts and governance documents. We explored skills in engaging in conflict and addressing change, including self-reflective exercises. In this Pass/Fail course, students worked in teams to create agreements.
2012
ADJUNCT PROFESSOR
CHARLOTTE SCHOOL OF LAW, CHARLOTTE, NC. 
SUMMER SESSION
Taught Values-Based Contract Negotiation and Drafting. The course introduced students to values-based approaches to contracts and governance documents. We explored skills in engaging in conflict and addressing change, including self-reflective exercises. In this Pass/Fail course, students worked in teams to create agreements.
2012
ADJUNCT PROFESSOR
CHARLOTTE SCHOOL OF LAW, CHARLOTTE, NC. 
SUMMER SESSION

Invited by the then Director of Experiential Learning, I taught a course called Integrative Law: Lawyers as Peacemakers, Problem-Solvers and Healers. Students learned about integrative models of law practice and had the opportunity to explore a topic of personal interest. They wrote papers that met the requirements for an advanced writing credential. I coached them through up to five drafts to meet the requirements for competence in legal writing. Students were placed in teams and given challenges which included a collaborative project, a group collaboration contract, and making a presentation to the class and guests which included local lawyers. Each also prepared a personal touchstone statement. Students later reported using the Touchstones in their job searches and finding success.
2006
ADJUNCT PROFESSOR
WARREN WILSON COLLEGE, ASHEVILLE, NC

I taught two semesters of Restorative Justice and one of Business Law for Entrepreneurs. I also led a staff workshop that explored bringing Restorative Justice to campus issues.
2007
ADJUNCT PROFESSOR
SOUTH COLLEGE, ASHEVILLE, NC

In Paralegal Studies Bachelors Program, taught two semesters of Mediation and ADR.
1995
ADJUNCT PROFESSOR
ALAMANCE COMMUNITY COLLEGE, GRAHAM, NC

Taught Business Law in the evening program.
INTERNSHIP/EXTERNSHIP SUPERVISOR

I have supervised students in diverse areas including: a Master’s program in Jungian Psychology from Sonoma University (exploring contracts); an independent study in Applied Appreciative Inquiry at Warren Wilson College; an externship on intentional communities (New York University Law) and a leadership externship (Elon University School of Law).

LAW PRACTICE & LEGAL CONSULTING

2023
After fifteen years as a digital nomad, I returned to North Carolina and opened a part-time law 
practice, aligning clients’ legal documents with their values. I offer small business consulting & strategic advice. I draft documents such as Conscious Wills, Trusts, and Contracts. My clients tend to be people concerned with being conscious businesses and citizens. A major client is T.S. Designs, the most sustainable textile company in the world where I am a fractional in-house counsel. I also represent the Triad Electric Vehicle Association of North Carolina.
2008
FOUNDER LEGAL SYSTEM CHANGE ENTREPRENEUR, CEO CUTTING-EDGE LAW ENTERPRISES, INC. CuttingEdgeLaw Enterprises, Inc. is a Florida social purpose organization that spearheads several projects (e.g. a legal publishing company, training on six continents) to advance my vision of a new paradigm of law which can be found on the company website. The company also owns and manages the trademark and intellectual property of the Conscious Contracts brand. Since 2008, CuttingEdgeLaw.com has showcased and supported new models and innovations in law. With diverse projects (many of which are discussed elsewhere in this document), the company serves as a hub for my work. The site began as a membership organization with a website featuring articles, blogs, and videotaped interviews with pioneers in the US integrative law movement. The interviews can be found on this YouTube channel.
As a consultant, I work with organizations, law firms, and governments to redesign legal systems, integrating humanistic and holistic models and approaches. I have worked with a diverse clientele which has included lawyers, law firms, and a coalition of the Basque government, Foundation Arteale, Inc., and Asociacion de Derecho Colaborativo de Euskadi. (For more information, see the Social Impact Report which was a study of the work I did there.)

As a coach, I provide individualized services to up to ten lawyer-clients each year. My six-to-twelve-month program focuses on gaining clarity about one’s values, aligning values and actions, and creating a successful career path based on those values. Graduates of my program go on to become leaders in their fields. They include senior counsel of Fortune 50 companies, non-profit leaders, activists in the LGBT community, social entrepreneurs, victim advocates, trauma specialists, partners and shareholders in major law firms, and public servants.

I am a connector who brings together practitioners of integrative models with their counterparts in other jurisdictions. I am a member of networks for Earth Law, Sharing Law, Restorative Justice, Collaborative Practice, Positive Psychology and Law, Therapeutic Jurisprudence, and many other approaches. I am also connected to Legal Design, Plain Language, Social Justice, and more. My work also intersects with other movements including conscious business, future of work, and consciousness movements.
2012
PRACTITIONER, MANAGER, AND TRAINER, CONSCIOUS CONTRACTS® MODEL

As one of the co-creators of this relational approach to contract formation, I am responsible for managing the operations of a community that includes hundreds of trainees doing business in 20 languages and dozens of certified practitioners. I train practitioners and trainers in using the model and how to teach it. Many of my trainees have gone on to train others in English, Portuguese, Spanish, French, and Italian. A book in Italian will be published in 2024.

As a legal consultant to entrepreneurs around the world, I facilitate drafting legal documents that reflect (and sometimes transform) their companies’ cultures. These values-based contracts are for diverse businesses: partnerships, construction contracts, leases, employment, succession plans, and family matters. I coach clients to articulate what is most important to them and how to align their business practices, culture, and legal documents to their purpose, vision, mission, and values. We then co-create a bespoke and very personal process for addressing change and engaging disagreement that is a precondition to litigation.

I am involved in the use of legal design and visuals. I am particularly interested in the movement toward Comic Book Contracts that are values-based and user-friendly and in supporting companies to bring corporate social responsibility and environmental stewardship into their culture and legal documents. I was honored to be a part of the founding story of Comic Contracts and to present at international conferences. With three other professors, we are spearheading https://lawyersasdesigners.com/ which will be a collection of exemplars of legal design and eventually a book.

PRACTITIONER, MANAGER, AND TRAINER, CONSCIOUS CONTRACTS® MODEL

2012
PRACTITIONER, MANAGER, AND TRAINER, CONSCIOUS CONTRACTS® MODEL

After fifteen years as a digital nomad, I returned to North Carolina and opened a part-time law 
practice, aligning clients’ legal documents with their values. I offer small business consulting & strategic advice. I draft documents such as Conscious Wills, Trusts, and Contracts. My clients tend to be people concerned with being conscious businesses and citizens. A major client is T.S. Designs, the most sustainable textile company in the world where I am a fractional in-house counsel. I also represent the Triad Electric Vehicle Association of North Carolina.
I was the founder, designer, administrator, active participant, and leader of two law firms using integrative law modalities: collaborative law, mediation, victim-offender dialogue, therapeutic jurisprudence, creative problem-solving, preventive law, conflict coaching, collaborative contracts, and legal counseling. As a successful trial lawyer, I was able to credibly introduce many peacemaking approaches into my law practice without being considered passive or weak. I supervised, trained, and collaborated with my multi-disciplinary staff and student interns in both law and social work.

As a small-town lawyer, I had a general practice that flourished when I connected to my community. My office was often recognized for community service. Several examples follow: When I noticed cross-cultural tensions, I designed and hosted a conference on Latinos in the Legal System to educate law enforcement and social services workers about cultural differences. I placed one of my staff members, a former guidance counselor, in elementary schools to lead support groups for children of divorce and we held emotional support groups in my office for both men and women involved in divorce proceedings. I was known as the LGBTQ-friendly office in a conservative area which led to representing clients in several types of matters, including assisting dozens of transgender clients in name changes. I hosted a Lawyers as Peacemakers speaker series for the local bar and led divorce information workshops for the local Women’s Resource Center.
As a Restorative Justice advocate, consultant, and trainer, I was responsible for case management and preparation of victims and offenders for face-to-face dialog in murder cases; restorative justice consulting; victim-offender mediation; training and program development at the national and international level. Trainees included prison officials, victim advocates, prosecutors, community leaders, and other lawyers. Since 2007, I have attended five of the biennial National Conferences on Restorative Justice and spoke at the national conferences in 2015, 2017, and 2019.

I worked on several documentary projects, including a series for the A&E Network. There, as a casting associate, I screened cases around the US. I also consulted with The Oprah Show about potential casting for her RJ-related shows. To access participants in potential cases, I educated Departments of Correction about RJ programs and opened doors for the healing of families of murder victims by allowing them to face the killers of their loved ones. I lobbied state officials for changes in policies.

Selected Publications

BOOKS

TRAUMA-INFORMED LAW, A PRIMER FOR LAWYER RESILIENCE AND HEALING
[Co-Editor and Contributor] American Bar Association Law Practice Management, March, 2023. Trauma-Informed Law discusses the many intersections of trauma and law where it is often denied, ignored, covered up, or avoided. The book is intended for lawyers, law students, legal educators, and judges, as well as decision-makers, administrators, staff, and anyone impacted by the court. It is a collection of cases and situations with practice implications for other cases impacted by trauma, whether those cases and situations involve race, class, gender, different physical or mental abilities (or disability), sexual orientation, or other diverse factors including the impact of developmental health issues, addiction, substance abuse, poverty, access to opportunities, community safety or belonging and more. Each scenario holds useful implications for both practice issues within the same area of law and even in other areas of law or the legal system. (Description from the ABA website.)
LAWYERS AS CHANGEMAKERS: THE GLOBAL INTEGRATIVE LAW MOVEMENT.
Originally published by The American Bar Association In December, 2016. Second edition due out in 2024, to be published by the Integrative Law Press.
This ABA flagship book covers the global expansion of the Integrative Law movement, including emerging approaches such as Earth Jurisprudence, Sharing Law, Conscious (Values-Based) Contracts, Purposeful Estate Planning, and others. It includes contributions from over 100 lawyers from six continents. It sets out examples of the values of the emerging movement including listening, compassion, dignity, inclusivity, being relational, happiness, well-being, and love. The book also explores the tools of leadership and systems change. This book (and excerpts of the previous one) is being translated into Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, and French. We are using a reflective, community model where several translators pick a PASSAGE they especially like, translate it, and write about why it is meaningful and how it applies to law practice in their culture.
LAWYERS AS PEACEMAKERS: PRACTICING HOLISTIC, PROBLEM-SOLVING LAW.
Originally, published by The American Bar Association In April 2010. Second edition due out in 2024, to be published by the Integrative Law Press.
An ABA Flagship book and frequent ABA best-seller, this book is an overview of the holistic practice of law, including peacemaking, healing, and problem-solving approaches to law practice, describing the paradigm shift and offering practical skills for practicing.

CHAPTERS & FORWARDS

THE BEST LAWYER YOU CAN BE: A GUIDE TO PHYSICAL, MENTAL, EMOTIONAL AND SPIRITUAL WELL-BEING.
Published by The American Bar ASSOCIATION in July 2018. (Edited by Stewart Levine)

50 LESSONS FOR WOMEN LAWYERS BY WOMEN LAWYERS, CAREER & LIFE LESSONS FROM 50 SUCCESSFUL WOMEN LAWYERS.

Published by Berroco Canyon Publishing, 2019. (Edited by Nora Riva Bergman).
FROM FIGHTING TO UNDERSTANDING, BECOMING AN EFFECTIVE MEDIATION ADVOCATE.
By Mario Dotti and Maria Claudia Perego. (2020, in Italian)
S0-STARE NEL CONFLITTO [SO-STAY IN THE CONFLICT].
By Laura Pirotta and Maria Claudia Perego. (2021, In Italian)

ARTICLES

LAW REVIEW ARTICLE
Teaching from the Integrative Paradigm: The Negotiation Clinic at Quinnipiac University School of Law; by Jacqueline Horani, Carolyn Wilkes Kaas, and J. Kim Wright. Washington University Journal of Law and Policy
LAW REVIEW ARTICLE: INTEGRATIVE LAW.

The University of Western Australia Law Review. Volume 46 Issue 2, Nov. 2019.
https://www.able.uwa.edu.au/centres/uwalr/issues/2019-volume-46,-issue-2

SYSTEMS AND LEGAL SYSTEMS: PERSPECTIVES OF LAW, JUSTICE, RIGHTS, AND PEACE, WITH LUEMARA WAGNER.

Journal of Integral Leadership (now known as Transdisciplinary Leadership Journal)
https://transdisciplinaryleadership.org/16354-value-systems-and-legal-systems-perspectives-of-law-justice-rights-and-peace/

MAGAZINE ARTICLES
Regular Columns in Conscious Company Magazine & Enlivening Edge. Frequent contributions to The Conscious Lawyer Magazine, The ABA Journal, ABA DR Section’s Just Resolutions, ABA Law Practice Management Section’s Law Practice Today.
For more examples, see my publications page.

BOARD MEMBERSHIPS AND LEADERSHIP ACTIVITIES

2023
BOARD OF DIRECTORS, NORTH CAROLINA SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS COUNCIL

The North Carolina Sustainable Business Council is a statewide coalition of businesses and business partners who have a passion for creating purpose-driven organizations. Among other activities, we are building a certification program for sustainable businesses.
LEADERSHIP, TRAUMA AWARENESS, DIVERSITY, INCLUSION, EQUITY, & BELONGING

My background in domestic violence, restorative justice, law practice, and raising a blended, multiracial family have combined with my research and writing on trauma.
I’ve recently been involved in several panels on DEI/B; presented about trauma awareness at a conference on Leadership & Belonging, and guest lectured at a course on trauma at Duke University.
Soon after I arrived in Alamance County, North Carolina, I learned that this small county has 117 evictions every week. Knowing the importance of stability that a home can provide, I became involved in several projects related to housing, wellness, and social isolation. I work with the Housing Strategy Manager at the United Way, participate in the Harwood Project activities, the Healthy Places by Design project, and attend meetings of local ministers who are working on housing issues. I am involved in creating a mediation program to prevent evictions and am part of a task force to bring affordable housing projects to the region.
2010
SPONSOR AND VISIONARY OF INTEGRATIVE LAW MOVEMENT

The Integrative Law Movement is an international paradigm shift in law. As the primary sponsor and a central figure of the movement, I manage the website, staff, and activities of the community. One project I sponsor is the Integrative Lawyers of the World podcast, at this link. Each season of the podcast showcases six integrative lawyers from six continents, showing the diversity and variety of integrative law approaches.

ADVISORY BOARD, PROJECT FOR INTEGRATING SPIRITUALITY, LAW, & POLITICS

The Project for Integrating Spirituality, Law, and Politics (PISLAP) is an international network of lawyers, law professors, law students, legal workers, and others who are seeking to develop a new spiritually-informed approach to law and social change. We believe that law can help bring a world into being where people can fully recognize and affirm each other’s humanity and that through new legal processes, we can foster empathy, compassion, and mutual understanding. I serve on the Legal Education Committee and will be the host of the fall, 2024 annual retreat (in North Carolina.)
2020
Law Essentials was a “student-run initiative by a group of inquisitive law students having a penumbral idea about the application of law in day-to-day life. We strive to build a platform that can actively bridge the gap between academia and legal industry. We provide various opportunities for law students to hone their skills.” I was an advisor and collaborated on a year-long speaker series.
2016
CO-FOUNDER, CHARTER MEMBER, FORREST WEBB NETWORK Forrest Webb Network is an international collaboration of integrative legal consultants focused on how to Be an integrative lawyer (as contrasted with what to Do.) In addition to collaborative consulting projects, we host in-person retreats) and sponsor The Legal Changemakers’ Cafes and Walks in the Forrest Webb.
Soon after I arrived in Alamance County, North Carolina, I learned that this small county has 117 evictions every week. Knowing the importance of stability that a home can provide, I became involved in several projects related to housing, wellness, and social isolation. I work with the Housing Strategy Manager at the United Way, participate in the Harwood Project activities, the Healthy Places by Design project, and attend meetings of local ministers who are working on housing issues. I am involved in creating a mediation program to prevent evictions and am part of a task force to bring affordable housing projects to the region.
FOUNDER AND CURRENT BOARD MEMBER, THE RENAISSANCE LAWYER SOCIETY

In 2000, I wrote a website that received over 100,000 visitors in the first year. The website showcased the changes happening in the legal system and connected practitioners involved in integrative innovation. It grew into an organization, The Renaissance Lawyer Society. After a few years of absence, I returned to the Board of Directors in 2010. RLS is a fiscal sponsor for the Integrative Law Movement and other projects.
2020
CO-FOUNDER AND LEADERSHIP CIRCLE, SOCIETY 2045

Society 2045 is a group of multi-disciplinary professionals who envision a sustainable society by the year 2045. We bring together those on the leading edge of individual, social, and systems evolution movements to share their visions and projects. We host weekly interviews of leaders across many positive movements and are developing the infrastructure to connect the leaders, projects, and ideas.
2018
The International Society for Therapeutic Jurisprudence

(ISTJ) is a non-profit, learned organization dedicated to advancing TJ by supporting legal and interdisciplinary scholarship; identifying and promoting best professional and judicial practices; sponsoring conferences, workshops, and seminars; engaging in continuing professional education and public education activities; and hosting and participating in print, electronic, social media platforms.
2017
The American Bar Association Dispute Resolution Section’s Relational Practices Task Force was formed to promote the development, implementation, and expansion of relational approaches for negotiating and addressing conflict. The Summit was an online conference with twenty speakers over a week-long event. I was the organizer of the Summit.

ACTIVITIES IN LEGAL EDUCATION