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ADOPTION BACKGROUND:
Wright S. Walling finds his work with children and families over the past 36 years of practicing law extremely gratifying and is honored to be recognized as an integral component of the adoption legal process in the United States.

Wright worked as a public defender in Hennepin County Juvenile Court and spent 15 years developing and facilitating a panel of attorneys who represented Guardians Ad Litem (also known as CASA). In the 1970’s and early 1980’s he was referred to as “Mr. Juvenile Court” and subsequently authored The Juvenile Court Handbook: A Practitioner’s Guide to Juvenile Court Practice in Minnesota in 1984; revised in 1992.

In the latter half of the 1980’s, he became known as the “Adoption Guru” for his work in challenging the state and agency policies that prohibited persons over the age of 35 from adopting and a birth mother from selecting adoptive parents who she believed would provide the best environment for her child. Wright’s creative legal arguments gave momentum to the state’s movement toward open adoption.

The movement in Minnesota was part of a national revolution toward better adoption practices. Wright was part of a gathering in the Spring of 1990 that caused the birth of the American Academy of Adoption Attorneys (AAAA). The organization is a not-for-profit national association of attorneys, judges, and law professors who practice, and have otherwise distinguished themselves, in the field of adoption law with a dedication to the highest standards of practice in adoption. The Academy’s mission is to support the rights of children to live in safe, permanent homes with loving families, to ensure appropriate consideration of the interests of all parties to adoptions, and to assist in the orderly and legal process of adoption. A longstanding member of the Board of Trustees, Wright was elected President of AAAA for 2004-2005 and he is proud to continue as an active Fellow of the Academy.

Wright’s other accomplishments include service with:
 The Minnesota Supreme Court Committee on the Rules of Civil Appellate Procedure;
 The Minnesota Supreme Court Committee on the Juvenile Protection Rule (Child in need of Protection or Service and abuse cases);
 The Advisory Board of the Minnesota Children’s Law Center;
 The Minnesota Department of Human Services Blue Ribbon Committee on Adoption;
 The Minnesota Supreme Court Task Force on Foster Care and Adoption; and
 The Advisory Board of the Adoption Option Committee.

EDUCATION:
JD 1972 University of Minnesota Law
BA 1969 American University Washington, D.C. (History)

PERSONAL DATA:
Born: May 1947
Married with 2 children School
Residing in St. Louis Park, MN

EMPLOYMENT STATUS:
1991 to Present: Walling, Berg & Debele, P.A., Shareholder and Co-Founder
1987-1991: Mahoney, Walling & Kelley, Partner
1985-1987: Wright S. Walling & Associates, Owner
1978-1985: Kuduk & Walling, Managing Partner
1973-1978: Hennepin County Public Defender’s Office, Chief of Juvenile Division
1972-1973: Rider, Bennett, Egan, Johnson & Arundel, Associate Attorney
1970-1972: The Honorable Lindsey G. Arthur, Sr., Juvenile Court Law Clerk

HONORS AND AWARDS:
The Best Lawyers in America, 2006 to present
Minnesota Super Lawyers, Law & Politics, 1999 to present
NACAC Voices from the Heart Award 2005
Congressional Coalition on Adoption: Angels in Adoption 2004

PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS:
American Academy of Adoption Attorneys
North American Council on Adoptable Children
Minnesota Academy of Adoption Attorneys
Minnesota Children Law Center
American Bar Association
Minnesota State Bar Association
Hennepin County Bar Association

Please see Wright’s profile at www.wbdlaw.com for a complete list of his many publications, seminars, and significant cases.

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