Walter Wright

Biography

Walter A. Wright is an Adjunct Professor who teaches a basic mediation course at the University of Texas School of Law.  He also is a full Professor in the Legal Studies Program of the Department of Political Science and an Honorary Professor of International Studies at Texas State University in San Marcos, Texas, as well as an adjunct professor of collaborative law for the Universidad de Alcalá de Henares in Spain.  He teaches courses in law and alternative dispute resolution (ADR), and his primary research interest is mediation. He has published over 110 articles and book chapters in the United States, Spain, and several Latin American countries. He received B.A. and J.D. degrees from the University of Houston and an LL.M. in International Legal Studies from New York University. Professor Wright has been an attorney since 1977 and a mediator since 1986. As an attorney, he has practiced in the areas of domestic and international commercial transactions, commercial litigation, real estate, and business organizations. As a mediator, he has practiced in the areas of employment, commercial, family, disability discrimination, and community disputes. While English is his native language, he is fluent in written and spoken Spanish, and he often mediates disputes in which the parties speak Spanish.

At Texas State University, Professor Wright has received an Achievement Award for Excellence in Teaching from the College of Liberal Arts and a Presidential Distinction Award for Excellence in Teaching. He has also been recognized as a Favorite Professor by the Alpha Chi National College Honor Society on thirteen occasions, and the Coalition of Black Faculty and Staff has honored him as a Champion for Black Student Success.  He has mentored over 600 Applied Research Projects and eighty student publications.  Professional organizations, universities and judicial agencies in the United States, Span, and Latin America often ask him to speak and conduct workshops on legal and ADR topics.

Professor Wright has a strong record of service to the ADR profession. Currently, he is a co-director of El Acuerdo, an ADR newsletter published in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and he is an ambasssador for the Foro Internacional de Mediadores Profesionales in Sevilla, Spain.  He also  conducts basic training courses in mediation for the Austin Dispute Resolution Center and the Dispute Resolution Center of Montgomery County, Inc., and he is an ex officio member of the Council for the Collaborative Law Section of the State Bar of Texas.  He was one of the founders of the Central Texas Dispute Resolution Center in San Marcos, Texas.  He is former president of the Texas Association of Mediators and the Association of Attorney-Mediators, as well as former Chair of the International Section of the Association for Conflict Resolution. For six years, he was Chair of the Newsletter Editorial Board of Alternative Resolutions, the newsletter of the ADR Section of the State Bar of Texas. He has received several awards for service, including the Steve Brutsché Award from the Association of Attorney-Mediators, the Frank G. Evans Award from the ADR Section of the State Bar of Texas, and the Susanne C. Adams Award from the Texas Association of Mediators. Texas State University has also awarded him two Golden Apple awards for his service to the university, the ADR and legal professions, and the community.