Fullwiler, Ruth J

"Our most important job is to keep the client's personal and financial dignity intact."

Veteran Dallas attorney Kevin Fuller has emerged as one of the most honored family lawyers in the state. In 2009, he was selected Family Lawyer of the Year for North Texas by The Best Lawyers in America and featured in Texas' Best Lawyers.

For 2003 through 2010, he has been named one of the Top 100 Attorneys in Texas by Thomson Reuters and featured in Texas Monthly. Mr. Fuller was featured in 2008 and 2010 as one of the Best Lawyers in Dallas by D Magazine and has been listed in The Best Lawyers In America since 1997.

"Being a great family lawyer means being able to fight for your client at the courthouse or negotiate effectively at the conference table depending on what best serves the client's interests and goals," he says. "The wisdom of experience is knowing when to fight and when to take a more collaborative approach."

Mr. Fuller has gained a reputation as one of the state's most effective family lawyers, having acquired extensive trial experience involving multi-million dollar estates, complex

property issues and the custody of children. He is Board Certified in Family Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization and is a practical, down-to-earth lawyer whose slow Texas drawl belies his instant grasp of the possibilities in a case.

Although trained in effective trial tactics, he serves many clients using the collaborative law process that emphasizes settling the parties’ disputes in a less adversarial atmosphere. Mr. Fuller believes the collaborative process allows many of his clients to achieve better results using a more family-friendly and business-friendly process.

He is the current and founding Chair of the new Collaborative Law Section of the State Bar of Texas and past President of the Collaborative Law Institute of Texas. He is a former Chairman of the Family Law Section of the Dallas Bar Association, a former member of the Texas Family Law Council and a Fellow of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers.

In a 2009 article in the business section of The Dallas Morning News, Mr. Fuller explained how collaborative law serves both parties in a divorce, especially when the ownership of a family-owned business is concerned. "Collaborative law is about getting the business through the divorce without destroying it or the owner. It's a benefit to the spouse because you don’t kill the goose that’s laying the golden eggs - even if you’re mad at the goose."

Mr. Fuller is a member of The Collaborative Alliance (www.thecollaborativealliance.org), a consortium of attorneys who practice collaborative law as a worthwhile alternative to traditional litigation.

Born in 1958 in Santa Ana, California, he graduated from Texas A&M University (bachelor of science in economics, 1981) and the Baylor University School of Law (Juris Doctor, 1984), where he was Associate Editor of the Baylor Law Review.

Mr. Fuller served on the board of directors of the Dallas Child Guidance Clinic and helped to initiate divorce recovery classes for parents and children.

He is married to firm partner Sharla Fuller and has three sons; Hudson, Cody and Casey Fuller.

Mr. Fuller is frequently a guest on Dallas-Fort Worth area radio and television programs, lending his vast store of knowledge to a variety of family law-related subjects.

You can hear Mr. Fuller comment on Fort Worth radio station WBAP on collaborative divorce and on Dallas radio station KLIF on divorce and the economy; prenuptial agreements; and child custody.

His appearance on THINK on KERA radio is one of the best explanations of how collaborative law works to make divorce simpler and more efficient. This program won the Philbin Award that year for the best legal reporting in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.