KAY Madden has practiced law for over 20 years, primarily in the area of family law.
She has worked as a court-appointed Guardian Ad Litem for minor guardianship, helped parents not married to each other establish paternity rights, assisted grandparents obtain visitation with grandchildren, helped lesbian and gay people establish and dissolve relationships, assisted step parents in adopting step children and represented family members in obtaining guardianships of minor and adult children.
Early in Kay's career she was exposed to alternatives to litigation while working with a labor lawyer. His work in arbitration showed her that problems could be resolved quickly and efficiently outside of the courtroom. Wanting to learn more about assisting in this process, she took her first mediation class in 1991. It was here that she was first exposed to the idea of a facilitated collaborative process, that could assist parties in a dissolution make decisions which worked for everyone involved.
In 2002, she again took a mediation training, this time a more advanced class. Her work as a court-appointed Guardian Ad Litem for dissolution and minor guardianship cases has made her more conscious of the pain of dissolution on children. This work as an advocate for children has strengthened her resolve to assist families in reaching practical and peaceful settlements. Kay's interest in collaborative law is truly inspired by the stress court battles have on children and their families.
Her practice is divided between family law and probate law with the majority of my work in family law. Her clients are representative of the greater Kansas City, Missouri area.
She received her license to practice law in 1983, the same year in which she received her J.D. from the University of Missouri at Kansas City. Prior to attending law school, Kay received a M.A. in Library Science from the University of Missouri at Columbia in 1972 and was a reference librarian in Springfield, Missouri. Her undergraduate degree is from Mount St. Scholastica College in Atchison, Kansas.
Kay is a member of the Missouri Bar, the Kansas City, Missouri Bar Association and its Family Law and Probate Committees, the Association of Family and Conciliation Courts and the International Academy of Collaborative Professionals. She chaired the Association of Women Lawyers of Greater Kansas City Judicial Appointments Committee for two years and presently serve as secretary of the National Lawyers Guild Foundation.