Kim Church
kchurch@kuniholmlaw.com
A native of Lexington, North Carolina, Kim graduated summa cum laude from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, where she was a Winfield Scholar in English. She earned her law degree from the University of North Carolina School of Law.
She has practiced as a civil trial attorney in Raleigh since 1982, working on significant cases protecting the rights of children injured by vaccines, families injured by abuses in the foster care system, and individuals injured by violent crime, sexual abuse, and medical malpractice. She has represented clients in state and federal courts throughout North Carolina, in the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, and in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims.
Formerly a partner in the firm of Tharrington, Smith & Hargrove, in 1998 she joined Kuniholm Law Firm, where she focuses on foster care and sex abuse cases.
She is co-author of the chapter on sex abuse litigation in Litigating Tort Cases, a joint publication of the West Group and the American Association for Justice. She has also written and lectured for the North Carolina Academy of Trial Lawyers, the North Carolina Bar Foundation, and the North Carolina Association of Women Attorneys. A certified mediator, she has been active in the Dispute Resolution Section of the North Carolina Bar Association. She has received the AV rating from Martindale-Hubbell, signifying "the highest levels of skill and integrity."
Kim is also a fiction writer whose work has appeared in literary magazines and anthologies. Her writing honors include a Pushcart Prize nomination as well as fellowships from the North Carolina Arts Council, the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, and Vermont Studio Center. She has taught writing to high school and college students and to at-risk students in homeless shelters, community centers, and prisons, including the women on North Carolina's death row.
She has served on the Board of Directors for the Food Bank of North Carolina, and has chaired the Zoning Committee of the Mordecai Citizens Advisory Council, a neighborhood organization that advises the Raleigh City Council on land use issues.
CV: Kim Church
Educational background
* University of North Carolina School of Law, J.D., 1982
* University of North Carolina at Greensboro, B.A., summa cum laude, 1979
Academic honors
* Phi Beta Kappa
* Student Excellence Award
* Winfield Scholarship
Employment history
* Kuniholm Law Firm, Of Counsel, September 1998 - present
Civil trial practice with concentration in foster care and sex abuse cases.
* Solo practice, Raleigh, NC, January 1994 - September 1998
Civil trial and mediation practice.
* Tharrington, Smith & Hargrove, Raleigh, NC, September 1982 - December 1993
Partner (elected 1988). Civil trial practice with concentration in medical malpractice, product liability and inadequate security cases.
* Law Clerk, Epting, Hackney & Long, Chapel Hill, NC, April 1980 - May 1982
* Research Assistant (Evidence), Professor Walker Blakey, UNC School of Law, 1982
* Research Assistant (Family Law), Professor Sally Sharp, UNC School of Law, 1982
Bar admissions
* North Carolina, 1982
* U.S. District Court for the Eastern and Western Districts of North Carolina
* U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
* U.S. Court of Federal Claims
Professional organizations
* National Alliance of Victims' Rights Attorneys
* American Association for Justice
* North Carolina Academy of Trial Lawyers
Board of Editors, Trial Briefs, 1993-1994
* North Carolina Bar Association
Membership Committee, Dispute Resolution Section, 1995-1996
Publications and presentations
* "Sexual Abuse" in Litigating Tort Cases, West Group/Association of Trial Lawyers of America, 2003, annual updates 2004-2007, co-authored with Elizabeth F. Kuniholm
* "Foster Care Negligence and Wrongful Adoption," in Victim Advocate, Spring 2005, co-authored with Elizabeth F. Kuniholm
* "Foster Care Negligence and Wrongful Adoption: A Survey of Civil Remedies," co-authored with Elizabeth F. Kuniholm for National Crime Victims Bar Association, 2004
* "Finding Justice for the Sexual Abuse Victim," co-authored with Elizabeth F. Kuniholm, for presentation to the North Carolina Association of Women Attorneys, 2004
* "Psychotherapist Malpractice," Association of Trial Lawyers of America, 2003, co-authored with Elizabeth F. Kuniholm
* "Creative Settlement Techniques," presented to North Carolina Association of Women Attorneys, 1993
* "Foundations for Opinion Testimony and Documentary Evidence," presented to North Carolina Bar Foundation, 1993
* "Summarizing the Difficult Case," North Carolina Academy of Trial Lawyers, 1991, co-authored with John R. Edwards
* "Punitive Damages," North Carolina Academy of Trial Lawyers, annual updates 1988 and 1989
* "The Discretionary Factor in the Equitable Distribution Act," 60 North Carolina Law Review 1399 (1982)
