Kim Torres’ legal practice is about people.  Specializing in family, civil, and eldercare mediation, she works as a solo mediator practitioner with her firm, Torres Mediation.  She is also actively involved as a contractor with the 19th Judicial Circuit’s ADR Program. Kim was recognized in 2018 as a Leader in the Law by the Florida Association of Women Lawyers.

A precocious student, Kim started law school at Florida State University at the age of nineteen.  She met her husband there, and the two of them settled in Melbourne, Florida.  Outside the law, Kim is a sustaining member of the Junior League, with 26 years of service. Her practical and hands-on leadership of the ADR Section reflects the skills honed as an active voluntary member organization leader at the League.  Kim invites participation and finds ways to support the volunteer interests of a diverse membership.

Kim’s time as head of the section coincided with the arrival of COVID-19. She quickly realized that mediators have a lot to teach other practitioners about working virtually.  Kim put together an excellent menu of CLEs that targeted skill building for virtual practice.  The Section’s courses on Zoom, Microsoft Teams, and paperless practice proved incredibly popular and useful to the Bar’s community at large and provided a strong financial base for the Section. Kim’s outstanding work resulted in her recruitment to The Florida Bar’s CLE Committee, and she continues to co-chair the ADR Section’s CLE Committee. Her vision for the future of the section is to keep building on the strong foundation that has been established.

“The thing with leading a bunch of mediators, they are reasonable and want to work on solutions!”

Kim is also exploring opportunities in the interdisciplinary aspects of the ADR Section, such as connecting with expanding restorative justice efforts and standardizing eldercare coordination.