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301 North Main Street, Suite 2503
Winston-Salem, NC 27101-3835
(336) 283-0284
info@RickRutledgeLaw.com

About The
Attorney

I want to know the people whose lives I touch. One of the reasons for choosing general practice, and for focusing on individuals, families, and smaller businesses, is my desire to get to know the people whose lives I touch.  I think a lawyer serves people best when he understands who they are, what's important to them, and where their lives are headed.  I want to be an important (and valuable) part of your life, even if we only meet every few years to make sure everything is up-to-date. As noted on my Home Page, I believe “fit” is an important part of the personal and professional relationship between you and your lawyer.  To the end of helping you decide if I'm the right lawyer for you, here's a little bit about me, and the staff that helps me get things done, right and on-time. If you want to know more, please, pick up the phone and call.

Rick Rutledge, Attorney

Education

• JD, Wake Forest University School of Law (Juris Doctor)
  • Research Assistant for a legal casebook, Sexual Identity Law In Context, by Prof. Shannon Gilreath
  • Participated in Litigation Clinic
  • Participated in Elder Law Clinic
• MBA, Wake Forest University's Babcock Graduate School of Management (Masters in Business Administration)
  • Participated in a summer consulting internship with the North Carolina Small Business & Technology Development Center (NC SBTDC)
• BA, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor (French Language & Literature)
  • Unofficial minor in Computer Science
  • Studied at the Université d'Aix-Marseille, Aix-en-Provence, France (DEUG-level)

Memberships and Affiliations

• Member, American Bar Association
  • Section of Business Law
  • Section of Litigation
  • Section of Dispute Resolution
  • Section of Real Property, Trust & Estate Law
  • General Practice, Small Firm & Solo Division
• Member, North Carolina Bar Association
  • Section of Business Law
  • Section of Elder Law
  • Section of Estate Planning & Fiduciary Law
  • Section of Real Property
• Member, Forsyth County Bar Association (21st Judicial District Bar)
• Member, NCGALA
• Life Member, University of Michigan Alumni Association
• Member, American Motorcyclist Association

Background:  A Little About Me

I was born and raised in Michigan, in a large family of modest means.  I grew up on a “dirt farm” (we farmed for our own purposes, not a commercial farm), so I'm no stranger to hard work and pragmatism.  I attended school in Michigan, and worked in technology, including a brief stint in the auto industry.

Most of my work experience has been with small, closely-held or family businesses.  I spent more than a decade providing technology and business consulting, and prior to attending law school, I was manager of a small consulting firm in California.  I have a great deal of experience in doing needs assessment; because of this, I am a very good listener and a problem solver by nature.

Prior to moving to Winston-Salem, I lived in San Francisco for nearly 15 years.  While I moved to Winston-Salem for school, and because of family connections in the area, I love it here and decided to stay.  I live in a wonderful neighborhood - there are many wonderful neighborhoods in Winston-Salem, I'm told - and I have a number of friends in the area.  I have extended family throughout the surrounding counties.

When I'm not working hard for clients, I am an avid do-it-yourselfer; when I lived in San Francisco, I spent nine years restoring a 100-year-old Victorian home.  I also enjoy gardening, cooking, SCUBA diving, and riding motorcycles.  I also enjoy sharing “walkies” with my two crazy bull terriers.  I love language and languages; in addition to English, I speak fluent French.  I have studied German, and I can speak a little, but I'm not fluent.  I have also studied Russian, Latin, and Old French.  I plan to start learning Spanish soon, and I would eventually like to learn Chinese.

Community

I value my relationship not just with my clients, but the the communities of which we are all a part.  I encourage you to become involved in shaping and improving your world, too.  The following are a few of my current and past community activities, which may give you a sense of what's important to me.

• Guardian Ad Litem -- I act as a court-appointed guardian ad litem for children in the custody of the Department of Social Services, investigating and researching on behalf of the court, to aid in determining what action by the court would be in the best interest of the child.
• Volunteer & Judge, Teen Court -- Teen Court is a diversion program for juvenile offenders.  The YWCA of Winston-Salem, in coordination with the Juvenile Division of the District Attorney's office, provides an opportunity for first-time offenders of non-violent crimes to admit guilt and submit to sentencing by a jury of teens.  If a youth is referred to Teen Court by the DA's office, she or he may elect to admit guilt and accept constructive sentencing by peers.  ‘Constructive sentencing’ consists of a combination of community service, jury duty, educational programs, apologies, counseling, tutoring, etc., with the goal of teaching a lesson and helping the youth resolve the problems that led to the bad behavior.  Participants are prosecuted and defended by teen attorneys, many of whom aspire to enter the legal profession as adults. I serve as a judge overseeing the process, and I also coach the teen attorneys.
• California AIDS Ride (CAR6, CAR7, CAR8) -- The California AIDS Ride (now AIDS LifeCycle) is a fundraising bicycle ride from San Francisco to Los Angeles - about 575 miles.  Three years in a row, I pedaled to raise money to provide services to persons with AIDS; I raised about $15,000.
• Financial Literacy Project -- I work with a group of finance students at Wake Forest University's Babcock School to provide financial literacy education to clients of the Department of Social Services Child Protective Services unit.  I helped establish this program while I was a student at Wake.
  • If your church, school, or community group is interested in providing financial literacy seminars to its members, I am available to speak.  Availability may be limited by my caseload and other demands on my time.  Because I provide this service at no charge, I must necessarily limit the amount of time I can dedicate to this.  If you are interested, please contact me to discuss your audience, your needs and expectations, and my availability.

Publications

• Employers On The Offensive, Solo, Spring 2009, Vol. 15, No. 2
  • A brief article on managing some of the most common issues that lead to employee lawsuits.

Ms. Natalie Norton, Paralegal

If you should call when I'm unavailable, you may reach my voice mail or a live person.

That live person will probably be Ms. Norton.  With her cheerful disposition, you may be tempted to bypass voice mail just so you can say “Hello!” on the way to reaching me!