McCall appointed Fred D. Gray Institute for Law, Justice & Society academic director

Kim Chaudoin | 03/12/2021

Former Tennessee Supreme Court staff attorney Kimberly McCall has been appointed academic director of Lipscomb University’s Fred D. Gray Institute for Law, Justice & Society. 

The Fred D. Gray Institute for Law, Justice & Society is home to a rigorous and challenging undergraduate academic program that is one of the few in the nation taught from a justice and civil change point of view. It prepares students for law school, public policy or governmental work, as well as work with nonprofits. A core component of the LJS undergraduate program is that students select a social cause of personal significance designed to immerse them in the field prior to graduation. It is one of the only programs in the country that incorporates travel to Washington, D.C., and London in the course curriculum. Located in Nashville, Tennessee’s state capitol, students interact with federal and state legislators, lobbyists, attorneys and politicians. Many of the class sessions are taught by these accomplished individuals. Program graduates have a nearly 100 percent placement rate in law school or law-related professions.

In addition to its degree program, the institute hosts special events related to law and legal institutions, promotes dialogue related to the legal community and offers programs of interest to the community at large. As part of the institute’s involvement in the legal community, the Gray Institute partners with the Tennessee Bar Association to host a summer law camp for high school students interested in a career in the legal field.

McCall brings to this role ten years of experience as an attorney in the Tennessee state and supreme court system. She has also served as an adjunct professor for the institute for nearly a decade.  

“Kimberly brings a unique perspective to this role as a practitioner who will provide our students with a real-world experience that will bring to life what they are learning in the classroom and will prepare them for their careers after they graduate,” says Steve Joiner, dean of the College of Leadership & Public Service, which houses the Gray Institute. “Her experience as a professor in this institute also equips her for now leading the academic programming and setting the vision for the institute in the future.”

In 2011, McCall began her legal career as a judicial law clerk for the Honorable Jeffrey S. Bivins in the Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals and remained clerking for him upon his appointment to the Tennessee Supreme Court in 2014. She then served as a staff attorney for the Tennessee Supreme Court from September 2016 through December 2020. 

“I am very excited for this opportunity and to continue to build on the strong foundation already established in this very important work,” says McCall. “While continuing that legacy, I want to dream big about how we can continue to propel this unique program that equips students to make a difference in their communities for years to come. It is also an honor to lead this work in an organization that is named for such an impactful person as Fred D. Gray.”

McCall says this new role blends her love for the law and for teaching. A graduate of Pepperdine University School of Law, McCall said the experience of attending law school was life-changing.

“I discovered how much I loved analyzing legal problems and finding creative solutions,” she recalls. “I found myself in a field I loved so much, and at the same time, I had the opportunity to consider legal issues in our world today from a gospel perspective. It was a tremendous blessing to learn from professors and alongside peers who are seeking justice as followers of God.”

Micah 6:8 serves as a foundational verse for McCall. “ … what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God,’” she recites. “From the very beginning of my legal education, I considered what does it mean to act justly, to love mercy and to walk humbly?” 

As much as she loved the law, McCall soon discovered a passion for teaching. 

“As soon as I started teaching, in that first dispute resolution class at Lipscomb, I realized that this is where I come alive. This is where I'm so passionate, introducing complicated concepts to students and then watching the students come to fully understand — I love it, I absolutely love it,” she admits. “And I love having the opportunity within the context of the law, justice and society major, to have conversations about really difficult and sometimes sensitive topics. These can be emotionally charged, but we're able to discuss them in ways that I hope every student feels that their opinions are valued and that they have a forum to discuss the nuances of challenging issues that are affecting our world today.”

“Our students are so inspiring to me,” continues McCall. “I'm impressed by their dedication to their studies and their passion for helping others. That is what allows us to have the conversations that we have, because their preparation is borne out of a passion to see societal improvement through our legal and justice systems. We get to learn so much together through that process, while looking at it from a biblical perspective, and it takes us all to a different place. This is where I want to be.”

McCall holds a bachelor’s degree from Abilene Christian University and a juris doctorate from the Pepperdine University School of Law.

For more information about Lipscomb’s Fred D. Gray Institute for Law, Justice & Society, visit www.lipscomb.edu/ljs.