Law Partners Partner with Alma Mater
P.Q.C. Alumni “passes it forward’ to law school hopefuls
 

It’s a partnership that began about a decade ago at the rolling hills of Paul Quinn College’s campus, where Kevin Kelley and Nuru Witherspoon met during freshmen orientation.

“We met on a Wednesday or Tuesday, we wanted to go swimming and Nuru needed a ride to buy a pair of swimming trunks,” joked Kelley about the first day that two met.

“No, that’s not the way it happened. Let me tell the real story,” reflected Witherspoon. “We met in the first week of orientation. I was coming from Arizona, and I thought it upon myself to mentor these young men from Garland (Texas).”

Which ever version is true; both men agreed that they shared a vision that would lead them to working in one of the top law firms in Dallas.

“We were both in different places,” said Kelley, who added, “and we both wanted to work in Dallas and not for anyone else. We wanted two different things—to be lawyers and to be businessmen.”

Through internships, experience and mentoring from Paul Quinn College professors and other alums, the two Business majors realized their dream on the fifteenth floor of one of the skyscrapers in downtown Dallas. Surrounded by some of the city’s biggest money-makers, the law firm’s view captures the national accounting and consulting firm KPMG International, the new Adam’s Mark Dallas and the old Majestic Hotel.

When you first walk into Kelley-Witherspoon Attorneys and Counselors, you are immediately commanded by an office that has a modern, artistic style to it, with gray, black and olive green shades.

It may be hard to believe that Kelley, once a 14-year-old janitor at Paul Quinn College, and Witherspoon, are now in a position to give back to the institute that they said gave so much to them.

“Paul Quinn gave me the best years of my life,” Witherspoon said. “The people made it so special. It was the fraternities, the friendships, the partying.”

Kelley added: “Those were some of the best days of my life. I met people who brought impact on our lives and who still support our business today.”

One of those people was Biology professor, Dr. Weldon Walton, now Vice-president of Academic Affairs and Paul Quinn College alum, Gary Bond. According to Kelley and Witherspoon, Bond graduated a year before they did. He went on to Southern Methodist University (S.M.U.) Law School with the assistance of the then Paul Quinn College president, Dr. Lee Monroe Jr. After passing the bar, Bond, in turn, helped Kelley and Witherspoon to realize their dreams when they graduated in 2000 and 1999, respectively.

In the spirit of passing it forward, the duo has helped two other law school hopefuls and recent graduates of Paul Quinn College. Shalom Williams and Michael Crozier were both “hungry to be successful” and are now studying at S.M.U. Law School.

Being successful, Witherspoon said, is “a really big thing. We make millions of dollars. That’s what being successful really means.”

That is not the only way these men have given back. In addition to the mentoring programs and the thousands of dollars the firm donates to college events and programs, Witherspoon and Kelley has offered free classes to students, particularly Criminal Justice majors.

In the community, the two have given free legal advice forums, pro-bono cases, mentored youngsters and is active in the Dr. Emmett J. Conrad Leadership Program, in providing internships and scholarships to deserving college participants. During this year’s program, the firm gave away five scholarships. The firm has also given free Dallas Mavericks tickets to high school students.

This article was written by Khashan Poitier, a communications major and Junior at Paul Quinn College.