Today we’d like to introduce you to Amanda McCall.
Hi Amanda, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start, maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers.
I graduated from Texas Christian University in 2017 with the aspiration to work on Capital Hill in Washington DC. I had an internship lined up with a U.S. House of Representative’s member and was ready to begin my post-grad life in D.C. A week before I was to move clear across the country; I am originally from Oregon and had moved back after graduating college, my parents split. I am an only child, and very close with my family, so this news was devastating. On top of this, my mother has multiple sclerosis and has a hard time getting around. With heightened stress, she becomes immobile. I didn’t have it in my heart to move clear across the country with my family being split up and my mother so ill, so I turned down my internship and stayed in Oregon to be close to my mother while she went through the divorce process and battled worsening health conditions. I saw firsthand how awful the divorce process was in all aspects, financially and emotionally, being the big one, and on top of it all, I saw the lawyers handling the case take complete advantage of my mother, who was in such a fragile state. This pissed me off, and I knew it was not right. So, one day, I woke up and said, I am going to go to law school. By that afternoon, I had purchased LSAT study books, registered for a prep course, and signed up to take the test. Two months later, I had taken the LSAT and was applying to law schools. I got a job working as a legal assistant in Oregon so that I could jump-start my learning by getting first-hand experience working in a law firm. By August 2018, I was starting my first year of law school. I attended law school at Pepperdine University in Malibu, CA. While the campus was beautiful, law school came with its ups and downs as half of my time at law school was affected by COVID-19, taking all classes virtually. While in law school, I was on the dean’s list, worked as a judicial law clerk, was a member of the dispute resolution law journal, volunteered in the Pepperdine’s Family Law Mediation Clinic, and was part of the globally recognized Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution, where I received my certificate in dispute resolution in addition to my JD, Cum Laude. I was so blessed with the wonderful opportunities that Pepperdine Law offered. Being able to volunteer in Pepperdine’s Family Law Mediation Clinic was the highlight of law school. I was able to assist real clients who were going through a very difficult time in their life, divorce, and who could not afford to pay for an attorney, get the freedom and opportunity to start over with their lives. The clients I worked for were very low-income and often in abusive relationships I was able to be an advocate for them when no one else would be. I knew that when I started my law practice, I wanted to do my best to keep my clients out of court. During my time as a judicial clerk, I saw how nasty cases were and knew that in Family Law, being such a personal matter, that this was no way to make the process better by airing family drama and secrets in open court. I was fortunate enough to go through the Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution, where I learned valuable skills that helped me to this day reach amicable solutions for my clients. I am very passionate about finding amicable solutions for my family law clients as this, I believe, is truly how families can get the best possible outcomes for each other, but, most importantly, the children who are so greatly impacted during the divorce process. I was fortunate enough to land a job right out of law school, working at Grinke Stewart Law as a law clerk while I studied for the bar exam and awaited my bar results. I have been a practicing family law attorney at Grinke Stewart since passing the bar exam in October of 2021. I am pleased to say that I keep 90%, if not more, of my cases out of court to truly get the best outcomes for my clients, and their kiddos. Saving my client’s money, time, anxiety and getting them ready to move on with their lives.
We all face challenges, but looking back, would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
The path to becoming a family law attorney was full of ups and downs as it started with my family being torn apart, battling the uncertainties that COVID brought during my time in law school, and the rigorous studying in preparation for the bar exam. The struggles that I face in my day to day law practice are the personal ones in dealing with the burdens family law attorney’s all carry in the field of family law. I see some pretty sad, ugly, and just hard-to-believe are even true things on a daily basis. Keeping it together and staying strong with my clients, and for my clients, as well as making sure that my work does not affect my personal life, is one of the biggest hurdles I face daily. Luckily, I lean on my church community, my family, and physical activity to help me get through these tough times.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I specialize in divorce, child custody, modifications, adoptions, family violence, premarital agreements, post-marital agreements and enforcements, protective orders, and child support. I am very passionate about helping others who are going through these situations in their lives as I have first-hand experience seeing how difficult of a time this is on a person and on a family. Anything that has to do with divorce, custody of a child, a protective order, a modification, or an enforcement just flat-out sucks. No one wants to be in that situation, and I do not wish it upon anyone to ever be in one of these situations. However, I want to be there for someone who is so that even if just slightly, I am in some way able to help them get through it and make it just that much better. I am also a board member of the Collin County Young Lawyers Association and serve as the head of the Collin County Judicial Internship committee, where I place law students with judges in Collin County, Texas to act as mentors for the students over the summer. I participated in this program during law school, and this internship not only led me to the law firm I am at today, it gave me the confidence to be able to stand up in court and advocate for my clients, when court is needed. I love being able to help other law students build connections and continue their education in the field of law.
Who else deserves credit in your story?
The list is endless. First and foremost, my mother. She has always had my back in everything, the good, the bad, the ugly. She is my biggest cheerleader, motivator, and advocate. I would not be where I am today without her support. Always having faith in me, motivating me to keeping pushing through during the hard times. My bosses, Jennifer Grinke and Dana Stewart, have been amazing role models,mentors and teachers in kickstarting my career. They took me on as a baby lawyer and taught me everything that I know now. It is a huge job taking on a lawyer right out of law school, and they welcomed me into their law firm with open arms. Law school teaches you a lot of great skills, but it doesn’t teach you how to be a lawyer. Jennifer and Dana have taught me how to be a lawyer, and I cannot thank them enough. Additional family members, my dad, aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents, have all been financial and emotional supporters of my schooling and career. While at times I know they wish I wasn’t a family law attorney and wish I didn’t live in Texas, they always wish me well no matter what.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.grinkestewartlaw.com/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amandalmccall/
