When Called to Serve, The Hon. Gadson William Perry Always Answers

By NICOLE M. GRIDA

If you are fortunate enough to know Chancellor Gadson William “Will” Perry personally, it should come as no surprise that he answered the call to serve as Shelby County’s newest chancellor because service is part of what makes him who he is.

When I first met Chancellor Perry, I was a young associate practicing here in Memphis and he was a law student at The University of Tennessee, College of Law. Not only do we share an alma mater, we both represented UTLaw on its National Moot Court Team, I remember being impressed by Will’s appellate advocacy skills after watching him complete in, and win, the Regional Competition hosted by The University of Memphis, Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law. (He was also named Best Oral Advocate.) Upon learning he planned to return to Memphis after graduation, I looked forward to the impact he would have on the Bluff City, and specifically the impact he would make within our legal community. Since graduating from UTLaw in 2011, he has certainly made his name known in his hometown of Memphis, Tennessee.

A quick glance at Chancellor Perry’s resume provides you with an overview of all that he has accomplished in his legal career. The short version is he started a decadelong career at Butler Snow LLP after graduating from UT Law. After two years there, Chancellor Perry left to clerk for Judge Bernice Bouie Donald on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, returning to the firm in 2014 and making partner in 2019. He was a member of Butler Snow's Commercial and Appellate Litigation practice groups where he gained extensive litigation, arbitration, trial, and appellate experience, having handled cases, as first and second chair, in state and federal courts across the country. He also served as head of recruiting for Butler Snow's Memphis office. Chancellor Perry has been named "Best of the Bar," "Top 40 under 40," and a "Mid-South Rising Star" in business litigation. Never one to toot his own horn, he credits his parents, his students, and many mentors and friends who have provided him with guidance throughout his legal career. In addition to serving as an Adjunct Professor at The University of Memphis, Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law, the Chancellor has also served a moot court and mock trial coach, helped coordinate the Summer Law Intern Program (“SLIP”) for the Memphis Bar Association, served as a mentor to countless law students and young lawyers over the years. He has also served on the board of directors and numerous committees for many local, state, and national bar associations. He is one of those people who you can always ask for help and who will always try to help you find a path forward.

After candidly explaining he had not planned to apply for the vacancy created by the retirement of Chancellor Walter Evans after over two decades on the bench, Chancellor Perry stated he was prepared to do the work because he has been working to prepare himself to do the work. He explained that a number of mentors and friends

who encouraged him to apply, spent time reviewing his application, conducted mock interviews before he met with the Governor, and otherwise supported him after he applied.

When asked what advice he would give a law student or young lawyer with judicial aspirations, the Chancellor emphatically stated “put your head down and work hard,” advice that he stated he received from Bruce McMullen early in his career. Citing the latin phrase “Esse Quam Videri,” which means “To be, rather than to seem,” he also cautioned young lawyers and law students not to focus too much on what other people think about them in what he described as a “post social media age,” and instead to focus on being the best they can be.

During our interview, Chancellor Perry also spoke fondly of the three years he spent as a Language Arts and Reading teacher at Sherwood Middle School, a Title 1 School in Orange Mound, after earning a Bachelor of Arts in English and a Masters in Education from Wake Forest University. After noting he always thought about becoming a lawyer one day, he recalled feeling that “it [was] more important to be a young teacher in terms of relating to students than it is to be a 25-year old lawyer.” The Chancellor also believed “being a young teacher [gave him] a very special opportunity to relate to students when you look like them.” The fact that two of his students from 15 years ago attended his Investiture Ceremony in August is a testament to the impact he made, and continues to make, on these young people’s lives. Not to mention, Chancellor Perry described how his teaching career helps him navigate family law cases that often involve issues affecting children such as reading IEP plans to determine what school is best for a student.

I, for one, was not surprised to see Governor Bill Lee appoint Chancellor Perry to the bench in June of this year. Not only did his teaching career and legal career prepare him to serve Shelby County in this role, he remained calm during our interview even when I asked him to tell me one thing about him that most people do not know.

Chancellor Will Perry is the definition of a servant leader. I know he will continue to do great things for Memphis in his new role as the Chancellor in Shelby County Chancery Court, Part I. And I, for one, am honored to call him my friend. 

*To learn more about Shelby County’s newest Chancellor, how his career experiences have prepared him for the bench, and to find out that one thing most people do not know about him, click here to watch the full interview.