Winter Graduation Set for Dec. 7

Central Methodist University is set to celebrate its newest batch of graduates for the semester, as Winter Commencement is scheduled for 1 p.m. on Saturday, December 7, at Puckett Fieldhouse on the Fayette campus. James M. Kimbell is slated as the commencement speaker.

Kimbell, a trial lawyer and partner at Clark Hill PLC in Houston, Texas, will give a talk entitled “Just Give Me Someone Who Cares.”

At Clark Hill, a firm of more than 750 lawyers with 25 offices across the U.S. and internationally, Kimbell represents clients ranging from privately held businesses to Fortune 500 companies in commercial and tort litigation before federal and state courts throughout Texas and in other states, including “bet-the-company” litigation. He has had a record of significant successes in the courtroom for more than 40 years and has been named among the Best Lawyers in America. Kimbell has also been inducted into the Texas Verdicts Hall of Fame.

He received his undergraduate degree in business administration from Central in 1980, followed by a Doctor of Jurisprudence degree from South Texas College of Law in 1983. While at Central, among numerous other activities and organizations, he was a member of Alpha Phi Gamma, and served as the Mokers’ president his senior year.

In addition to other civic-minded organizations, Kimbell served as a member of the Board of Directors of Children’s Advocacy Centers of Texas, serving as the board’s president during his numerous years of service. CACTX is a non-profit that oversees a statewide network of 70 children’s advocacy centers, who provide front-line resources and services for children who have been victims of child sexual and physical abuse, and for their families. CACTX annually serves more than 50,000 Texas children and families in their search for justice and healing and leads the charge in Texas to end child sexual abuse. CACTX now annually presents its “Jim Kimbell Dream Big Award” to a staff member who goes above and beyond in exemplifying the CACTX mission of reaching and serving every victim of child sexual abuse in Texas. 

Kimbell served on the CMU Board of Trustees over two different terms, totaling 16 years of service. His parents were in the Central College class of 1941, and his brother, John, an anesthetist in Atlanta, was a member of the Central class of 1979. Jim was born and raised in Florissant.

Kimbell and his wife, Kay, live in Sugar Land, Texas and are the proud parents of two successful sons, Cody and Tyler. The Kimbells have been members of St. Luke’s United Methodist Church in Houston for more than years.