Keith A. Call is the Salt Lake City Managing Partner for Spencer Fane, where his practice focuses on handling complex commercial litigation and the defense of professional liability matters. He received a Distinguished Service Award from the Utah Chapter of the Federal Bar Association. He has also spearheaded and continues to lead the Utah Bar Litigation Section’s efforts to recruit and train more lawyers to serve as guardians ad litem and serves as a guardian ad litem himself. In 2014, he received a Distinguished Service Award from the Utah Chapter of the Federal Bar Association. Since 2010, Keith has provided guidance to Utah lawyers through a regular column, Focus on Ethics and Civility, that publishes bimonthly in the Utah Bar Journal. Just this year, he received the Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve Award: Patriotic Employer award from the U.S. Office of the Secretary of Defense.
Q: What does being an ABF Fellow mean to you?
I originally joined the ABF as a networking opportunity. I recognized that the Fellows were some of the top lawyers in Utah. I believe the adage that you are the average of the five people you spend the most time with. When I saw the list of Utah Fellows, I knew I would increase my average by associating with them. Since joining, I have become proud to support the research conducted by research fellows. I have personally benefited by learning more about such things as the history of our nation’s constitution and human rights lawyers in China. The research conducted and information provided by ABF research fellows serves an important function of bringing life and structure to the intersection of law and society.
Q: Where do you consider your hometown and what is your favorite thing about it?
I grew up in Heber, Utah, a town I still hold dear to my heart. At the time, it was a community of about 5,000 people. My dad was a country lawyer and community leader. It was the type of community where everyone knew everyone and people really cared and watched out for each other. I was allowed to roam freely as far as I could ride my bike. When I did something bad or mischievous, my parents would often know about it before I got home. My neighbors, teachers, bank teller, and store clerk all cared about mentoring me, instilling good values in me, and helping me be successful.
Q: Why did you decide to pursue a career in law?
When I was about 10 years old, my dad was the county prosecutor. He prosecuted an embezzlement case against a former police chief in one of the county’s towns. I sat in the gallery and watch my dad cross-examine the former police chief, who took the stand in his own defense. In the middle of cross, the defendant lost his cool and started screaming and yelling at my dad, while my dad stood there and watched. I was aghast. That night when my dad came home I asked him about it. With a twinkle in his eye, he told me he knew that was going to happen and it was all part of my dad’s deliberate plan to expose the man’s character in front of the jury. I always loved and admired how my dad served the community and how his clients and others loved him for the service he gave them. There was really little question from a young age that I wanted to become a lawyer.
Q: If you hadn’t pursued a career in law, what would you have done?
As explained above, law school was my goal from a young age. When I was 16, I had a job hauling hay and milking cows for a local farmer. After his son told him he wanted to move to the city for a city job, the farmer tried to persuade me to take over and eventually buy his farm. My answer was a hard “no.”
Q: What do you do in your free time?
My priorities in life are God, family, and profession. I approach all of those aspects of my life as the same thing—all focused on serving others. When I’m not focused on serving clients and others through my work, I spend a lot of time with my wife, four children, and two children-in-law, and providing volunteer service in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. When I’m really lucky, some of those things come together for skiing, hiking, biking, theater, and lots of other fun activities.
Q: Who is your professional hero?
My Dad, of course. See above.
Q: Anything else you’d like to share with us?
Being a lawyer is a special privilege that comes with special responsibility. Some of the best advice I have received as a lawyer is to practice law with a purpose other than money, and if that purpose is lost, to leave until you find it again.