Kristen Walker (’13)

“My favorite memory at CBU was my time as a peer counselor working with Ms. Sadie! I loved meeting the freshmen and guiding them through the first year of college. I also loved learning what it really meant to serve by working with Ms. Sadie. She was truly a gem!”

Kristen Downey Walker is a native Memphian and came to CBU as a Psychology major. She not only served as a Peer Counselor, but she was also an active member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, the Judicial Review Board, and the Psychology Honors Society. She graduated with her BA in 2013.

Kristen received her law degree from the University of Memphis Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law in 2017. She was a member and notes editor of the University of Memphis Law Review. While working as her Juris doctor, she worked as a judicial law clerk in the Shelby County Circuit Court. Her case note regarding the parental rights and liabilities of sperm donors in Tennessee and issues with Tennessee’s statutory scheme with respect to modern families was published by the law review in Volume 47, Book 2. She also was a member of the Wagner Labor and Employment Moot Court Team and an Executive Board Member of the Black Law Students Association. She was admitted to practice law in the state of Tennessee in 2017.

Kristen began her law career with Morgan & Morgan at the firm’s office in Memphis. In 2019, she relocated to Nashville to take a position as Associate General Counsel for the Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance. In January 2021, she was appointed to serve as an Assistant Attorney General for the State of Tennessee. Kristen held that position until August 2022, when she joined the Nashville office of Spence Fane LLP as an Associate Attorney in the Litigation and Dispute Resolution Practice Group.

Kristen and her husband, Darius Walker (a labor and employment attorney), have a one-year-old daughter named Joy. The family currently resides in Nashville.

Kristen uses her legal training to follow the Lasallian principle of concern for the poor and social justice by mentoring law school students and volunteering her legal services pro bono to those in need, and she has also assisted with Tennessee’s expungement clinic to help with record expungement. She has also volunteered with TN Achieves, mentoring high school students, and traveled to Cartagena, Colombia, to donate school supplies to children in underdeveloped communities where running water is a luxury.

CBU taught me what it means to serve your community. I was afforded many opportunities that allowed me to thrive in leadership roles that truly prepared me for the workforce. Being understanding of different perspectives and learning to respect them is so important. With the diverse group of individuals at CBU, it was easier to navigate through life outside of college when approached with controversy or differences of opinion