 When he took the position, the IBA's finances were in a poor shape, but by the time he left, it was on a sound financial footing.One of his major concerns while with the IBA was defending the independence of the legal profession.He stated that lawyers must have the “… courage to disregard influences of third parties whose interests may differ from the client, even though those third parties may be in a position to bring strong pressure to bear, financial or otherwise, on the lawyer.”

McKelvey was a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers, the American Bar Association, the ADR Atlantic Institute, the American Arbitration Association and ADR Chambers Canada.