During his tenure as dean, McCormick led the UT Law School through the difficult war years, won approval for a new building, and is widely credited for his efforts to improve the curriculum, the faculty, and the school's national reputation.
He was an authority on evidence, damages, and federal court procedure, and published extensively in those areas.
In early 1950s, McCormick became involved in the civil rights movement because of several activists' attempts to attain entrance to the then-all-white university law school.
McCormick actively resisted integrating the law school and sought to continue segregation.
The university's response to Sweatt v. Painter was to create a colored section of the Law School, with McCormick as Dean.