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History
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1936-1955: A Period of Growth 1956-1984: Development of the Modern Law School 1985-present: Continuing the Tradition
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1936 to 1955: A Period of Growth Thomas E. McDonald, who had been a member of the law faculty since 1925, became dean of the law school in 1935. Baylor Law School during this time continued to aspire to gain recognition as a top law school nationally, and, in 1938, became a member of the Association of American Law Schools. The law faculty expanded to four full-time members by 1938, including McDonald, Abner E. Libscomb, Lennart Larson, and James A. Carlson. Part-time members included Harvey M. Richey, James P. Alexander, and Nat Harris. Prior to the 1938 school year, Lipscomb received a job offer in Washington, D.C.. He asked Abner V. McCall, a 1938 graduate who had earned the highest score to that date on the Texas Bar Examination, to take his place on the faculty. McDonald died suddenly in 1939 and was replaced on an interim basis by Carlson. Lipscomb, who had remained in Washington for two years, returned as dean of the law school in 1940-41. During that year, Alexander won the Democratic nomination as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Texas. Alexander had developed and taught Practice Court since the reestablishment of the law school and now turned the reigns over to Judge Joseph W. Hale, who was a member of the Waco Court of Civil Appeals. Hale taught the course until the law school closed during World War II in 1943. Lipscomb accepted an appointment into the military in 1941 and was replaced as dean by Leslie Jackson. During that year, Margaret Harris (Gordon) Amsler joined the faculty on a full-time basis and would serve as a professor for almost thirty-two years. The law school ceased operations from 1943 to 1946 during World War II. The law school reopened in 1946, with Amsler serving as acting dean. Jackson returned as dean in 1946 and remained until 1948. During this period, the law school experienced a rapid increase in enrollment, from about 100 in the fall of 1946 to 402 in the fall of 1949. In addition to the increase in enrollment, the law library also grew during this period, and the space provided in the Carroll Library was no longer adequate to house the entire law school. In 1947, university gave the law school the "Law Annex," a frame building located across Speight Avenue from the Carroll Library. During the next few years, additional space was provided, but was not entirely adequate to serve the needs of the law school. In 1948, the university appointed McCall as dean of the law school. The increase in enrollment required the law school to hire additional faculty members, several of whom would serve the university for several decades to come. In 1947, Judge Frank M. Wilson began to share the duties of teaching Practice Court, a responsibility he assumed for the next two decades. In 1948, the school hired Edwin P. Horner and John R. Wilson, both graduates of SMU School of Law. The following year, the school hired Angus S. McSwain, Jr., a 1948 Baylor graduate and member of the first editorial board of the Baylor Law Review. As the need for new facilities grew, a financial source appeared. Ralph W. Morrison, a businessman from San Antonio, had died and left part of his estate to a trust, with income payable to Baylor. Baylor President William R. White agreed to use half of this income for a new law school if legal questions could be worked out. The trustees of the Morrison trust filed a declaratory judgment proceeding in a San Antonio court. McCall, with the assistance of Horner and McSwain, submitted a brief to the court requesting that part of the trust income be devoted to the law school. The court's judgment in October 1954 permitted funds to be used for this purpose. Plans had begun for the new law school in 1951 and construction of the law school began in 1954. Stanley W. Bliss of Austin was employed as architect, and Eitze-Kitchens Construction Company of Austin was employed as general contractor. Construction was completed at an estimated cost of about $560,000 in the summer of 1955. |