Professor Gerald Powell - Trial Advocacy
In 1974, Professor Powell attended Baylor Law School as a student. During his time at Baylor Law School, he was a member of the national mock trial team and Executive Editor of the Baylor Law Review. After earning his J.D. with honors in 1977, Professor Powell joined the Dallas law firm of Vial, Hamilton, Koch & Knox. He had an active litigation practice with the firm and was made a partner in 1982. In 1986, Professor Powell returned to Baylor Law School to teach, and in 1987 he was appointed the Abner V. McCall Professor of Evidence Law. Professor Powell was recently named a Master Teacher by Baylor University, the highest honor granted to Baylor faculty members.

Professor Powell directs Baylor Law’s nationally ranked Practice Court Program and teaches Practice Court II: Trial Evidence, Procedure and Practice as well as Practice Court III: Trial and Post-Trial Practice, Procedure and Evidence. In addition to his teaching responsibilities, Professor Powell is a coach of Baylor’s award-winning mock trial teams. He also writes and speaks extensively on evidence, procedure and trial advocacy topics and has co-authored two books on Texas evidence, A Practical Guide to the Texas Rules of Civil Evidence and Texas Rules of Civil Evidence with Objections.

Professor Powell is an associate of the American Board of Trial Advocates, a professional association of experienced trial lawyers, and was appointed by the President of the State Bar of Texas to the Court Reorganization Task Force. He has served on the Administration of Rules of Evidence Committee for the State Bar of Texas. Additionally, he regularly presents judicial training courses for the Texas Center for the Judiciary.

When not teaching at Baylor Law School, Professor Powell enjoys outdoor activities, including hunting, backpacking, and camping. He is the former Scoutmaster of Troop 453, Boy Scouts of America. He also enjoys pursuing his interests in history and historic ship modeling and he serves as a director on the Texas Ranger Hall of Fame & Museum Advisory Board. Professor Powell originated the Baylor-Waco Civil War Round Table in the late 1980’s.

Professor Larry Bates - Appellate Advocacy
Professor Bates joined the faculty after almost nine years in practice as a corporate bankruptcy specialist with the Dallas law firm Carrington, Coleman, Sloman & Blumenthal L.L.P. While in practice, Professor Bates represented clients in some of the largest bankruptcy reorganization cases in the United States, including Zales Jewelers, National Gypsum, Federated Department Stores, Circle-K Stores, Southmark, The Western Company, Metro Express Airlines, Texas American Bancshares, and First City Texas Bancorp. Professor Bates also represented clients in pro bono cases involving prisoners rights and the death penalty.

Professor Bates teaches Secured Transactions, Constitutional Law, Supreme Court Seminar and Legal Analysis, Research & Communications. He is also Faculty Advisor to the Baylor Law Review and coaches Baylor’s American Bar Association Moot Court Team.

He has written extensively on commercial law and bankruptcy since joining the faculty. His recent publications include “Administrative Regulation of Terms in Form Contracts: A Comparative Analysis, ”Volume 16, Emory International Law Journal (2001-2002); ”Excepting Credit Card Debt From Discharge in Bankruptcy: Why Fraud Can’t Mean What the Courts Want it to Mean,” Volume 78, North Dakota Law Review (2001-2002); and “Certificates of Title in Texas Under Revised Article 9,” Volume 53, Baylor Law Review (Fall 2001). He is also a Commissioner for the Bankruptcy Law Exam Commission, Texas Board of Legal Certification and a member of the American Bankruptcy Institute.

Professor Bates earned his J.D., magna cum laude, from Marquette University School of Law in 1983 after receiving his B.A., magna cum laude, from the University of Minnesota in 1978. He received an LL.M degree from Harvard Law School in 1986, where he was an editor for the Harvard Civil Rights-Civil Liberties Law Review. Professor Bates clerked for the Honorable John L. Coffey of the United States Courts of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit from 1986-87. He also served as an adjunct professor at Southern Methodist University School of Law in 1994.

Professor Jeremy Counseller - Trial & Appellate Advocacy
Professor Jeremy Counseller joined the faculty of Baylor Law School in 2003. He graduated from Baylor Law School with honors and was a member of the Baylor Law Review, the Order of the Barristers, and the interscholastic moot court and mock trial teams. Professor Counseller also earned an M.B.A. from Baylor’s Hankamer School of Business and a B.A. summa cum laude from Stephen F. Austin State University.

Following his graduation from law school, Professor Counseller served as a law clerk to the Honorable Reynaldo G. Garza of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. Professor Counseller then entered private practice in Houston, Texas, with Bracewell & Patterson, LLP (now Bracewell & Giuliani, LLP) where he was an associate in the trial section.

Professor Counseller’s litigation experience includes the representation of both plaintiffs and defendants in personal injury and commercial cases, but his practice focused on the defense of professional negligence actions. His trial experience includes obtaining one of the first defense verdicts in Texas in an equitable subrogation action brought by an insurance company against a law firm. Professor Counseller continues to represent clients and consult in matters involving commercial disputes and product defects.

Professor Counseller has authored articles and presented papers on various evidentiary and procedural issues. He is also the co-author and editor of the Handbook of Texas Evidence (Civil Practice), which was published in 2005 and supplemented earlier this year. In 2006, the President of the State Bar of Texas appointed him to serve on the Administration of the Rules of Evidence Committee. He is also the Contributing Evidence Editor of the State Bar of Texas’s General Practice Digest. In 2007, Baylor University designated Professor Counseller an outstanding tenure track faculty member in recognition of distinguished teaching.

Professor Counseller teaches numerous courses in the law school’s litigation curriculum, including Civil Procedure, Trial Advocacy, and Conflict of Law. He is also a coach of the law school’s interscholastic moot court and mock trial teams. In 2005, he was the coach of Baylor Law School’s Association of Trial Lawyers America national championship mock trial team.

Professor Bridget Fuselier - Trial & Appellate Advocacy
Professor Fuselier, who teaches Property and Health Care Litigation, received her undergraduate degree in political science at Lamar University in 1994. While at Lamar, Professor Fuselier was selected for the Pi Sigma Alpha Political Science Honor Society. Professor Fuselier earned her J.D. magna cum laude from Baylor Law School in 1998 where she served as editor-in-chief and assistant managing editor of the Baylor Law Review. She also competed in the 1998 George Washington Law School National Security Law Moot Court Competition where she was a member of the first place team and was named Best Orator. She also was a member of the Order of Barristers.

Professor Fuselier joined the firm of Mehaffy Weber, PC, as an associate in 1998 and was elected as a shareholder in 2004. Her litigation experience includes the successful representation of defendants in medical malpractice, premises liability, and employment discrimination cases. Professor Fuselier has authored and published articles for the Baylor Law Review, Texas Lawyer, and Houston Lawyer on topics involving medical malpractice litigation. In 2006, Professor Fuselier was selected as the Jefferson County Outstanding Young Lawyer. She was also selected as a Rising Star by Texas Monthly in 2005 and 2006 in the area of civil litigation.

While in practice, Professor Fuselier actively participated in professional, community, and charitable organizations. She was selected as a member of the 2001 class of Leadership Beaumont. She served on various committees and boards, including the Weed and Seed Steering Committee, St. Thomas Moore Society and the Southeast Texas Family Resource Center. She served on the board and as president of the Jefferson County Young Lawyers Association, was a director of the Jefferson County Bar Association, Jefferson County Pro Bono Board and Fundraiser Committee and also volunteered as an attorney in the Jefferson County Pro Bono Program and the National Adoption Day Program. She also participated in many hours of community service through her membership with the Beaumont Junior League.

Professor Laura A. Hernández
Professor Laura A. Hernández joined the faculty of Baylor Law School in January 2008. She graduated from Stanford University with degrees in Economics and Communications, then obtained her J.D. from Southern Methodist University (“SMU”). While at SMU, Professor Hernández was the Sarah T. Hughes Law Scholar for the Class of 1996. Professor Hernández also served as the President of the Hispanic American Law Student Association from 1994 to 1995.

Following her graduation from law school, Professor Hernández joined the litigation section of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP in Los Angeles, California. In 2000, Professor Hernández returned to her hometown of San Antonio, Texas and continued her legal career as Counsel with Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld, LLP. In 2007, Professor Hernández joined Bickel & Brewer in Dallas, Texas, as a Senior Associate.

Professor Hernández’ litigation experience includes the representation of a global entertainment company in a profit participation dispute, and numerous insurance defense actions involving allegations of breach of contract, fiduciary violations and jurisdictional issues. Other representative matters handled by Professor Hernández include patent infringement, securities class actions, telecommunications and probate matters.

Professor Rory Ryan - Appellate Advocacy
Professor Rory Ryan joined the Baylor Law School faculty in the fall quarter of 2004. While earning his B.A., with honors, from Morningside College, he also won letters in both football and baseball. Professor Ryan graduated first in his class, summa cum laude, from Baylor Law School, where his final G.P.A. ranks first among those recorded. While attending Baylor, he was a member of several Moot Court teams, was a member of the Order of the Barristers, was a Moot Court Officer, and served as Senior Executive Editor of the Baylor Law Review. After graduating from Baylor, Professor Ryan clerked for the Honorable C. Arlen Beam of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit. As a member of Baylor’s Law School faculty, Professor Ryan teaches courses in Federal Courts, Civil Procedure, and Legal Analysis, Research, and Communication.

Brian Serr - Appellate Advocacy
Professor Serr has been a faculty member since 1986. He teaches Criminal Law, Criminal Procedure, Advanced Criminal Procedure, and Supreme Court Seminar. He is also the Director of the Law School’s international summer program in Guadalajara, where he teaches International Human Rights.

In 2001, Professor Serr was awarded a fellowship to attend an international conference on International Human Rights in Salzburg, Austria. During the 1994 school year, Serr won a Fulbright Scholarship to teach courses in American Constitutional Law at Vytautas Magnus University, a new university in the former Soviet Union (Kaunas, Lithuania). He has been twice recognized recently for his teaching. In 2002, he was named Baylor’s Most Outstanding Faculty Member (in the Schools of Law, Business, Engineering & Computer Science); and in October 2003, the Texas Lawyer honored him as “The Most Influential Professor” at the most highly regarded law school in Texas.

In addition to teaching, Professor Serr coaches several of Baylor Law School’s appellate advocacy teams. In national moot court competitions, his teams have recorded five national championships, one national second-place finish, and five national third-place finishes. Professor Serr has published numerous articles in leading law journals, commenting on topics relating to criminal procedure, civil rights litigation, and the First Amendment. Serr has maintained an active appellate practice, focusing primarily on constitutional law issues, particularly First Amendment issues and issues arising in civil rights litigation involving police officers. Professor Serr has briefed and orally argued cases in both the United States Supreme Court and the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. He recently won a decade-long civil rights case that established important precedents in the area of municipal liability for the improper hiring and/or inadequate training of police officers. He has three times been asked to write amicus curiae briefs on behalf of the Conference of Chief Justices (composed of the Chief Justices of the 50 states) in United States Supreme Court cases turning on issues expected to have a common impact on the interests of all 50 states. In two of those cases, Professor Serr was defending, against constitutional attack, the states’ primary vehicle for funding legal services for the poor. When that “IOLTA” litigation ended favorably after the second trip to the Supreme Court, Professor Serr received a pro bono award from the American Bar Association for his work on those cases.

Before coming to Baylor, Professor Serr earned a B.S. summa cum laude (mathematics) in 1981 from Dana College, Blair, Nebraska, where he was a First Team, All-District basketball player. In 1991, he was elected to Dana’s Athletic Hall of Fame. He received his J.D. (with honors, Order of the Coif) from Washington University in 1984, where he was an editor of the Washington University Law Quarterly. Serr received his LL.M. in 1985 from the University of Illinois College of Law, and spent the following year as a law clerk to the Honorable John R. Brown of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.

Kathy Serr - Advocacy Program Coordinator
Kathy Serr is a 1988 graduate of the University of North Texas and a 1991 graduate of Baylor Law School. While in school, she was a member of moot court and mock trial teams, and her moot court team finished third at the prestigious National Moot Court Competition sponsored by the New York City Bar Association. After graduation, she prosecuted felony cases for the Midland County District Attorney’s Office until returning to Waco.

She has coached advocacy teams at Baylor since 1997. Her moot court teams have been very successful at the TYLA and Administrative and Public Law Moot Court competitions, including numerous first and second place finishes. She has also assisted in coaching many of Baylor’s winning mock trial teams in regional as well as national competitions.

Professor Jim Underwood - Trial & Appellate Advocacy
Professor Jim Underwood joined the Baylor Law School faculty in 2006. He has taught courses in Civil Procedure, Federal Pretrial Practice, Complex Litigation, and Trial Advocacy.  He currently teaches the Torts curriculum. Prior to joining the faculty at Baylor Law School, he was a member of the faculty at Stetson University College of Law in St. Petersburg, Florida. During the 2005-06 academic year, the students voted Underwood the best teacher on Stetson’s law faculty and awarded him the “Golden Apple” award.

His teaching career follows 14 years of private practice as a Texas trial lawyer. He spent 10 years (including five as a partner) with the law firm of Thompson & Knight in both its Dallas and Houston offices and four years as a partner in the Dallas office of the international firm of Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld. He handled a wide variety of cases, ranging from extensive representation of doctors in medical malpractice cases to the prosecution and defense of complex commercial litigation matters. Included among his successes were obtaining a federal court jury verdict in Midland, Texas, in 1990, of $175 million in a business fraud case (the largest jury verdict returned in the United States that year) and a 1998 jury verdict in Houston in excess of $23 million in a suit on an indemnity agreement. During Professor Underwood’s last four years of practice he concentrated primarily on defending putative nationwide consumer class actions. His pro bono efforts have included providing representation to defendants in federal criminal matters.

Professor Underwood received his undergraduate degree from Oklahoma Baptist University in 1984 where he was a Kerr Scholar in Public Affairs. He graduated first in his law school class in 1987 from the Ohio State University College of Law where he served as the executive editor of the Ohio State Law Journal and was the author of an award-winning case comment. During law school, he served as an extern to the Hon. Alan E. Norris, United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. He is a member of the Order of the Coif. Following graduation from law school, Underwood served for one-year as a law clerk to the Hon. Jerry Buchmeyer, United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas, Dallas Division.

Professor Jim Wren - Trial Advocacy
Professor Wren joined the faculty of Baylor Law School in 2006, coming from a specialization in business litigation, including business fraud, professional liability and fiduciary litigation. He is board certified in Civil Trial Advocacy (by the National Board of Trial Advocacy) and in Civil Trial Law and in Personal Injury Trail Law (by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization). Texas Monthly has named him as a Texas Super Lawyer in Business Litigation each year since the designation originated in 2002. He is currently serving as President-Elect of the National Board of Legal Specialty Certification and will be serving as President from 2009 to 2011.

Professor Wren graduated with a J.D. cum laude from Baylor Law School in 1980. He added an M.A. in International Relations from the University of Kent at Canterbury in 1982. As a student at Baylor Law School, he was a member of Baylor’s national moot court team and mock trial team (1980 National Championship and National 1st Runner-Up), and an editor of Baylor Law Review. Prior to joining the Baylor Law School faculty, he served for many years as an adjunct professor teaching the Management of Complex Litigation course to third year students. He now coaches Baylor’s American Association for Justice national mock trial team (2007 National Champions).

He is licensed for federal practice before the United States Supreme Court, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, and the Western, Northern, Eastern and Southern Districts of Texas. He is a graduate of Trial Lawyers College in Dubois, Wyoming, and began serving in 2000 as a member of the teaching faculty of Trial Advocacy College, sponsored by the Texas Trial Lawyers Association.

Professor Patricia Wilson - Client Counseling
Before joining the Baylor Law Faculty in 1993, Professor Wilson practiced law for seven years, including four years with American Airlines, Inc. At American Airlines, Professor Wilson was responsible for managing litigation matters worth millions of dollars and for negotiating and drafting contracts in a number of areas, including software licensing and health care plan administration. She also handled matters involving airline regulation and employment discrimination. Professor Wilson worked as a litigation associate in two prominent Texas law firms prior to her employment with American Airlines.

Professor Wilson’s primary teaching responsibilities include the Client Counseling and Interviewing course, which she developed, and the first year Property course. In the past, she has taught courses in Antitrust, Consumer Sales and Protection, Intellectual Property, and Legal Writing.

Professor Wilson will return to coaching the Baylor Client Counseling Team this year after a three year hiatus during which she served as a member of the American Bar Association Client Counseling Subcommittee.

Prior to serving on that subcommittee, Professor Wilson’s teams won two of the three regional competitions in which they competed, and she has twice taken teams to the ABA National Competition.

Professor Wilson’s professional activities include regularly speaking at continuing legal education seminars in New York City, San Francisco, and Austin. She is also a member of the State Bar of Texas Committee on Child Abuse and Neglect. Professor Wilson is actively involved in the Waco community serving on the boards of a number of local nonprofit organizations.

In 1982, Professor Wilson earned her B.A. degree in Sociology from Purdue University, where she graduated “With Distinction.” She continued her education at Northwestern University School of Law, where she was named a Wigmore Scholar and received a three year, full-tuition scholarship. Professor Wilson was also a member of the Board of Editors of the Journal of International Law and Business.