Baylor Law students can gain additional exposure by completing one or more of our specialty tracks in litigation. Students who excel in one or more of these specialty tracks may also receive special distinctions.
Specialty tracks allow students to dive deeply into particular practice areas typically gained through years of practice or using advanced legal studies. Baylor Law offers five specialty tracks in Advocacy.
Baylor Law's Specialty Tracks in Advocacy:
As commercial transactions and business operations become more complex, so do the disputes between the parties. Students interested in a career in litigating business or commercial lawsuits may pursue the Business Litigation Professional Track. This professional track also benefits students interested in managing litigation – or working to avoid litigation – on behalf of a business. Business litigators must work not only to become masters of procedure but also to develop a basic understanding of business and commercial transactions. To complete a professional track in Business Litigation, students take various courses to introduce them to the significant substantive and procedural areas likely to be encountered by a practitioner involved in business or commercial litigation. This professional track qualifies as a foundation track for the Special Distinction in Litigation.
Business Litigation Required Courses (complete 18 hours, 12 hours of which must come from this group):
Alternative Dispute Resolution (2hrs) 9247
Arbitration (2hrs) 9257
Bankruptcy (2hrs) 9295
Business Torts (3hrs) 9386
Business Organizations 2 (3hrs) 9322
Complex Litigation (3hrs) 9324
Conflict of Laws (3hrs) 9383
Contract Drafting and Negotiation (3hrs) 9316
Federal Courts (3hrs) 9323
Intellectual Property (2hrs) 9264
Insurance Law (3hrs) 9341
Trial Advocacy: Advanced Discovery Management (3hrs) 9353
White Collar Crime (3hrs) 9351
Business Litigation Electives (additional courses available to meet hours requirement)
Administrative Law: Federal (2hrs) 9268
Administrative Law: Texas (2hrs) 9287
Administration of Estates (2hrs) 9235
Business Transactions: Mergers & Acquisitions (3hrs) 9319
Commercial Law: Negotiable Instruments (3hrs) 9340
Commercial Law: Secured Transactions (3hrs) 9342
Consumer Protection (3hrs) 9349
Creditors’ Remedies (3hrs) 9384
Employment Discrimination (3hrs) 9362
Employment Relations (3hrs) 9372
Sales Transactions: Domestic & International Law (3hrs) 9308
Securities Regulation (3hrs) 9344
Trial Advocacy: Beginning Advocacy Skills (2hrs) 9220
Trial Advocacy: Advanced Trial Preparation (2hrs) 9263
Wealth Transfers (3hrs) 9332
Contact Professors Wren, Bates, Miller, or Underwood for additional information.
The Criminal Practice Professional Track is designed to provide students with broad exposure to concepts, topics, and skills vital to criminal practitioners. Choosing this professional track provides students with a firm foundation for beginning a career in criminal law. Career opportunities available in the criminal practice area include joining a district attorney’s office as an assistant prosecutor, working for a division of the Texas Attorney General’s Office or the United States Department of Justice, prosecuting a diverse array of crimes (such as environmental crimes, antitrust crimes, and civil rights violations), or working as a criminal defense attorney. This track carries students well beyond the Criminal Law and Criminal Procedure courses required of all students. The Criminal Practice Professional Track provides a working familiarity with many practical aspects of criminal law and procedure – which are fundamental to criminal practice but often neglected by law schools – including plea bargaining, sentencing procedure, appeal, and habeas corpus. Students in Criminal Practice also have the opportunity to complete a practice experience in a district attorney’s office or federal prosecutor’s office under the direct supervision of a prosecutor. This professional track qualifies as a foundation for the Special Distinction in Litigation.
Criminal Practice Required Courses (10 hours)
Advanced Criminal Procedure (3hrs) 9350
Texas Criminal Practice & Procedure (3hrs) 9352
Post-Conviction Procedure: Sentencing (2hrs) 9259
Prosecutorial Field Placement (2hrs) 9253
Criminal Practice Electives (at least three courses from this group)
Client Relations (2hrs) 9227
Criminal Law Capstone (1hr) 9158
Healthcare Fraud & Abuse (2hrs) 9285
Immigration Law (3hrs) 9373
Juvenile Justice (2hrs) 9254
Post-Conviction Procedure: Criminal Appeals (2hrs) 9255
White Collar Crime (3hrs) 9351
The Criminal Practice Professional Track is a litigation track that may serve as the foundation for the Special Distinction in Litigation. A student who does not complete the criminal law capstone but completes the Criminal Practice Professional Track and additional requirements for the Special Distinction in Litigation will still be able to obtain the Special Distinction in Litigation.
Contact Professor Serr for additional information.
Fiduciary litigation is a significant and growing field of litigation that cuts across varying categories of litigated matters, including business disputes, estate, and trust disputes, family law disputes, and numerous other substantive legal areas. Because fiduciary obligations arise in multiple ways and because the existence of fiduciary duties can radically reshape the dynamics of litigation, fiduciary litigation has grown into its own specialization. The required courses for the Fiduciary Litigation Professional Track focus on the substantive areas of the law where fiduciary duties most commonly arise to help students understand the origins and context of fiduciary obligations, as well as remedies for violations of fiduciary duties. The elective courses for the professional track are broader, providing additional and somewhat more generalized litigation depth. This professional track qualifies as a foundation for the Special Distinction in Litigation.
Fiduciary Litigation Required Courses (12 hours)
Administration of Estates (2hrs) 9235
Business Organizations 2 (3hrs) 9322
Business Transactions: Mergers & Acquisitions (3hrs) 9319
Business Planning & Drafting (2hrs) 9292
Wealth Transfers (3hrs) 9332
Fiduciary Litigation Electives (at least 4 hours from this group)
Alternative Dispute Resolution (2hrs) 9247
Administration of Estates Capstone (1hr) 9132
Business Torts (3hrs) 9386
Client Relations (2hrs) 9227
Federal Courts (3hrs) 9323
Trial Advocacy: Advanced Discovery Management (3hrs) 9353
Trial Advocacy: Advanced Trial Preparation (2hrs) 9263
Contact Professors Featherston, Miller, Wren, or Underwood for additional information.
All trial lawyers must be masters of procedure, the complex body of rules often determining the outcome of disputes. The General Civil Litigation Professional Track provides students interested in litigation, whether as general civil practitioners or lawyers specializing in a particular type of litigation, with a solid foundation in the procedural law necessary to any litigation practice. In addition to litigation-oriented courses required of all students—Civil Procedure, Remedies, and Practice Court (which immerses students into evidence and procedure)—students concentrating in General Civil Litigation complete a variety of advanced procedural courses, including a study of alternative dispute resolution procedures such as mediation and arbitration. Most civil trial lawyers specialize in a particular type of litigation, so students choosing General Civil Litigation can shape their study track to reflect their specific interests. Students interested in business litigation, such as actions involving a corporate officer and director liability, employment discrimination, securities litigation, or antitrust litigation, can complete the Business Litigation professional track, separately or in combination with the General Civil Litigation Track. Students interested in fiduciary and probate litigation are encouraged to consider adding the Fiduciary Litigation professional track; students interested in personal injury litigation may choose to add the Personal Injury Litigation track; and students interested in litigating in the intellectual property field may want to consider adding the Intellectual Property Litigation Track. The General Civil Litigation Professional Track is a foundation for the Special Distinction in Litigation.
General Civil Litigation Required Courses (18 hours, 12 hours of which must come from this group)
Alternative Dispute Resolution (2hrs) 9247
Business Torts (3hrs) 9386
Client Relations (2hrs) 9227
Federal Courts (3hrs) 9323
Insurance Law (3hrs) 9341
Trial Advocacy: Advanced Discovery Management (3hrs) 9353
General Civil Litigation Electives (additional hours may come from this group)
Administration of Estates (2hrs) 9235
Arbitration (2hrs) 9257
Bankruptcy (2hrs) 9295
Business Organizations 2 (3hrs) 9322
Civil Rights Actions (2hrs) 9256
Complex Litigation (3hrs) 9324
Conflict of Laws (3hrs) 9383
Consumer Protection (3hrs) 9349
Contract Drafting and Negotiation (3hrs) 9316
Creditors' Remedies (3hrs) 9384
E-Commerce Law (3hrs) 9310
Employment Discrimination (3hrs) 9362
Family Law (3hrs) 9370
Healthcare Litigation (2hrs) 9277
Personal Injury Trial Law (1hr) 9174
Products Liability (2hrs) 9258
Trial Advocacy: Advanced Trial Preparation (2hrs) 9263
Trial Advocacy: Beginning Advocacy Skills (2hrs) 9220
Contact Professors Wren, Counseller, or Fraley for additional information.
Intellectual property litigation is one of the most active trial specialties in the nation, especially in Texas. Students with solid science or engineering backgrounds are encouraged to consider this field. This professional track can be combined with the Intellectual Property transactional professional track for students who plan to pursue a specialization in intellectual property specifically. For students who desire to pursue a broader practice in civil litigation but anticipate that intellectual property litigation will be part of that practice, combining Intellectual Property Litigation with either the General Civil Litigation or Business Litigation tracks may be a perfect choice. The Intellectual Property Litigation Professional Track is a foundation for the Special Distinction in Litigation.
Intellectual Property Litigation Required Courses (12 Hours)
Federal Courts (3hrs) 9323
Intellectual Property (2hrs) 9264
Intellectual Property Litigation (1hr) 9125 or Patent Litigation Capstone (1hr) 9119
Patent Law (2hrs) 9223
Patent Practice & Disputes (2hrs) 9260
Trademark Practice & Disputes (2hrs) 9262
Intellectual Property Litigation Electives (at least five hours from this group)
Alternative Dispute Resolution (2hrs) 9247
Client Relations (2hrs) 9227
Contract Drafting and Negotiation (3hrs) 9316
Copyright Law (3hrs) 9371
E-Commerce (3hrs) 9310
Entertainment Law (2hrs) 9230
Franchising (2hrs) 9276
Trial Advocacy: Advanced Discovery Management (3hrs) 9353
Trial Advocacy: Advanced Trial Preparation (2hrs) 9263
Trial Advocacy: Beginning Advocacy Skills (2hrs) 9220
Contact Professor Nichols for additional information.
Personal injury litigation continues to be a mainstay of active trial dockets. Of all the various categories of civil litigation court cases filed, personal injury and wrongful death cases constitute one of the categories most likely to be tried by a jury, and it is one of the categories most likely to be encountered by individual clients. Students interested in the personal injury field of practice may want to consider combining this professional track with General Civil Litigation, Family Law Practice, or Criminal Law Practice, depending on the direction of future practice plans. The Personal Injury Litigation Professional Track is a foundation for the Special Distinction in Litigation.
Personal Injury Litigation Required Courses (15 hours)
Alternative Dispute Resolution (2hrs) 9247
Client Relations (2hrs) 9227
Federal Courts (3hrs) 9323
Healthcare Litigation (2hrs) 9277
Insurance Law (3hrs) 9341
Personal Injury Trial Law (1hr) 9174
Products Liability (2hrs) 9258
Personal Injury Litigation Electives (at least 2 hours from the following courses)
Trial Advocacy: Advanced Discovery Management (3hrs) 9353
Trial Advocacy: Advanced Trial Preparation (2hrs) 9263
Trial Advocacy: Beginning Advocacy Skills (2hrs) 9220
Contact Professors Fraley or Wren for additional information.
