News

Student competitors representing fourteen of the best transactional law programs in the country have been selected for Baylor Law’s eighth annual The Closer Transactional Law Competition. Set for MLK Weekend, January, 2024.

Baylor Law announces the launch of its Family Law Clinic, set to begin operation in fall 2024. This clinic aims to provide vital support to pro se litigants in navigating the complexities of family law cases, focusing on divorce and matters affecting parent-child relationships. Created with financial assistance from the Texas Bar Foundation, the clinic will address the increasing trend of self-representation among divorce litigants, especially those facing literacy and language barriers.

The Baylor Law Veterans Clinic proudly announces the 2023 Advocate of the Year Awards, recognizing exceptional commitment and dedication to serving the legal needs of Central Texas veterans.  This year’s honorees are Dan MacLemore, partner at Beard Kultgen Brophy Bostwick & Dickson, PLLC, and Hailee Yip (JD ’18), Associate at West, Webb, Allbritton & Gentry.

Baylor Law’s mock trial team won the 2023 Tournament of Champions (TOC), the second time Baylor Law has won this prestigious competition. The Baylor Law team of Gage Jones, Varun Reddy, Vivian Noyd, and Greta Andersen competed against 15 other national teams from top law schools, including Georgetown, NYU, California Berkeley, and UCLA.

Beth Toben, Adjunct Professor of Law at Baylor Law and Assistant County / District Attorney in Limestone County, has been recognized with the prestigious Lone Star Prosecutor Award.

WACO, Texas (Nov. 9, 2023) – Following a nationwide search, Baylor University Provost Nancy Brickhouse, Ph.D., announced today that Jeremy Counseller, J.D., The Abner V. McCall Chair of Evidence Law at Baylor, has been selected as dean of the University’s nationally ranked Baylor Law School. His appointment is effective July 1, 2024.

Baylor’s Veteran’s Clinic has served the legal needs of more than 2,000 veterans.

Professor of Law Elizabeth M. Fraley was honored recently with the Louise B. Raggio Award by the Dallas Women Lawyers Association (DWLA). The award recognizes Professor Fraley’s outstanding achievements as a trial lawyer, a legal educator, and an advocate for women in the profession.

Baylor Law's Fall 2023 Commencement ceremony will take place Friday, November 3, 2023 at 4:00pm CDT at First Baptist Church of Waco. The livestream will be available on Baylor Law's Youtube channel.

The 2023 Baylor Law Leadership Symposium, hosted in collaboration with the Association of American Law Schools Section on Leadership and the Baylor Law Review, was held on Thursday, September 28, 2023. Under the theme “Power of Speech: Creating Environments in Which Free Speech and Civil Discourse Thrive,” the virtual event brought together legal scholars, professionals, and experts to discuss the critical issues surrounding free speech, civil discourse, and their significance in today’s society.

On September 28, 2023, Baylor Law hosted acclaimed Constitutional scholar Akhil Reed Amar, the Sterling Professor of Law at Yale Law School, for a compelling lecture titled “The Founding Fathers and the Importance of Civil Discourse.”

The team of Rebekah Miller and Anna Jennings edged out the team of Nicholas Baker and Jake Adams to take the top spot as winners of the 2023 Dawson & Sodd, PLLC Moot Court Competition at Baylor Law.

Professor of Law Brian Serr is appointed to the Louise L. Morrison Chair of Constitutional Law at Baylor Law. This Chair was most recently occupied by the late Prof. David Guinn, who retired in 2020.

Professor of Law Matt Cordon has been named the A. Royce Stout Chair of Law. A member of the Baylor Law faculty since 2000, Cordon became Interim Associate Dean of Baylor Law on July 1. He will continue to serve as Director of Legal Writing and has long been active as a faculty leader at Baylor University. He has received two separate outstanding professor awards from the University, one for scholarship in 2004 and one for teaching in 2019. He has been twice elected to serve as Chair of the Faculty Senate, including terms in 2007-08 and 2020-21.

The University of Texas School of Law CLE Program has honored Professor of Law Elizabeth Miller with the 2023 W. Page Keeton Award for Excellence in Continuing Legal Education. UT Law CLE bestows this honor on individuals in the legal community who have made a profound impact on the profession through their unwavering commitment to continuing legal education.

Interim Dean and Professor of Law Patricia Wilson has been appointed to the William Boswell Chair of Law. The Chair was most recently held by Prof. Emeritus Michael Morrison, who retired in 2021.

Former United State Magistrate Judge Christine A. Nowak (JD, ’05) has been named the 2023 Young Baylor Lawyer of the Year. Dean Emeritus Brad Toben (JD, ’77) publicly announced the honor at a recent Baylor Lawyers Network reception at the State Bar of Texas annual meeting.

Stetson University College of Law’s Center for Excellence in Advocacy has honored Professor of Law Emeritus Gerald Powell with the 2023 Lifetime Achievement Award for his exceptional contributions to teaching advocacy.

Nicholas Lewis of the University of Georgia School of Law has emerged victorious as the winner of Top Gun XIV, Baylor Law’s highly acclaimed National Mock Trial Competition. Through an awe-inspiring three-hour final round, Nicholas skillfully persuaded a distinguished panel of experienced trial lawyers, edging out his formidable opponents, finalists Clarke Doig of Drexel University Thomas R. Kline School of Law and Ameen Hussaini of LMU Loyola Law School.

The Executive Committee of the Baylor Law Alumni Association proudly announces that Dean Brad Toben, JD ’77, has been named the Baylor Lawyer of the Year for 2023. This prestigious recognition highlights Dean Toben’s extraordinary accomplishments and unparalleled contributions to Baylor University, the Law School, and the legal profession.

Baylor Law has once again seized the coveted title of the nation’s top moot court program in the University of Houston Law Center’s Blakely Advocacy Institute Moot Court Program Ranking. This marks Baylor Law’s second time at the top of the ranking, having previously claimed the top spot in 2019.

Baylor Law is excited to announce the upcoming Top Gun National Mock Trial Competition for 2023, which will bring together accomplished advocates from 16 prestigious trial advocacy schools across the country. From May 31 to June 4, Baylor Law will host this invitation-only tournament, generously sponsored by MG+M The Law Firm.

“It was a role that was needed,” Sam Smith says about her new position as Baylor Law School’s Diversity and Events Coordinator. The conviction in her voice points to her passion not just for the issues surrounding diversity, equity, and inclusion – which is considerable – but for the students she serves and supports.

Ronnie Turner, Jr. (JD, ’10), Senior General Attorney for the Union Pacific Railroad Company, has been named the 2022 Young Baylor Lawyers of the Year. Dean Brad Toben (JD, ’77) publicly announced the honor at a recent Houston Baylor Lawyers Network reception.

Baylor Law has again demonstrated its excellence in appellate advocacy with a resounding victory at the American Bar Association (ABA) National Appellate Advocacy Competition (NAAC). Tiffani Skroch and Dandee Cabanay, along with their brief co-writer Andrew Boone, emerged as the champions of the largest moot court competition in the country.

Tom Featherston, JD ’72, the Mills Cox Chair of Law, has taught Baylor Lawyers for 40 years and counting. Featherston is a Texas icon of estate planning, trusts, and marital property law. Every trusts and estates lawyer in Texas knows the name Tom Featherston.

The Baylor Law team of Emma Scofield, Meghan Thomas, and Student Coach Emily Ullom was named the 2023 ABA Client Counseling Competition National Champions on Saturday, April 1. This marks the first time Baylor Law has won this annual event that features teams from law schools across the United States competing in simulated client counseling scenarios.

On Wednesday, March 29, 2023, Baylor Law presented over 100 awards and honors to an outstanding cohort of students. The esteemed John Williams and Florence Dean Minton Student Awards Ceremony and Lecture Series was the perfect stage to recognize these future Baylor Lawyers for their diverse impact and remarkable achievements in academics, service, competitions, and other areas.

The legal writing team at Baylor Law is pleased to announce the winners of the 2023 Ultimate Writer Legal Writing Competition. Courtney Conner took first place and an $8,000 prize. The second-place winner, Andrew Boone, who won the competition in 2022, took home $1,500, and Winston Bribach took third place and a $500 prize. Jordan Gonzales, Anna Schmidt, Jake Weathers, and Riley Zoch received honorable mentions.

Ryan Hering and Olivia Schoffstall, Baylor Law Moot Court Team members, have been recognized for their exceptional oral advocacy skills, winning the Top Oral Advocacy Team award at the prestigious John R. Brown National Admiralty Law Moot Court Competition held in New Orleans, Louisiana, at the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.

Finalists in Baylor Law School's annual intermural Faegre Drinker Spring Moot Court Competition demonstrated their appellate advocacy skills before a distinguished panel of judges and a large audience on Monday, March 20, 2023. When the judges returned their decision, the team of Kingrey Sullens and Kelton Munch narrowly edged out the team of O'quilla Jones and Rachel Brooks to take the championship spot.

Texas Court of Criminal Appeals will hear two cases at the Sheila and Walter Umphrey Law Center on Thursday, March 23. The public is invited to attend the hearings in the Jim Kronzer Appellate Advocacy Classroom and Courtroom (Room 127) at the law school which will begin at 9am.

Baylor Law’s interscholastic moot court team took first place at the prestigious 31st annual Conrad B. Duberstein Bankruptcy Moot Court Competition, hosted by St. John’s University and the American Bankruptcy Institute. The team of Maddie Gay, Tansy Ackermann, and Casey Cooper emerged victorious – and Amber John, Jacob King, and Paige Browne – made a strong showing, ending as octa-finalists.

Baylor Law will keep tuition costs flat for the fourth consecutive year. This decision is part of the school’s ongoing efforts to make legal education more accessible and affordable to students. The 0% tuition increase means that students will continue to pay $1,471 per course hour per quarter, the same rate since the 2018-19 academic year.

The ABA Client Counseling Competition addresses fundamental skills necessary for all successful attorneys, namely the ability to interview, counsel, and support a client through their legal issue. Competitors conduct an initial interview with a person playing the role of the client and then address both the client’s legal and non-legal needs. Students are called on to explain various aspects of the attorney-client relationship, build rapport, determine client goals, and consider applicable law and options that may be available to the client.

We could use your help to judge.

On February 11, 2023, Baylor Law hosted the 18th annual People’s Law School, a half-day event offering free courses designed to make the law more accessible. More than 200 participants came to Baylor Law for the first in-person People’s Law School since 2020.

On Friday, Thursday, February 9th, Rhasean Stephens, President of Baylor Law’s Veteran and Military Legal Society and Director of Clinical and Pro Bono Programs Josh Borderud attended a roundtable discussion with the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, Denis R. McDonough.

The Baylor Law team of Michel Tagliabue, Sarah Megan Erb, and Vivian Noyd were runners-up at the 2023 Hunton Andrews & Kurth Invitational National Moot Court Competition, the ‘National Championship’ of moot court competitions.

On Thursday, January 26, Baylor Law announced the winners of the 2022 The Paper Chase Legal Writing Competition, Texas’s premier legal writing contest. According to the Judges from the Texas Young Lawyer Association (TYLA), this year’s winner is Gloria Jones of the University of Texas School of Law. Second Place was awarded to Colin Hickl of SMU Dedman School of Law, and Jacob C. Swanson of SMU Dedman School of Law took Third Place. The high-stakes legal writing competition stands out for its challenging real-world writing prompt and a significant cash prize award of $5,000 for first-place winner Gloria Jones and $7,000 in total prizes.

Ryann Connell of the University of Denver Sturm College of Law and Will Cowan of the University of Houston Law Center are this year’s winners of The Closer, the nation’s most challenging transactional law competition. The runners-up in this year’s demanding competition were Alyx Thompson of the University of Tennessee College of Law and Evan Nelson of Emory University School of Law.

Assistant Dean of Student Affairs and Strategic Initiatives Stephen Rispoli has been named the 2023 Access to Justice Award recipient by the Association of American Law Schools.

The US Senate has confirmed Cindy Dyer, JD ’93, to become the next Director of the Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons (J/TIP), with the rank of Ambassador. Dyer’s appointment by President Biden earlier this year was confirmed by a unanimous bipartisan vote of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Baylor University School of Law announces the 14 law schools and student competitors that will participate in the seventh annual The Closer Transactional Law Competition in January 2023.

Baylor Law student Amanda Alvez is one of three recipients of the 2022 Texas Young Lawyers Association (TYLA) Diversity Scholarship.

On Friday, November 18, McLennan County celebrated Adoption Day, where 36 children in foster care realized their dream of finding a forever family at Baylor Law before McLennan County Judge Nikki Mundkowsky.

Baylor Law Veterans Clinic recognized Curtis Brown and Dominic Braus (JD ’09) as the 2022 Advocates of the Year at the Waco-McLennan County Bar Association luncheon on Friday, November 4.

The Waco Chapter of The Texas Chapter of the American Board of Trial Advocates (TEX-ABOTA) has selected Baylor Law’s Jim Wren to receive the 2022 Civility and Ethics Award for outstanding ethics and civility in his professional career.

The team of Catherine McKinney and Maria Zermeno Simon edged out the team of Danielle Hayes and Tiffany Dunkin to take the top spot as winners of the 2022 Dawson & Sodd, PLLC Moot Court Competition at Baylor Law.

The Executive Committee of the Baylor Law Alumni Association has selected Michael P. Heiskell (J.D. ’74) as the 2022 Baylor Lawyer of the Year. Cynthia Clack (J.D. ’78), President of the Baylor Law Alumni Association, presented Heiskell with the award during a recognition luncheon at the Fort Worth Club on Thursday, September 15th.

Patricia Diaz-Rodriguez (LL.M.'19) was recently elected Region II President of the Hispanic National Bar Association (HNBA). Region II serves members of the HNBA in New York. She was sworn in during the National Hispanic Bar Conference in Washington, D.C., on September 9, 2022.