Baylor Law Student Tara Smith Awarded State Bar of Texas Tax Section Annual Scholarship

Tara Smith, along with students from other law schools, received word of their scholarships during the State Bar of Texas Annual Meeting on Friday, June 18, 2021.

WACO

Baylor Law 3L Tara Smith was recently awarded the State Bar of Texas Tax Section annual scholarship. Smith graduates from Baylor Law and plans to take the bar in July. She has accepted an offer from the IRS Office of Chief Counsel and will work in the Large and International Business Division in Dallas. Smith, a non-traditional law student who joined Baylor Law after years in technology sales, is the first Baylor Law student to receive the Tax Section scholarship.

“As I’ve progressed through the Baylor Law curriculum and gotten a better understanding of the program, I’ve become increasingly glad I chose Baylor. The faculty’s dedication to students’ success and level of engagement is bar none. The curriculum forced me to learn many things I didn’t know I needed to know. Now I don’t know how I ever could have begun practice without having learned these areas,” stated Smith upon hearing that she was awarded the scholarship. She added, “The high bar that Baylor Law sets with its requirements and grading practices has enhanced my feeling of accomplishment. I feel a greater sense of pride in earning my degree and in the successes I’ve had in school because that bar was set so high.”

“It is always a plus when you can add someone to your group who will make it better than it already is. Tara is just the kind of tax lawyer we want to join the State Bar of Texas Tax Section. She is an intelligent, industrious, and savvy law student and an honest, effective communicator who will engage with you and look you in the eye with sincere interest while she does it,” stated Smith’s Baylor Law tax professor Christine Robinson. She added, “Tara’s future tax colleagues, clients, and the tax judiciary are going to enjoy working with her as much as we have at Baylor Law!”

In addition to receiving the State Bar of Texas Tax Section Annual Scholarship, Smith is the recipient of multiple Baylor Law academic awards: the Tax Law Award and the Corporate Law Award. She is also a regular fixture on the Baylor Law Dean’s List.

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Established in 1857, Baylor University School of Law was one of the first law schools in Texas and one of the first west of the Mississippi River. Today, the school has more than 7,600 living alumni. It is accredited by the American Bar Association and is a member of the Association of American Law Schools. Baylor Law has a record of producing outstanding lawyers, many of whom decide upon a career in public service. The Law School boasts two governors, members or former members of the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate, two former directors of the FBI, U.S. ambassadors, federal judges, justices of the Texas Supreme Court and members of the Texas Legislature, among its notable alumni. In its law specialties rankings, U.S. News & World Report ranked Baylor Law’s trial advocacy program as one of the top 5 in the nation. Baylor Law is also ranked in the top 50 in the magazine’s 2019 edition of "America’s Best Graduate Schools." The National Jurist ranks Baylor Law as one of the "Best School for Practical Training," and in the top 15 "Best Law School Facilities" in the country. The Business Insider places Baylor Law among the top 50 law schools in the nation. Baylor Law received the 2015 American Bar Association Pro Bono Publico Award, making it only the third law school in the nation to be honored with the award since the award's inception in 1984. Learn more at baylor.edu/law

ABOUT BAYLOR UNIVERSITY
Baylor University is a private Christian University and a nationally ranked research institution. The University provides a vibrant campus community for more than 17,000 students by blending interdisciplinary research with an international reputation for educational excellence and a faculty commitment to teaching and scholarship. Chartered in 1845 by the Republic of Texas through the efforts of Baptist pioneers, Baylor is the oldest continually operating University in Texas. Located in Waco, Baylor welcomes students from all 50 states and more than 80 countries to study a broad range of degrees among its 12 nationally recognized academic divisions. Learn more at baylor.edu