Baylor Law Welcomes Professor Chris Jaeger
WACO
Following two years as an Acting Assistant Professor of Lawyering at NYU School of Law, Prof. Chris Jaeger joined the Baylor Law faculty in the Summer Quarter of 2021. In addition to continuing his research, Jaeger will be teaching Contracts I and II.
The son of a psychology professor, Professor Jaeger dreamed of teaching from an early age—at least since it became clear that professional soccer was not in his future. He earned his B.A. with honors in psychology from the University of Missouri. He then graduated Order of the Coif from Vanderbilt Law School, where he participated in the Vanderbilt Legal Academy Scholars Program, served as an Articles Editor for the Vanderbilt Law Review, and published two student notes on topics bridging law and psychology.
Following law school, Jaeger clerked on the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit for Judge Duane Benton. He then returned to Nashville, where he enjoyed a varied law practice at Stites & Harbison, PLLC, until his academic interests drew him back to Vanderbilt for his Ph.D. in psychology.
“I was drawn to academia because I love teaching—taking complicated ideas and breaking them down, organizing them, and striving to present them in the clearest way possible,” noted Professor Jaeger. He added, “I think this is very similar to what lawyers do in practice, and I encourage my students to practice this skill as well.”
Professor Jaeger’s interdisciplinary research examines ways in which legal rules, standards, and processes reflect intuitive beliefs (and misbeliefs) about the human mind. He is currently studying the law’s frequently used reasonable person standard, using experimental techniques from psychology to empirically investigate how we decide what is "reasonable."
When discussing his research, Professor Jaeger stated, “Much of my research looks at how legal decision-makers apply abstract legal standards and concepts to specific cases. Baylor Law’s emphasis on the law as it is applied in practice makes it an ideal place for me to not only continue this research but to refine it.”
Professor Jaeger and his wife, Jessica, are the proud parents of two children, an eight-year-old aspiring artist and a four-year-old aspiring superhero.
Professor Jaeger’s research can be found on SSRN and ResearchGate.
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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
