Baylor Law Competes in Back-To-Back Finals at the Hunton Andrews & Kurth Invitational National Moot Court Competition. Narrowly misses defending title.

Sarah Megan Erb, Michel Tagliabue, and Vivian Noyd, runners-up at the 2023 Hunton Andrews & Kurth Invitational National Moot Court Competition

WACO -

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. Following a championship win in 2022, Baylor Law returned to the competition to defend its title. This year’s team, coached by Professor of Law Larry Bates and Associate Dean Patricia Wilson, took second place and narrowly missed out to the University of Georgia School of Law after seven grueling rounds. Team members Michael Tagliabue and Sarah Megan Erb both competed on last year’s championship team.

The final round of the 2023 competition was judged by Judge Jennifer Elrod and Judge James Graves, both from the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit and by Justice Scott Brister, formerly with the Supreme Court of Texas. The Baylor Team’s brief was awarded the third-best brief in the competition.

The country’s top 16 moot court programs are invited to compete in the annual Hunton Andrews Kurth Competition. Programs are ranked according to their success in moot court competitions during the previous academic year. Baylor won the Competition in 2022, and one of the Baylor students, Lexie Ammons, also won the Best Speaker Award. Although the Baylor team did not repeat as National Champions this year, it’s one of the few programs that has competed in back-to-back finals in the Competition. Baylor Law teams were also semi-finalists in 2018, 2019, and 2020.

As runners-up, the Baylor Law students will share a $4,000 scholarship and an additional $600 for preparing the third-best brief.

MEDIA CONTACT: Ed Nelson, Director of Marketing & Communications
EMAIL: Ed_Nelson@Baylor.edu
PHONE: 254-710-6681

ABOUT BAYLOR LAW
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 7,800 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 Schools 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