Larry T. Bates

Professor Larry Bates joined the Baylor Law School faculty after almost nine years in practice as a corporate bankruptcy specialist with the Dallas law firm Carrington, Coleman, Sloman & Blumenthal, L.L.P. While in practice, he represented clients in some of the largest bankruptcy reorganization cases in the United States, including Zales Jewelers, National Gypsum, Federated Department Stores, Circle-K Stores, Southmark, The Western Company, Metro Express Airlines, Texas American Bancshares, and First City Texas Bancorp. He also represented clients in pro bono cases involving prisoners' rights and the death penalty.

Professor Bates teaches Contracts and Commercial Law - including International and Domestic Sales Law and Secured Transactions. He is also Faculty Advisor to the Baylor Law Review and coaches Baylor's Inter-Scholastic Moot Court teams. He is a member of the American Bar Association committee responsible for overseeing the ABA's National Appellate Advocacy Competition.

He has written extensively on commercial law and bankruptcy since joining the faculty. His publications include “Administrative Regulation of Terms in Form Contracts: A Comparative Analysis,” Volume 16, Emory International Law Journal (2001-2002); “Excepting Credit Card Debt From Discharge in Bankruptcy: Why Fraud Can't Mean What the Courts Want it to Mean,” Volume 78, North Dakota Law Review (2001-2002); and “Certificates of Title in Texas Under Revised Article 9,” Volume 53, Baylor Law Review (Fall 2001).

Professor Bates earned his J.D. magna cum laude from Marquette University School of Law in 1983 after receiving his B.A. magna cum laude from the University of Minnesota in 1978. He received an LL.M. degree from Harvard Law School in 1986, where he was an editor for the Harvard Civil Rights-Civil Liberties Law Review. Professor Bates clerked for the Honorable John L. Coffey of the United States Courts of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit from 1986-87. He also served as an adjunct professor at Southern Methodist University School of Law in 1994.

Courses Taught

Commercial Law: Secured Transactions, Contracts I, Contract II, and Sales Transactions: Domestic & International Law