What Makes Baylor Law Unique?
Baylor Law’s renowned Trial Advocacy program ranks among the best law school programs in the country. It is recognized by judges, practicing attorneys, and law professors for producing lawyers of unparalleled quality, preparedness, and integrity. Ranked 2nd in the nation by U.S. News & World Report, the Advocacy program consistently eclipses the country’s most prestigious law schools, finishing in the top five yearly since 2010.
Baylor Law’s Trial Advocacy program teaches all aspects of successful trial advocacy. From trial and litigation procedures to persuasive storytelling and the effective use of courtroom technologies, Baylor Law’s unparalleled program trains future lawyers for success in the courtroom.
At Baylor Law, Advocacy Exercises Are Integrated Into Every Aspect of the Law School Experience.
In their first year, while studying fundamental legal doctrines and theories in classes like Torts, Contracts, and Property, every student at Baylor Law is also learning critical writing skills that will make them better advocates in every area of the law. This training culminates in the Harvey M. Richey Moot Court Competition, where all first-year students compete against one another in their first law school advocacy competition.
In their second year, students can compete for Baylor Law in moot court, mock trial, client counseling, negotiations, and transactional competitions, and our students are given the opportunity to compete in more than one type of competition, ensuring that they have a chance to experience different facets of what it means to be an advocate.
Practice Court: Trial by Fire
Every law school in the country offers some trial advocacy courses that students can elect to take. But Baylor Law is the only law school that requires every third-year student to go through Practice Court: a two-quarter, four-course, real-world advocacy training ground, where students will get the chance to do opening statements, direct examinations, cross-examinations, voir dire, bench hearings, depositions, and at least three full trials in front of experienced trial lawyers.
Continually expanding and innovating for over 100 years, Practice Court brings the entire law school experience together, and it is a tested and proven method to ensure that Baylor Lawyers are prepared to start trying cases the moment they leave law school.
Advocacy Faculty: Real-World Experience Matters
Baylor Law’s advocacy courses are taught by a select group of experienced trial lawyers that have extensive – winning – courtroom experience. Additionally, students will receive instruction from dozens of Jaworski Fellows – successful, experienced, and still practicing trial lawyers who volunteer their time to critique and mentor Practice Court students.
Recognition
Baylor Law’s excellence in advocacy is recognized by judges, practicing attorneys, and law professors around the country. Baylor Law is currently ranked 3rd in the nation for trial advocacy by U.S. News & World Report, and Baylor Law has been ranked in the top 5 in the country for trial advocacy for the past twelve years.
Additionally, the prestigious American College of Trial Lawyers recognized Baylor for excellence in the teaching of trial advocacy by awarding the school its prestigious Emil Gumpert Award, and the editor of the American Bar Association’s Litigation News declared that “...Baylor law students get a degree of trial advocacy training unusual among the nation’s law schools.”
“Baylor Lawyers have always been known as great trial lawyers. The rigorous program is unmatched and it shows in the lawyers it produces.”
– The late Mark White
Baylor Lawyer, Governor, and Attorney General of Texas
