The Paper Chase Legal Writing Competition
The 2026 Paper Chase Legal Writing Competition
Check back soon for Competition Dates & Deadlines
Open to J.D. students from any of Texas’s nine non-Baylor law schools, The Paper Chase is a high-stakes, practice-oriented writing competition that tests your analytical and legal writing skills. With a $5,000 grand prize and a challenging problem adapted from real case files, this competition is a chance to put your legal writing skills to the test.
“The Paper Chase offers a unique opportunity for Texas law students to showcase their legal writing talents in a competitive setting,” says Matt Cordon, Director of Baylor Law’s Legal Writing Program.
Baylor Law hosts this competition with support from the Texas Young Lawyers Association (TYLA), whose members serve as the sole judges of the anonymized entries. Generously sponsored by FVF Law, The Paper Chase invites students from all Texas law schools (except Baylor) to participate.
For more information, visit your school’s Legal Writing department.
Students interested in participating should speak with the legal writing department at their respective law schools.
For questions, please contact paperchase@baylor.edu.
Read About the 2025 Paper Chase Legal Writing Competition
The Paper Chase Legal Writing Competition is sponsored by the litigation law firm of FVF Law.
Josh Fogelman and Aaron von Flatern, both Baylor Law grads, worked together at a small litigation firm in Austin, where they successfully handled a variety of complex cases and developed a close friendship. Working together, Josh and Aaron recognized they shared the same values about personal injury law: that people whose lives have been unexpectedly disrupted should be treated with respect and transparency and given the best opportunity to pick up the pieces and move forward. So, in 2014, Josh and Aaron founded FVF with the mission of educating injured Texans so they can better understand their options and make informed decisions. By undertaking this mission one person at a time, it is their ultimate goal to change how the public perceives personal injury lawyers and instill trust back into this area of practice.
