Baylor Law School


Baylor Law School is the oldest law school in Texas. Baylor Law School is affiliated with Baylor University and located in Waco, Texas. The school has been accredited by the American Bar Association since 1931, and has been a member of the Association of American Law Schools since 1938. The program offers training in all facets of law, including theoretical analysis, practical application, legal writing, advocacy, professional responsibility, and negotiation and counseling skills.
Established in 1849, Baylor Law School was the first law school in Texas and one of the first west of the Mississippi River.

History

Baylor originally established the law school in 1849; at that time it was the second law school established west of the Mississippi. Law classes continued until 1883 when the school was discontinued. In 1920, the Board of Trustees reestablished the law school under the direction of Dean Allen G. Flowers. The school was temporarily suspended from 1943–1946 as a result of World War II. Bradley J.B. Toben currently serves as Dean of the Law School.

Academics

Unlike the rest of Baylor's programs, the Baylor Law School operates on a quarter system; a student may begin classes in either February, May, or August. Students that begin classes in the spring quarter receive special treatment and usually enjoy an easier law school experience than students who begin in the summer or fall quarters. The Law School also has four graduating classes per year. Each matriculate class has a separate application pool, and applicants are required to apply to the quarter in which they would like to begin.
A typical academic year consists of three quarters, with students choosing to take off the fourth quarter of the year to complete a clerkship or internship. However, students may elect to complete the program in only 27 months by attending every quarter. The school’s curriculum is a practical one, focused more on the positive state of the law than a normative one.
In addition to the standard Juris Doctor degree, Baylor Law students can obtain a combined JD with either the Master of Business Administration, the Master of Taxation, the Master of Public Policy and Administration, or the Master of Divinity degree.
In its law specialties rankings, U.S. News & World Report ranked Baylor Law's trial advocacy program as the second best in the nation. Baylor Law School is ranked No. 48 in the magazine's 2020 edition of "America's Best Graduate Schools." Above the Law ranked Baylor Law School at No. 33 in 2016. The school also has the dubious distinction of being ranked as having the most competitive student body of every law school in the nation for several years by the Princeton Review.

Law review

The is the law school's official student-run law review. The journal was founded in 1948 and is published three times per year. Students may join the Law Review via having a qualifying GPA, being selected through a write-on competition, or writing a note or comment for the journal that is selected for publication.

Employment

According to Baylor's official 2013 ABA-required disclosures, 67.6% of the Class of 2013 obtained full-time, long-term, JD-required employment nine months after graduation. Baylor's Law School Transparency under-employment score is 17%, indicating the percentage of the Class of 2013 unemployed, pursuing an additional degree, or working in a non-professional, short-term, or part-time job nine months after graduation.

Costs

The total cost of attendance at Baylor for the 2013-2014 academic year is $69,113. The Law School Transparency estimated debt-financed cost of attendance for three years is $262,761.

Notable alumni