The Best Belong at Baylor
Written: Aug 01 '07
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Possibly the best training ground for litigators in the country.
Cons: Extremely intense workload at times; strong litigation focus overshadows other areas.
The Bottom Line: Definitely worth a look for those who want to practice in Texas, want to focus on litigation, or just want a solid legal education.
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| sdeinhorn's Full Review: Baylor University School of Law |
Why am I Qualified to Write a Review on Baylor Law Review?
My qualifications for writing this review are simple: I am a recent graduate of Baylor Law School. Sometimes it appears that writers reviewing universities or law schools might have visited once, but their review reads like a summary of the school’s website. I spent three years at Baylor Law—with all the blood, sweat, and sleepless nights that went along with it. Baylor Law School was certainly not easy, but when I walked across that stage to get my diploma, it made it all worth while.
I am a Baylor Lawyer, so I do have my own biases and prejudices. For anyone who wants to be a trial lawyer, especially in Texas, I believe Baylor is the best law school a person could choose (for the record, I have no intention of being a trial attorney—my focus is upon business transactions and tax).
The “Boot Camp” of Law Schools
If you spend a few minutes researching Baylor Law you will undoubtedly uncover the mantra, “Baylor Law School is the boot camp of law schools.” The Princeton Review first wrote that line in their brief summary of the law school. The phrase was originally intended as a negative attribute about the school, but when the administration and professors heard it, they latched onto it—Baylor Law prides itself in pushing students harder and demanding more than most (any) other law schools.
In what way does Baylor push students? At some schools, the assignments tend to be viewed as “suggested reading.” At Baylor, professors demand that students read, understand, and be prepared to articulate the details and concepts of the assignments. The Socratic method is rigidly adhered to as students are called on, questioned, and frequently belittled or thrown out of class for inadequate answers. In all honesty, Baylor is probably not for the shy, squeamish, or lazy. If a person wants to go to law school without getting noticed or picked on, and if they really just want an “easy” three years—then law school is probably not for that individual, and Baylor Law is definitely not for that person.
In all fairness, I do believe that Baylor’s tough image is in the process of getting softened. Recently, Baylor lost three first year professors (Melissa Essary, the previous torts professor, became the Dean of Campbell Law School; William Trail, the old Contracts professor, retired; Patricia Wilson, who taught property, now teaches upper level electives). They were replaced by Professors Underwood, Bates, Feausler who appear to be excellent lawyers and professors, but also to be much more willing to show students mercy and kindness than the previous Baylor Law tradition would allow.
At most law schools, the third year is the easiest, but at Baylor the third year is by far the most intense, because all students are required to spend two quarters in “Practice Court.” Practice Court is the crown jewel of Baylor’s juris doctorate program, consisting of about six months of exceedingly intense study of civil procedure, evidence, and all aspects of trial procedure. In the program, students frequently have daily reading assignments in excess of 300 pages (and when we are talking about statutes and cases, that takes a long, long time to read). At the same time, there are trial exercises to prepare the students to handle all aspects of trying a case. When a student graduates from Baylor Law School they know precisely what to do from the time a client walks into the office door, to filing the paperwork for a trial, to participating in discovery, to selecting a jury, to trying the case, to writing the jury charge, and even what motions to file once a judgment has been rendered. Baylor students know not only the law and theory behind all of those aspects, they actually done it. There are few educational experiences that will define and shape who you are and how you perform the way that Practice Court does. At times, the tremendous work load is feels like it is simply hazing—when I sit down with any Baylor Law graduate, the first thing we always do is compare Practice Court stories (for example, I once heard this exchange: “Well, you may have gone three straight days without sleep, but when I was in Practice Court, the old Professor Underwood became so irritate when I couldn’t dictate a proper ‘no-evidence motion for summary judgment’ that he threw his coffee cup across the room! He called on me for the next five straight classes!”).
The Bar Exam
When selecting a law school, most prospective students want a school that will prepare them to practice law, pass the Bar, and get a good job. Baylor does well in all of those areas, most notably with an unparalleled bar passage rate. On the February 2007 exam, 100% of Baylor graduates passed the Bar exam in every jurisdiction in which they attempted the exam In July 2006, 98% of the Baylor grads passed. In the last ten years, Baylor has had the highest passage rate on almost every offering of the Texas Bar Exam of any of the Texas law schools.
When I was studying for the Bar, I met someone from another Texas school, whose Bar passage rate is significantly lower, who complained, “Yeah, Baylor has a really high Bar passage rate, but that’s because they teach for the Bar.” After enduring three years at Baylor and comparing our curriculum to all the other law schools, I have no idea what that person was talking about. Many lower ranked schools clearly teach for the bar, but that is absolutely not Baylor’s philosophy. Baylor teaches its students to practice law, but the overall focus is not towards the Bar. Unlike many schools, Baylor does not offer a class for credit on how to take the Bar—they teach the law and then assume their students are smart enough to pass.
The Students
I remember when I started law school. I looked around at the students in orientation with me, and I felt rather certain that I would do well in law school. Sure, I knew they all had to be reasonably intelligent people, but I have always done so well in school. I had straight As an undergrad. I even had straight As when I earned a master’s degree before law school. My grades were always good because I always worked so hard—so I knew that law school would be hard, but that I was read for the challenge. About an hour into orientation, I was struck by the reality that the quality of intellects sitting around me was unlike anything I had ever experienced—and I would need to really work to keep up. Sitting around me were some people from the finest universities in the countries, many students who were the top graduate of their undergraduate class, a few with photographic memories, all of them with incredible undergraduate grades, and all of them ready to work hard. Baylor is consistently ranked as the most competitive law school in the country—that is not because the students are cutthroat and unethical, but rather because they are smart and work hard.
As I mentioned earlier, with the new first year professors, it appears that first year students may have slightly more free time than they may have in years past. When I was in law school, my first year was spent doing almost nothing but studying (partially that is because it was so hard, but it is also because I spent more time in the books than most other students).
The Facilities
In a word, Baylor Law School’s facilities are gorgeous. Before first seeing Baylor Law School, I never would have dreamed that such amazing facilities could be found in Waco. Words cannot really describe the building. There is no way to fully explain the attention to detail that went into making the facilities as gorgeous and impressive as possible. From the African cherry wood to the imported tiles, the buildings are simply breathtaking upon first glance.
The law school has essentially three large wings: the western wing houses the three story law library. It is equipped with all the computers and high tech gadgets one would expect. On the eastern wing, the first two floors house classrooms and courtrooms while the third floor contains the faculty offices. The middle wing holds the Dean’s suite, the law review offices, and the moot court office.
Baylor Law brags of the latest and greatest technology throughout the school. For instance, all seats are equipped with electrical outlets and Ethernet connectivity. The entire law school is, of course, connected by a wireless network. My favorite feature of the law school is the wireless printing: I could print a document from anywhere on campus and then go to a nearby printer to pick it up.
The Faculty
Baylor brags that it has one of the top teaching faculties in the world, but that is honestly up for some debate. Baylor places a higher premium on their faculty’s teaching effectiveness rather than number of publications, which is a stark contrast to most law schools. Baylor Law also hires professors from private practice—nearly every professor at Baylor has practiced significantly in their field, not just studied books on practicing.
Undoubtedly, Baylor has an exceptionally strong litigation faculty: if you want to go to law school to learn to litigate, I really doubt there is a better place in the world to prepare. If business transactions are your field, Prof. Beth Miller is the school’s crown jewel, recognized as a top scholar and endless encyclopedia of knowledge for everything related to corporations, partnerships, LLCs, LPs, LLPs, etc. (actually, I believe she is the one who wrote that endless encyclopedia of knowledge). For those who are considering entering into the field of estate planning, Prof. Tom Featherston is accepted as one of the top, if not the top, attorney in Texas for dealing with wills, trusts, estate planning, and guardianships. When evaluating the faculty from top to bottom, most areas of the laws are taught by extremely competent faculty members who have a mastery of their fields. The area that stands out as being rather weak at Baylor is intellectual property (if you are planning on specializing in intellectual property, the ranking for Baylor Law School is probably about three stars, maybe even two).
Most of Baylor’s law professors are quite good and well-recognized for excellence in their field. I have heard the composition of the faculty criticized due to a high number of Baylor Law alums now teaching at the school. While I really do see the validity of that criticism, there are two responses that should be mentioned. First, many of the faculty members are not from Baylor. Second, the “official” Baylor response generally sounds like this: “Baylor is an exceptional school with extremely high standards which produces outstanding lawyers—we are proud to hire our own.” Personally, I would like to see new faculty hires coming from the ranks of Harvard, Yale, and Stanford, but the Dean has yet to ask my advice.
The Quarter System
Unlike virtually every other school in America, Baylor Law School is on the quarter system, not the semester system. This means that classes only last 11 weeks (10 weeks plus finals), but that we need to take 50% more classes than most of our counterparts. It also means that it is possible to take a full four quarters every year, allowing the J.D. degree to be completed in about twenty-five months.
The quarter system also impacts the entering classes. Unlike most schools that exclusively enters students in the Fall, a student can matriculate at Baylor in either the Fall, Spring, or Summer. The Fall and Spring classes each generally have a target of 60 entering students, while the goal is generally 30 students for the Summer class. Interestingly, the level of competition is much different for each class: the strongest class always enters in the Fall, while the weakest class is the Summer class (I don’t mean to offend anyone, but statistically, it is true). So, a strong candidate who could gain admission in either the Fall or Summer will probably find that their first-year grades would be better if they are curved against the weaker Summer class rather than the Fall starters.
Baylor…Isn’t that a Baptist School? Is this a Religious Law School?
Yes, Baylor University is historically a Baptist university. Yes, if you attend the undergrad university across the street from the law school you will find some evidence of the Baptist heritage. No, Baylor Law School is not a Christian or Baptist law school—not at all.
I do find that Baylor is slightly more politically conservative than at most law schools. Don’t get me wrong: there are many Democrats at the law school and they are quite vocal about their views. I recall reading that 92% of law school professors are “liberal Democrats.” At Baylor there is not a 92% majority of any viewpoint; while I am not aware of any poll, I felt that the viewpoints were rather evenly spread without any dominating majority.
Final Thoughts
I enjoyed my three years at Baylor Law, and I would do it again if I had the choice. Law school was hard—really hard. But I can honestly say that I finished law school feeling as if I know the law (or at least how to find out what the law is) and ready to practice.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
sdeinhorn
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Location: New York, New York, USA
Reviews written: 45
Trusted by: 7 members
About Me:
Tax attorney who loves photography, electronic gadgets, computers, theology, and books.
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