Baylor Law Prof Receives National Law Library Award

by Alan Hunt

A Baylor Law Review article he authored last year has netted a prestigious national award for Matthew C. Cordon, associate professor of law and reference librarian at Baylor Law School. He has been named one of two recipients of the 2004 Outstanding Article Award presented by the Academic Law Libraries Special Interest Section of the American Association of Law Libraries.
Professor Cordon will be recognized at a ceremony at the Harvard Law Library on July 13 during the annual meeting of the American Association of Law Libraries. Law Dean Brad Toben said, "This is a well-deserved award for which Matt and the entire Baylor Law School community should be extremely proud."
The American Association of Law Libraries says its Outstanding Article Award honors members for contributions to the enhancement of academic law librarianship through publishing. "The winning articles were judged on the quality of writing, effectiveness of communication technique, and relevance to law librarianship."
Professor Cordon's article, published in the Baylor Law Review, was titled "Beyond Mere Competency: Advanced Legal Research in a Practice-Oriented Curriculum." A graduate of Central Methodist College and Texas Wesleyan University School of Law, he joined the Baylor law faculty in 2000.
The other recipient of the Outstanding Article Award is Nancy Carter, director and professor of law at the University of San Diego School of Law and Legal Research Center.
Professor Cordon also received an Outstanding Faculty Award in the non-tenured research category during Baylor's spring commencement ceremony, held May 14 in the Ferrell Center. In a letter of nomination to the Outstanding Faculty Selection Committee, Dean Brad Toben described Professor Cordon as "extraordinarily productive in the areas of research and scholarship during the past two years." Detailing Cordon's numerous research activities, he pointed out, "Despite investing many hundreds of hours on these projects, Professor Cordon maintains a full teaching load and has received rave reviews from students and faculty colleagues alike in his classroom performance."
Toben said that during the past year, Professor Cordon, along with Professor Brandon Quarles, law library director, completed work on a treatise entitled Legal Research for the Texas Practitioner, which was published by William S. Hein & Co., Inc. of Buffalo, New York in August 2003.
"The 423-page book, which includes more than 1200 substantive footnotes, contains an in-depth study of the nature of federal and state authorities that are the subject of legal research, as well as an historical perspective on the development of various laws," he said. "It is intended not only for use by practicing attorneys, but also by students and faculty in law schools and undergraduate colleges as an academic tool."