WACO -

Baylor Law School student and U.S. Army veteran Taylor A. McConnell has been designated a Leadership Fellow at Baylor Law, having completed the requirements for the Leadership Development Program.

McConnell has been a dedicated volunteer at the Baylor Law Veterans Clinic, where he assisted at the legal advice clinics, drafted wills for Central Texas veterans, and has represented several clients in litigation. He served as the President of the Baylor Law Military & Veterans Legal Society and was Secretary for LEAD Counsel. He won the Spring 2019 Bob and Karen Wortham "Mad Dog" Competition and received both the Best Speaker and Best Advocate Awards in the Fall ’18 Dawson and Sodd Moot Court Competition. In addition to volunteering for the Veterans Clinic, McConnell volunteered with Baylor Law’s Trial Advocacy Clinic, helping juveniles at their initial detention hearings in district court. Working with Baylor Law Veterans Clinic Director Josh Borderud, McConnel assisted the 74th District Court in developing the first Veterans Treatment Court in McLennan County.

“This is one of my proudest achievements in law school,” stated McConnell upon receiving notice that he was designated a Leadership Fellow, “I always recommend the program to all those who ask about it.”

Baylor Law’s Leadership Development Program is one of only a handful of law school programs in the country dedicated to preparing students to become servant leaders in both the legal profession and their communities. The program produces graduates who are not only proficient in analyzing a client’s situation and offering guidance, but who are able to think critically, navigate complex and diverse issues, use reasoning, judgment, imagination, and foresight to create new possibilities and solutions.

Leadership Fellows are Baylor Law students that have met the strenuous requirements of the Leadership Development Program. In order to earn the designation, a Baylor Law student must:

• Take the Leadership Engagement and Development (LEAD) class and complete the personal development and team-building course (the Baylor Ropes Challenge Course).
• Complete of a minimum of 23 hours of Professional Development Programming.
• Serve as an officer of a Baylor Law student organization for a minimum of three quarters. While serving as an officer, the student must perform a minimum of 25 hours of service related to activities of the organization.
• Complete of a minimum 25 hours of community service.
• Serve as an intern for a charitable or community organization's director or management team, or as an extern for a legislator, working a minimum of 45 hours.

McConnell is currently clerking for the Honorable Christine Nowak, U.S. Magistrate Judge in the Eastern District of Texas.

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EMAIL: Ed_Nelson@Baylor.edu
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ABOUT BAYLOR LAW
Established in 1857, Baylor Law was one of the first law schools in Texas and one of the first west of the Mississippi River. Today, the school has more than 7,500 living alumni. Accredited by the American Bar Association and a member of the Association of American Law Schools, Baylor Law has a record of producing outstanding lawyers, many of whom decide upon a career in public service. Baylor Law boasts among its notable alumni two governors, members or former members of the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate, two former directors of the FBI, U.S. ambassadors, federal judges, justices of the Texas Supreme Court and members of the Texas Legislature. In its law specialties rankings, U.S. News & World Report ranked Baylor Law’s trial advocacy program as among the best in the nation at No. 2. Baylor Law School also is ranked No. 48 in the magazine’s 2020 edition of “America’s Best Graduate Schools.” The National Jurist ranks Baylor Law as one of the “Best School for Practical Training” and No. 4 in the nation in its most recent “Best Law School Facilities” listing. Business Insider places Baylor Law among the top 50 law schools in the nation. Baylor Law School received the 2015 American Bar Association Pro Bono Publico Award, making it only the third law school in the nation to be honored with the award since its inception in 1984. Learn more at baylor.edu/law

ABOUT BAYLOR UNIVERSITY
Baylor University is a private Christian University and a nationally ranked research institution. The University provides a vibrant campus community for more than 17,000 students by blending interdisciplinary research with an international reputation for educational excellence and a faculty commitment to teaching and scholarship. Chartered in 1845 by the Republic of Texas through the efforts of Baptist pioneers, Baylor is the oldest continually operating University in Texas. Located in Waco, Baylor welcomes students from all 50 states and more than 80 countries to study a broad range of degrees among its 12 nationally recognized academic divisions. Learn more at baylor.edu