At Baylor Law School We Are Expecting Another Great Year After a Stellar 2012
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From The Dean’s Desk Welcome to 2013! At Baylor Law School we are expecting another great year after a stellar 2012. Last year, our trial advocacy students took home first and second place at the National Trial Competition and first place at the National Institute for Trial Advocacy Tournament of Champions. In the triple crown of law school advocacy competi- tions, Baylor Law took home two of the crowns! Later this month, our National Moot Court regional champs will head to New York City to compete for the national title. Nearly 30 interscholastic advocacy teams are guided by our faculty and adjunct faculty members who lead as coaches, as well as by many Baylor Lawyers who give their time and experience to critique students during their practice rounds. As always, we are so proud of our alumni and we love to hear about the exciting career and personal paths Baylor Lawyers have taken. In this month’s Rocket Docket we catch up with Lance Harvey (JD ‘95), who has moved away from his legal career to take over and re-launch his family’s educational tours company. Student Tours of America works with educators to provide youngsters from around the country with an opportunity to see the cities and landmarks that played a major role in developing our nation. Sadly, sometimes we have to say goodbye to some of our Baylor Lawyers. Last month we lost a longtime friend and supporter when Joe Allbritton (LLB ‘49) passed away on Dec. 12. Allbritton and his family faithful- ly supported Baylor Law School, establishing the Abner V. McCall Chair in Evidence. In this issue of Rocket Docket we offer a look at Allbritton’s life and legacy. Remembering Joe Allbritton Joe Allbritton (LLB ‘49), a longtime friend and supporter of Baylor Law School, passed away on Dec. 12. A former Regent of Baylor University, Allbritton and his family faithfully supported Baylor Law School, estab- lishing the Abner V. McCall Chair in Evidence currently held by Professor Gerald Powell. “His generosity and his leadership in the many venues of business and commerce were singular in scope and import, and were an example for all of us to emulate,” said Baylor Law School Dean Brad Toben. “Joe will be greatly missed, but his legacy will live on through the lives of those he touched.” On The Road: Baylor Lawyer Builds Student Tour Company Not all roads out of law school lead to a lifetime career in the legal field. Just ask Lance Harvey (JD ‘95), presi- dent and founder of School Tours of America (STA), which takes youngsters on tours of cities and landmarks that have shaped the nation’s history. Harvey in a way is carrying on with American Student Travel, the business his father, Frank, a former middle school teacher, started out of the family’s spare bedroom. “Beginning in middle school I spent my vacations in Washington, D.C., selling T-shirts and working on the luggage truck,” Harvey said. “In high school, I participated in nearly every facet of the tour operations busi- ness, including airports, hotels, leading groups on the subway system, and even the underground rail system at the U.S. Capitol.” While he loved working in the family business, Harvey’s debate skills soon caught the attention of his teach- ers, eventually leading him to Baylor Law School, where he received the Leon Jaworski Scholarship for Out- standing Undergraduate Advocates. After law school, Harvey joined the litigation section at Andrews & Kurth in Houston, where he specialized in tort and corporate litigation defense handling thousands of claims on behalf of clients such as BP Amoco, Owens Corning, and Rapid American. While he relished the competitive challenges of the law practice, he missed having the sense of contributing to something greater. For Harvey, preparing for and even winning jury trials could not match the transformative work he witnessed in the educational tour field. Along with his love of the educational tour industry, Harvey also was concerned about the direction Ameri- can Student Travel was taking. The successful company, along with its biggest competitors, was acquired by Wachovia and merged into a new tour company. As part of the acquisition, a new seat was created on the company’s board of directors, and in 2001 Lance took the seat over from his father. However, Harvey soon discovered that the company his father had so lovingly built had been transformed in ways that took a different direction from the one envisioned by his father. “While my father’s business was financially rewarding, it had always maintained the mission of empowering youth and introducing them to the rights and duties of their citizenship,” Harvey said. “Pricing was always fair and transparent, and my father liked to include students who couldn’t normally afford the experience. The tour experience was also the highest priority, providing true historians trained to connect with their audience.” In 2002, Harvey assembled a team of 10 industry veterans and founded STA, which is based in Houston. “In giving up my legal career, I was committed to taking what my father had built and making it better,” he said. “I’m not interested in becoming a travel agent. I want to offer a life-changing experience for both teach- ers and students. The 21st century student faces challenges the traditional classroom can’t meet. While educa- tors are debating how to use certain technologies in the classroom, every educator concedes we must educate global citizens.” Harvey, like his father before him, is determined to make sure that every student has the opportunity to expe- rience educational travel, regardless of family income. To that end, Harvey and his company developed My Tour Fund, a personal website for students to earn their tour spot by performing community service projects and seeking sponsors through social media. “If you have ever complained about having to buy candy or wrapping paper to help a kid who is only going to receive 50 cents on the dollar, how about donating $20 to a seventh grader who is willing to give up their weekends to plant gardens at a nursing home in order to go to Washington, D.C., to learn about their govern- ment and to pay respect to the same veterans for whom they had just planted gardens,” Harvey asked. Thanks to STA’s success, the company has spun off two additional endeavors: Group Tours of America is for adult groups and travel clubs, and Christian Tours of America is dedicated to the community of pastors, paro- chial and home school markets seeking a tour experience based on America’s Christian heritage. While he is no longer in a courtroom, Harvey said his Baylor Law School education prepared him well for his second career. “Trial advocacy lends itself to every facet of leading a business — HR, marketing strategies and messaging, sales calls, dealing with administrators,” he said. “There’s not a day that I don’t use some facet of my legal edu- cation and training.” First Victory: From Green to Gold There’s nothing like the rush of that first courtroom win or that difficult (but successful) negotiation. It comes soon for Baylor Lawyers; they hit the ground running and their first professional achievements are never far behind. Baylor Law School has established First Victory in recognition that Practice Court was worth it — regardless of your practice area — and winning feels great. But we can’t revel in your triumphs if we don’t know about them. If you, a classmate or a Baylor Law colleague has recently garnered their first professional victory, send in a nomination for a First Victory commendation. Docket Call Preview Baylor Law School alumni will begin receiving their copies of our new Docket Call magazine soon. Docket Call’s look has been updated and the magazine will now be published quarterly in order to provide more fre- quent and timely information and stories to our alumni. The spring 2013 Docket Call focuses on Baylor Law School’s commitment to community service, particularly our work with iCivics, a revolutionary Internet-based, interactive method of teaching civics through games that was developed under the leadership of retired U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor. Baylor Law School has worked to refine and execute iCivics in classrooms in the Waco and Midway school districts thanks to the efforts of iCivics Texas State Coordinator Wendy May (JD ‘96) and Baylor Law’s Director of Alumni Relations Berkley Knas, (JD ‘10), as well as Baylor Law students. The issue also includes feature stories on community legal clinics conducted by Baylor Law faculty and stu- dents aimed at helping young, undocumented immigrants and military veterans. Alumni also will find the latest news on fellow alumni, faculty, and student achievements. In the coming weeks, the spring 2013 issue of Docket Call will be posted on Baylor Law’s website. Meet The Faculty & Staff Every month we will be featuring some of the faculty and staff members here at Baylor Law School. Elizabeth Miller Professor of Law Professor Elizabeth Miller is a nationally recognized expert on the law of limited liability companies and limit- ed liability partnerships, two very popular, but relatively new forms of unincorporated business entities. Law- yers nationwide rely on the updates she prepares for American Bar Association publications and programs, and she frequently speaks on topics involving corporate, partnership, and limited liability company law at continuing legal education programs. Miller was in private practice for six years before she returned to Baylor Law School to join the faculty in 1991.