Biography
Laura A. Hernández joined the faculty of Baylor Law in 2008 following 11 years as a litigator specializing in corporate defense at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, L.L.P. in Los Angeles, Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer, & Feld, L.L.P., in San Antonio, and Bickel & Brewer, L.L.P. in Dallas. Her clients included publicly held Fortune 100 companies involved in the oil and gas, entertainment and insurance industries.
Professor Hernández attended Stanford University, where she graduated with a B.A. in Economics and a B.A. in Communications. She attended law school at Southern Methodist University. Among many other honors at SMU, she was named the Sarah T. Hughes Law Scholar for the Class of 1996, a full scholarship awarded by the Dallas Bar Foundation.
Professor Hernández’s legal scholarship to date has focused on issues facing recent immigrants to the United States. She has written for numerous publications, including the Cornell Journal of Law and Policy, the Stanford Journal of Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, the Texas Hispanic Journal of Law and Policy, and the Southern California Review of Law and Social Justice. Professor Hernández has also contributed a chapter to the book Controversies in Equal Protection Cases in America, joining other notable constitutional scholars like Erwin Chemerinsky, Francisco Valdes, and Ian Haney López.
Professor Hernández is also the founder of the Baylor Law Immigration Clinic. To date, students volunteering at the clinic have assisted over 300 Waco area residents with their immigration needs.
Professor Hernández enjoys coaching a number of Baylor Law moot court teams. Since 2012, her teams have won five national championships, two regional championships, seven best brief awards, and ten speaker awards.
