Taylor Leger, valedictorian of the class of 2023, is a second-career student who decided to become a lawyer after working as a business and technology consultant for several years. “I came to the idea of law school gradually,” Leger said. “I have a bachelor’s degree in Atmospheric Science from Texas A&M University because I had wanted to be a broadcast meteorologist.”
After an internship in that field helped Leger change her mind about her chosen career path, she briefly thought about attending law school but postponed a decision about it. “My dad suggested that I should get some real-world experience and then decide about going to law school,” Leger said. “That was helpful advice.”
Once she began her legal studies at South Texas College of Law, Leger took law school very seriously, diligently studying 40 hours each week, in addition to classroom time. “I treated studying like it was a full-time job,” she said.
The hard work paid off for Leger, who achieved the highest grade in at least 13 different classes and was on the Dean’s Honor List each semester. She was also a member of the South Texas Law Review. An active and successful member of South Texas Law’s award-winning Moot Court team, Leger also won the Best National Brief Award at the prestigious New York City Bar’s 72nd National Moot Court competition. She also received STCL Houston’s Outstanding Advocate Award.
She has spent her summers working at Jackson Walker, and has interned for the Hon. Charles R. Eskridge III, a U.S. district judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas, and for South Texas Law’s jurist-in-residence the Hon. Jennifer Walker Elrod, who serves on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.
Leger has plans to become a general business litigator after passing the bar exam. She will be serving as a clerk for Drew B. Tipton, a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas.
