I’m from the little town of Hamilton, Missouri. I grew up on a family farm. I went to a small state school and studied political science, then I headed to Oklahoma State University for a Master’s degree in Philosophy. I always wanted to be a lawyer so I chose Loyola for law school and I loved it. Now, I’m in my dream job as an Assistant State’s Attorney. I am in the First Municipal division which is all the misdemeanors in Cook County that are not in the suburbs. I am in court every day meeting with victims and trying cases. It is fast paced and challenging but rewarding. My law school friends are still my best friends and we enjoy coming back to the school to help out. I was given so much help through law school, now I’m paying it forward. Let me know what I can do for you!
taylor with her law license
Did you have a favorite class in law school?
My favorite class in law school was actually the hardest. My first year, my first semester, I had Professor Richard A. Michael for Civil Procedure. He came in the first day in all his glory, walked straight by the podium and pulled out a chair, sat down and said, “So, we’re going to talk about civil procedure.” It just set the tone. He didn’t invent the Socratic method but he did Socrates proud. The heart-pounding anticipation of being called on kept us all on our toes. I know it sounds terrible but what made it all worth it was the fact that the “RAM” was hilarious. He made us laugh every single class. He is whip smart and had that casebook memorized down to the smallest footnote. When you got something wrong, which everyone did, he might deliver his signature, “Sorry Charlie” and you couldn’t feel that bad because you were laughing with everyone else. To top it off, Professor Michael would accompany us afterwards to happy hour and entertain us with his stories. Unlike other sections, we were not allowed to use notes on our final , which added the pressure. Like I said, the hardest class I had in law school, but the one with the best memories.
What is your favorite Loyola law school memory?
Too many, but I’ll try to pick one. I choose Barrister’s Ball second year. By then my group of friends had really solidified and bonded. My best guy friend in law school, Jonny, was supposed to be my date. We had planned on it for awhile. Another friend of mine, Patrick, was taking our friend Jonsie. Jonny and Patrick apparently had a competition between them to see who would be the best date. Accordingly, officially asking us to accompany them to “Law School Prom” was the first step. Patrick made a huge poster and gathered a bunch of people outside Jonsie’s apartment window to ask her. Jonny was not to be outdone so he made me a video. He’s very good at it. Jonny happens to look like James Franco and the movie 127 hours had recently come out so Jonny made a video titled, “127 hours in the library.” He filmed it in the law school library and his arm was “pinned” with a law book. Giving his “last words” he said he really wanted to ask me to law school prom if he ever survived. Well, he posted the video on Facebook but didn’t tell me about it. I was walking around school that morning giving a tour to people and several people told me how much they liked the video. I didn’t know what they were talking about. I was finally clued in and it was great. Everyone all over law school including the Deans gave Jonny his due admiration. Jonny and I had a great time. We had matching old Hollywood outfits and because it was prom, I got him a boutonniere and he got me a corsage. The whole group took prom photos and just had a blast. Cutting loose was a much needed break and we had the best time.
Taylor Railsback
Class of 2012
Questions for Taylor? Email law-admissions [at] luc [dot] edu and we can put you in touch.