Congratulations to three Texas Law students, who claimed first, second, and third places in the annual Paper Chase Legal Writing Competition.
This marks the first time in the competition’s eight-year history that the three top places were claimed by students from the same school.
The competition took place in the fall of 2025, and the winners were announced Jan. 28, 2026.
2L Elizabeth Graff won first place, 3L Kayla Shelkey finished second, and 3L Elizabeth Baker claimed third. 3L Grant Shellhouse, who finished second in last year’s competition, was also a semifinalist and placed among the top six competitors this year.
The Paper Chase is put on by the Texas Young Lawyers Association and Baylor Law School. Members of TYLA judge the competition, and Austin-based FVF Law sponsors the cash prizes of $5,000, $1,500, and $500.
The competition draws law students from all over Texas to test their legal writing skills by responding to a fictional prompt based on current events.
This competition’s prompt required participants to draft a trial brief of no more than 10 pages in support of a motion to disqualify opposing counsel using a series of presumptions established by Texas courts.
A Texas Law student has won first place in five of the eight competitions and has placed among the top three every year.
Second-place winner Shelkey credits Texas Law’s David J. Beck Center for Legal Research, Writing, and Appellate Advocacy with Texas Law’s, as well as her own, success.
First-place winner Graff is a staff editor of Texas Law’s Texas Journal on Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, is a research assistant for Professors Rachel Rebouché and Alexander Zhang, and a teaching assistant for Zhang’s 1L contracts class. After graduating in 2027, Graff hopes to secure a clerkship, then focus on a career in litigation.
Shelkey will clerk for 5th Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Leslie Southwick after graduating.
(L-R): 3L Kayla Shelkey, 2L Elizabeth Graff, and 3L Beth Ann Baker. Photo courtesy of Texas Law.