Biography

Sara B. Baumgardner is an attorney in the Trial & Appellate Litigation practice of Jackson Walker’s Austin office. She represents clients in complex civil litigation and appeals. In her work, she draws on experience at every level of the appellate process; a strong background handling significant appeals in public service; and insight into judicial decision-making, gained from her judicial clerkships.

Before joining Jackson Walker, Sara served in the Office of the Solicitor General within the Office of the Attorney General of Texas, where she was first a Gregory S. Coleman Fellow and later an Assistant Solicitor General. In those roles, she represented the State of Texas in high‑stakes appellate matters. She has drafted consequential briefs and petitions filed in the Supreme Court of the United States, the Supreme Court of Texas, the Fifth Circuit, and other federal and state appellate courts.

And thanks to her background and training as a classical singer, Sara is comfortable on her feet in appellate argument. She has presented argument in appeals before the Supreme Court of Texas, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, and Texas intermediate courts of appeals.

Sara also brings valuable insight from her judicial clerkships. She served as a law clerk to the Honorable Jennifer Walker Elrod of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit and to the Honorable John Phillip Devine of the Supreme Court of Texas. In those positions, she gained valuable firsthand perspective on appellate advocacy, how judges think about cases, and effective written persuasion.

Education

B.M., summa cum laude, Texas Tech University

J.D., summa cum laude, Texas Tech University School of Law

• Order of the Coif
• Texas Tech Law Review, Comment Editor (3L) and Staff Member (2L)
• Board of Barristers, Director of Written Advocacy
• State Champion and Don Hunt Best Brief Award, Texas Young Lawyers Association State Moot Court Competition
• National Moot Court Competition, National Runner‑Up, National Top Ten Brief
• Legal Practice Teaching Fellow

Bar Admissions

Texas