Mary (“Molly”) Alexandra Dennard Teague of Charlotte, North Carolina, is this year’s Founder’s Medalist for the Law School.
After earning her B.A. at Davidson College, Teague taught history and social studies for two years in the Baltimore City Public Schools as a member of the Teach for America Corps, later working as a paralegal for The Children’s Law Center, a New York-based legal nonprofit devoted to child advocacy before entering law school.
As a 1L, Teague took Property Law and was hooked. During her second and third years, she devoted most of her elective course credits to classes focusing on property, land use, and environmental law. She plans to join Gibson Dunn & Crutcher in New York as an associate focusing on real estate.
“Vanderbilt Law School is a small, close-knit community, and I am so thankful that I got a chance to be a part of it. I feel lucky to have received the support of excellent professors, thoughtful classmates, and caring friends,” Teague said.
She worked as a summer associate at Gibson Dunn & Crutcher in 2022 and as a law clerk to Magistrate Judge Peggy Kuo of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York in summer 2021.
During her time at VLS, Teague was senior managing editor of Vanderbilt Law Review, vice president of the American Constitution Society, vice president of the Voting Rights and Advocacy Society, and co-director of the Legal Aid Society’s Street Law Program.
She received Scholastic Excellence Awards (highest grade) in her Property, Contracts, and American Legal History classes. She also received the Lightfoot, Franklin & White Best Brief Award as a 1L.
Her Law Review Note, “Conservation Easements, Flexibility, and the ‘In Perpetuity’ Requirement of IRC § 170 (h),” was published in October 2022. Teague received the Myron Penn Laughlin Note Award for contributing the best Note to the Law Review at graduation.