Two Baylor Law School students have been recognized by the Dallas Hispanic Law Foundation (DHLF) for their academic achievements, service to the Hispanic community, and steadfast commitment to increasing access to justice. 2L Julia Incerpi Diaz and 1L Cristy Lopez Aguilar were each selected as 2025 recipients of DHLF awards, given annually to promising Hispanic law students across Texas.
Julia Incerpi Diaz received a $2,600 scholarship awarded to students who demonstrate academic merit and dedication to serving Hispanic communities. Cristy Lopez Aguilar received a $3,000 internship grant supporting her placement in a judicial internship with a Dallas-area court this summer. The DHLF awards approximately 20 scholarships, bar study grants, and internship stipends each year.
The two Baylor Law School students will be honored, along with their fellow recipients, at the Foundation’s Amanecer Luncheon on May 8, 2025.
For Incerpi Diaz, this recognition underscores a journey that began long before law school. She channels her experiences into a mission-driven pursuit of justice and reform. “My study of the law is tailored to serve my community in Central Texas,” she wrote in her scholarship application. “Successfully advocating for my family inspired me to pursue a legal career to advocate for others. I plan to dedicate my life to helping the disenfranchised through legal mechanisms.”
That advocacy began at home, where she fought for and won full custody of her son and navigated complex legal proceedings to protect her grandmother, who suffers from dementia, from financial exploitation. Without the resources to hire legal counsel, Incerpi Diaz took on the legal work herself. Her experiences lit a fire—one she now fuels through her rigorous legal training at Baylor Law School.
She has taken criminal procedure and practice courses, interned with the local District Attorney’s office and a local judge, and plans to publish research on rehabilitative methods for sex offenders. Through a future private practice and a proposed legal education program for children in her local school district, she hopes to empower her community with both legal services and knowledge.
Lopez Aguilar, recipient of the Foundation’s internship grant, is similarly focused on meaningful impact. Through the DHLF’s Judicial Internship Program, she will serve in a Dallas-area court, gaining hands-on experience in civil or criminal proceedings. The competitive internship opportunity requires applicants to have completed their first-year curriculum and commit to at least four weeks of judicial service. "My inspiration to pursue law school was my own family’s experience with immigration law," noted Lopez Aguilar. "One attorney went above and beyond to help my family and me obtain our permanent residency. That experience taught me the immense impact that one great attorney can make. Since then, I decided that I wanted to attend law school and become the attorney who goes the extra mile for her clients."
Both students credit Baylor Law School’s supportive faculty and student organizations for encouraging them to pursue the opportunity. “Professor Laura Hernández graciously shared the opportunity with HALSA members,” Incerpi Diaz said, referring to the Hispanic American Law Students Association, which connects and supports Hispanic students at Baylor Law.
Dean Jeremy Counseller praised both recipients for exemplifying Baylor Law School’s mission. “Julia and Cristy are wonderful examples of how determination, compassion, and a commitment to justice can change lives—both their own and those around them,” he said. “We are proud to see their efforts recognized by the Dallas Hispanic Law Foundation and look forward to the good they will continue to do for their communities.”
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