Eminent Family Lawyer Ike Vanden Eykel Named 2020 Baylor Lawyer of the Year
Ike Vanden Eykel (JD ’73), has been selected as the 2020 Baylor Lawyer of the Year by the Executive Committee of the Baylor Law Alumni Association.
Vanden Eykel is one of the most respected family lawyers in the country. He has been featured repeatedly among the Top 10 Attorneys in Texas and has been consistently listed among Texas Super Lawyers and one of the Best Lawyers in Dallas. He is one of only 28 recipients of the Texas Academy of Family Law Specialists’ Sam Emison Award, the highest honor that can be bestowed upon a Texas family law attorney. As CEO and Managing Partner of KoonsFuller, he has grown the firm into one of the largest family law firms in the country.
Baylor Lawyer of the Year Ike Vanden Eykel leads Baylor Law students in the Oath of Professionalism during new student orientation.
“I am honored to be named the recipient of this award,” stated Vanden Eykel after hearing he had been named Baylor Lawyer of the Year, “To be added to the list of remarkable individuals who have received this recognition is truly a humbling experience,” he added.
“Ike has given himself to the family law community like few others. His standing in the community could quite legitimately be described as iconic,” stated Fred Adams, Jr. (JD ‘81), fellow partner at KoonsFuller, who added, “Family law in the state of Texas has been substantially improved as a result of Ike Vanden Eykel’s efforts.”
Family law in the state of Texas has been substantially improved as a result of Ike Vanden Eykel’s efforts." Fred Adams, Jr. (JD ‘81), Partner, KoonsFuller
Vanden Eykel authored the book on Texas family law, Successful Lone Star Divorce, and co-authored the Texas Family Law Practice Guide and Protecting Your Assets from A Texas Divorce. He and law partner Sharla Fuller have collaborated on another book, Lone Star Divorce: The NEW Edition. In addition, he was portrayed in the book, My Husband Is Trying to Kill Me, and the made-for-TV movie, Dead Before Dawn, for his representation of abuse victim Linda Edelman.
“Ike’s universally admired abilities in the courtroom and in the conference room, and his personal and professional accomplishments are unrivaled. He can make the complex simple and has a unique ability to diffuse even the most confrontational situation,” stated Baylor Law’s Dean Brad Toben, who added, “Most important, Ike understands the obligations of a lawyer and a person of faith to serve, and he daily lives out that dedication to service."
He is also a member of the Texas Academy of Family Law Specialists, a Fellow in the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers and the International Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers and a Diplomate in the American College of Family Trial Lawyers, and is the immediate past-president of the Baylor Law Alumni Association.
Vanden Eykel has served on multiple boards including the Child Abuse Prevention (CAP) Center of Dallas, Collin County Children’s Advocacy Center, the Exchange Club Center for the Prevention of Child Abuse of DFW, Family Compass, and the Dallas Bar Foundation, among many others. He is presently on the Board of Trustees for Drake University, where he received his undergraduate Bachelor of Science degree in 1971.
Vanden Eykel and his wife, Cathy, have been married for over 40 years and have three children: Eric, Lindsey (JD ’14) and Steven. A private luncheon in Vanden Eykel’s honor will be hosted by Baylor Law.
About the Baylor Lawyer of the Year Award
The Baylor Lawyer of the Year Award is given annually to an outstanding alumnus/a who has brought honor and distinction to the Law School and to the legal profession. Recipients are selected based upon the following criteria:
- 1. The nominee's legal ability and achievements as a lawyer;
- 2. The nominee's contributions to the legal profession;
- 3. The nominee's standing in the profession;
- 4. The nominee's Christian character;
- 5. The nominee's civic, religious and other attainments; and
- 6. The nominee's active interest in Baylor Law.
Past Recipients
2019 - Lewis R. Sifford
2018 - J. Rodney Gilstrap
2017 - Murray Watson Jr.
2016 - T. Albert Witcher
2015 - Jerry K. Clements
2014 - Bill Brian
2013 - David M. Guinn
2012 - Leonard E. Davis
2011 - Steve McConnico
2010 - Ed Kinkeade
2009 - George Chandler
2008 - Joe E. Coleman
2007 - Sam R. Cummings
2006 - Noley R. Bice, Jr.
2005 - Wyatt H. Heard
2004 - T. John Ward
2003 - Turner W. Branch
2002 - John Eddie Williams
2001 - Harold Nix
2000 - Louis Muldrow
1999 - Walter Umphrey
1998 - Gordon L. Hollon
1997 - James M. "Jim" Farris
1996 - Jack Hightower
1995 - John T. Boyd
1994 - Bob Bullock
1993 - Bill Logue
1992 - Rex Houston
1991 - Sam B. Hall, Jr.
1990 - Edwin P. Horner
1989 - George M. Cowden
1988 - William S. Sessions
1987 - R. Matt Dawson
1986 - Robert Maurice Campbell
1985 - Bill D. Daniel
1984 - Angus S. McSwain, Jr.
1983 - Wayne Fisher
1982 - Clarence A. Guittard
1981 - John H. Minton, Jr.
1980 - Cullen Smith
1979 - Howard F. Saunders
1978 - Connally McKay
1977 - William J. Boswell
1976 - Claude Williams
1975 - Gibson Gayle, Jr.
1974 - Jim D. Bowner
1973 - Truman E. Roberts
1972 - Charles W. Barrow
1971 - W.R. "Bob" Poage
1970 - Morris Harrell
1969 - Thomas C. Mann
1968 - Frank M. Wilson
1967 - Victor W. Bouldin
1966 - Abner V. McCall
1965 - M. Price Daniel
1964 - Leon Jaworski
1963 - A.J. Folley
Nominations
Baylor Law will accept nominations for the 2021 Baylor Lawyer of the Year through December 1, 2020. The Executive Committee of the Baylor Law Alumni Association will review all materials received for each nominee.
To submit a nomination for the 2021 Baylor Lawyer of the Year, please send a nomination letter describing why the nominee meets the below criteria to:
Dean Brad Toben
Baylor Law
One Bear Place #97288
Waco, Texas 76798
MEDIA CONTACT: Ed Nelson, Director of Marketing & Communications
EMAIL: Ed_Nelson@Baylor.edu
PHONE: 254-710-6681
ABOUT BAYLOR LAW
Established in 1857, Baylor Law was one of the first law schools in Texas and one of the first west of the Mississippi River. Today, the school has more than 7,500 living alumni. Accredited by the American Bar Association and a member of the Association of American Law Schools, Baylor Law has a record of producing outstanding lawyers, many of whom decide upon a career in public service. Baylor Law boasts among its notable alumni two governors, members or former members of the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate, two former directors of the FBI, U.S. ambassadors, federal judges, justices of the Texas Supreme Court and members of the Texas Legislature. In its law specialties rankings, U.S. News & World Report ranked Baylor Law’s trial advocacy program as among the best in the nation at No. 2. Baylor Law School also is ranked No. 48 in the magazine’s 2020 edition of “America’s Best Graduate Schools.” The National Jurist ranks Baylor Law as one of the “Best School for Practical Training” and No. 4 in the nation in its most recent “Best Law School Facilities” listing. Business Insider places Baylor Law among the top 50 law schools in the nation. Baylor Law School received the 2015 American Bar Association Pro Bono Publico Award, making it only the third law school in the nation to be honored with the award since its inception in 1984. Learn more at baylor.edu/law
ABOUT BAYLOR UNIVERSITY
Baylor University is a private Christian University and a nationally ranked research institution. The University provides a vibrant campus community for more than 17,000 students by blending interdisciplinary research with an international reputation for educational excellence and a faculty commitment to teaching and scholarship. Chartered in 1845 by the Republic of Texas through the efforts of Baptist pioneers, Baylor is the oldest continually operating University in Texas. Located in Waco, Baylor welcomes students from all 50 states and more than 80 countries to study a broad range of degrees among its 12 nationally recognized academic divisions. Learn more at baylor.edu
