Hon. Christine A. Nowak Named the 2023 Young Baylor Lawyer of the Year
Dean Emeritus Brad Toben, Young Baylor Lawyer of the Year Christine Nowak, and her husband the Hon. Tom Nowak, JD ’05
WACO
Former United State Magistrate Judge Christine A. Nowak (JD, ’05) has been named the 2023 Young Baylor Lawyer of the Year. Dean Emeritus Brad Toben (JD, ’77) publicly announced the honor at a recent Baylor Lawyers Network reception at the State Bar of Texas annual meeting.
Nowak was born and raised in Sherman, Texas. Before attending Baylor Law, she earned her Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting with Honors from Texas A&M University. In addition to being an outstanding undergraduate student, Nowak was heavily involved in the Student Government Association and received the Buck Weirus Spirit Award, which recognizes students for their outstanding contributions to student life programs at Texas A&M.
Nowak then attended Baylor Law and earned her Juris Doctor with Honors in the spring of 2005. During her law school tenure, she was Associate Editor of the Baylor Law Review, participated in several competitive mock trial teams, won the Practice Court intramural mock trial competition, was a member of the Order of the Barristers, and earned a full academic scholarship.
After graduating from Baylor Law, Nowak began her legal career at K&L Gates, LLP (formerly Hughes Luce, LLP) and worked in the firm’s commercial litigation practice group, trying her first cases to jury verdict as lead counsel for the nation’s largest provider of trade shows and event furnishings. She then joined Dykema Gossett PLLC, rising to the level of Member (Partner) in her first year of eligibility and serving as the hiring partner for the Dallas office. There she continued to focus on complex business and commercial disputes, garnering a broad array of experience advising businesses and employers in state and federal court. During her decade in private practice, Nowak was recognized numerous times as a Texas Monthly “Rising Star” for Business Litigation, General Litigation, and Estate & Trust Litigation and was named DAYL Outstanding Young Lawyer of the Year.
Judge Nowak is an ardent supporter and cheerleader of Baylor Law School, and she fulfills all the criteria – to the nines – for recognition as the 2023 Young Baylor Lawyer of the Year.”
– Dean Emeritus Brad Toben
Then, in 2015, Nowak was appointed United States Magistrate Judge for the Eastern District of Texas, Sherman Division. A colleague, The Honorable Christopher H. Steger, United States Magistrate Judge for the Eastern District of Tennessee, commented, “I know from personal experience that Judge Nowak enjoys respect and affection from her colleagues on the bench.” In his nomination letter, Judge Steger notes that Judge Nowak “exemplifies the spirit of service and dedication that Baylor Law School instills in its graduates.”
Dean Brad Toben shared, “I have followed Judge Nowak’s career, and she is, by any measure, a stand-out, both personally and professionally. At the time of her investiture as a federal judge, I predicted that just as she had already proven herself as an exceptional lawyer in practice, she would prove to be a respected and admired steward of our justice system through her service in the judiciary and would be a credit to Baylor Law School through her service. She has done exactly that.”
Nowak shares that she was honored to be recognized as Baylor Law School’s Young Lawyer of the Year. “Baylor Law School prepared me to be a trial lawyer, not just to think about the law, but to practice it. For that, I will be forever grateful. During my time on the federal bench, I put the skills I learned in Baylor’s Practice Court to use every single day. Baylor Law instilled in me the strong worth ethic necessary to succeed on and off the bench. I am so humbled to have been selected for this award.”
I know from personal experience that Judge Nowak enjoys respect and affection from her colleagues on the bench.”
– Honorable Christopher H. Steger,
United States Magistrate Judge for the Eastern District of Tennessee
Nowak is heavily involved at Baylor Law School, within the bar, and throughout the community. At Baylor Law, Nowak is a Jaworski Fellow, Adjunct Faculty Member, and President of the Baylor Law Alumni Association. She is actively involved in the Eastern District of Texas Bar Association, Women Lawyers of the Eastern District of Texas, Dallas Bar Association, Dallas Women Lawyers Association, Collin County Bar Association, Collin County Women Lawyers Association, and Dallas Bar Foundations. She served on the Editorial Board of the Federal Courts Law Review as the Fifth Circuit Representative and is a Credentialed Mediator through the Texas Mediator Credentialing Association. She serves her community in various capacities, including acting as Troop Leader and Den Leader to her children’s scouting groups. Nowak is married to fellow Baylor Lawyer and 366th District Court Judge of Collin County, the Honorable Tom Nowak (JD ’05). They have two children and are faithful parishioners of St. Mark Catholic Church.
Dean Toben notes, “Judge Nowak is an ardent supporter and cheerleader of Baylor Law School, and she fulfills all the criteria – to the nines – for recognition as the 2023 Young Baylor Lawyer of the Year.”
The Young Baylor Lawyer of the Year Award was created in 1995 to recognize an outstanding Baylor Lawyer under 45 who has brought honor and distinction to Baylor Law and the legal profession. The Executive Committee of the Baylor Law Alumni Association selects the award recipients.
About the Young Baylor Lawyer of the Year Award
The Young Baylor Lawyer of the Year Award is given annually to an outstanding alumnus/a who brought honor and distinction to the Law School and the legal profession. The recipient must not reach age 45 before Jan. 1 of the award year. Recipients are selected based on 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 School.
Past Recipients
2022 - Ronnie Turner, Jr.
2021 - Hon. K. Nicole Mitchell
2020 - Angela Cruseturner
2019 - Dillon Meek
2018 - James M. Stanton
2017 - Allison Dickson
2016 - Ryan Squires
2015 - Matthew C. Matheny
2014 - Libby King
2013 - Robert Little
2012 - Vincent Allen
2011 - Shannon Sedgwick Davis
2009 - Keith Langston
2008 - Bryan Hughes
2007 - Christopher Martin
2006 - Bryan Blevins
2005 - Greg Jackson
2004 - JoAl Cannon Sheridan
2003 - Julie Springer
2002 - Amos Mazzant
2001 - Jim Dunnam
2000 - Craig Eiland
1999 - John Meredith
1998 - Dan Malone
1997 - Bill Jones
1996 - Kirk Watson
1995 - Priscilla Owen
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