Ronnie Turner, Jr. Named the 2022 Young Baylor Lawyer of the Year
Ronnie Turner Jr with Dean Brad Toben
The 2022 Young Baylor Lawyer of the Year, Ronnie Turner, Jr. (Left) with his wife Brianna and daughter Nuria pose with Deans Wilson (2nd from right) and Toben (Right) at the recent Houston Baylor Lawyers Network Reception.
WACO
Ronnie Turner, Jr. (JD, ’10), Senior General Attorney for the Union Pacific Railroad Company, has been named the 2022 Young Baylor Lawyers of the Year. Dean Brad Toben (JD, ’77) publicly announced the honor at a recent Houston Baylor Lawyers Network reception.
Ronnie was born and raised in Houston, Texas. The son of a pastor, his namesake, Ronnie grew up in the church – being there sometimes eight times a week. Turner received his bachelor’s degree from Lamar University in 2007 and graduated from Baylor Law in 2010. While at Baylor Law, Turner was a successful student and an effective advocate as a member of several Baylor Law Mock Trial competition teams and even earned a spot in the intramural Mad Dog Competition finals. Turner was an active student leader in the Black Law Students Association (BLSA) and was president of Diversity in Law.
After graduating, Turner began his legal practice at Provost Umphrey Law Firm in Beaumont, Texas. He practiced for over a decade, winning several trial verdicts listed on the Top 100 Verdicts in Texas and obtaining the single largest wrongful death settlement in the firm’s history. He was perennially listed as a Texas Rising Star, Best Lawyers in America, and has been listed as one of Texas' Top 100 Up and Coming Lawyers by Texas Monthly. Since 2020, Turner has served as Senior General Attorney for Union Pacific Railroad, on its personal injury litigation leadership team, as the primary legal advisor to Union Pacific's Locomotive Department, and as senior service unit attorney.
Turner remains actively involved in activities at Baylor Law School, including as a former Baylor Law Alumni Association Executive Committee member. He is an active local church minister serving as an associate minister. He is an avid soccer fan; his favorite team is Arsenal F.C. He is married to his lovely wife, Brianna Turner. They have one child, Nuria Bailey Turner, who is two years old.
Dean Brad Toben (JD ’77), shared: “Ronnie epitomizes the vision of what a Baylor Lawyer should be, and he does so through his professional acumen, integrity, and commitment to service. Simply put, Ronnie exemplifies the aims and ideals of Baylor Law, and we are proud to call him a Baylor Lawyer. At every step of his professional journey, he has proved correct what we knew about him as a student – someone who would lead and serve with passion and compassion for his clients and his community.”
Turner shared, “I am so honored to receive this recognition. To be included among the prestigious list of past recipients is quite humbling. I am so appreciative of my time at Baylor Law. I would not be the lawyer nor person I am today if I had not met all the Deans, professors, and colleagues that made my experience great.”
The Young 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. Recipients of the award are selected by the Executive Committee of the Baylor Law Alumni Association.
About the Young Baylor Lawyer of the Year Award
The Baylor Young 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. The recipient must not reach age 45 before Jan. 1 of the award year. Recipients are selected based on the following criteria:
- The nominee's legal ability and achievements as a lawyer;
- The nominee's contributions to the legal profession;
- The nominee's standing in the profession;
- The nominee's Christian character;
- The nominee's civic, religious, and other attainments; and
- The nominee's active interest in Baylor Law.
Past Recipients
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
To Nominate a Young Baylor Lawyer of the Year:
Baylor Law is accepting nominations for the 2023 Young Baylor Lawyer of the Year. The Executive Committee of the Baylor Law Alumni Association will review a resume and the first three letters received for each nominee.
To submit a nomination for the 2023 Young 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
The 2022 Young Baylor Lawyer of the Year, Ronnie Turner, Jr. (2nd from left) poses with his family and Deans Wilson (2nd from Right) and Toben (Right).
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Established in 1857, Baylor University School of 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 7,600 living alumni. It is accredited by the American Bar Association and is 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. The Law School boasts 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, among its notable alumni. In its law specialties rankings, U.S. News & World Report ranked Baylor Law's trial advocacy program as one of the top 5 in the nation. Baylor Law is also ranked in the top 50 in the magazine's 2019 edition of "America's Best Graduate Schools." The National Jurist ranks Baylor Law as one of the "Best School for Practical Training," and in the top 15 "Best Law School Facilities" in the country. The Business Insider places Baylor Law among the top 50 law schools in the nation. Baylor Law 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 the award's inception in 1984. Learn more at baylor.edu/law
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