Judge Christine Nowak

Nowak is currently the Judge of the 493rd Judicial District Court in Collin County and is a former United States Magistrate Judge for the Eastern District of Texas, Sherman Division (2015-2023).  Nowak graduated with honors from Baylor Law School in the spring of 2005.  Before attending Baylor Law, Nowak 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 with the Student Government Association at Texas A&M, receiving the Buck Weirus Spirit Award, which recognizes students for their outstanding contributions to student life programs at Texas A&M.  During her law school tenure, Nowak served as an Associate Editor of the Baylor Law Review, participated in numerous competitive mock trial teams, won the Practice Court intramural competition, was a member of the Order of the Barristers, and earned an academic scholarship. 

After graduating from Baylor Law, Nowak began her legal career at K&L Gates, LLP (formerly Hughes Luce). She worked in the firm’s commercial litigation practice group and tried her first cases to jury verdict.  She then joined Dykema Gossett PLLC, rising to the level of Member (Partner) in her first year of eligibility and serving as the hiring/recruiting 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.

Nowak was appointed United States Magistrate Judge for the Eastern District of Texas, Sherman Division, in 2015.  During her eight years on the bench, Nowak resolved thousands of pretrial matters, including discovery, pleading, and summary judgment motions, and presided over numerous jury trials.  As a federal judge, she also conducted hundreds of settlement conferences and mediations in all types of civil litigation, including but not limited to securities fraud, intellectual property disputes, employment cases, mortgage foreclosure, premises liability, civil rights, breach of fiduciary duty, and contract disputes, garnering a reputation for successfully mediating complex cases involving a wide range of issues. 

Nowak was appointed by Governor Greg Abbott to Collin County’s newest court, the 493rd Judicial District Court in Collin County, on October 3, 2023.  Nowak presides over both civil and family cases. 

Nowak is heavily involved at Baylor Law School, within the bar, and throughout her local community.  At Baylor Law, Nowak is a Jaworski Fellow Adjunct Faculty Member and currently serves as the President of the Baylor Law Alumni Association.  She is actively involved in numerous professional associations, including the Dallas Bar Association, Dallas Women Lawyers Association, Collin County Bar Association, and Collin County Women Lawyers Association.  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 also serves her community in various capacities, including acting as Troop Leader and Den Leader to her children’s scouting groups.  Judge Nowak is married to fellow Baylor Lawyer and 366th District Court Judge of Collin County, Hon. Tom Nowak (JD ’05).  They have two children and live in Collin County, Texas. 

PROFESSIONAL RECOGNITIONS

• Baylor Law School Young Lawyer of the Year 2023
• DAYL Outstanding Young Lawyer of the Year 2016
• Texas Monthly “Rising Star” in 2012, 2013, 2014, and 2015, recognized for Business Litigation, General Litigation, and Estate & Trust Litigation
• Texas Mediator Credentialing Association Credentialed Mediator 2021, 2023
• Mediation Training in Dispute Resolution Techniques (Texas SB#1436) 2020
• Mediation Skills Training for Federal Judges (Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution at Pepperdine University School of Law) 2018
• Texas Bar Foundation, Life Fellow
• Dallas Bar Foundation, Fellow 2012
• DAYL Leadership Class of 2011-2012

ADMITTED TO PRACTICE

• State Bar of Texas, 2005
• United States District Court, Northern, Eastern, Southern, and Western Districts of Texas, 2005
• United States Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit, 2012
• United States Supreme Court, 2013

EDUCATION

Baylor University Law School, Waco, TX

Juris Doctor with Honors (Cum Laude), May 2005

• Baylor Law Review, Associate Editor
• Moot Court & Mock Trial Competition Teams
• Order of the Coif, Barrister
• William Trail Contracts Award & Loy Simpson Award
• Dean’s List
• Recipient of Joseph Milton Nance Scholarship

Texas A&M University, College Station, TX

Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting with Honors (Cum Laude), December 2001

• Buck Weirus Spirit Award
• College of Business Honors Graduate
• Lowry Mays College and Graduate School of Business Honors Society
• Dean’s List
• National Merit Commended Scholar; National Society of Collegiate Scholars
• Association of Former Students Endowed Scholarship
• Public Policy Intern for Congressman Pete Sessions
• Student Government Association (Executive Council, Student Senate, University Distinguished Lecture Committee)
• Legal Education Group for Aggie Law Students (LEGALS)