Austin Attorney Steve McConnico Honored As Baylor Lawyer of the Year

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Baylor Law School has selected Austin attorney Steve McConnico as its Baylor Lawyer of the Year for 2011. McConnico was honored at a Feb. 16 luncheon at the Austin Club.

"Steve is a universally respected, go-to lawyer who has in his practice and life exemplified the model of the lawyer who both leads and serves," said Baylor Law Dean Brad Toben. "He excels in the courtroom, among his peers in the bar, in the community and in all his endeavors. We are so proud of how he models the ideals to which we challenge our students to aspire."

McConnico is a name partner at the Austin law firm of Scott, Douglass and McConnico, L.L.P. A native of New London, Texas, he earned his baccalaureate degree from the University of Texas at Austin in 1972. He then attended Baylor Law School, where he served as Editor-in-Chief of the Baylor Law Review. After graduating with honors in 1976, he became the briefing attorney for Justice Jack Pope of the Texas Supreme Court and thereafter practiced law with Andrews Kurth in Houston.

He joined his current firm in 1985 and has tried more than 200 cases to jury verdict. These cases have included breach of fiduciary duty, theft of trade secrets, probate, breach of contract, environmental regulation, election law, class actions, business torts, oil and gas, personal injury and professional malpractice. He currently represents Fortune 500 corporations, some of the state's largest law firms, family owned businesses and individuals.

McConnico is a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers, the International Academy of Trial Lawyers, the International Society of Barristers and the American Board of Trial Advocates. He has served as Chairman of the Litigation Section of the State Bar of Texas, President of the Texas Chapter of the American Board of Trial Advocates, President of the Texas Supreme Court Historical Society and President of the Baylor Law School Alumni Association. Texas Monthly has selected him as one of Texas' Super 100 lawyers. He was selected as the Austin Bar Association's Outstanding Young Lawyer for 1984 and as its Distinguished Lawyer for 2010. He is Board Certified in Personal Injury Law and in Civil Trial Law.

He served as the interim Practice Court professor at Baylor Law School in 2005. He also has served as an Adjunct Professor of Professional Responsibility at the University of Texas School of Law. McConnico has given more than 150 continuing legal education presentations and has co-authored five law review articles, including two with Justice Jack Pope, which were selected by the Texas Bar Foundation as Law Review Finalist Award Winners.

Gerald R. Powell, The Abner V. McCall Professor of Evidence Law at Baylor Law School, said McConnico is "highly respected by judges as a competent and ethical lawyer." He added, "If you were to ask any knowledgeable lawyer in Texas who is on the top 20 list of outstanding trial lawyers in the state, Steve McConnico would be on everybody's list. He is a genuine master of both the law of procedure and the art of trial advocacy."

McConnico is married to Leslie Rost McConnico, who is an active volunteer in the Austin community. They have a daughter, Callie, and two sons, Andrew and Kit. The McConnicos are members of Covenant Presbyterian Church.

The Lawyer of the Year award is given annually to an outstanding alumnus who has brought honor and distinction to Baylor Law School and the legal profession. Past recipients include Watergate Special Prosecutor Leon Jaworski, former Texas Lt. Gov. Bob Bullock, former F.B.I. director William Sessions, former U.S. Rep. Jack Hightower and Gov. Price Daniel Sr., among others. The award has been presented by Baylor Law School since 1963.

About Baylor University

Baylor University is a private Christian university and a nationally ranked research institution, characterized as having "high research activity" by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. The university provides a vibrant campus community for approximately 15,000 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 11 nationally recognized academic divisions.

About Baylor Law School

Established in 1849, Baylor Law School was the first law school in Texas and one of the first west of the Mississippi River. Today, the school has more than 7,000 living alumni. It is accredited by the American Bar Association and is a member of the Association of American Law Schools. Baylor Law School has a record of producing outstanding lawyers, many of whom decide on a career in public service. The Law School boasts two Texas governors, members or former members of the U.S. Congress and U.S. Senate, two former directors of the FBI, 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 the third best in the nation. Baylor Law School is ranked No. 56 in the magazine's 2012 edition of "America's Best Graduate Schools."
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