A capacity crowd of Baylor law alums, friends, faculty, staff and students of Baylor Law School recently honored leading Albuquerque and New Mexico attorney Turner W. Branch as the 2003 Baylor Lawyer of the Year. The award is given annually to an outstanding alumnus who has brought honor and distinction to Baylor Law School and the legal profession.
Branch, a 1965 Baylor law graduate, was recognized during Baylor Law School's annual Law Day banquet April 12 in the Ferrell Center. He received the recognition from Robert D. Barkley of Dallas, president of the Baylor Law Alumni Association, and Law School Dean Brad Toben.
A nationally known trial attorney who has won recognition for his skills in the courtroom and his legal achievements, Branch is a native New Mexican and completed his undergraduate degree at the University of New Mexico. He served on active duty as an officer in the United States Marine Corps before enrolling in Baylor Law School in 1963. He and his wife, Margaret, founded the Branch Law Firm in Albuquerque in 1966. He currently serves as the Out-of-State Lawyer Liaison on the Board of Directors for the Texas State Bar and as Senior Counsel of the American College of Barristers.
Branch is a member of the New Mexico, Colorado and Texas State Bars and the District of Columbia Bar Association. He is a Board Certified Civil Trial Advocate by the National Board of Trial Advocacy and as a Civil Trial Specialist by the New Mexico Board of Legal Specialization. He also has served on the Board of Governors for the Western Trial Lawyers Association and is a former trustee for the National College of Advocacy. He is a Diplomate and life member of the Association of Trial Lawyers of America and served as the New Mexico representative for ATLA for 12 years. He is a former trustee of the National College of Advocacy; a Diplomate of the American Board of Trial Advocates; a director on the National Board of ABOTA; and the former president of the New Mexico chapter of ABOTA, from which he received an outstanding service award. Branch is a Fellow and former director of the International Academy of Trial Lawyers.
Describing them as "a class team," Dean Toben said Turner and Margaret Branch are universally recognized in the profession as lawyers of the very highest caliber. Toben said, "Everything they do in their work and in their lives they do with a passion for excellence."
Turner and Margaret Branch announced a few years ago a seven-figure gift to Baylor Law School to underwrite the construction of a practice courtroom at Baylor's Sheila and Walter Umphrey Law Center, which opened for classes in August 2001. The finely appointed courtroom facility is known as the Turner and Margaret Moses Branch Courtroom. The Branch's generous gift also was used to underwrite a student scholarship program at Baylor Law School.
"Turner Branch has said that if you had it in you to be a trial attorney, Baylor Law School would bring it out. Now, the Branch donation is helping to guarantee that," Toben said. "Their philanthropy to Baylor Law School and its students is not only remarkable in size, but also is targeted to assist our students in their trial advocacy training and to assist our students financially to allow them to reach their educational and professional objectives."
Noting that Branch exemplifies the criteria for the Baylor Lawyer of the Year award, Toben said Baylor Law School "is proud to call Turner Branch one of our own. He serves as a true inspiration to all in the legal profession - a thoughtful, talented person who is always ready to assist those in need."
The Baylor Lawyer of the Year presentation climaxed a week of Law Day activities at Baylor Law School. The keynote address at the Law Day banquet was presented by U.S. Rep. Chet Edwards of the 11th Congressional District of Texas, who delivered the law school's annual John William and Florence Dean Minton Endowed Law School Lecture. Edwards spoke on the topic, "Church-State Separation: America's Legacy at Risk."
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