Ralph Matthew 'Matt' Dawson

Matt Dawson March 20, 1916 February 17, 2015 Ralph Matthew 'Matt' Dawson, attorney, judge, law professor, and deeply beloved father, grandfather, and great-grandfather, died on Tuesday, February 17, 2015. He was 98. Services will be held at 2:00 p.m., Friday, February 20, at First Baptist Church, Waco, with the Dr. Matt Snowden officiating. Visitation with be 5:00 7:00 p.m., Thursday, February 19, at Wilkirson-Hatch-Bailey Funeral Home. Born on 20 March, 1916, to Dr. Joseph Martin Dawson, minister of First Baptist Church of Waco, and Mrs. Willie Turner Dawson. Matt was the fourth of five siblings. After graduating from Waco High School in 1933, he earned a B.A. from Baylor University, followed by a law degree from Baylor University Law School in 1938. His flair for public speaking, as well as his fierce competitive drive, proved invaluable to his career as a champion debater; the law seemed an inevitable choice for talents that included an incisive intellect and an instinct toward fine-tuned dramatic arguments. After law school, Matt established his first legal practice in Longview, dealing with the proliferation of energy industry cases that the oil boom had spawned in East Texas. In 1942, he stood in an election for a specially-created Gregg County Judgeship, with the result that, at age twenty-six, he became what was at that time the youngest judge ever to sit on a Texas bench. A tour of service as Medical Corpsman in the U.S. Navy during World War II ended with a decision to join a law office in Corsicana, which he and his older brother eventually developed into the firm of Dawson and Dawson; this evolved through several iterations into Dawson and Sodd. As the long-term trial attorney in the brothers' partnership, Matt argued hundreds of cases in courts all over Texas with almost invariable victory, representing civil clients from railroads and corporations to private individuals. In 1972, after thirty-five years of practice, he was asked to fill the Leon Jaworski Chair in Practice and Procedure at Baylor Law School. His former students have often testified as to his teaching effectiveness: "Matt Dawson had everything to do with whatever level of success I have achieved," Dary Stone JD '77, 2009-2011 chairman of the Baylor University Board of Regents has said. "He taught me how to prepare, how to communicate, and he taught me how to win. He influenced me more than any professor I ever had." Bill Kirkman JD '78., also commented, "He would work with us from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m., though he still had a law practice to run and classes to teach. He was a master with words but also was an example to us. We're all practicing law today because of what we saw in Matt Dawson." While director of Practice Court, Matt was nationally renowned for the triumphs of his mock trial teams, which won two national competitions and nearly every regional competition over a period of ten years. He was also responsible for starting the tradition of mini-trial competitions. Twice each year Baylor Law School awards the "Mad Dog," an 18-inch bronze statuette of Matt Dawson, to the winner of the Wortham Top Gun mini-trial competition the nickname 'Mad Dog,' assigned to him both by his professional peers and his students, was 'due to his fervent passion and fighting spirit'. A life-size bronze statue depicting Matt delivering a summation to a jury is located outside the Practice Court classroom at the Baylor University Law School. A group of former students, alumni, and friends of Professor Dawson, determined to ensure the Law School's ability to maintain a Trial Advocacy professor of his caliber, have founded a professorship in his name. After Matt retired from academia in 1983, he resumed his trial practice for another two decades. During that time, he tried or evaluated a number of landmark cases and decisions, joining forces with Joe Jamail and Jim Kronzer of Houston to litigate the 1985 Pennzoil vs. Texaco suit which resulted in the largest judgment ever awarded in world history up to that point: $11.1 billion, and accepting the request to weigh all the evidence and pronounce as to the justice of the 1985 verdict found against Brown and Root reportedly the largest cash legal settlement in U.S. history at that time in the South Texas Nuclear Project suit. Matt's long list of professional honors include his induction as Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyersthe first from a small Texas city; Outstanding 50-Year Lawyer, as named by the Texas Bar Foundation; one of Texas Lawyer's 102 Lawyer Legends: the Most Influential Lone Star Attorneys Of The 20th Century; and Texas Monthly's oldest Super Lawyer for 2005, 2006 and 2007. Matt's marriage to Princess Louise Markham of Longview in 1939, sealed a devoted alliance that would last for more than sixty years, give life to five children, and bring great love, joy, and adventures to both partners. Together, Matt and Princess Louise brought their children up with high ethical ideals, a strong commitment to educational excellence, and a philosophy of positive contribution; they also encouraged a balance between spiritual faith and rational inquiry. Matt is survived by his five daughters and sons: Donna Fisher of Stanford, California, and her husband, Dr. Robert Fisher; Rebecca Brumley and her husband, Jon Brumley, of Fort Worth and Granbury; Mark Dawson and his wife, Mary Dawson, of Waco; Carol Dawson of Austin and her husband, Jeffery Poehlmann; and John Dawson of Henderson and his wife, Allie Dawson. In addition, he leaves sixteen grandchildren, ten great-grandchildren, eleven nieces and nephews, their spouses, and their children and grandchildren. Matt's grandsons will act as pallbearers. Honorary pallbearers are William Carden, Jerry Dyer, Dr. Eugene Fung, Leland Gustin, Dr. Harold Lecrone, Jerry Powell, Roy Ed Price, Dr. Ross Shipp, Glen Sodd, Judge Robert Stern, and Dean Brad Toben. In lieu of flowers, please forward donations to Baylor University School of Law. The family invites you to leave a message or memory in our "Memorial Guestbook" at www.WHBfamily.com.