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Office of General Counsel 979.458.6120 rbonilla@tamus.edu
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Ray Bonilla Ray Bonilla leads the Office of General Counsel of The Texas A&M University System and serves as its chief legal officer. The A&M System includes eleven universities, seven state agencies and a health science center. The A&M System members educate more than 120,000 students and reach another 22 million people through service each year. With more than 28,000 faculty and staff, the A&M System has a physical presence in 250 of the 254 counties in Texas, and a programmatic presence in every one. The Office of General Counsel provides legal advice and counsel to all System members, coordinates and assists in litigation representation provided by the Attorney General's office, and secures and coordinates outside legal counsel services throughout the A&M System as needed. Prior to joining the Office of General Counsel in September 2011, Ray was a partner in the law firm of Ray, Wood & Bonilla in Austin where he represented a wide range of governmental entities, businesses and individuals on issues involving open government, elections, ethics, procurement and public finance. Ray previously served as General Counsel of the Texas Comptroller’s Office. In that position, Ray served as the primary legal advisor to Comptroller Sharp in his role as the State’s chief tax administrator and chief financial officer. Ray also served as the chief legal officer of an organization with 2,800 employees, 35 field offices and an annual budget of more than $150 million. He served as chair of the agency’s Tax Policy Committee charged with resolving major tax issues, managed the legal issues attendant to the day-to-day operations of the agency as well as issues relating to the creation of the Texas Tomorrow Fund, merger of the Treasury Department into the Comptroller’s Office, and implementation of the Lone Star debit card system. Ray frequently represented the Comptroller before Texas legislative committees, and advised policymakers on tax and fiscal matters. Previously, Ray served on the Washington staff of former U.S. Senator Lloyd Bentsen, and as an attorney at the law firms of McGinnis, Lochridge & Kilgore and Baker & Botts. Education: Professional Affiliations: |
