Ray Bonilla

Ray Bonilla serves as General Counsel of The Texas A&M University System and leads the Office of General Counsel in providing legal services to the 11 universities and eight state agencies that comprise the A&M System.  In this role, he regularly provides legal advice to the Board of Regents, Chancellor, Vice Chancellors, University presidents, Agency directors and other executives across the System.  Mr. Bonilla has served as General Counsel since September 2011.

The A&M System is one of the largest systems of higher education in the nation, with an annual budget of more than $9 billion.  As a result, the Office of General Counsel is consistently faced with a variety of sensitive and complex legal matters including issues relating to governance, litigation management, regulatory compliance, employment matters, student affairs, construction and real estate, international activities and athletics.  Mr. Bonilla leads a team of lawyers, compliance officers, real estate professionals and administrative staff in OGC to handle the legal issues confronting the A&M System institutions.

Prior to joining the A&M System, Mr. Bonilla was a partner in the law firm of Ray, Wood & Bonilla in Austin.  He previously served as General Counsel of the Texas Comptroller’s Office.  In that position, Mr. Bonilla served as the primary legal advisor to the State’s chief tax administrator and chief financial officer.  Before his service at the Comptroller’s Office, Mr. Bonilla 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.

In November 2015, Mr. Bonilla was recognized for professional achievement by the Texas General Counsel Forum as the Outstanding General Counsel for a Non-profit or Government Agency.

Education
J.D. with honors, The University of Texas School of Law
B.B.A. in Accounting with honors, The University of Texas at Austin