William George Paul

Bill Paul passed away peacefully on June 24, 2025, with his loving family by his side. Our thoughts and prayers are with Bill’s family, his close friends, and everyone affected by his profound generosity and grace. He was a legend to the legal profession, the state of Oklahoma, and all those who were blessed to know him.

Bill graduated from Pauls Valley (named after Smith Paul, one of Bill’s ancestors) High School in 1948. After graduating from the University of Oklahoma in 1952, he decided to pursue a career in law. Bill’s law school education was interrupted by two years of active duty in the United States Marine Corps, including service in Korea. He re-entered law school as a junior in the fall of 1954, and had the highest grade point average in the class in the first semester after his return. Bill graduated from the University of Oklahoma School of Law in 1956, the same year he joined Crowe Dunlevy. He was with the Firm for all but 10 of the next 69 years (he was General Counsel and Senior Vice President of Phillips Petroleum from 1985-1995). Bill was President of the Oklahoma County Bar Association in 1971, and President of the OBA in 1976. He was elected as a fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers in 1978.

In 1986 Bill was named the President of the National Conference of Bar Presidents, and in 1999-2000 he was the President of the American Bar Association (one of two members of the Firm to hold the position, Lawrence Walsh being the other, and one of only 3 Oklahoma attorneys ever to be ABA President). During his tenure as ABA President, Bill presided over the ABA’s historic meeting in England at which he presided alongside Queen Elizabeth II and Prime Minister Tony Blair at the re-dedication of the Magna Carta, which included the unveiling of a monument with an inscription written by Bill:

15 JULY 2000 – THE AMERICAN BAR ASSOCIATION RETURNS THIS DAY TOCELEBRATE MAGNA CARTA – FOUNDATION OF THE RULE OF LAWFOR AGES PAST AND FOR THE NEW MILLENIUM.

In 2005 Oklahoma Governor Brad Henry named Bill to be one of seven members of the Oklahoma Lottery Commission. And in 2003, Bill was inducted into the Oklahoma Hall of Fame.

The accolades about Bill’s career could go on for pages, but many will remember Bill as a fearless advocate for doing what is right. He was a champion of promoting diversity in the legal profession long before most took up the cause. Bill was the first Native American (Chickasaw) President of the American Bar Association and proud of this heritage.

During his tenure as ABA President in 1999-2000, one of his primary tenets of his presidency was increasing diversity in the legal profession. Bill led efforts to establish the ABA Legal Opportunity Scholarship Fund where Bill and his wife Barbara together with Crowe Dunlevy funded the initial $100,000 for these scholarships that are still awarded annually today. Inspired by Bill’s actions on the national level, Crowe Dunlevy then established diversity scholarships at each of the three laws schools in Oklahoma in his honor. The diversity scholarships at the state’s law schools would not have been possible without his tireless support. He was the architect of much of the firm’s infrastructure and his fingerprints are on so much of what makes Crowe Dunlevy the firm it is today—from the recruiting program and his time spent as firm President, to the very culture we cherish, Bill has been a part of all of it.

Bill lived a wonderful and full 94 (and a half, he would remind us) years, and we are all so much richer for it. Although many of us will grieve the loss of his presence, we will also cherish and celebrate the noble and courageous life he lived.

Godspeed, Bill. You are truly a legend.

Bill Paul’s funeral services will be at Westminster Presbyterian Church on Thursday, July 24, 2025, at 2:00 pm, reception following.