Chickasaw Hall of Fame member William G. “Bill” Paul dies at 94

William G. “Bill” Paul, a member of both the Chickasaw Hall of Fame and the Oklahoma Hall of Fame, died June 24, 2025. He was 94.

Paul was inducted into the Oklahoma Hall of Fame in 2003 and the Chickasaw Hall of Fame in 2004.

“We join the family and friends of William Paul in grief over their lost loved one, as well as the celebration of his life,” said Chickasaw Nation Governor Bill Anoatubby. “Although he is gone, the impact his life and work had on the legal profession, Oklahoma, the United States and beyond was and is tremendous. He was the first Native American to serve as president of the American Bar Association and has been honored internationally for his commitment to justice. His legacy and memory continue.”

Paul was a former managing partner of Oklahoma's Crowe & Dunlevy law firm, past president of the Oklahoma Bar Association in 1971, president of the Oklahoma Bar Association in 1976, and elected as a fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers in 1978.

He was named president of the National Conference of Bar Presidents in 1986 and president of the American Bar Association (ABA) for the 1999-2000 term.

During his tenure as ABA president, Paul joined Queen Elizabeth II and Prime Minister Tony Blair at the ABA’s July 2000 rededication of the Magna Carta in England in which a monument was unveiled bearing an inscription he wrote.

Oklahoma Governor Brad Henry named Paul to the Oklahoma Lottery Commission in 2005.

Paul graduated from Pauls Valley High School in 1948, the University of Oklahoma in 1952 and the University of Oklahoma Law School in 1956. His legal education was interrupted in 1952 by a two-year tour of duty with the U.S. Marines in Korea.

Paul served as general counsel and senior vice president of Phillips Petroleum Company from 1985 to 1995, at which time he returned to private practice as a senior partner with Crowe & Dunlevy.

An ABA news release celebrates his legacy. William R. Bay, ABA president, said Paul was more than a role model, he was a moral compass and a true leader.

“He believed deeply in creating opportunity for those who had long been overlooked, and his vision for a more diverse and inclusive profession continues to guide us,” Bay wrote.

William Hubbard, past ABA president and dean at the Rice School of Law at the University of South Carolina, said Paul was as fine a person as he has ever known – “a truly kind, caring gentleman and an inspiration for so many of us.”

Paul’s great-great-grandparents founded the city of Pauls Valley, Oklahoma. In addition, his great-grandfather was a senator in the Chickasaw Nation in the late 1800s and his father was president of the Oklahoma Senate.