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Hall Estill

At a Glance

Uppers

“Work-life balance is great.”

“Work quality.”

Downers

“Initially, it was difficult to get out of the office and into the courtroom.”

“Disconnects between Tulsa office and Denver office leads to issues.”

About Hall Estill

With more than 130 lawyers, Hall Estill has decades of experience serving clients from its Midwest base through a variety of practices, from corporate to energy and intellectual property to real estate.

Born of Oil

In 1965, John Williams—of the Tulsa energy giant Williams Brothers Company—called Harvard Law grad Walter Hall and asked him to put together a team to represent the company. Williams Brothers did not have a legal department at the time, and needed representation for its purchase of the Great Lakes Pipeline. Hall recruited other attorneys in the Tulsa area, including John Estill—the head of the Sinclair Pipeline operations in Tulsa. Ten years later, when Williams spun off the pipeline division, Hall took over as CEO. By that time, the firm bearing his name was one of the largest and most successful in Tulsa. Over the years, Hall Estill has grown beyond its Tulsa roots. Today the firm boasts five offices across Arkansas, Colorado, and Oklahoma.

Seven Times Ten

With 70 practice areas, Hall Estill’s experience is extensive. The firm’s core practices include: bankruptcy, restructuring, and creditor’s rights; corporate services; energy and natural resources; environmental law; Indian law; intellectual property; labor and employment; litigation; personal legal services; real estate; and, tax and employee benefits. 

Given the firm’s roots, it is no surprise that it continues to excel in the energy and natural resources space. Roughly a quarter of the firm’s lawyers focus on this area, which covers alternative and renewable energy, oil and gas, pipeline construction and operation, regulatory issues regarding pipelines, transactional matters, utilities, and water law and land rights. Lawyers in this group wear many hats, drawing upon experience in such areas as compliance, contracts, financing, IP, litigation, permits, regulatory matters, and more. 

Another of the firm’s strengths is its Real Estate group, which takes a collaborative approach—working with lawyers across the firm to achieve optimal results for its clients. Clients range from private investors to lenders to design professionals to commercial property owners and tenants to Fortune 100 companies, and everyone in between. The firm’s experience is wide ranging, including such areas as construction, environmental issues, financing, leasing and property management, permitting, real property acquisitions, zoning, and more. Well known for its work, the firm has been recognized by various legal publications, including recently by Forbes’ America’s Top Trusted Corporate Law Firms in 2019 for real estate law.

Giving Back

Lawyers at Hall Estill have a range of pro bono opportunities to pursue. The firm has a long-running partnership with Legal Aid Services of Oklahoma and The Williams Companies regarding such areas as end-of-life planning, bankruptcy, garnishment matters, and guardianship. The firm’s patent lawyers are also active in the US Patent and Trademark Office Patent Pro Bono Program. The firm also supports its lawyers in engaging with the community as volunteers, members of boards of directors, and other opportunities.

COVID-19 Update

While we cancelled our summer associate program in 2020 due to COVID, we will have our summer associates in 2021 be in the office. We have COVID protocols in place to ensure the safety of our attorneys, employees and summer associates. We believe it is vitally important to meet our summer associates in-person, rather than having a fully remote experience.

Hall Estill

320 South Boston Avenue
Suite 200
Tulsa, OK 74103
Phone: (918) 594-0400

Firm Stats

Managing Partner: Michael D. Cooke
Hiring Attorney: Sarah C. Miller
Total No. Attorneys (2021):
100 - 150
No. of Partners Named 2020:
2

Base Salary

1st year: $100,000
Summer associate: $1,800/week

Employment Contact

Lari Gulley
Director of Business Development & Recruitment
(918) 594-0552
lgulley@hallestill.com

No. of U.S. Offices: 5

No. of International Offices: 0

Major Office Locations

Bentonville, AR
Denver, CO
Fayetteville, AR
Oklahoma City, OK
Tulsa, OK (HQ)

Major Departments

Bankruptcy, Restructuring, & Creditor's Rights
Corporate Law
Energy & Natural Resources
Environmental Services
Family Law
Indian Law
Intellectual Property
Labor & Employment
Litigation
Tax, Trusts, Estate Planning, & Employee Benefits
*See firm website for complete list of practice areas and industries.