About Hal Wm.
Hal Wm. Ellis built his academic foundation in Oklahoma. He earned a Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of Central Oklahoma in 1971, concentrating in accounting and marketing. He returned to school and completed both an MBA and a Juris Doctor in 1974, the former from the University of Central Oklahoma and the latter from the University of Oklahoma. The consecutive degrees set the stage for a career that blends business knowledge and legal practice.
Ellis entered the legal profession in the mid-1970s after finishing law school. Over the decades that followed he established a steady practice in Oklahoma and developed the credentials needed to appear before federal appellate tribunals. He is admitted to practice in the State of Oklahoma and in the Tenth Circuit. Those admissions reflect a career spent handling matters at both state and federal levels.
He serves as managing partner of Ellis & Ellis. In that role he oversees firm operations and guides case strategy. His background in accounting and business informs how he approaches client matters and firm administration. Colleagues describe him as methodical and pragmatic in his work, preferring clear analysis over flourish.
Ellis’s dual graduate degrees are a distinctive part of his profile. The MBA complements the J.D. in ways that clients and peers find useful. It provides an analytical framework for assessing financial issues, while the law degree supplies the procedural and substantive tools for litigation and counseling. That combination shaped how he built his practice and how he advises clients on complex questions that involve both business and law.
Over time his practice has involved work in state courts and cases that reach the Tenth Circuit. The appellate admission means he can represent clients beyond trial-level proceedings. His career reflects steady involvement in litigation and counsel rather than a public-facing profile of high-profile media cases or academic appointments.
Ellis remains active in his firm's day-to-day work. He maintains responsibility for supervising legal teams and ensuring cases proceed efficiently. In recent years he has continued to emphasize careful preparation, clear legal reasoning and practical problem-solving. He is currently managing partner at Ellis & Ellis, where his practice focuses on matters in Oklahoma state courts and cases that progress to the Tenth Circuit.
