Our Mission Is To Provide Exceptional Service

Stock photo of lincoln memorial statute and columns inside the memorial
Photo of Attorney Hal WM. Ellis

Hal WM. Ellis

  • Managing Partner

Practice Areas:

  • Estate Planning, Wills & Trusts 40%
  • Probate and Estate Administration 10%
  • Trust Administration and Fiduciary Litigation 30%
  • Business and Tax Planning 10%
  • Non-Profit and Tax Exempt Organizations 10%

Biography

HAL WM. ELLIS practices in the areas of business organizations, tax-exempt organizations, trusts and probate, estate and tax planning and tax deferred exchanges.  Mr. Ellis received his B.B.A. (concentration in Accounting) and M.B.A. degrees from the University of Central Oklahoma and his J.D. degree from the University of Oklahoma.  He is a former member of the Professional Responsibility Tribunal, State of Oklahoma (1981-88).  Mr. Ellis is a former member of the Court on the Oklahoma Judiciary, Appellate Division and a current member of the Payne County (President, 1986), Oklahoma and American Bar Associations; he was a member of the Board of Governors of the Oklahoma Bar Association from 1993-1995; he is also a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation and former Trustee President of the Oklahoma Bar Foundation. Mr. Ellis is a Fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel where he served as the State Chair of Oklahoma.

Education

  • University of Oklahoma College of Law, Norman, Oklahoma
    • J.D.
  • University of Central Oklahoma, Edmond, Oklahoma
    • B.B.A. - 1971
    • Major: Accounting
  • University of Central Oklahoma, Edmond, Oklahoma
    • M.B.A. - 1974

Bar Admissions

  • Oklahoma, 1974
  • U.S. District Court Western District of Oklahoma
  • U.S. District Court Northern District of Oklahoma
  • U.S. Court of Appeals 10th Circuit
  • U.S. Tax Court, 1975

Honors

  • Fellow, American College of Trust and Estate Counsel, State Chair of Oklahoma
  • Fellow, American Bar Foundation and Trustee

Classes and Seminars

  • Guardianships Contrasted with Revocable Trusts, Oklahoma Bar Association CLE
  • Trust Admin.-Cy Pres and Equitable Deviation, Oklahoma Bar Association CLE
  • Fundamentals of Will Drafting, Institute for Paralegal Education
  • Defining Estate Administration, Institute for Paralegal Education
  • Basic Tax Free Exchanges, Oklahoma Bar Association CLE
  • Exempt Organizations – Ethical Considerations, Oklahoma Bar Association CLE
  • Exempt Organizations – Charitable Giving Planning Techniques, Oklahoma Bar Association CLE
  • Basic Principles of Estate Planning, Oklahoma Bar Association CLE
  • Selected Ethics Issues in Probate, Oklahoma Bar Association CLE
  • Choice of Business Entity in Oklahoma: How to Do It Right, National Business Institute, 2001

Published Works

  • Asset Protection Planning (co-author), Oklahoma Bar Journal, 78: 15, 2007
  • Tax Deferred Exchanges Under Internal Revenue Code §1031, Oklahoma Bar Journal, 74: 27, 2003
  • Capital Gains on Sales of Undeveloped Realty - Three Alternatives, The Tax Advisor (AICPA), 1977
  • Exclusion of Earnings on Allotted Indian Land from Federal Income Taxation, American Indian Law Review, Vol. II, No. 1, 1974

Representative Clients

  • Banc First
  • Kerns Ready Mixed Concrete, Inc.

Fraternities or Sororities

  • Phi Delta Phi

Professional Associations

  • American Bar Association, Fellow, 1996 to Present
  • Super Lawyer – Oklahoma, 2008 to Present
  • Best Lawyers – Oklahoma, 2008 to Present
  • Oklahoma Turnpike Authority, Member, 2001 to 2008
  • Oklahoma Bar Foundation, Fellow, Board of Trustees and President (2006)
  • American College of Trust and Estate Counsel, Fellow (State Chair: 2001-2006), 1996 to Present
  • Oklahoma Bar Association Board, Governor, 1993 to 1995
  • Payne County Bar Association, President (1986), 1986 to Present

Past Positions​

  • Oklahoma State University, Associate Professor, 1975 to 1986