Alan Simpson

Alan Simpson: Profile

For the past one hundred years, a steady string of Simpsons have practiced law in the sparsely populated state of Wyoming – "the land of high altitude and low multitude" as Simpson's Dad often phrased it! It began with Simpson's grandfather, William L. Simpson, and was followed by his father, Milward L. Simpson. Alan K. Simpson was the third generation lawyer in the family. Simpson's two sons, William L. and Colin M. Simpson carry on in the family lawyer tradition today, practicing in the town of Cody.

After being admitted to the Wyoming Bar and the United States District Court in 1958 and serving for a short time as Wyoming Assistant Attorney General, Simpson joined his father, Milward L. Simpson, and later Charles G. Kepler, in the law firm of Simpson, Kepler and Simpson in his hometown of Cody. He would practice law there for the next 18 years. During that time, Simpson was very active in all civic, community and state activities. He also served ten years as City Attorney.

A member of a political family – his father served both as Governor of Wyoming from 1954 to 1958 and as United States Senator from Wyoming from 1962 to 1966 – Simpson chose to follow in his father's footsteps and began his own political career in 1964 when he was elected to the Wyoming State Legislature as a state representative of his native Park County. He served for the next 13 years in the Wyoming House of Representatives, holding the offices of Majority Whip, Majority Floor Leader and Speaker Pro-Tem. His only brother, Peter was also a member of the Student Senate at the University of Wyoming and also served as a member of the Wyoming Legislature and he presently serves as a visiting professor at the University of Wyoming.

In 1978, Simpson ran for, and was elected to, the United States Senate. After a successful first term, he was re-elected in 1984 with 78% of the vote and then again in 1990 to a third term with 65% of the vote. Following his first term in the Senate, Simpson was elected by his peers to the position of the Assistant Majority Leader in 1984 – and served in that capacity until 1994. He completed his final term on January 3, 1997.

From January of 1997 until June of 2000, Simpson was a visiting lecturer and for 2 years, the director of the Institute of Politics at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government. During the Fall of 2000 he returned to his Alma Mater, the University of Wyoming, as a Visiting Lecturer in the Political Science Department and continues to part time-team teach a class with his brother, Peter, entitled, “Wyoming’s Political Identity: Its History and Its Politics,” proving to be one of the most popular classes offered at UW.

He is also a partner in the Cody firm of Simpson, Kepler and Edwards, the Cody division of the Denver firm of Burg Simpson Eldredge, Hersh & Jardine, PC. He continues to serve on numerous corporate and non-profit boards and travels the country giving speeches on a variety of subjects. His book published by William Morrow Company, Right in the Old Gazoo: A Lifetime of Scrapping with the Press, chronicles his personal experiences and views of the Fourth Estate.