Special Counsel

By Bob Burke

DeVier Pierson is a native Oklahoman who has had a remarkable legal career. For more than a half century he has served as counsel to a diverse group of clients, including one President of the United States, the Congress, a high government official facing charges of criminal activity, a large number of major public companies and two sovereign nations. He obtained the largest civil judgment in Oklahoma history for one of these clients.

Pierson also brings a personal perspective to the great events of the twentieth century. His boyhood and adolescence were marked by the Great Depression and World War II. He saw firsthand the effects of the Korean War, participated in the election of President John F. Kennedy, and was in Dallas when President Kennedy was assassinated. As counsel to President Lyndon B. Johnson, he played an important role in the completion of the Great Society, the response to the social unrest of the 1960s, and the agony of the Vietnam War.

Although he is a loyal Oklahoman, Pierson has spent the past 40 years in Washington, D.C., in the practice of law. His legal career has spanned Watergate, the end of the Cold War, 9/11, and the War on Terrorism. He has interesting tales to tell about his own life and career and strong views about the effects of the major events of the twentieth century on our country. This is his story.