For the past one hundred years, a steady string of Simpson's has practiced law in the sparsely populated state of Wyoming. It began with Al's grandfather, William L. Simpson, and was followed by his father, Milward L. Simpson. Alan K. Simpson was the third generation lawyer in his family. Al's two sons, William L. and Colin M. Simpson carry on the family tradition today, practicing law in the town of Cody.
Alan Kooi Simpson was born September 2, 1931, and is a native of Cody Wyoming. His entire childhood was spent in Cody where he graduated from Cody High School. Before entering college, Al spent a postgraduate year at Cranbrook School in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan to have a look at life outside the Cowboy State. He then returned to begin his college career, entering the University of Wyoming in 1950 and completing his degree, a Bachelor of Science in Law, 1954.
Upon graduation from college, he joined the Army and was commissioned 2nd Lieutenant. Al was married in the summer of 1954 to the former Ann Schroll of Greybull, Wyoming and was ordered to Fort Benning, Georgia in November of that year. He served overseas in the 5th Infantry Division and in the 2nd Armored Division in the final months of the Army of Occupation in Germany. Al returned to the University of Wyoming to complete his study of law, earning his Juris Doctorate degree in 1958.
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, Al joined his father, and later Charles G. Kepler (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, Al served 10 years as City Attorney.
A member of a political family‹his father served as both Governor of Wyoming from 1954 to 1958, and as a United Sates Senator from Wyoming from 1962 to 1966‹Al 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.
In 1978, Al ran for, and was elected to, the United States Senate. After a successful term, he was re-elected in 1984 and then again in 1990 to a third term. Following his first term in the Senate, Al 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 1998 until June 2000, Al was Visiting Lecturer and the Director of the Institute of Politics at Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government. In the Fall of 2000 he returned to his Alma Mater, the University of Wyoming, as a Visiting Lecturer in the Political Science Department. He is also a partner in the Cody and Denver law firm of Burg, Simpson, Eldredge and Hersh, and is a consultant in the Washington D.C. government relations firm, The Tongor‹Simpson Group.