Paul C. Wilson (born May 23, 1961) is an American lawyer who has served as a judge of the

Missouri Supreme Court The Supreme Court of Missouri (SCOMO) is the highest court in the state of Missouri. It was established in 1820 and is located at 207 West High Street in Jefferson City, Missouri. Missouri voters have approved changes in the state's constitutio ...

. He was appointed in 2012, and was formerly a circuit judge in the 19th Judicial Circuit.

Education

Wilson received a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

degree in theatre from

Drury University Drury University, formerly Drury College and originally Springfield College, is a private university in Springfield, Missouri, United States. The university's mission statement describes itself as "church-related". It enrolls about 1,590 undergr ...

in 1982 and his

Juris Doctor A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...

, cum laude, from the

University of Missouri School of Law The University of Missouri School of Law (Mizzou Law or MU Law) is the law school of the University of Missouri. It is located on the university's main campus in Columbia, forty minutes from the Missouri State Capitol in Jefferson City. The s ...

in 1992. Received an Honorary Doctorate in Law from

in 2022.

Legal career

He served as a law clerk to Justice Edward D. Robertson Jr. of the

from 1992 to 1993 and then Judge

Richard Fred Suhrheinrich Richard Fred Suhrheinrich (born August 15, 1936) is a Senior United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit serving in Lansing, Michigan He had been a United States district judge of the United States D ...

of the

United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit (in case citations, 6th Cir.) is a federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following districts: * Eastern District of Kentucky * Western District of K ...

from 1993 to 1994. From 1994 to 1996, he was an associate with

Sullivan & Cromwell Sullivan & Cromwell LLP is an American multinational law firm headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1879 by Algernon Sydney Sullivan and William Nelson Cromwell, the firm advised on the creation of Edison General Electric and the formation o ...

. From 1996 to 2008, he served as an assistant attorney general, and then as a deputy chief of staff litigation. From 2009 to 2010, he served as a senior counselor for budget and finance and as director for the Transform Missouri Initiative. He sat as a Judge of the 19th Judicial Circuit Court in Cole County from January 2010–March 2011. From 2011 to 2012, he was a member of the Columbia law firm Van Matre, Harrison, Hollis, Taylor and Bacon. On December 3, 2012, Governor

Jay Nixon Jeremiah Wilson "Jay" Nixon (born February 13, 1956) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the List of governors of Missouri, 55th governor of Missouri from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic P ...

announced his appointment of Wilson to the Missouri Supreme Court. He served as chief justice from June 30, 2021 to June 30, 2023.

Personal life

He is married to Laura O’Kelley Wilson and they have two daughters Meredith and Alice. Judge Wilson's father, McCormick Wilson, served as a Cole County Associate Circuit Judge for many years and his mother, Lorna Wilson, served as Director of the Cole County Health Department and the State Division of Maternal, Family and Child Health.

References

External links

Missouri Supreme Court profile
* , - 1961 births 20th-century American lawyers 21st-century American judges 21st-century American lawyers Drury University alumni Judges of the Supreme Court of Missouri Living people Missouri state court judges Missouri lawyers New York (state) lawyers People from Jefferson City, Missouri University of Missouri School of Law alumni {{Missouri-state-judge-stub