OU College of Law to Honor Devon Energy Co-Founder with Prestigious Kuntz Award

Media Contact: 
Mackenzie A. Dilbeck
(405) 325-2227
mdilbeck@ou.edu

NORMAN — The University of Oklahoma College of Law will honor Larry Nichols, co-founder and chairman emeritus of Devon Energy Corporation, with the Eugene Kuntz Award at the annual Eugene Kuntz Conference on Natural Resources Law and Policy Nov. 4. The award recognizes Nichols’ many contributions to the energy industry and to oil and gas law in particular.

“We are thrilled to honor Larry Nichols with this year’s Kuntz Award,” said OU Law Dean Joseph Harroz Jr. “His contributions to the energy industry and the state of Oklahoma are unmatched and his impressive work in the legal field sets him apart as truly deserving of an honor worthy of the great Eugene Kuntz.”

The Eugene Kuntz Award is named for former OU Law dean and renown oil and gas professor, Eugene Kuntz and is awarded annually at the Kuntz Conference, the largest conference focusing on oil and gas law in the nation. The conference is hosted by OU Law and the Oklahoma Bar Association Energy and Natural Resources Law Section.

Nichols co-founded Devon Energy Corporation in 1971 serving as its president from 1976 to 2003 and as its chief executive officer from 1980 to 2010. He also served on Devon’s board of directors from 1971 to 2016 and served as executive chairman of the board from 2000 to 2016. 

A lawyer by training, Nichols served as law clerk to Chief Justice Earl Warren and Justice Tom Clark of the United States Supreme Court. He also served as Special Assistant to Assistant Attorney General William H. Rehnquist. He earned his undergraduate degree from Princeton University and his juris doctorate from the University of Michigan.

OU Law is an international leader in oil and gas, natural resources and energy law. The school offers a Master of Laws degree in energy and natural resources through its John B. Turner LL.M. Program, along with certificates in both areas; and an online Master of Legal Studies degree in oil, gas and energy law. In addition to hosting the annual Eugene Kuntz Conference, OU Law is also home to the Oil and Gas, Natural Resources, and Energy Journal (ONE J), the first journal of its kind.

For more information on the Kuntz Conference, please email cle@law.ou.edu or call (405) 325-9175.