Paul Bloom

Paul Laurence Bloom (May 14, 1939 – October 10, 2009) was an American lawyer working as a special counsel for the United States Department of Energy during the Carter Administration, who recovered $6 billion in refunds from dozens of oil producers in the United States who had overcharged as much as $11 billion for their products under price controls placed on "old oil" (oil obtained from wells that were drilled before a cutoff date), that had been imposed by Richard Nixon in the wake of the 1973 oil crisis, as a means to control prices and to encourage oil companies to search for new sources of petroleum that would not fall under the regulations.

Early life and career Bloom was born on May 14, 1939, in Norfolk, Virginia, and grew up in Chicago. He attended the University of Chicago where he received an undergraduate degree and received his legal training at the University of New Mexico School of Law. Following his graduation, he worked for the state of New Mexico as a natural resources lawyer.

Bloom died at age 70 of pancreatic cancer on October 10, 2009, in Chevy Chase, Maryland. He was survived by his wife, Marjorie, as well as by two sons and a daughter.