William Willard Gibson, Jr.

William Willard Gibson Jr. (March 5, 1932 – June 1, 2026) was an American lawyer and legal scholar. He taught law at the University of Texas School of Law from 1965 to 1998 and also served as the dean of academic affairs.

Early life Gibson was born in Amarillo, Texas on March 5, 1932. He received a B.A. in government in 1954 and an LL.B with honors in 1956 from the University of Texas at Austin. During law school, he was a member of the Order of the Coif and an editor of the Texas Law Review.

Career Following graduation, Gibson joined the firm of Gibson, Ochsner, Harlann, Kinney, & Morris in Amarillo, Texas as an associate partner. From 1964 to 1965 he served as the president of the Junior Bar of the State of Texas. He was subsequently recruited by Dean W. Page Keeton of the University of Texas School of Law and joined the faculty in 1965.

Specializing in real property and estates, Professor Gibson taught courses in Texas land titles, real estate transactions, real estate finance, insurance, Texas procedure, wills and estates, fraud and mistake, and professional responsibility. From 1971 to 1973, Gibson took a leave of absence to serve as an attorney advisor to the Federal Power Commission. In 1983, he was named Sylvan Lang professor of law