In Memory of Clyde Alfred Muchmore

Clyde Alfred Muchmore
January 4, 1942 – November 12, 2025

Clyde Muchmore peacefully passed away on November 12, 2025, in Seattle, Washington with his loved ones by his side. One of Crowe Dunlevy’s all-time legends, and a titan of the legal profession, we send our deepest condolences to Clyde’s family and close friends.

Clyde retired from the practice of law in September, after fifty-eight years of amazing service to his many clients, the Firm, and to the state and federal bars in Oklahoma. Clyde had a remarkable career, replete with honors, accomplishments, and hard-fought victories for scores and scores of clients. Clyde managed the rare feat of being both a skillful litigator and appellate practitioner, leveraging his intellectual acumen and his fortitude to resolve the most complicated issues in the most difficult cases. Whatever type of case he handled, Clyde always conducted the work with the highest levels of excellence and integrity.

In recognition of his success, skill, and experiences as a trial attorney, Clyde was invited in 1984 to join the American College of Trial Lawyers, the pre-eminent honor for trial attorneys in North America.  Only trial attorneys who have demonstrated the very best standards of trial advocacy, ethical conduct, integrity, professionalism, and collegiality are invited to join the organization. Clyde was the only Oklahoma attorney who also had been admitted to the American Academy of Appellate Lawyers, the most prestigious organization for appellate advocates in the country.

Determined to improve the practice of law in Oklahoma, Clyde co-authored (with Harvey Ellis) two seminal works for Oklahoma legal practitioners, Oklahoma Civil Procedure Forms-Practice and the Oklahoma Appellate Handbook. These publications have been used for several decades as essential guides for attorneys appearing in state and federal district courts, Oklahoma’s Supreme Court and Court of Civil Appeals, and the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit.  At the Oklahoma Supreme Court’s request, Clyde chaired the Committee for Revision of Oklahoma Appellate Rules, and that Committee’s work resulted in revised rules that were adopted in 1996.  Clyde further served as President of the Luther Bohannon Inn of Court, and taught as an adjunct professor at both the University of Oklahoma College of Law and Oklahoma City University College of Law.

Clyde also served in several leadership positions within the Firm. He was a member of the Executive Committee in 1983, 1984, and 1988, before serving as Firm President during 1989 and 1990. He was particularly proud of his role many years ago in modernizing the Firm’s attorney compensation system. More recently he served as chair of the Firm’s Appellate Practice Group.  Just as importantly, if not more, Clyde taught, developed, and mentored many Firm attorneys, paralegals, and staff members over these many years. So many of us can recite a Clyde story, or a lesson (or lessons) learned from Clyde. We are filled with pride for having been affiliated with a lawyer and leader of his caliber.  Those of us who have been associated with the Firm over the past six decades owe him a debt of gratitude that can never truly be repaid.

Clyde began at Crowe Dunlevy in September 1967, after graduating from law school at the University of Oklahoma, where he served as the Note Editor for the Oklahoma Law Review, and was awarded the Nathan Scarritt Prize for maintaining the highest grades in his law school class.  Before law school, he had graduated magna cum laude from Rice University, and was invited to join the Phi Beta Kappa society based on his academic excellence. As a young attorney at the Firm, Clyde worked with V.P. “Vip” Crowe, who was primarily responsible for establishing the long-standing and stellar reputation of the firm’s litigation practice. Clyde was one of the last attorneys associated with the Firm who had the privilege of working directly with Mr. Crowe and benefiting from his wisdom and mentorship.

In recognition of his service to the Firm and its clients, and for all the ways he contributed to building the Firm’s premier reputation, Clyde will be honored as one of the inaugural members of the Crowe Dunlevy Hall of Fame. As with each of the inaugural members, the positive impacts on the Firm from Clyde’s work will extend far into our future. Clyde consistently taught us how to be great attorneys and responsible stewards for our Firm going forward.

For more information about Clyde’s life, we invite you to read his obituary from The Oklahoman.