Heil earned his Bachelor of Science from Oklahoma State University and his Juris Doctor, with honors, from the University of Tulsa College of Law, where he served as an Editor for the Tulsa Law Journal.

From 2000 to 2020, he was a shareholder and director at Hall, Estill, Hardwick, Gable, Golden & Nelson in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where his practice focused on complex commercial litigation.

President Trump nominated Heil to the seat vacated by Judge James H. Payne, who assumed senior status on August 1, 2017.

[3] On January 3, 2020, his nomination was returned to the President under Rule XXXI, Paragraph 6 of the United States Senate.

[5] A hearing on his nomination before the Senate Judiciary Committee was held on January 8, 2020.