While I could focus on many things, today I want to focus our firm’s commitment to our clients. As an Illinois attorney, I am constantly reminded of the many fine attributes of Abraham Lincoln, who in addition to being a great president was probably the greatest Illinois lawyer. A recent article, from which I am
For any small business, having good liability insurance is an absolute must. As well, having a good local attorney that can review commercial contracts, which often contain indemnity provisions, is also an absolute must! Indemnity clauses, which appear in many, many contracts and many, many types of contracts, are drafted to relieve one party to
For Those with Real Estate Holdings Earlier this week I wrote a blog on the advisability of placing real estate holdings in a trust. That led me to review the relative strengths of real estate being owned by a trust as opposed to a limited liability company. A STRAIGHT UP COMPARISON Trusts are established pursuant
As our clients know, our focus is always on our clients. Our offices are “ultra” private and “ultra” accessible. Additionally, we are a “paperless” office with the ability to work anywhere in the world (we actually confirmed that by working in Italy last fall). Indeed, we were made for this “Covid-19” moment. But importantly, you
In case you haven't noticed, the price of oil has tanked. As the price of WTI continues to hover under $40, things are probably going to get worse before they get better. So what happens when royalty owners, working interest owners, and overriding royalty owners receive notice that their operator has gone bankrupt and how
In case you have not heard, things are bad! The world faces a pandemic, the bottom has fallen out of the stock market, and the price of oil is headed to zero. Whenever you read, “shelter in place” – assume things are not going well. One option of course is to simply “panic.” Follow all
Hello friends. On December 17th, I will be presenting at a one-day educational seminar in Austin that will address easements, rights of way, and eminent domain. This is a good seminar for attorneys, right of way agents, landmen, engineers, surveyors, and administrative personnel. It will be approved for continuing education credits for virtually all professions.
Oil and gas title examinations are tough – and recent Texas Supreme Court and appellate court decisions on the construction of old royalty conveyances and reservations have complicated the examination process. These days it is hard to determine whether that 1950s deed reserved a “fixed royalty” (e.g. a 1/32nd interest in the oil and gas
JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. v. Orca Assets G.P., L.L.C., 546 S.W.3d 648 (Tex. 2018) is another reminder that operators are expected to perform due diligence before entering into a transaction. It is also, possibly, a reminder that an oil company is an unsympathetic Plaintiff. Orca entered into negotiations with The Red Crest Trust to lease
