A small, independent producer was sued by a landowner, claiming that the company was disposing of salt water for one of its Louisiana sites. Instead of going to court and risking a big financial hit, Jamie helped the company come up with a practical, affordable alternative to litigation by working out a contract with the plaintiff to use an existing well. “We structured the fixed payments to decline over time, matching diminishing production. In addition, my client avoided having to pay for past use of the well.”

Jamie defended a multi-national energy company in a legacy case where his client had leased the mineral rights to other, smaller oil and gas companies to drill. “Our litigation strategy was to offer these other defendants our support instead of suing them, sharing our experience in dealing with technical experts and other defense resources.” The companies which did the drilling settled the case, with no out-of-pocket costs to our client, thereby avoiding an exposure of over $200 million.

Jamie defended a pipeline owner against claims of its pipeline causing coastal land loss. Jamie worked closely with experts in the fields of coastal geomorphology and coastal engineering to show that the land loss was caused by natural causes.

“I worked as a roughneck in the oilfield through college.  That experience gives me a real life sense of what goes on in the field that a lot of other lawyers don’t have.”