75th Annual Energy Law Conference

Austin Brister Related Seminars and Products

McGinnis Lochridge

Austin Brister represents oil and gas operators, non-operators, and mineral owners in complex oil and gas disputes across the state of Texas.

Austin has successfully handled disputes concerning mineral and leasehold title, adverse possession, surface trespass and damages, royalty calculation and payment issues, issues arising out of purchase and sale transactions, operator/non-operator disputes, breach of joint operating agreement, lease termination/saving disputes, and retained acreage disputes.

Austin seeks out creative and practical business solutions before resorting to litigation. But, when necessary, Austin works hard to implement aggressive strategies in the courthouse.

Austin is an active member of the Foundation for Natural Resources and Energy Law, he is also on the Advisory Board for the Institute for Energy Law. Austin frequently publishes articles and gives presentations on upstream oil and gas law for a variety of publications.

Kassi Burns Related Seminars and Products

King & Spalding LLP

Kassi Burns is a senior attorney in King & Spalding’s E-Discovery practice. She is a skilled E-Discovery practitioner with more than 13 years of progressive experience advising corporate clients and legal professionals on E-Discovery best practices and the integration of technology and the law. Her diverse background ranges from transactional law, E-Discovery (technical and managed review), and legal operations.

Rose Hunter Jones Related Seminars and Products

King & Spalding LLP

Rose J. Hunter Jones joined the firm in 2003 and leads King & Spalding’s Legal 500 Tier 1 ranked e-discovery practice. Rose is dedicated to understanding and managing the intersection of legal and technical issues that now largely dominate American and global litigation, data breach response, and government investigations. She devotes her entire practice to crisis management, eData, and technology. Rose is ranked in Chambers USA and Chambers Global as one of the world’s top lawyers in e-discovery litigation practice. According to Chambers USA, Rose is a “seasoned counsellor to clients on diverse e-discovery concerns as they relate to government investigations” while Legal 500 notes “Rose Jones is particularly experienced in cross-functional collaboration, advising businesses on information governance, data privacy and security, and discovery.

Tracey Rice Related Seminars and Products

Copeland & Rice LLP

I've spent my career as a trial attorney helping energy companies resolve complex business disputes inside and outside the courtroom. Clients value my focus on boiling complex issues down to the most important facts they need to make decisions -or that I will need to advocate successfully to a judge or jury. My clients and their business teams want direct, actionable solutions to facilitate their work. I have the experience and judgment to provide the concise, insightful advice sophisticated clients demand.

Honored as a Texas Rising Star, my litigation practice has spanned a broad range of commercial litigation issues, including breach of contract disputes, environmental and toxic tort matters, trade secret claims, personal injury and product liability cases, and white collar criminal investigations. Whether preparing cases for court, working side-by-side with corporate clients in their offices, or interviewing pipeline engineers, forensic accountants, or other experts in the field, my goal is always to help clients efficiently achieve success as they define it. 

My attention to business results and financial impact is rooted in my education and affinity for numbers. I graduated first in my class in Finance from the Business Honors Program at Texas A&M University. Later, applying that analytical approach to legal problem-solving, I attained my law degree from the University of Houston Law Center magna cum laude and Order of the Coif. I spent the first half of my career in the Litigation Department of Vinson & Elkins LLP, where I worked closely with Morgan Copeland. Now, as partners at Copeland & Rice LLP, we have the privilege of resolving complicated disputes by providing high quality legal services in a more flexible, less costly environment with fewer conflicts.
I previously served as a Board Member for Aurora Picture Show and enjoy spending time with my husband and three children. I also volunteer at Dress for Success Houston.

Melanie Rother Related Seminars and Products

Norton Rose Fulbright US LLP

Melanie Rother is a versatile energy lawyer and law firm leader based in Norton Rose Fulbright's Houston office. In addition to her robust trial practice, she is the global law firm's Co-Head of Energy and Infrastructure in the US, responsible for overseeing a team of lawyers that is part of one of the largest and most dynamic energy practices in the world.

Her more than 20-year national disputes resolution and litigation practice focuses primarily on complex business disputes in the energy and technology and innovation sectors. As lead counsel, Melanie advises a wide range of businesses, including exploration and production companies, midstream companies, chemical companies and oilfield product and service companies.

Melanie regularly advises clients and leads commercial and contract disputes arising from purchase and sale agreements, non-disclosure agreements, joint venture and development agreements, construction agreements, Area of Mutual Interest (AMI) agreements, and other such matters. Additionally, she frequently prosecutes and defends disputes involving false advertising, unfair competition, trade secret misappropriation, personal injury claims, trademark/trade dress, and copyright infringement.

Her vast experience includes representing clients as plaintiff and defendant in disputes before state and federal courts across the country and before arbitration panels. She also represents clients in international and cross-border disputes. She has been first chair in multiple trials, arbitrations, and evidentiary hearings, including recent success litigating a Lanham Act case to jury verdict and arguing appeals to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals.

Jeffrey A. Webb Related Seminars and Products

Norton Rose Fulbright US LLP

Jeff is the Co-Head of Norton Rose Fulbright US LLP's Energy & Infrastructure Disputes group. He has represented upstream, midstream, downstream, oilfield service, and retail companies in various high-stakes disputes, including traditional oil & gas (such as royalty, surface use, and right-of-way disputes), commercial, breach of fiduciary duty, product liability, and personal injury litigation, as well as regulatory proceedings. In addition to leading litigation matters, Jeff also serves as a trusted advisor to executives of many energy companies to help them navigate issues in various practice areas by leveraging the incredible depth of resources within the Firm, including in connection with the energy transition.

Miles O. Indest Related Seminars and Products

McGuireWoods LLP

A Texas-Louisiana litigator with an MBA, Miles enjoys helping companies protect their intellectual property, navigate artificial intelligence regulations, and resolve highstakes litigation. As a member of the Commercial Litigation department, Miles has significant experience representing energy and technology companies in complex disputes involving contracts, environmental issues, government investigations, and trade secret theft.

Robert H. Ford Related Seminars and Products

Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP

Robert (“Rob”) Ford is a trial lawyer with BRADLEY ARANT BOULT CUMMINGS, LLP, where he also serves as Managing Partner of the firm’s Houston office. Licensed to practice law in both Texas and Louisiana, Rob focuses his practice on all manner of high-stakes civil cases, representing both plaintiffs and defendants in complex commercial litigation, personal-injury suits, product-liability claims, energy disputes, and construction litigation. Additionally, Rob regularly defends lawyers and law firms against claims of legal malpractice.

Before joining Bradley, Rob co-founded the trial boutique, FOGLER, BRAR, FORD, O’NEIL & GRAY, LLP (now known as FOGLER BRAR O’NEIL & GRAY, LLP), and practiced at the trial & appellate boutique of BECK│REDDEN LLP (formerly known as BECK REDDEN & SECREST LLP). Prior to entering private practice, Rob served as law clerk to the Honorable Philip R. Martinez, of the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas, and the Honorable Lavenski R. Smith, of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit.

Rob is an honors graduate of The University of Texas School of Law, where he served as an associate editor of the Texas Law Review and as a member of the UT Supreme Court Clinic. He completed his undergraduate studies at Loyola University New Orleans, graduating with a double-major in Philosophy and Political Science. While at Loyola, Rob also served as Vice President of the Rho Epsilon Chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc.

Among other professional accolades and recognition, Rob has been: recognized as a Texas Super Lawyer® for Business Litigation (and for several consecutive years before that, a “Rising Star”); listed in Benchmark Litigation as a “Future Star”; named a Houstonia Magazine “Top Lawyer”; and named to the Lawyers of Color’s second annual “Hot List.” Outside of work, he is active in the State Bar of Texas, the Louisiana State Bar Association, the Texas Bar Foundation, the Houston Bar Association, the Texas Association of Defense Counsel (TADC), and the Garland R. Walker Inns of Court. Rob is also a frequent author and lecturer of Continuing Legal Education (CLE) units.

Notwithstanding the hustle and bustle of private practice, Rob cherishes the time he spends with his wife, and love of his life, Shayla; their son, Henry; and their daughter, Grace. Though not native Houstonians, Rob and his wife have made Houston their home, and they are proud residents of the city’s Third Ward. Rob’s recreational interests include reading nonfiction, hunting and fishing, working out, watching college sports, cooking (preferably outdoors), and all things New Orleans.

Trey Peacock Related Seminars and Products

Susman Godfrey L.L.P.

For over twenty-five years, Trey Peacock has won cases based on science and data, successfully representing companies and individuals in complex business disputes.  He has been lead or principal trial counsel for plaintiffs and defendants in state and federal courts in twenty states, including California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Illinois, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Texas, and Washington.

Clients seek out Trey for his unique comfort level with highly technical, data-driven matters, including damages.  His successes span technical areas as varied as offshore rig construction (in an international arbitration); convoluted title histories for thousands of oil and gas leases (in an energy lawsuit in state court); the underpinnings of random number generation (in a series of patent cases); the sciences of toxicology, epidemiology, and environmental exposure (in state and federal toxic tort matters); and the use of environmental air modeling (in a variety of cases, including a plaintiffs’ class action for environmental property damage).  Whether a favorable result depends upon the proper calculation of damages or the application of advanced scientific theories, Trey is a quick study and an effective advocate.

George T. Shipley Related Seminars and Products

Shipley Snell Montgomery LLP

In his more than 35 years as a trial lawyer, George Shipley has become a trusted ally to businesses and individuals both in the U.S. and abroad. His record of successful trials and appeals cuts across numerous industries and types of cases. Mr. Shipley co-founded Shipley Snell Montgomery with the aim of creating a firm that would offer clients all of the advantages that years of big-firm experience can provide but in an alternative format, with the kind of efficiency and tailored service that many clients – including Fortune 500 companies – now seek. The common threads of Mr. Shipley’s practice are exemplary results, the lasting relationships he builds with his clients, and the respect of his adversaries.

George Shipley has handled cases and argued appeals before state and federal courts, including courts in Texas, New York, California, New Jersey, Delaware, Alabama, Virginia, Louisiana, Utah, Oklahoma, Missouri, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. He has also represented clients in ad hoc arbitrations and before numerous domestic and international arbitration tribunals including the ICC, ICDR, AAA, NASD/FINRA, CPR, and JAMS.

Barrett H. Reasoner Related Seminars and Products

Gibbs & Bruns LLP

Barrett Reasoner is a partner at Gibbs & Bruns LLP, a premier litigation boutique based in Houston. With over three decades of trial practice, Barrett’s cases have spanned an array of areas, including energy, construction, environmental, securities, antitrust, and intellectual property. Barrett is a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers, the International Academy of Trial Lawyers, and The International Society of Barristers and a member of the American Law Institute.

Barrett received his J.D. from the University of Texas Law School, with honors, in 1990. He was a member of the Order of the Barristers. Barrett received a graduate diploma from the London School of Economics and Political Science in 1987, and his B.A., cum laude, from Duke University in 1986. Upon graduation from law school, Barrett was an Assistant District Attorney for Harris County (Houston), Texas for two years. He joined Gibbs & Bruns in 1992 and became a partner in 1996.

Ayesha Najam Related Seminars and Products

Gibbs & Bruns LLP

Ayesha Najam is a partner at Gibbs & Bruns, a litigation boutique based in Houston where she also serves as one of the firm’s hiring partners. Ayesha focuses her practice on complex commercial litigation, with a more recent focus on disputes involving energy, construction, and fiduciary duties. Since joining the firm in 2005, Ayesha’s client base has spanned a swath of industries, including energy, manufacturing, health care, software, construction, and commercial real estate.

Ayesha is recognized by top national legal referral guides Legal 500 and Chambers USA for her accomplishments in energy and general commercial litigation. Benchmark Litigation, Thomson Reuters’ “Super Lawyers,” and Lawdragon have also recognized Ayesha’s talents on both sides of the docket.

Ayesha enjoys serving as panelist and moderator for various Asian Pacific bar committee presentations. She is a past member of the HBA’s Diversity & Inclusion Committee.

Monica Hwang Related Seminars and Products

O’Melveny & Myers LLP

Monica Hwang is a partner in O'Melveny's Houston office. She counsels clients on energy-related project development matters, including joint ventures and complex commercial transactions. She has extensive experience working on liquefied natural gas import and export projects, handling the structuring for equity lifting; implementing tolling and sales models; and advising on gas supply and marketing arrangements. Among her vast industry experience is serving an integral role in the development of Freeport LNG—at the time, the largest non-recourse project financing in history—as well a consortium of investors into the Dominican Republic LNG import terminal, for which the joint venture won Latin American Finance Project of the Year.

Elizabeth McGinley Related Seminars and Products

Bracewell LLP

Elizabeth McGinley leads Bracewell’s Carbon Capture Utilization & Storage (CCUS) team and is chair of Bracewell's tax department. She advises strategic and financial investors on tax issues arising in connection with the energy transition including federal tax credits and investment structures. As part of her traditional energy transactional practice, Liz regularly advises clients on acquisitions, dispositions, project development, joint ventures and debt and equity investments. She represents both public and private energy companies as well as private equity funds. Liz is recognized by Chambers USA among America's leading lawyers for tax (2012-2022).

Brian Bradshaw Related Seminars and Products

Sidley Austin LLP

Brian A. Bradshaw is a partner in Sidley’s Houston office. His practice focuses on project development and finance, corporate finance and mergers and acquisitions for matters involving carbon capture, renewable natural gas, hydrogen, LNG, and ammonia as well as oil and gas, and other renewable energy. Brian has advised on both fossil fuel plants and alternative energy power plants, including hydro, solar, wind and nuclear, as well as transmission lines (HVDC). He also advises clients on shipping and maritime-related issues and engineering, procurement and construction contracts.

Brian is widely recognized for his work. He was recently recognized as a Life Fellow by the Texas Bar Foundation (2017). He has been ranked in Legal 500 Latin America Guide, Chambers, Latinvex, the Legal Media Group Guide to the World’s Leading Project Finance Lawyers and for Energy and Natural Resources Lawyers.

Gardner Boulmay Related Seminars and Products

Fidelis New Energy, LLC

Prior to Fidelis, Mr. Boulmay served as a co-founder, Partner, and Investment Committee Member of First Infrastructure Capital Advisors, LLC.  While there, he served as co-transaction lead for First Infrastructure Capital’s acquisition of WhiteWater Midstream and investment in the Whistler Pipeline.  In addition, he served as a board member for WhiteWater’s Delaware Basin Residue and Whistler Projects. Prior to his role at First Infrastructure Capital, Mr. Boulmay served as a Senior Vice President for Quanta Capital Solutions, Inc. (QCS), the project development and investment arm of Quanta Services, Inc. (QSI) a Fortune 300 construction company.  While at QCS, he served as co-transaction lead for QCS’ investment in Alberta PowerLine (APL), a joint venture between QSI and a Canadian utility.  The APL concession involved developing, designing, building, financing, owning, operating, and maintaining a 310-mile, 500 kV transmission line with two associated substations in Alberta, Canada.  APL won multiple project finance awards including the PFI Americas P3 Deal of the Year 2017, the Infrastructure Journal’s Global North American Transmission Deal of the Year 2017, and the P3 Gold Award for Best Financial Structure 2018. In addition, he served as co-transaction lead for QCS’ investment in and divestiture of Howard Energy Partners (HEP), a midstream company serving producers in the Eagle Ford Basin. Before being recruited to launch QCS, Mr. Boulmay served as a Director of Shaw Capital, the investment arm of The Shaw Group, Inc, also a NYSE publicly traded Fortune 500 company (acquired by CB&I in 2013).  While at Shaw Capital, he led a team of five professionals responsible for the financial valuation, due diligence, and risk identification processes in Shaw Capital as well select acquisition assignments for The Shaw Group.  He also served as a Program Manager for the Bring New Orleans Back Task Force where he led the effort to obtain over $50 million of expense reimbursements from FEMA to the City of New Orleans related to Hurricane Katrina disaster costs for damaged emergency service vehicles.  Throughout his career, he was involved in, evaluated, and led infrastructure investments across the telecommunications, energy, and renewable energy infrastructure sectors. Prior to joining The Shaw Group Inc., Mr. Boulmay served as a Lead Financial Analyst for Entergy, Inc. (also a NYSE publicly traded Fortune 500 company); the U.S. Operations Manager for Lycos; and a Research Fellow for McKinsey & Company. Mr. Boulmay earned an MBA (with honors) from Tulane University and a BS in Economics from Babson College, where he graduated second in his class and served as Editor-In-Chief of The Babson Free Press.

Nathan Ringelstetter Related Seminars and Products

JERA Americas

Nathan Ringelstetter leads the Project Finance team at JERA Americas and is responsible for all project-level financings of renewable, thermal, and low carbon energy projects in the US. In his 15-year career in the energy industry he worked on project financings of both thermal and renewable energy technologies. Prior to joining JERA he was a Director on the Project Finance team at Pine Gate Renewables, and previously held roles at Competitive Power Ventures and Standard Solar.

Hagai Zaifman Related Seminars and Products

Sidley Austin LLP

Hagai Zaifman is a renewable energy tax partner in Sidley’s tax group. Hagai advises developers, sponsors, leading private equity and strategic investors, and lenders in connection with wind, solar, battery storage, clean hydrogen, fuel cell, biogas, carbon capture, and other alternative energy projects.

Hagai has extensive experience structuring, planning, and negotiating infrastructure and renewable energy transactions, with particular emphasis on tax equity financing and the monetization of the various available clean energy tax credits.

Prior to joining Sidley, Hagai worked at General Electric Capital (GE) where he served in several tax leadership roles, including as the Tax Director at GE Energy Financial Services (GE EFS), one of the leading investors in renewable energy projects in the United States. In this role, Hagai led the GE EFS tax team and oversaw all tax aspects of the business, including underwriting, structuring, investing, managing, and disposing of more than US$10+ billion debt and equity portfolio of US and foreign wind and solar projects.

Jason A. Schumacher Related Seminars and Products

O'Melveny & Myers LLP

Jason Schumacher is a partner in the Dallas office of O'Melveny & Myers LLP. Jason represents clients in the energy sector on a variety of transactions and projects, including acquisitions and divestitures, joint ventures, project development, midstream contracts and financing arrangements, including volumetric production payments, securitizations and Drillco structures. Jason has closed over US$10 billion of transactions and projects. Jason also is consistently listed as a Texas Super Lawyer and one of the best attorneys in Dallas in D Magazine.

Robert Goodin Related Seminars and Products

Kirkland & Ellis LLP

Rob Goodin is a partner in the Houston and Austin offices of Kirkland & Ellis LLP. Rob’s practice focuses on complex and strategically important transactions, including mergers and acquisitions, private equity investments, divestitures, joint ventures and corporate governance, with a particular focus on the infrastructure and energy sectors.

Allan Kirk Related Seminars and Products

Kirkland & Ellis LLP

Allan Kirk's practice focuses on domestic and international mergers and acquisitions in the energy and infrastructure sectors, with a particular emphasis on private equity and complex joint ventures. Allan’s experience covers a broad spectrum of matters, including oil and gas (e.g., onshore and offshore E&P, transportation and midstream, refining, LNG, oilfield services, water infrastructure and traditional power generation), renewable energy and energy transition (e.g., power generation including solar, wind, hydrogen, nuclear and thermal power generation, renewable fuels, energy as a service, grid expansion, carbon credit trading platforms, JVs utilizing the tax credit transferability market, carbon sequestration and electric vehicles) and financing greenfield developments (e.g., various energy-related projects, carbon black processing and semiconductor manufacturing).

Katie Richardson, Ph.D. Related Seminars and Products

NREL

Katie Richardson, Ph.D. is the group manager for NREL’s Innovation and Entrepreneurship Center. NREL is the U.S. Department of Energy’s only national laboratory solely focused on renewable energy and energy efficiency. Katie’s team leverages the federal investment in NREL to boost startup success and accelerate impactful climate technologies to the marketplace. The center provides access to NREL expertise, equipment, and deep entrepreneurial networks for climate tech startups, incubators, and venture capitalists. NREL technology accelerators enable startups to work closely with lab researchers. Located in Golden, Colorado, the center has 84 companies in its portfolio, which have realized more than $2 billion in follow-on funding. Katie previously served as the State Science and Development Director for U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich. She holds a Ph.D. in physics.

Kera Gautreau Related Seminars and Products

Greater Houston Partnership

Kera leads development and implementation of key workstreams and cross-cutting enablers that leverage Houston’s energy leadership to accelerate global solutions for a low-carbon future as Senior Director of the Houston Energy Transition Initiative (HETI) at The Greater Houston Partnership. Her work has a particular focus on industrial decarbonization, power management, and advanced recycling for circular economy. She identifies opportunities for Houston to lead the world in decarbonizing high-emitting and hard-to-abate sectors with minimal impact on the regional power grid.

Prior to joining the Partnership, Kera held technical and leadership roles across the global energy industry, including leading and managing projects around the world for Chevron. Her most recent role as an industry consultant combined her upstream project development expertise and strategic relationship management success to advise private equity clients on M&A projects and conduct audits and evaluations of key regulatory and governance reporting obligations.

Devin Parram Related Seminars and Products

Bricker Graydon LLP

Devin Parram provides counsel to clients on a wide range of energy and utility issues. A significant portion of his practice focuses on litigating and processing cases before the Ohio Power Siting Board (OPSB) and the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO). Devin advises clients on various PUCO matters, ranging from routine regulatory filings to complex rate cases.

Devin regularly represents the Ohio Hospital Association in electric cases before the PUCO and advises hospitals regarding ratemaking proceedings, energy efficiency, energy procurement, distributed energy resource opportunities and all PUCO regulatory matters that potentially impact the unique needs of health care providers. Devin also represents the Northeast Ohio Public Energy Council (NOPEC) before the PUCO in a variety of matters affecting residential and commercial consumers’ electric and natural gas rates. NOPEC is the largest public retail energy aggregation in the U.S., with approximately 220 county, township and municipal members. Devin also represents competitive energy suppliers on PUCO matters, including advising suppliers regarding the PUCO’s consumer protection rules.

At the OPSB, Devin represents major electric generation facility developers and natural gas utilities. He has served as lead counsel in fully-contested wind farm cases before the OPSB and as regulatory counsel in dozens of cases involving the development of natural gas pipeline infrastructure.

Outside of the regulatory space, Devin has represented a variety of clients regarding energy-related transactions by drafting and negotiating purchase power agreements, lease agreements, energy procurement agreements, utility management/optimization agreements and asset purchase agreements related to the purchase of utility systems. He frequently works with hospitals, schools, businesses and municipalities on these various energy transactional matters.

Prior to his career at Bricker Graydon, Devin served as an Assistant Attorney General with the Ohio Attorney General’s Office Public Utilities Section. In this role, he argued numerous cases in the Ohio Supreme Court regarding PUCO appeals. In addition, while serving as an Assistant AG, Devin represented PUCO staff in cases before the PUCO and OPSB.

Juliana Sersen Related Seminars and Products

Baker Botts L.L.P.

Juliana Sersen is an energy regulatory partner at Baker Botts, where she represents energy clients on complex regulatory aspects of structured physical and financial energy transactions, project development transactions, mergers and acquisitions, and power and operations matters in ERCOT. Her clients include owners and operators of renewable resources, energy storage resources, traditional thermal generators, large commercial offtakers, retail electric providers, and regulated utilities. Juliana has played a pivotal role in the development and coordination of market rules associated with new technologies (e.g., energy storage and large flexible loads such as hydrogen), market restructuring, and grid reform in Texas. Prior to joining Baker Botts, Juliana served as Assistant General Counsel of Regulatory & Litigation at ERCOT. During her twelve years at ERCOT, she developed, revised and reviewed proposals to change rules for the ERCOT market; represented ERCOT in a wide variety of matters before the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT) and the State Office of Administrative Hearings (SOAH); served as the managing attorney for all matters involving commercial operations in the ERCOT market; and managed the market participant registration department.

Elizabeth Burns-Thompson Related Seminars and Products

Former VP, Government & Public Affairs

Navigator CO2

Elizabeth has a multi-faceted skillset and extensive agriculture and energy policy experience across the Midwest. Most recently she served as Vice President of Government and Public Affairs for Navigator CO2, focused on the development of the Heartland Greenway CCUS project, which would've connected dozens of ethanol and fertilizer plants across five states for carbon management and transportation. Prior to joining Navigator, Burns-Thompson served as Manager of Corporate Affairs for now Chevron-Renewable Energy Group, the largest producer of biodiesel in North America, where she worked with local and state leaders to discuss and implement policy related to the advancement of renewable biofuels. Her roots run deep in agriculture, having grown up on a family farm in eastern Iowa but also starting her career working with and for farmers at the Iowa Farm Bureau and Iowa Corn Growers Association. Elizabeth holds a J.D. from Drake Law School with a specialization in agricultural law and policy, and a B.S. in Agricultural Business and International Agriculture from Iowa State University.

Luis F. Gomar Related Seminars and Products

Paul Hastings LLP

Luis F. Gomar is a partner in the Corporate department of Paul Hastings and is based in the firm’s Houston office. Mr. Gomar has over 18 years of experience advising on domestic and cross-border transactions in the energy, finance and private equity sectors.

Mr. Gomar counsels clients on both domestic and international transactions involving M&A, asset acquisition and divestitures, fund formations, joint ventures and strategic alliances, project development, and structured finance and equity products (including participating and non-participating preferred equity, convertible securities and related products). He regularly represents private equity sponsors or private equity backed management teams in connection with investments in energy and infrastructure assets.

Mr. Gomar regularly advises energy companies (power, oil and gas, and renewables) with project development, including the negotiation of EPCs, supply agreements, offtake and feedstock arrangements, and commercial contracts. Mr. Gomar’s experience expands across borders and has included most jurisdictions in Latin America, as well as Asia and EMEA regions.

Barb Jacobs Related Seminars and Products

Lightsource bp

Barb Jacobs is director of government relations at Lightsource bp and leads state-level legislative and regulatory advocacy for the company. She has almost two decades of public affairs experience. Prior to joining Lightsource bp, Barb covered state legislative and regulatory affairs for the eastern interconnect at Avangrid Renewables, worked for an energy policy think-tank at the University of Minnesota, and as lead committee staff in the Minnesota Senate helped pass landmark solar legislation in 2013.  Barb lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota with her spouse and two young children and has a Masters of Public Affairs with a focus on Science, Technology and Environmental Policy and a minor in energy law from the University of Minnesota.

Lindsay Fitzgerald Related Seminars and Products

Gevo, Inc.

Lindsay Fitzgerald has served as Vice President, Government Relations at Gevo since May 2021. She leads a global team whose mission is to develop and promote policies that reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Prior to joining Gevo, Lindsay served as Senior Manager, then Director of Government Affairs at Renewable Energy Group, a leading provider of biodiesel and renewable biodiesel, where she was responsible for developing and implementing a comprehensive strategy for local, state, federal and international governments. She also served as Director of Regulatory Affairs at the National Biodiesel Board. She started her career as a consulting member, then government team member responsible for implementation of the Renewable Fuel Standard at the U.S. EPA. She is a seasoned government affairs professional with a special aptitude for strategy, collaboration, and big-picture, actionable planning, and execution.

Dave Bones Related Seminars and Products

HKA Global LLC

David Bones has been helping clients investigate, analyze, and resolve their complex litigation disputes for more than 20 years. David’s work has focused primarily on commercial litigation, valuation, intellectual property, forensic accounting, construction, government contracts, and bankruptcy matters.

David has been retained as an expert on over 100 matters, including disputes with damages in excess of $1 billion. He has provided expert testimony in various settings, including federal and state bench and jury trials around the United States, depositions, arbitrations (including FINRA), and has also presented at mediations. In addition, he has managed the day-to-day activities of many large project teams, including the preparation of expert reports related to lost profits, lost wages, business valuations, construction disputes, funds/asset tracing, financial condition, and solvency analyses. In 2008, David had the opportunity to lead the solvency team on one of the largest fraudulent conveyance cases in US history. He has also authored treatises on working with experts and presented to attorney and client groups on many occasions.

Before joining HKA, David provided litigation consulting services at Navigant Consulting, Inc., an international consulting firm, and Tucker Alan Inc. He also worked for US Airways as a senior analyst in its corporate finance group, and a manager in the Alliance Operations Group.

David has consulted on behalf of Fortune 500 companies and others in various industries, including mining, gaming, energy, real estate development, homebuilding, shipbuilding, manufacturing, software, healthcare (hospital and insurance), grocery, automotive, transportation, specialty finance (subprime mortgage and auto), non-profit, financial institutions, and agriculture.

Timothy R. Chitester, P.E. Related Seminars and Products

HKA Global LLC

Timothy R. Chitester is a Registered Professional Engineer with over 45 years of experience in the engineering, design and construction industry. His wide breadth of experience includes the resolution of construction disputes, construction claims, property loss and business interruption claims, as well as project design, engineering and project management.

Mr. Chitester has been directly involved in the design, scheduling, construction, and retrofit of more than 50 fossil fuel, hydroelectric, biofuel, and nuclear plants as both the engineer of record and the EPC contractor. He has specific experience and knowledge in scheduling and implementing energy related projects, including oil & gas, mine operations, pipelines, distributed generation, cogeneration, combined cycle, simple cycle, district energy and renewable energy projects.

He has been responsible for the technical development, engineering and design, hiring and management of subcontractors, and operation of projects in 12 countries. Mr. Chitester has also completed, as the EPC contractor, more than 10 lump sum turn-key power and energy projects, also known as demand side management performance contracts. Mr. Chitester has completed feasibility studies including scoping audits and investment grade audits of more than 20 developmental projects. Mr. Chitester has also served in two roles directly in a utility position on loan to major utilities on operating plants.

Mr. Chitester is recognized as an expert on construction claims and has testified in federal court, state court, AAA arbitration, ICDR arbitration, ICC arbitration, Canadian ADR arbitration and Chinese Arbitration Association of Taiwan arbitration relating to matters of construction management, contractor and engineer standard of care, trade use of contracts, cost, schedule, and productivity with resultant delay and disruption.

Luke Wochensky Related Seminars and Products

Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP

Luke Wochensky represents multinational companies in crossborder disputes and provides commercially sensitive, practical counsel to clients operating in high-risk jurisdictions.

A U.S. citizen who worked in Russia for over 10 years, Luke has extensive experience representing U.S. and multinational corporations operating in Eastern Europe and other global markets to manage risk, compliance and integrity issues, particularly those involving sanctions and corporate crime.

Luke provides counsel on a variety of disputes, including litigation, arbitration proceedings and internal and government investigations. He has led business, legal and organizational audits involving financial and antimoney laundering compliance, as well as in connection with allegations of corruption and commercial bribery.

Luke is qualified to practice law in New York and Russia (advokat).

David M. Cummings Related Seminars and Products

Reed Smith LLP

David is a zealous advocate for corporate policyholders, offering creative and effective strategy for developing and navigating claims and prosecuting and resolving disputes concerning all types of insurance coverage. David also acts as a trusted adviser to clients, helping them identify and navigate risks and guiding them during policy placements and renewals, successfully negotiating coverage programs designed to better reflect their unique risk profiles and minimize the likelihood of future disputes. David has a particular interest in and is a thought leader with respect to emerging risks and insurance issues, including cyber and ransomware threats, the evolving ESG and environmental landscape, and developing technologies.

David has a track record for successfully guiding clients through all phases of insurance claims, litigation, arbitration, and mediation, with particularly notable experience handling large and complex disputes, often addressing novel legal issues under all types of coverage, including general liability, property, directors and officers, professional liability, commercial crime, fiduciary liability, and cyberliability insurance, among others. As a policyholder advocate, David is routinely leveraged to bring value to commercial transactions by advising clients with respect to the fulfillment of insurance requirements and by negotiating coverage crucial to closing the deal, including representations and warranties products.

David’s representations range from large publicly-traded Fortune 500 corporations to start-ups and mid-market private companies covering industries as diverse as banking and finance, energy exploration and development, mortgage servicing and real estate, manufacturing, consumer retail and eCommerce, hospitality, entertainment and gaming, and healthcare. David’s practice is international, with depth of experience in matters across the country at the state and federal level and experience in matters involving the London and Bermuda markets, to name but a few.

David is a strong advocate for diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives and issues. He serves as the U.S. Partner Co-Chair of PRISM, Reed Smith’s LGBTQ+ affinity group. In this role, he leads the firm’s diversity initiatives and programming across the U.S. including through attorney and staff programming, training, and recruitment, as well as client engagement.

Michael Cuevas Related Seminars and Products

HKA Global LLC

Michael Cuevas is a structural and civil engineer with more than 26 years of experience in the construction, engineering, and forensic industries. Michael is a qualified expert witness who has worked on projects throughout the Caribbean, South America, and the United States. He is widely regarded as an expert who is both well-qualified and highly experienced in complex civil/structural and building envelope issues.

Michael’s expertise includes designing, evaluating, and re-certifying buildings; reviewing/preparing structural repair drawings; conducting site condition assessments; and performing due diligence studies. His project experience consists of expert forensic structural analysis of buildings/structures damaged by fire, wind, floods, storm surges, explosions, tree impacts, vehicle impacts, freezing temperatures, hail, moisture intrusion, and construction defects, including catastrophe responses. Designs and forensic evaluations have included structural steel, reinforced concrete, precast concrete, masonry, wood, and cold-formed metal framing.

Ben H. Patton Related Seminars and Products

Reed Smith LLP

Ben concentrates his practice on environmental and safety regulatory and compliance matters. He routinely counsels companies in connection with major industrial accidents, internal investigations and root cause analysis (RCA), workplace culture, compliance assurance, crisis response, whistleblowers, process safety incidents, and workplace injuries and fatalities. Ben also advises companies on government agency investigations and enforcement, environmental litigation, and response to regulatory rulemakings.

Ben is part of the firm’s global environmental, social and governance (ESG) practice. He has a particular focus on the environmental and governance aspects of ESG. He routinely counsels clients on risk management, environmental and safety social governance, and ethics in crisis response. 

Ben has represented clients in response to investigations by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), the Chemical Safety Board (CSB), the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE), the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA), and state and local regulatory agencies and public service commissions.

A significant part of Ben's practice involves counseling companies on environmental, health, and safety (EHS) culture and the management of process safety. He advises energy companies with upstream, midstream, and downstream operations on emerging regulatory requirements and systems for overseeing EHS performance, and has worked on several of the most significant industrial incidents of the past decade. Additionally, Ben advises energy companies on the development of robust process safety management systems and procedures. 

Ben is trained and certified in upstream and offshore safety and emergency procedures.

Stacy Williams Related Seminars and Products

Symmetry Energy Solutions

Stacy has over 30 years of experience in the energy industry.  He is currently SVP and General Counsel at Symmetry Energy Solutions, a natural gas marketing company, where he helped lead the company’s response to Winter Storm Uri.  He earned his undergraduate degree from Texas Tech University and his law degree from the University of Houston Law Center.  Stacy began his legal career as a Law Clerk to the Hon. Carolyn D. King of the United States Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit.  Over the course of his career, Stacy has been a partner at a large international law firm and served as an in-house legal executive in the energy industry.  Stacy’s law firm experience includes work at both Locke Lord and Reed Smith.  Stacy worked at Locke Lord for over 20 years with almost 15 years as a partner specializing in energy litigation.  At Reed Smith, Stacy joined the firm’s general energy practice where he focused on energy infrastructure projects and energy infrastructure litigation.  Stacy’s in-house corporate experience also includes work at both Columbia Pipeline Group and TC Energy.  At Columbia Pipeline Group he served as Deputy General Counsel, V.P., Land & Litigation where he was responsible for numerous legal functions including environmental, regulatory, land operations, infrastructure projects, and litigation.  He worked at TC Energy as V.P., U.S. Law where he was the primary legal advisor for the United States Natural Gas Pipeline stand-alone business unit.  In that role, Stacy led a legal team that was responsible for all legal functions for a large mix of assets, including 12 FERC regulated interstate pipelines, non-FERC regulated gathering systems and processing facilities, storage, mineral rights, and a large portfolio of infrastructure projects in development. 

J. James Cooper Related Seminars and Products

Reed Smith LLP

Jim is a member of the Insurance Recovery and Shipping groups in Reed Smith’s Houston office. He has nearly 40 years of experience handling multimillion-dollar insurance coverage disputes through litigation or arbitration, many involving commercial property and business interruption losses, claims for D&O, professional liability, commercial general liability, builder’s risk, and pollution coverage, including the energy, manufacturing, construction, and chemical sectors.

Jim is a past chair of the Insurance Law Section of the State Bar of Texas and a current co-chair of the American Bar Association’s Insurance Coverage Litigation Committee. He was elected to membership in the American College of Coverage Counsel, a privilege bestowed on less than 500 attorneys nationwide. Jim has also been selected by his peers every year since 2006 for inclusion in the Texas Super Lawyers rankings in the area of insurance coverage, and recognized for the 15th consecutive year as one of the nation’s top insurance coverage lawyers by Chambers USA. He has received a top ranking of “Band 1” for Insurance in Texas by Chambers USA since 2016. Jim was also selected by Best Lawyers in America© as its 2019 Houston “Lawyer of the Year” for his work in Insurance Law.

Jim has previously served as co-chair of the American Bar Association’s Insurance Coverage Litigation Committee’s Annual Conference, as well as the ABA’s Emerging Insurance Coverage Issues and Products Liability Insurance Coverage subcommittees. He also served as the course director for the 2014 State Bar of Texas Advanced Insurance Law Course. He is a former chair of the Houston Bar Association’s Historical and Professionalism committees, and was presented with President’s Awards in 2010 and 2013 in recognition of his service on those committees. Jim also received the prestigious Jim D. Bowmer Professionalism Award from the College of the State Bar of Texas in 2012.

Jim served as a contributing editor for the Lexis/Nexis Texas Annotated Insurance Code from 2006 to 2014. He has co-authored a chapter on handling complex insurance coverage matters in Inside The Minds: Legal Strategies For The Insurance Industry, published by Aspatore Books. Jim has also authored insurance coverage articles for the Journal of Texas Insurance Law, the University of Houston Int'l Law Journal, and the Michigan Bar Journal.

Jordan La Raia Related Seminars and Products

Expro

Jordan La Raia serves as managing senior counsel for Expro, a full-cycle energy services company that provides services in well construction, well flow management and production, subsea well access, and well integrity and intervention. In her role, Jordan oversees legal matters for Expro’s North and Latin America operations and helps manage and oversee Expro’s global insurance risk programs and litigation. Jordan sits in Houston, Texas.

Before her time at Expro, Jordan was an associate at Gardere Wynne Sewell LLP (now Foley & Lardner LLP) and later at Reed Smith LLP practicing commercial litigation and representing policyholders in coverage actions.

Lynette Wachuku Related Seminars and Products

Marsh McLennan

Lynette Wachuku is a Claims Advocate for selected clients in the Energy and Power industries.  Lynette works directly with clients to provide clear and timely information regarding their claim status and proactively helps her clients in obtaining prompt and fair settlement from Insurers.  Lynette is focused on large and complex claims and is based out of the Houston, Texas office.

Matt Sherwood Related Seminars and Products

McCarn, Weir & Sherwood P.C.

Matt Sherwood is a trial lawyer who has tried over 30 cases in state and federal courts and has handled nearly 20 matters on appeal. Matt is Board Certified in Civil Trial Law and Personal Injury Trial Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. When he obtained his certification in Civil Trial Law, he became the youngest attorney in the state of Texas to hold both Board Certifications.

Matt’s practice focuses on representing individuals and businesses in oil and gas, construction, commercial, and civil litigation. He has successfully tried cases in each of these areas and has resolved several hundred other disputes without the need for a trial. In oil and gas matters, Matt regularly represents clients in production in paying quantity disputes, contract disputes, joint operating disputes, surface damage disputes, title disputes, and oilfield injury claims. In construction litigation, Matt has extensive experience representing parties in a broad array of construction disputes, including construction defect claims, bond claims, mechanic’s liens, and design claims; Matt has successfully represented owners, general contractors, subcontractors, design professionals and public entities. In commercial litigation, Matt has represented numerous businesses and individuals in contract disputes, products liability, defamation, banking disputes, secured transaction litigation, eminent domain/condemnation, and DTPA claims. In personal injury matters, Matt has handled injury and wrongful death cases that involve negligence, gross negligence, premises liability, Dram Shop liability, and non-subscriber litigation. Matt has handled personal injury and wrongful death matters for clients on both the defense side and plaintiff side. Matt’s success has led to his selection as a Member of the American Board of Trial Advocates and selection as a Fellow of the Texas Bar Foundation. Matt was named a Texas Super Lawyer in 2023 and was selected as a Rising Star by Super Lawyers every year from 2012 to 2022.

Kerstie Clark Related Seminars and Products

Hess Corporation

Kerstie Clark has served as legal counsel for onshore operations at Hess Corporation since September of 2019. In this role Kerstie supports both the upstream and midstream business functions for operations conducted in the North Dakota Bakken shale play.

Before joining the legal group at Hess, Kerstie practiced energy and corporate transactional law at Locke Lord LLP from September of 2016 through September of 2019. While at Locke Lord, Kerstie represented both upstream and midstream energy clients in connection with mergers and acquisitions, divestitures and other general corporate and commercial matters. She was involved with several complex business transactions and negotiations of the related principal contracts.

Kerstie graduated from the University of Oklahoma, Michael F. Price College of Business, with a B.A., and from the University of Oklahoma College of Law, with a J.D.

Outside of her role at Hess, Kerstie is a member of the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo Parade Committee and looks forward to participating in the annual parade in downtown Houston that kicks off the rodeo season each year. Kerstie is also an active participant of the IEL Young Energy Professionals and was selected for the 2020-2021 IEL Leadership Class.

Kerstie and her husband, Dakota, have two children, Briggs (age 3) and Andi (age 2).

Dawn Lannin Related Seminars and Products

TotalEnergies (US)

Dawn Lannin is Executive Vice President & General Counsel of TotalEnergies American Services in Houston, Texas. 

TotalEnergies is a multi-energy company with operations in the US throughout the energy value chain including: exploration & production; refining & chemicals; marketing & services; gas & power trading; LNG; distributed generation, community and utility scale solar; offshore wind; and battery storage.

Dawn’s career with TotalEnergies for the last 20 years has included both legal and business roles.

Prior to becoming General Counsel for the US, Dawn was Vice President for Suriname & Guyana.

She also spent 5 years in France as the Vice President of Legal for Europe & Central Asia, and worked in Business Development and Strategy Roles in both Houston, Texas and Aberdeen, Scotland.

Dawn has been a board member of various commercial and not for profit businesses, is an avid gardener, and is the mother of 4 adult children, 2 grandchildren. 

She has a Juris Doctorate Degree as well as a BA in Literature.

Susan Lindberg Related Seminars and Products

T.D. Williamson, Inc.

Susan Lindberg is a seasoned leader in the oil and gas industry, collaborating on growth, transformation, and innovation at U.S. and international companies. With extensive experience in enterprise-level risk and M&A, and expertise in ESG, cybersecurity, and digital transformation, Susan has served on executive teams and boards of directors.

Susan is Vice President and General Counsel at TD Williamson, an international pipeline technology company based in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Prior to joining TD Williamson, Susan was a shareholder at the law firm of GableGotwals, where she built a cybersecurity law practice. As the former Executive Vice President and General Counsel of SemGroup Corporation, a NYSE-listed midstream, she served on the investment committee and facilitated a $1.5B capital raise. She provided guidance on M&A decisions, including an expansion into tanking and terminalling, and eventually the successful sale of the company to Energy Transfer.

Prior to this, Susan was General Counsel at Eni US Operating Co. Inc., leading the Americas Region legal function for Eni SpA. Earlier in her career, Susan held in-house legal roles at Duke Energy and Enron Corp. Susan began her career in the Energy Section of Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, where she developed her skills in transactions and policymaking across the energy industry.

Susan has worked extensively with boards of directors, and she has also received training via the NACD Governance Fellow program and the DirectWomen Board Institute. Susan’s interest in risk management has led her to pursue specialized knowledge in cybersecurity. She earned a Master of Science degree in Cybersecurity from The University of Tulsa. She is an author of numerous publications, and is a frequent speaker, on cybersecurity, law, and governance.

Laura M. Robertson Related Seminars and Products

ConocoPhillips Company

Laura M. Robertson is vice-president and deputy general counsel, Global E&P and HSE for ConocoPhillips. She also serves as corporate secretary for the Public Policy and Sustainabilty Committee of the company’s board of directors.

Laura has 25 years of legal experience in the oil and gas industry. Prior to her current role, Laura was deputy general counsel, Litigation, Technology/IP, and Legal Operations. She also served as corporate secretary for the Audit & Finance Committee of the company's board of directors.

Before joining the company, Laura was legal counsel advising on oil and gas royalty and tax compliance at Chevron. She began her career handling a broad range of energy litigation matters, antitrust disputes, and government investigations at King & Spalding in Houston.

Laura is chair of the board of the Dispute Resolution Services LLC of the International Institute for Conflict Prevention & Resolution (CPR), and the immediate past chair of the Institute of Energy Law (IEL) advisory board. She is also a trustee for the Houston Ballet.

Laura earned her juris doctorate with honors from the University of Texas School of Law and her bachelor's degree from Loyola University.