KEITH B. HALL is Director of the Mineral Law Institute and the Campanile Charities Professor of Energy Law at Louisiana State University (LSU). He teaches Mineral Rights, Advanced Mineral Law, International Petroleum Transactions, Civil Law Property, and an Energy Law Seminar that focuses on environmental issues relating to oil and gas development. His publications have focused on oil and gas leases, pooling and unitization, hydraulic fracturing, and induced seismicity that is associated with oil and gas activities.  He is co-author of a textbook on oil and gas law that is used in U.S. law schools and also is co-author of a book published by the American Bar Association on the legal issues relating to hydraulic fracturing. He is a frequent speaker at national and international oil and gas conferences and is a contributing co-author to the forthcoming new edition of a leading textbook on international petroleum transactions. In prior years, Professor Hall has taught International Petroleum Transactions as a Visiting Professor at Baku State University in Azerbaijan, International Energy Transactions as a Visiting Professor at the University of Pittsburgh Law School, and Introduction to Mineral Law as an adjunct professor at Loyola Law School in New Orleans. Before joining the LSU Law School faculty, he practiced law for 16 years, with a focus on oil and gas litigation and transactions. Professor Hall is the Editor-in-Chief of the Institute for Energy Law’s Oil & Gas E-Report. He serves on the Rocky Mountain Mineral Law Foundation’s Trustees Council, the Association of International Petroleum Negotiators’ Educational Advisory Board, and the Executive Committee of the Energy & Mineral Law Foundation. He is a former Chair of the Oil & Gas Committee of the American Bar Association’s Section of Environment, Energy and Resources. He also is a registered professional engineer.

BARCLAY R. NICHOLSON is a partner with Norton Rose Fulbright in Houston, Texas. He focuses his practice on energy and commercial disputes. He has significant experience in handling energy-related litigation and has represented some of the world’s major oil and gas producing and refining companies as well as some of the nation’s biggest drilling and E&P companies. Within the area of energy litigation, Barclay is known for his legal expertise related to hydraulic fracturing.  He has authored numerous articles and given speeches both across the nation and internationally on all aspects of unconventional oil and gas plays.  Barclay is the author of the "Analysis of Litigation Involving Shale & Hydraulic Fracturing", which details all of the litigation across the country involving shale plays. Barclay is the editor and author of the ABA's Book, "The Shale Energy Revolution: A Lawyer's Guide."  He is also the editor and author of the Shale Gas Handbook and serves as the editor of www.frackingblog.com, a blog devoted to pressing legal issues in hydraulic fracturing. Barclay has assisted clients in all of North America's major shale plays. Internationally, Barclay has been chosen to assist the US State Department Bureau of Energy and the US Department of Commerce, through its Commercial Law Development Program, in advising the Countries of China, India, Iceland, Vietnam, Colombia, Chile, and Afghanistan on their unconventional and shale oil and gas resources and the regulatory and legal matters associated with those resources. He holds a B.A. degree from the University of Texas and a J.D. from the University of Houston. Barclay is currently chair of the Houston Bar Association’s Litigation Section, which has more than 1,200 members. 

KEVIN C. ABBOTT is Senior Counsel in the Energy & Natural Resources Group of Reed Smith in Pittsburgh. He focuses his work in energy litigation and oil and gas law.  He has more than 30 years of experience in representing clients in the oil and gas industry, natural gas exploration and production companies, interstate pipeline companies and utilities. Kevin is currently advising natural gas exploration and production companies on issues related to exploration of Marcellus and Utica shales.  He is admitted to practice in all state and federal courts in Pennsylvania, Ohio and West Virginia. Kevin is the recipient of the Pittsburgh Business Times’ Energy Leadership Award and has been recognized in its “Who’s Who in Energy” list. He has been recognized as a Top Rated Lawyer in Energy/Environmental Law by American Lawyer Media and Martindale-Hubbell™. Kevin has also been listed in Pennsylvania Super Lawyers in the energy field in every year since 2004. Kevin teaches oil and gas law at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law. In 2015, he was named by the University as the Executive Director of its Energy Law and Policy Institute.

MARK S. BARRON is a Partner with Baker Hostetler in Denver. Named a Law360 Energy MVP in 2016, Mark enjoys a reputation as a nationally influential energy lawyer. Mark has guided some of the country’s largest producers of oil and gas through high-profile litigation and is a “go to” author for energy companies and trade associations developing technical comments responsive to regulatory initiatives. Mark routinely assists clients in the administrative rulemaking process, interacting with government decision makers, developing strategic policy initiatives, and litigating disputes. A prolific author and speaker on topics affecting energy producers, Mark has testified before Congress and been featured or quoted in dozens of industry and mainstream media outlets on topics related to energy policy, hydraulic fracturing, and commercial development on public lands. In 2015, Law 360 named Mark one of five national “Rising Stars” in Energy – a designation given to the best attorneys in America under 40 years of age.

BRAD BERGE is a partner in Holland & Hart’s Santa Fe office. Since 1980, he has represented energy and mining clients in suits throughout New Mexico and Colorado, and he has trial experience with most aspects of the extractive industries.  He represents companies in disputes relating to development, permitting, surface use, subsurface rights, soil and water contamination, royalty issues, carbon dioxide and tertiary recovery, and well site accidents. He is admitted to practice before all state and federal courts in New Mexico and Colorado.

HOWARD L. BOIGON is currently vice chair of the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, the regulatory body charged with enforcing the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Act and generally regulating the industry in Colorado. He is also the sole member of Boigon Law Ltd, a Denver boutique law firm focused on the practice of oil and gas law, both in the United States and internationally. His practice focuses on transactional, financing and regulatory matters in oil and gas law and policy and on business counseling for natural resources companies, advising cities and other public entities on oil and gas regulatory matters, and representation of surface developers, landowners and other stakeholders impacted by oil and gas development. He also has served as expert witness and mediator in contested oil and gas industry disputes. Mr. Boigon has played a key role in the development of law and policy affecting the industry through representation of industry in rule-making proceedings, testifying on and helping to draft key legislative initiatives affecting industry, and service on stakeholder committees and form drafting committees. He has lectured and written widely on land use issues, regulatory policy, joint operations and other aspects of oil and gas law and practice. Prior to founding his law firm, Mr. Boigon has been in private practice with the Denver offices of Hogan Lovells and Davis, Graham & Stubbs and served in senior executive positions with Westport Resources Corporation and Basin Exploration, Inc., both Denver-based publicly traded exploration and production companies. Prior to entering private practice, Mr. Boigon served as a law clerk to the Honorable Wade H. McCree, Jr. of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.  He is a graduate of the University of Michigan for both college and law school. Mr. Boigon serves on the Advisory Board of the Colorado Oil and Gas Association, where he is also a past president, and is a former trustee of the Rocky Mountain Mineral Law Foundation. He has chaired and spoken at a number of special institutes for the Foundation. He has received professional recognition as a leading practitioner in the Best Lawyers in America®, Chambers USA, the Denver Business Journal, Who’s Who Legal, Colorado Superlawyers, and Law Week Colorado, among others.   He serves on the boards of several community organizations and is a past recipient of the Community Leadership Award from the Colorado Jewish Community Relations Council.

GHISLAINE TORRES BRUNER is a shareholder at Polsinelli PC, in Denver. CO. She counsels energy clients through all aspects of planning, siting, permitting and regulatory issues and complex commercial litigation impacting natural resource and energy projects. She regularly drafts and negotiates operator agreements, memoranda of understanding, use by special review permits, surface use agreements and other energy agreements entered by operators and local governments. She advises and represents clients through state or local rulemakings. She works to enforce agreements, assist with regulatory compliance and associated complex litigation. For the past three years, she has served as Vice Chair   for the Oil & Gas Committee of the American Bar Association’s Section of Environment, Energy and Resources.  She has been selected for inclusion as a member of “Who’s Who in Energy” and has been named a “Top Woman in Energy” by the Denver Business Journal. Ms. Bruner was previously a Vice Chair of the Air Quality Committee of the American Bar Association’s Section of Environment, Energy and Resources and worked in the development of CLE’s and a joint newsletter with the Oil and Gas Committee. Ms. Torres Bruner received her undergraduate degree from the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor, Master of Public Health Degree from Florida International University, and her law degree from the Shepard Broad College of Law at Nova Southeastern University.  Ms. Torres Bruner has a masters of law degree in Environmental and Natural Resources Law and Policy for the University of Denver, Strum College of Law.

CAL COOPER is Director-Special Projects and Emerging Technology, for Apache Corporation, in Houston. One day seemingly out of the blue, Apache’s CEO challenged Cal to do something that really matters, “solve the hydraulic fracturing water problem, and fix the chemical thing too.” Fortunately resources were not an issue and he was able to access very talented folks who stepped up and made it happen with a real sense of urgency.  Apache demonstrated how frack chemistry could be modified to accommodate water of almost any quality, how to leverage the value and abundance of brackish water and how to treat and re-use produced water at a lower cost than disposal alternatives, conceptually transforming what was possible based on simple science. Cal received a Ph.D. in Geology and Geophysics from Rice University, worked for three majors with roles of increasing responsibility including Chief Geoscientist, Center Manager for Geoscience and Corporate Science Fellow. He has also served on the executive boards of several international scientific research organizations.  At Apache for the past decade, he has enjoyed defending and explaining the value of hydraulic fracturing to skeptics and friends. His role primarily focuses on induced seismicity, water treatment technology, frack chemistry and natural gas separation techniques but covers a very broad range.

HAROLD J. FLANAGAN is a founding partner of Flanagan Partners LLP in New Orleans and a former shareholder in the Maritime, Oilfield, and Insurance section of the New Orleans office of Liskow & Lewis. His practice includes both contracts and litigation in the areas of insurance coverage and recovery, construction, admiralty, oil and gas production, casualty, and commercial matters. He has extensive experience in contract drafting for oil and gas producers and is frequently called upon to investigate casualties and advise clients on matters involving well blowouts, explosions, drilling rig and vessel accidents, and other oilfield tort claims. In addition, he has extensive experience in drafting construction contracts and litigating construction disputes for contractors and property owners. Mr. Flanagan graduated from Loyola University with a B.S. in business management in 1984, and from the Loyola School of Law in 1995, cum laude. For the past 11 years, he has taught insurance law at Tulane University Law School. His outstanding service to the school was recognized when he received the Monte M. Lemann Distinguished Teaching Award in 2003 and 2010. Mr. Flanagan lectures and writes frequently on oil and gas law, construction contracts and litigation, and insurance coverage.

ARIEL FORBES is counsel in the Energy & Natural Resources Group at Reed Smith LLP in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.  She focuses her practice in the areas of general regulatory and commercial litigation, energy litigation, and oil and gas law. In particular, Ariel has significant experience in resolving contract and lease disputes, dormant mineral act claims, environmental issues, and real estate and land use issues. She also handles pipeline issues, including condemnations, encroachments, and negotiation and preparation of pipeline right-of-way and easement agreements. Ariel has represented clients in the energy sector and oil and gas industry, including natural gas exploration and production companies, public utilities, and pipeline companies in Pennsylvania, Ohio, and West Virginia. In addition to her law practice, Ariel is an adjunct professor of legal writing at the Duquesne University School of Law. Ariel received her Bachelor of Arts degree from Colorado College in Colorado Springs, CO and her law degree from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law.

BURKE W. GRIGGS is an associate professor of law at Washburn University. He specializes in American water law, and has published articles on groundwater law, surface water-groundwater issues, interstate water litigation, and water policy. In his prior capacity as an assistant attorney general for the State of Kansas, Mr. Griggs represented the state in Kansas v. Nebraska & Colorado (2009-2015), an original action before the Supreme Court to enforce the Republican River Compact. Mr. Griggs also served as counsel of record in Kansas’s first reserved tribal water rights settlement, with the Kickapoo Tribe of Kansas. As Senior Legal Counsel to the Chief Engineer of the Kansas Division of Water Resources, he defended DWR in court and drafted legislation enabling the formation of Local Enhanced Management Areas for high-stress regions of the High Plains-Ogallala Aquifer in Kansas. Mr. Griggs is a fellow at the Woods Institute for the Environment at Stanford University, where he contributes to its Water in the West Project. He holds a B.A. from Stanford, a Ph.D. from Yale, and a law degree from the University of Kansas.

MALLORY HASBROOK is an associate at Welborn Sullivan Meck & Tooley, P.C., where her practice focuses on mineral title examination in addition to probate and estate planning. She earned her B.S. in geology in 2013 and her J.D. in 2016 from The University of Oklahoma. Mallory is a member of the Colorado Bar Association and the Denver Association of Oil and Gas Title Lawyers, and is licensed to practice law in Colorado and Wyoming.

ANDREW JACOBY is a partner at the law firm Scott, Vicknair, Hair & Checki LLC. He has spent the past ten years as a litigator working primarily on environmental and property damage cases, including representing landowner-lessors in oilfield contamination cases. He has also represented oil companies in various matters. In addition to environmental damage, he has worked on cases involving LPG import/export facility siting, public records requests, historic preservation, and zoning. In 2016, Mr. Jacoby represented a Louisiana citizens group opposed to fracking operations being allowed—in violation of local zoning ordinances—in a residentially zoned area next to a high school. The case addressed whether Louisiana’s “local control” constitutional authority prevails over state permitting authority. Mr. Jacoby volunteers with public health advocates to press for legislative and regulatory action on abandoned oilfield sites, air pollution from refineries, and other matters. He previously worked for the State of Texas on water law issues. He is a graduate of Tulane Law School and the University of Texas at Austin, and is originally from Ann Arbor, Michigan. He is licensed to practice in Louisiana and Texas.

BRUCE M. KRAMER received his B.A. in International Relations from UCLA in 1968, his J.D. from the UCLA School of Law in 1972 and an LL.M. in Environmental and Natural Resources Law from the University of Illinois College of Law in 1975.  From 1974 through his retirement at the end of 2006 he taught at the Texas Tech University School of Law.  He is now the Maddox Professor of Law Emeritus.  From 2007 through the present he is of counsel to the Texas-based law firm of McGinnis, Lochridge & Kilgore.  He has taught at Colorado University School of Law since 2008 and is currently a Thomson Visiting Professor of Law.   He is the co-author of several treatises including The Law of Pooling and Unitization, Williams & Meyers Oil and Gas Law (since 1996), Cases and Materials on Oil and Gas Law and International Petroleum Transactions.  He is also the author of numerous law review articles in the field of oil and gas law.  His works have been cited by numerous state and federal courts over the past 25 years.  He is a honorary trustee of the Rocky Mountain Mineral Law Foundation, a member of the Executive Committee of the Institute for Energy Law of the Center for American and International Law and a trustee to the Energy and Mineral Law Foundation.

ANN E. LANE is Senior Counsel for WPX Energy, Inc. in Denver, Colorado, supporting WPX’s assets in the Piceance and Powder River Basins, as well as its acquisition and divestiture, infrastructure and exploration teams. Ann has over 25 years of natural resources experience – including 8 years as a Petroleum Landman. Prior to joining WPX, Ann was in-house counsel at XO communications, Kerr-McGee Rocky Mountain Corporation, and Anadarko Petroleum Corporation. She started her legal career as an associate at Jones Day Reavis & Pogue in Dallas, Texas and at Holme Roberts & Owen in Denver, Colorado. Ann graduated from the University of Colorado in Boulder with a Business Degree and from Southern Methodist University School of Law with her J.D. Ann is a member of the Texas and Colorado bar associations and the Denver Association of Petroleum Landmen. She is a former President of the Natural Resources and Energy Law Section of the Colorado Bar Association. She is active in several committees for the Rocky Mountain Mineral Law Foundation and has also served as a former trustee.

SARA LOFLIN is the LOGIC Executive Director, based in Erie, CO. Sara launched LOGIC in September 2015, where she has served as the Executive Director ever since. Prior to joining LOGIC, Sara was the State Director for Clean Water Action. She has spent the last 13 years working across Colorado to elevate the voices of Coloradans across the state on initiatives including from voting and civic engagement, health care, the environment, lands protections and oil and gas initiatives. Sara has led multiple political campaign and issue advocacy efforts as a campaign manager, a community organizer, a political director, an outreach director and a state director. Sara has served as a Program Manager at the Western Conservation Foundation, an Outreach Director for the State Senate, and as the Field Director for America Votes. Sara holds a degree in International Relations and History from Wartburg College in Waverly, Iowa. Sara has served on multiple Colorado non-profit boards. She lives in Erie with her family.

MICHAEL J. MAZZONE is a partner in the law firm Haynes and Boone, LLP in Houston, TX. He is board certified in Civil Trial Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization, and is a member of ABOTA. He is admitted to practice in Texas, Louisiana, and North Dakota. He has tried jury cases in Texas, New Mexico, and Louisiana. He represents energy companies in environmental, indemnity, toxic tort, and construction litigation.  Michael taught in the trial advocacy program at the University of Houston Law Center and has served on the Editorial Board of The Houston Lawyer magazine. Michael has given speeches and presented papers on trial advocacy, litigation, and arbitration at industry conferences, bar association seminars, and law schools. Michael was born and raised in Boston. He received his undergraduate degree from the University of South Carolina, attended graduate school at the University of Michigan, and obtained his law degree from Suffolk University Law School in Boston, Massachusetts.

ELIZABETH (BECKY) N. MILLER, is Of Counsel with the law firm of Scott Douglass & McConnico, L.L.P., in Austin, TX. Becky has practiced exclusively in the firm’s oil, gas and energy practice since she joined the firm in 1981. She began by handling regulatory matters before the Railroad Commission of Texas. In the late 1980s Becky moved to oil and gas litigation when she joined just a handful of lawyers Board Certified in Oil, Gas and Mineral law who litigated oil, gas and energy law cases full time. In her career she has tried cases in North, East, South and West Texas, wherever wells are located. She has argued before appellate courts in Houston, Corpus Christi and San Antonio, the Texas Supreme Court and the 5th Circuit. Her practice has included all types of litigation arising out of the oil, gas and energy business (except tort claims for personal injury). She has represented operators, lessees, non-operating working interest owners and lessors. Becky has served as an adjunct professor at the University of Texas School of Law where she taught oil and gas law, and oil and gas leasing and regulation. Becky’s practice also includes work as a mediator and arbitrator, particularly in regard to oil and gas related cases. Her Recognitions & Awards include:

Board Certified, Oil, Gas and Mineral Law, Texas Board of Legal Specialization, since 1987

Selected for The Best Lawyers in America in Natural Resources Law and Oil & Gas Law, 2007-2019

Best Lawyers’ Austin Natural Resources Law “Lawyer of the Year,” 2014, 2016, and 2019

The Center for American and International Law Institute Deans of Oil and Gas Practice Lecture honoree, 2014

Texas Super Lawyer, a Thomson Reuters business, Energy and Natural Resources Law, 2003 – 2018

Recipient of 2011 Pathfinder’s Award – Travis County Women’s Lawyer Association

Pattern Jury Charge Vice Chairmen, State Bar Pattern Jury Charge Committee for Oil and Gas

Texas Lawyer Top Five “Go To” Lawyer in Oil and Gas, 2008

Chairman, Oil, Gas and Mineral Law Section, State Bar, 1998-1999

Chairman, Oil, Gas and Mineral Law Section, Travis County Bar, 1988-1989

DR. JENNIFER L. MISKIMINS is an Associate Professor and the Associate Department Head in the Petroleum Engineering Department at the Colorado School of Mines. Dr. Miskimins holds BS, MS, and PhD degrees in petroleum engineering and specializes in well completions, stimulation, hydraulic fracturing, and associated production issues. She is the founder and current Director of the Fracturing, Acidizing, Stimulation Technology (FAST) Consortium and also co-directs the Center for Earth Materials, Mechanics, and Characterization (CEMMC). She has authored or co-authored over 100 papers. During her career, she has held positions at Marathon Oil Company, Barree & Associates, and the Colorado School of Mines. Dr. Miskimins served as the inaugural Completions Technical Director on the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) International Board of Directors from 2015-2018. She was an SPE Distinguished Lecturer in 2010-2011 and 2013-2014 on hydraulic fracturing in unconventional reservoirs. In 2014, she was awarded the SPE International Completions Optimization and Technology Award. Dr. Miskimins serves on a variety of conference organizing committees and as a technical editor for various journals. She is a registered Professional Engineer in the State of Colorado (License #36193).

DAVE NESLIN is of counsel in the Denver, Colorado law firm of Davis Graham & Stubbs LLP, where he assists clients with energy and environmental matters. From 2007 until 2012, he served as Director of the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission.  During his tenure, the Commission balanced energy production with environmental protection by comprehensively updating its regulations, implementing new environmental standards, significantly reducing administrative review times, working collaboratively with local governments, and adopting hydraulic fracturing regulations that were considered a national model. Dave also served as the Chair of STRONGER, which peer reviews state environmental programs, and as Colorado’s representative on the IOGCC, which provides leadership on energy issues. Since joining Davis Graham & Stubbs, he has represented numerous oil and gas companies with regulatory issues and has assisted the government of Colombia in updating its oil and gas regulations.  He has testified before the U.S. Congress and Colorado legislature and frequently writes and speaks on hydraulic fracturing and other energy related topics to local, national, and international audiences. In 2017, he co-authored the LexisNexis treatise on Hydraulic Fracturing Law and Practice. He is listed in The Best Lawyers in America and is a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation.

GREG NIBERT JR. is an associate in the Natural Resources Department at Davis Graham & Stubbs LLP. His practice is primarily focused on operational issues in oil and gas exploration and development, as well as local, state, and federal permitting, and regulatory counseling on private and public lands. Mr. Nibert regularly represents oil and gas companies in various oil and gas commission matters and regulatory enforcement actions. Mr. Nibert is a frequent publisher and speaker on various oil and gas law topics including, state and local regulation of oil and gas, spacing and pooling and hydraulic fracturing and is the author of the Federal Onshore, Arizona, and New Mexico chapters of Hydraulic Fracturing Law and Practice. A Native of Roswell, New Mexico, Mr. Nibert received a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of New Mexico and a Juris Doctor Degree from Valparaiso University.

JASON OATES is currently the Director of External Affairs for Crestone Peak Resources, a role he has held since the company’s inception in 2016. In this role Jason is responsible for the Government Affairs, Community Relations, Community Sustainability and Investment, and Communication functions for Crestone. He also is responsible for leading the company’s strategy and planning for operations in Boulder County. He recently negotiated agreements for oil and gas operations in the Colorado municipalities of Erie, Dacono, and Lochbuie. Prior to joining Crestone, Jason worked for Encana Corporation from 2008 – 2016, serving as Senior Manager of Regulatory and External Affairs with operations in the Eagleford, San Juan, Piceance, and DJ Basins; Manager of Regulatory Affairs; and Six Sigma Master Black Belt. Prior to Encana, he worked at TAMKO Building Products as a Plant Manager and Six Sigma Master Black Belt from 2002 – 2008. Mr. Oates was a commissioned as an officer in the United States Army in 1997. He received his Bachelor of Science in Systems Engineering from the United States Military Academy at West Point and holds a Master of Business Administration from the University of Arkansas.

LARA PRINGLE is a Partner with Jones Walker in Houston. Lara represents clients in a variety of litigation involving commercial disputes, including oil and gas indemnity agreements, breach of contract cases, and leasing disputes. She represents operators and contractors in contractual disputes involving drilling contracts in the Gulf of Mexico, purchase sales agreements, and shale play leasing disputes. Lara has handled energy condemnation proceedings for pipeline companies and represented large oil and gas industry clients in matters involving industrial accidents and environmental contamination claims. She has tried numerous bench trails and jury trials to verdict. Lara heads the firm’s Houston and The Woodlands offices. She is actively involved in a number of professional and civic associations. She is on the board of directors of Arise Africa, a ministry that supports vulnerable children in Africa.

CARLOS R. ROMO is Counsel with Lewis Bess Williams & Weese P.C., in Denver, CO. Carlos practices at the intersection of energy and environmental law. He has helped clients in a variety of industries navigate complex regulatory requirements and has particular expertise in Clean Air Act, Endangered Species Act, Clean Water Act, and National Environmental Policy Act permitting and oil and gas. Carlos’ substantive knowledge of natural resources and administrative law issues allows him to counsel clients on both litigation and transactional matters. His clients include oil and gas companies, renewable energy developers, utilities, trade associations, pipeline operators, ski areas, land owners, investors, and resort operators.

SAMANTHA RUSCAVAGE-BARZ is Managing Attorney for WildEarth Guardians in the Santa Fe, New Mexico, office. She joined WildEarth Guardians in 2010 after working as a staff attorney for Advocates for the West and a stint as a solo practitioner specializing in public interest environmental law. Her practice focuses on protecting community health and public lands from rampant fossil fuel development, Clean Air Act enforcement, and Rio Grande River advocacy. Samantha is also an Adjunct Professor for the University of New Mexico School of Law where she teaches Environmental Litigation Drafting and coaches the Environmental Law Moot Court Team. Samantha is the past chair of the New Mexico State Bar’s Natural Resources, Energy and Environmental Law Section. Prior to becoming an attorney, Samantha spent 17 years as an archaeologist, and has her Ph.D. in Archaeology from Washington State University.

AMY E. SENESHEN serves as the managing partner of Welborn Sullivan Meck & Tooley, P.C., in Denver. CO. She specializes in the acquisition and divestiture of oil and gas upstream and midstream assets, and advises clients in the energy sector on day to day operational issues. She represents companies in negotiating and structuring natural resource projects for the exploration and development of mineral properties. Ms. Seneshen has served as a trustee-at-large for the Rocky Mountain Mineral Law Foundation. She is Chair of the Site Selection Committee for the RMMLF Annual Institute and also serves as a member of the Special Institutes Committee, the Financial Advisory Committee and the Long Range Planning Committee of the Rocky Mountain Mineral Law Foundation. She has been selected for inclusion as a member of “Who’s Who in Energy” and has been named a “Top Woman in Energy” by the Denver Business Journal. Ms. Seneshen is the past Chair of the Natural Resources and Energy Law Section of the Colorado Bar Association as well as the Legal and Legislative Committee of the Denver Association of Petroleum Landmen. Ms. Seneshen received her undergraduate degree from the University of Connecticut and her law degree from the William and Mary College of Law.

JOSEPH L. “LARRY” SHEA, JR. is a founding member of Bradley Murchison Kelly & Shea LLC, in Shreveport, and has been practicing law for over 40 years.  His professional experience includes extensive litigation representing numerous oil and gas producers and pipelines in matters ranging from environmental complaints to oil field operations to contract disputes to ownership issues. He also has considerable experience in non-litigation matters, including oil and gas leasing and operations, exploration and production joint ventures, and business operations, formations, and acquisitions. He has been recognized in Chambers USA® 2013-2018 as a Leader in the Field for Energy & Natural Resources:  Oil & Gas, Louisiana, and recognized in The Best Lawyers in America® 2009-2019 for work in Energy Law and Oil and Gas Law and as Lawyer of the Year in Litigation-Environmental in Shreveport. Mr. Shea has been very active in the advancement of the legal profession.  He served as the President of the Louisiana State Bar Association for the years 2014–2015. He has served on numerous committees of the Louisiana Bar relating to Ethics, including the Ethics 2000 Committee, the Advisory Reading Committee for the LSBA Handbook on Professional Responsibility, the Practice Assistance and Improvement Committee as an Ethics School Instructor, the Rules of Professional Conduct Committee, and as Chair of the Ethics Advisory Service. He was also honored to serve as a member of the Louisiana Attorney Disciplinary Board from 1995-2002, and as Chairman in 2002.

KATHERINE “KATIE” SMITH BAKER is a partner in the Shreveport office of Bradley Murchison Kelly and Shea LLC. For over 10 years, she has focused her practice in the areas of oil, gas and energy law.  Katie represents major and independent energy companies in litigation, title examination, division order work, and she routinely advises clients in all aspects of oil and gas exploration and production operations, including matters related to lease disputes, mineral owner demands, operating agreement disputes, title issues, and Louisiana risk-fee issues. She also has extensive experience in handling complex commercial litigation matters. Katie has a strong federal court practice as well as experience at the appellate level in both state and federal courts.  She has been recognized yearly in Super Lawyers® Louisiana Rising Stars (2013-2018). Katie is also very active in her community.  Most recently, Katie served as the President of the Junior League of Shreveport-Bossier, which is an organization of women committed to promoting voluntarism, developing the potential of women and improving communities through the effective action and leadership of trained volunteers. Katie resides in Shreveport, Louisiana with her husband, Daniel Baker, and their two-year old son, Noah.

MARY VIVIANO is an Honorary Trustee of the Rocky Mountain Mineral Law Foundation. She is the former General Counsel of Vantage Energy LLC, which sold in early 2017. Prior to that, she was Vice President and Associate General Counsel of Encana Corp. (USA) for 12 years. As General Counsel of Encana’s USA Division, her experiences covered most major onshore basins from Appalachia to the Barnett, Rockies, and everything in between. Mary practiced at the Denver, CO law firms of Welborn Sullivan Meck & Tooley PC and Davis Graham & Stubbs LLP, primarily in the oil & gas, litigation and public lands, areas.  She holds a BS in business/economics from Regis University and a J.D. with honors from the U. of Denver College of Law. Before completing law school, Mary was a landman for Anadarko Petroleum Corp. and Chevron USA. Mary has served on the Rocky Mountain Mineral Law Foundation’s Board of Directors, Trustees Council, as Special Institutes committee chairman, and authored a number of presentations and papers for various institutes. She was also a board member of Western Energy Alliance for 10 years and has presented on natural resources topics as a guest lecturer/symposium presenter for the U. of Denver College of Law; the University of Wyoming, College of Law; the University of Colorado, College of Law and Washburn University College of Law.

HANNAH WISEMAN, is the Attorneys' Title Professor, at Florida State University College of Law, in Tallahassee, FL. Professor Hannah Wiseman’s research explores the role of regulation in protecting the character of living spaces and environmental quality, from the sublocal to the national level. As a law student, Professor Wiseman was a managing editor of the Yale Journal on Regulation and received the Israel H. Peres prize for the best student note or comment appearing in the Yale Law Journal in 2007. Professor Wiseman clerked for the Honorable Patrick E. Higginbotham of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. She joined the law school in 2012 and teaches Energy Law, Environmental Law, Land Use Regulation and Oil and Gas Law.