Resources

Denver, CO.    Alex Ritchie, Executive Director of the Rocky Mountain Mineral Law Foundation is pleased to announce another webinar to help attorneys and other professionals in the oil and gas industry address some of the fundamental changes that are a result of COVID-19 and WTI oil prices going negative for the first time in history.   Last week, the Foundation offered members and non-members the opportunity to hear a candid conversation with experts in the industry on Oil and Gas Companies in Crisis: Working with Lenders, Contractors, Suppliers, and Regulatory Agencies.

This week, members and non-members will have the opportunity to hear from three panelists who have expertise in the area of bankruptcy law and will be discussing Basic Legal Concepts for the Oil and Gas Industry.  Demetra Liggins with Thompson & Knight LLP, Mark Brannum with Jonah Energy LLC, and Jessica Peet with Vinson & Elkins LLP will spend an hour discussing Chapter 7 versus Chapter 11, bankruptcy code provisions, the treatment of contracts, creditor claims, existing bankruptcy and more.  

The program will be held on May 8, 2020 and CLE credits will be available. You can find more about the webinar and all of the Foundation’s programs at www.rmmlf.org.

The Rocky Mountain Mineral Law Foundation is a collaborative educational non-profit organization dedicated to the scholarly and practical study of the law and regulations relating to oil and gas, mining, water, public lands, energy, and related areas of environmental and international law.

Robert C. Mathes, Program Chair of the Rocky Mountain Mineral Law Foundation (the “Foundation”) Public Land Law, Regulation, and Management Special Institute is pleased to announce that registration just opened for this outstanding legal program.  

The Foundation will once again hold a Special Institute on Public Land Law, Regulation, and Management for those engaged in mineral or commodity extraction, renewable energy, infrastructure, and other projects involving Federal lands and minerals. The program will build on the Foundation’s previous programs regarding public lands held in 1992, 1997, 2003, 2014, and 2017. With recent changes in administrations and the potential for even more changes in the coming years, anyone with operations or activities on public lands, including government officials, academics, regulatory specialists, and public land practitioners should attend. 

The program will begin on October 8, 2020 with an introduction to Public Land Law and end on October 9, 2020.  Speakers will be coming from all over the United States to present at The Eldorado Hotel & Spa in Santa Fe, New Mexico.  CLE credits will be available. You can find more about the conference and all of the Foundation’s programs at www.rmmlf.org.

The Rocky Mountain Mineral Law Foundation is a collaborative educational non-profit organization dedicated to the scholarly and practical study of the law and regulations relating to oil and gas, mining, water, public lands, energy, and related areas of environmental and international law.

For the 7th Annual Martz Winter Symposium, legal scholars, political appointees, and practitioners across a range of specialties will address the new legal challenges facing public lands law. Managing public lands for a diverse population, impacts on local communities, recreational disputes, and potential litigation all have broad practical import for policymakers, litigators, the outdoor recreation industry, and those who enjoy our public lands.

For more information about the Seventh Annual Clyde O. Martz Winter Symposium being held on Friday, February 28, 2020 in the Wolf Law Building, Wittemyer Courtroom at the University of Colorado School of Law

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Public Land Policy after the Trump Administration: Is This a Turning Point?

The Trump Administration has moved aggressively to open previously protected public lands to fossil fuel and other forms of intensive development and to roll back protections in a host of other ways, including starving and shrinking the agencies that manage these lands. Is this the harbinger of fundamental change in the trajectory of public land policy, or is it an aberration? Distinguished Lecturer, Professor John Leshy will be drawing upon material from his much anticipated book, Our Common Ground: A History of America's Public Lands.

For more information about The 2020 Ruth Wright Distinguished Lecture in Natural Resources being held on Thursday, February 27, 2020 in the Wolf Law Building, Wittemyer Courtroom at the University of Colorado School of Law

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The Trustees of the Rocky Mountain Mineral Law Foundation (the “Foundation”) are pleased to announce that the University of Minnesota Law School has been admitted to the Foundation’s Trustees Council as a new Constituent Law School.

Professor Alexandra Klass will be the first Trustee from the University of Minnesota. Professor Klass teaches and writes in the areas of energy law, environmental law, natural resources law, tort law, and property law, She is a co-author of Energy Law: Concepts and Insights Series (Foundation Press 2017), Energy Law and Policy (West Academic Publishing 2d ed. 2018), Natural Resources Law: A Place-Based Book of Problems and Cases (Wolters Kluwer, 4th ed., 2018), and The Practice and Policy of Environmental Law (Foundation Press, 4th ed. 2017). Professor Klass was named the Stanley V. Kinyon Teacher of the Year for 2009-2010, and she served as Associate Dean for Academic Affairs from 2010-2012.

The Rocky Mountain Mineral Law Foundation is a collaborative educational non-profit organization dedicated to the scholarly and practical study of the law and regulations relating to oil and gas, mining, water, public lands, energy, and related areas of environmental and international law. The Foundation’s Constituent Organizations promote these educational objectives. 

The Trustees Council now includes 66 Constituent Organizations, including 34 law schools, 13 bar associations, and 19 oil and gas and mining associations.

The Rocky Mountain Mineral Law Foundation Announces the 2019 Recipients of the CLYDE O. MARTZ TEACHING AWARD

K.K. DUVIVIER, UNIVERSITY OF DENVER STURM COLLEGE OF LAW

JAMES R. RASBAND, BRIGHAM YOUNG UNIVERSITY J. REUBEN CLARK LAW SCHOOL

A primary mission of the Rocky Mountain Mineral Law Foundation is to promote the teaching of the law of oil and gas, mining, water, public lands, energy, environmental protection, international, and other related areas of natural resources law. The greatest source of encouragement of knowledge of the law of natural resources development is through inspiration instilled by professors and other teachers of natural resources law.

Clyde O. Martz Teaching Award

Clyde O. Martz, the eighth president of the Rocky Mountain Mineral Law Foundation, was a teacher whose casebook pioneered the teaching of the law of natural resources development as a whole, and who made many other contributions to the growth and stature of the Rocky Mountain Mineral Law Foundation and the study of the law of natural resources development, including the editing of the first edition of the American Law of Mining. In 1993 the Trustees of the Rocky Mountain Mineral Law Foundation established the Clyde O. Martz Teaching Award to honor those who have performed meritorious teaching in natural resources law or development to students either in a classroom setting or at courses sponsored by the Foundation or other not-for-profit organizations. Excellence in teaching performance is the primary criterion for the award, and consideration is given to the fostering of a broad understanding of the law, mentoring of students, and innovative style.

The Trustees of the Rocky Mountain Mineral Law Foundation are pleased to announce that the 2019 recipients of the Clyde O. Martz Teaching Award are K.K. DuVivier and James R. Rasband.

K.K. DuVivier

After practicing natural resources law with two Denver firms and working as an Assistant City Attorney, K.K. DuVivier joined the full-time faculty at the University of Denver in 1990. She has received a number of accolades for her teaching and scholarship at the University of Denver, including AALS DU Teacher of the Year, Mentorship Award, Hughes-Ruud Research Professor, and the Sturm Faculty Excellence Award for “Best Professor.” Professor DuVivier has served as the Director of the University of Denver’s Environmental and Natural Resources Law Program and taught Energy Law, Renewable Energy Law, Civil Procedure, Mining Law, and Environmental Law. She also has taught energy and renewable energy courses as a visiting professor at Lewis and Clark Law School and at the University of Houston Law Center.

Professor DuVivier is the author of two books, THE RENEWABLE ENERGY READER (2011), and ENERGY LAW BASICS (Carolina 2017). She has served as a Trustee of the Rocky Mountain Mineral Law Foundation, the Chair of the Association of American Law Schools Natural Resources and Energy Section, Vice-Chair of the Renewable, Alternative, and Distributed Energy Resources Committee of the Environment, Energy, and Resources (SEER) Section of the American Bar Association (ABA), and Vice-Chair of the Hard Minerals Committee of the SEER Section of the ABA. She continues to present in numerous national and international forums and has published over one hundred articles in bar journals and law reviews.

James R. Rasband

James R. Rasband joined the Brigham Young University (BYU) J. Reuben Clark Law School faculty in 1995. During his 25 years at BYU, Professor Rasband has been a renowned teacher, mentor, administrator, and leader, known by students and peers alike for his thoughtfulness, insight, and intellect. He has taught courses in water law, wildlife law, public lands and natural resources law, and international environmental law. His teaching awards have included BYU Law’s First Year Class Teacher of the Year and Teacher of the Year, Phi Alpha Delta, and his teaching evaluations have consistently been exceptional. He has also published many articles and book chapters on natural resources law. He is a coauthor, with James Salzman, Mark Squillace, and Sam Kalen, of NATURAL RESOURCES LAW AND POLICY (3d ed., 2016) and prior editions, an important casebook in the field.

Professor Rasband’s accomplishments in teaching and scholarship are all the more impressive given his overlapping administrative duties, first as the Associate Academic Vice President for Faculty for the University and the Associate Dean for Research and Academic Affairs at the Law School, and then as Dean of the Law School from 2009 – 2016.   Most recently, he was the Academic Vice President for the entire University. He served as a Trustee of the Rocky Mountain Mineral Law Foundation for 23 years, and also served on its Board of Directors and on numerous committees, and was Chair of the Natural Resources Law Teachers Institute and Public Lands Chair of the 53rd Annual Institute. In April, Professor Rasband was sustained as a General Authority Seventy of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

The Rocky Mountain Mineral Law Foundation is pleased to announce the election by the Trustees Council of the following slate of Officers, Members-at-Large of the Board of Directors, and Trustees-at-Large for 2019-2020.

OFFICERS 2019-2020

President            Rebecca W. Watson, Welborn Sullivan Meck & Tooley, P.C., Denver, CO

Vice President   Stuart R. Butzier, Modrall Sperling, Santa Fe, NM

Secretary            Michael J. Bourassa, Fasken, Toronto, ON

Treasurer           Scot W. Anderson, Hogan Lovells US LLP, Denver, CO

BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEMBERS-AT-LARGE 2019-2020

Reed D. Benson, University of New Mexico School of Law, Albuquerque, NM

Monika U. Ehrman, University of Oklahoma College of Law, Norman, OK

Jana L. Grauberger, Liskow & Lewis, Houston, TX

Ann E. Lane, WPX Energy, Inc., Denver, CO

Matthew J. Salzman, Stinson LLP, Kansas City, MO

Carlos Vilhena, Pinheiro Neto Advogados, Brasilia, Brazil

TRUSTEES-AT-LARGE 2019-2020

Kevin C. Abbott, Reed Smith LLP, Pittsburgh, PA

Juan Martin Allende, Allende & Brea, Buenos Aires, Argentina

Ana Elizabeth Bastida, Centre for Energy, Petroleum and Mineral Law and Policy, University of Dundee, Dundee, Scotland

Susan Miller Bisong, Modrall Sperling, Albuquerque, NM

Joshua B. Cook, Crowley Fleck PLLP, Billings, MT

Robin Kundis Craig, University of Utah S.J. Quinney College of Law, Salt Lake City, UT

Michel E. Curry, Henry Resources LLC, Midland, TX

Ana M. Gutierrez, Hogan Lovells US LLP, Denver, CO

David B. Hatch, Holland & Hart LLP, Salt Lake City, UT

Alison J. Lacy, Fasken, Toronto, ON

Lamont C. Larsen, Davis Graham & Stubbs LLP, Denver, CO

Philip C. Lowe, U.S. Department of the Interior, Office of the Solicitor, Lakewood, CO

Eric L. Martin, Stoel Rives LLP, Portland, OR

David W. Miller, Miller Land Professionals, LLC, Jackson, MS

Tara K. Righetti, University of Wyoming College of Law, Laramie, WY

Abby L. Risner, Greensfelder, Hemker & Gale, P.C., St. Louis, MO

Heidi K. Ruckriegle, WilmerHale, Denver, CO

Elizabeth A. Schulte, U.S. Department of the Interior, Office of the Solicitor, Salt Lake City, UT

Shanisha Y. Smith, Baker & Hostetler LLP, Houston, TX

Sarah Sorum, Welborn Sullivan Meck & Tooley, P.C., Denver, CO

Robert L. Theriot, Liskow & Lewis, Houston, TX

Pilar M. Thomas, Lewis Roca Rothgerber LLP, Tucson, AZ

Adam M. Vela, Cimarex Energy Company, Denver, CO

Stevia M. Walther, Denver, CO

Jeff Weems, Staff Weems LLP, Houston, TX

Editors Tom Dimitroff and Kim Talus are preparing a Special Issue focusing on laws and contracts relating to the construction and operation of natural gas pipelines. Send your proposals to the editors at tdimitroff@infradev.co.uk and ktalus@tulane.edu. OGEL Article Guidelines & Sample papers available upon request via info@ogel.org.  More info at https://www.ogel.org/news.asp?key=597.

The Rocky Mountain Mineral Law Foundation (the Foundation) is proud to announce that Rob Risley, Senior Counsel at Freeport-McMoRan, has made donations to the Foundation’s scholarship program of $40,000 last year and $20,000 this year. The Freeport-McMoRan Foundation is generously matching these gifts through its Employee Matching Gifts program for total funding of $120,000.

Although most people know the Foundation for its Annual Institutes and its other high-quality conferences, the Foundation also has an Outreach Program, which provides almost $350,000 annually to further legal education in oil and gas, mining, energy, public lands, water, environmental, and related international law. This funding includes scholarships to law students interested in these areas of law, attendance at Foundation educational programs, networking grants to introduce students to practitioners and professionals, and grants to professors to fund research and scholarship.

The Foundation funds most of the Outreach Program from operations, but given current market conditions, it will need to rely on donations like those from Rob and the Freeport Foundation to maintain current funding levels.

Rob’s contribution will fund the new Frances Hartogh Diversity Outreach Scholarship Program. Under this Program, the Foundation will award scholarships each year to mineral law students who meet certain eligibility criteria, including the the potential to contribute to the mineral law community and potential to increase diversity in the practice of mineral law.

Rob said, “The Foundation has greatly enhanced my career and given me the opportunity to work closely with some amazing people. The Foundation doesn’t take policy positions, but it is the best and most effective place to educate lawyers and others who will make legal and policy decisions about mineral and other natural resources. The Foundation has an extremely important philanthropic function that is not well funded. I wanted to fund a new scholarship that recognizes the importance of both diversity and education in mineral law practice. Having worked with our Scholarships Committee for several years, I have the utmost confidence that the Committee will administer my gift with integrity and diligence.”

Rob made his gift in the form of appreciated stock, which he said “can be an incredible way to maximize a gift while getting great tax savings.” Rob also noted how thankful he was for the Freeport Foundation’s extremely generous matching program for employees. The Foundation will apply the Freeport matching gift to fund student scholarships.

About Frances Hartogh