Ratcliff Energy, Oil & Gas Lawyers

Diego J. Peña currently serves as a full-time arbitrator and mediator. He began his practice in San Antonio, Texas as a commercial and business litigator. As an attorney for more than 36 years, Mr. Peña has represented individuals, small to medium businesses and Fortune 500 corporations in state and federal courts. He has litigated cases involving consumer disputes, contracts, personal injury, wrongful death, insurance claims and disputes, federal and state constitutional law claims, civil rights, labor & employment claims, religious discrimination, sexual harassment and hostile work environment, real estate disputes, oil and gas disputes, environmental issues and...

Dustin advises clients about their business-related matters at the federal, state, and international levels with experience in corporate, tax, securities, and related issues. Dustin has experience providing tax and business services, including the reformation and restructuring of large multi-national businesses to achieve strategic tax and business objectives. Dustin works with business owners, corporate officers, and other advisors in structuring acquisitions, dispositions, reorganizations, and corporate financing arrangements to provide efficient solutions to tax and business issues across a variety of industries. In addition to his business and tax planning experience, Dustin has experience resolving taxpayer issues during IRS examination or collection status,...

I am a graduate of Baylor University and I received my law degree from St. Mary's University. I am primarily a transactional lawyer. I am board certified by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization in the area of Farm and Ranch Real Estate, and Oil, Gas and Mineral Law, however, my practice includes all aspects of real estate law. My practice areas include the following: corporate and business formation, corporate governance, corporate securities, corporate finance, mergers and acquisitions, real estate, oil and gas law, energy finance, commercial litigation, financial institution and banking...

Michael R. Hancock is a licensed attorney in the state of Texas, practicing in both transactional and litigation groups. He is primarily focused on oil and gas title work and related upstream services, and also has experience in real estate, corporate litigation, commercialization, and environmental and water law. Michael is a graduate of the J. Reuben Clark Law School at Brigham Young University. During this time, Michael participated in the Moot Court program, where he had the opportunity to compete in the Dean Jerome Prince Memorial Evidence Competition in Brooklyn, New York. Michael later served as the President of...

I represent plaintiffs who have been hurt. I am board certified in Personal Injury Trial Law and handle catastrophic personal injury cases, but I also practice construction, securities, and complex commercial litigation, for companies and individuals. I am a native Houstonian and attended St. Thomas High School where I currently serve on the board. I went to Harvard and graduated with high honors, magna cum laude, in 2004. At Harvard, I served as Historian of the Harvard Political Union, the College's debating society, and as Secretary of Harvard CHANCE, a group dedicated to mentoring and tutoring students from Cambridge...

Let the professionals at The Filis Law Firm work with you to properly plan for the life events of a loved one with a disability. Owner, Leona E. Filis, is an attorney, licensed in Texas in 2002, who is also a mother of a child diagnosed with autism. "After receiving the confirmation that my son is on the Autism Spectrum, I made many new friends with other parents of children with disabilities. Over the years we had many conversations, and I naturally focused on legal topics. It become more and more apparent that many legal documents and court filings of...

With nearly 30 years of complex commercial litigation experience, Robert R. Burford has distinguished himself as an aggressive and successful attorney for his clients. Mr. Burford has handled business disputes of nearly every variety for both plaintiffs and defendants. Mr. Burford has skillfully handled nearly every type of high-stakes business disputes including litigation involving fiduciary duties, securities fraud, mergers and acquisitions, Director’s and Officers’ liability, legal malpractice, oil and gas matters, partnership disputes, intellectual property disputes, theft of trade secrets, healthcare related matters and complex contractual disputes. Mr. Burford graduated from the University of Houston in 1981...

John Davis is a founder and Managing Member at Kearney, McWilliams & Davis, PLLC. He practices and oversees the firm’s intellectual property, residential and commercial property, commercial transactions, and litigation practice areas. For his clients, John focuses on business problems and solutions, including entity creation, financing, mergers & acquisitions, entity reorganizations, dispute resolution, and corporate best practices and business strategy. His experience includes providing assistance in the creation of companies and commercialization of technologies, including identifying and filing appropriate intellectual property protections in patents, trademarks, and copyrights, as well as the enforcement of such rights. He also serves as counsel,...

I am an attorney that focuses in estate planning and business planning from cradle to grave, i.e., starting or buying a business; capitalizing your business; optimizing your business with tax, corporate and asset protection planning; strategizing business succession; and selling your business. I believe two things differentiate me from other lawyers: I understand the numbers, and I personally have business experience. These characteristics make me acutely aware of my client's needs and goals. PRACTICE FOCUS: Commercial Real Estate Business Planning Tax Planning U.S. & State Income, Gift & Estate/Inheritance Taxes Trust Creation: Simple & Complex Estate Planning...

Attorney Gilde believes that to argue and win in the courtroom requires a fighter, and Judo strongly shapes Attorney Gilde’s litigation and trial strategy. Attorney Gilde founded Gilde Law Firm to implement his own philosophy. During every case, Attorney Gilde strives to attain justice for his clients who have been injured or victimized by others. At Gilde Law Firm, “We Believe, We Fight, We Win” is our motto and reflects the passion we bring to our cases. It is simple but true. We believe in our clients and their causes, we fight for their interests in litigation, and we win the...

Rafael is a proud native of a small town in West Texas (Fort Stockton), where he spent his youth camping in Big Bend National Park and on drilling rigs with his father learning the oil and gas industry that has long-fueled much of the West Texas economy. Rafael credits his work ethic and “never-say-die” attitude to his parents, both of whom worked blue-collar jobs during Rafael’s adolescence to help their children succeed. Rafael left home to play Division I football in the Big XII Conference, where he received several accolades for his performance on and off the field, including being selected...

Paul Grinke is Managing Partner of McCathern’s office at The Star in Frisco, Texas. Mr. Grinke has broad experience on a national level, litigating complex commercial and catastrophic event claims from both sides of the docket. He has successfully litigated commercial breach of contract, fiduciary duty, and employment covenant claims. In addition, Mr. Grinke prosecutes and defends claims involving personal injury, wrongful death, and disastrous property damage arising from construction defect, product defect, trucking, and liquor liability.

Mr. Grinke leads McCathern’s Construction Defect, Product Liability and related Fire Litigation practices. He has particular expertise in counseling institutional clients involved in tragic...

Matt Parks is a dedicated trial attorney who has experience in business and commercial litigation, admiralty & maritime, energy, and personal injury. Matt attended the University of Texas Law School where he worked at the Environmental Law Clinic and on the Texas Environmental Law Journal. Matt also worked as a law clerk for the Texas Railroad Commission and a summer associate for Enbridge Energy. These hands on work experiences helped Matt hone the skills litigation skills that client have come to rely on him for. After graduation, Matt joined a Texas based litigation boutique where he focused...

A native of Commerce and Temple, Texas, Attorney Paul F. Wieneskie brings over 30 years of practice experience to Bailey & Galyen, with an emphasis on civil appeals, municipal law (representing cities or private citizens), economic development concerns, and land use and planning. He has been board-certified in civil appellate law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization since 1994, an honor accorded to less than one in every ten lawyers in the state of Texas. He is also AV-rated by his colleagues in the legal profession under Martindale-Hubbell’s Peer Review Rating System®* (since 1997). Paul has successfully represented clients...

Clint J. Hays is a Senior Attorney in the Oil & Gas Division with Kearney, McWilliams & Davis, PLLC. He has over seventeen years’ experience in the oil and gas industry, with a focus on complex title examination and oil and gas transactional matters. Clint has been Board Certified in Oil, Gas and Mineral Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization since 2009. After graduating from the Texas Tech School of Law in 2004, Clint began his career as a Petroleum Landman/Associate General Counsel for a land services company in Midland, TX, and has spent the last sixteen years as...

Our teams start with a deep understanding of our clients’ business objectives. We share knowledge across practices and regions. We help our clients not only mitigate risk, but also discover opportunity. And each success begins with the same simple question…

How can we help you?

By pooling our energy, talents and resources, we are able to achieve the highest order of excellence in the practice and profession of the law. Through such practice we are able to give back to our communities, and in all things to govern ourselves as members of a free democratic society with responsibilities both to our profession...

Roger B. Borgelt is a highly regarded Austin lawyer with 24 years' experience in the practice of environmental, energy, administrative, utility and professional licensure law. He represents individuals, landowners, suburban areas, businesses, political subdivisions and institutions before state and federal regulatory agencies, the courts, local governments and the Texas Legislature with consistently favorable results. Mr. Borgelt is listed in Best Lawyers in America 2013 and 2014 and Texas' Best Lawyers. His firm, Borgelt Law, is ranked by U.S. News -- Best Lawyers as a Tier 2 Best Law Firm in the Government Relations Practice Area for its work...

Nick Morrow is an aggressive and relentless trial lawyer, committed to getting his clients results as quickly as possible. From growing up in a small town to succeeding at the highest levels of corporate law, Nick has a unique life experience. This helps him understand his clients’ needs, solve complicated problems, negotiate settlements with large and powerful companies, and connect with judges and juries. Most importantly, he is fiercely loyal to his clients. Nick is a fourth-generation Texan. He grew up in a middle class family in Sealy. He was brought up in a home that valued hard work,...

Scott Zimmer is a partner in the Shreveport office of Kean Miller and practices in the commercial litigation group. He assists clients in all manner of litigation, including commercial, environmental, transportation, gaming industry litigation, and complex personal injury matters.

Scott is AV-rated by Martindale-Hubbell. He is listed in Louisiana Super Lawyers 2018 - 2019.

Scott earned his B.S. from the University of Southwestern Louisiana in 1994. He earned his J.D. from the University of Houston Law Center in 1998.

Daniel Charest gets results for his clients in high-stakes litigation. His career reflects a history of big wins in the court room and high-profile settlement agreements. He achieves those results through a combination of smarts and daily hard work. Daniel understands that trust and accountability with his clients, plus a dedicated group of attorneys, form the foundation of a strong legal team.

From international arbitrations in London to small-town courthouses, Daniel knows each victory—no matter the size—matters to the client. Daniel co-founded Burns Charest with the mission to form a team of dynamic attorneys from varied backgrounds who are motivated...

Attorney Ronald Wright is a managing partner of the McCathern office in Houston, Texas. Mr. Wright practices in the areas of real estate, food services, retail electricity, and oil and gas. He regularly advises clients regarding general business and corporate governance matters.

Mr. Wright is experienced in handling complex transactional matters involving mergers & acquisitions, contract negotiation and drafting, corporate governance formalities, finance, and succession planning. Applying a “deal maker” philosophy, Mr. Wright works with his clients to navigate the challenges and risks of negotiating and closing a deal while ensuring his client is well informed and adequately protected. He has...

Mr. Barchus is Board Certified in Oil, Gas and Mineral Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. Mr. Barchus has extensive experience in the courtroom. He has obtained favorable verdicts and judgments for his clients in Harris, Jefferson, Tarrant and Bexar counties. No matter the type of litigation, he fights aggressively to obtain justice for his clients. Mr. Barchus has obtained substantial verdicts under DTPA, Fraud, Conversion and Breach of Contract causes of action, successfully defended clients accused of a litany of torts, argued many motions and hearings, has taken more than 50 depositions and has...

Clients and colleagues call Barry Barnett an “incredibly gifted lawyer” (Chambers and Partners) who is “magic in the courtroom” (Who’s Who Legal), “the top antitrust lawyer in Texas” (Chambers and Partners), and “a person of unquestioned integrity” (David J. Beck, founder of Beck Redden). Barnett is a Fellow in the American College of Trial Lawyers, and Lawdragon has named him one of the top 500 lawyers in the United States three years in a row. Best Lawyers in America has honored him as “Lawyer of the Year” for Bet-the-Company Litigation (2019 and 2017) and Patent Litigation (2020) in Houston. Based in...

Bill Ogden is a partner in the Houston office of Kean Miller. He joined the firm in 2017 and practices in the trial and appellate groups. He has extensive courtroom and appellate experience in a wide range of commercial litigation, with concentration in communications and First Amendment law, employment litigation, financial services and energy law. Bill is Board Certified in Civil Appellate Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. He is one of the foremost First Amendment attorneys in the state of Texas having represented traditional media such as newspapers, broadcasters, journalists and book publishers, as well as internet...

Mr. Sessions is Board Certified in Civil Trial Law by the Texas Board of Leagal Specialization since December, 1991. He is experienced in handling complex litigation in state and federal trial and appellate courts, and arbitrations. His practice includes prosecution and defense of claims, primarily in business-related litigation. In 2008, Mr. Sessions obtained a $22,178,403 unanimous jury verdict in the case of Sovereign Cherokee Nation Tejas v. Frank P. Hernandez, which ranked No. 98 in VerdictSearch's top 100 Verdicts of 2008. Mr. Sessions has been counsel of record in multiple litigation matters involving more than $10 Million in...

Joseph Tung brings nearly 20 years of business and legal experience to the table that began with investment banking and continued through an appellate judicial clerkship, a regional and national law firm, and a global oilfield services company. In 2009, Joseph started a full-service private practice offering general counsel services for a variety of businesses and investors. His practice areas included corporate, transactional, employment, litigation, intellectual property, mergers, acquisition, and real estate law. By 2016, Tung Law Firm, PLLC now represents a diverse range of clients in many industries ranging from information technology, construction, oil and...

Martin C. Law is an associate in the litigation section of Patout & Shaw, PLLC. His primary practice areas are arbitration, mediation, oil and gas, commercial law, real estate litigation and development, construction law, and consumer transactions. While in law school, Mr. Law was awarded the Lawrence C. Hoff Jr. Memorial Scholarship and the Dean’s Scholar Award. Mr. Law actively participated in the school’s award winning advocacy program, which culminated in a first place finish at the 2013 FINRA/St. John’s Securities Dispute Resolution Competition. He was an active member in the Oil and Gas Law Society, the Environmental Law...

The practice consists of handling cases for various private individuals and corporations. The cases handled involve the following theories of law: General negligence, personal injury, automobile accidents, products liability, insurance claims, fraud, deceptive trade practices, breach of warranty, contracts, business disputes, residential and commercial real estate, oil and gas and construction liability. The most important goal of the firm is to provide quality legal work that is responsive to our clients' needs at a competitive cost and to handle our clients' cases efficiently and economically while giving each of our clients the attention that they deserve.

RUDY BEUTTENMULLER, born St. Louis, Missouri, December 20, 1953; admitted to bar, 1980, Texas. Also admitted to U.S. District Court, Northern District of Texas; U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Northern District of Texas; U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Texas; U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Eastern District of Texas; U.S. District Court, Western District of Texas; U.S. Tax Court. Education: Princeton University (B.A., cum laude, 1976); Duke University (J.D., with distinction, 1980). Staff Member, 1978-1979 and Articles Editor, 1979-1980, Duke Law Journal. Author: Comment, "The Goal of The New Premerger Notification Requirements: Preliminary Relief Against Anticompetitive Mergers," Duke Law Journal 249, 1979....

Michael Callahan is a trial lawyer who fights for people. He has practiced in the area of personal injury law his entire legal career. Michael specializes in representing victims in serious injury cases, such as those involving spinal cord injury, paralysis, brain injury, loss of limb, burns, and wrongful death. Michael received his Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin in 1989. Upon graduation, he moved to Houston to work as a design and construction engineer. For the next several years, Michael worked for two major engineering/construction firms and was involved in the...

Philip Robert Brinson is an experienced trial lawyer who possesses unique skills derived from experience outside of the legal fields that have made him not only a trusted advocate for his clients, but also a formidable adversary in the courtroom. Mr. Brinson has extensive legal experience in a variety of practice areas, including hospitality and dram shop, entertainment, premises liability, products liability, professional liability, employment, oil field services, and business and commercial litigation. Mr. Brinson has litigation experience on both sides of the docket in handling infringement actions in copyright and trademark actions in the entertainment and hospitality industries, including...