Practice Areas & Industries: Holland & Hart LLP

Practice/Industry Group Overview

Contracts and Transactions

Holland & Hart does substantial business work for the industry, including preparation of joint development contracting: farm-outs, farm-ins, unit agreements, operating agreements and disputes arising out of these arrangements. Our lawyers also provide advice and guidance in structuring complex and innovative transactions.

We recently assisted a major oil and gas investor in negotiating and documenting an innovative multi-party transaction, involving several oil and gas companies and two Indian tribes, designed to result in substantial investment in developing oil and gas reserves on the Northern Ute Reservation in Utah.

Development

Holland & Hart knows what it takes to get an oil and gas project off the ground. Our lawyers are actively involved in all levels of oil and gas development throughout the Mountain West including permitting, exploration and production, major gas plants, pipelines and refineries.

Our attorneys are well known for their work with oil and gas commissions. Bill Carr, is one of the foremost oil and gas commission lawyers in New Mexico, and Jack Palma has represented dozens of producers in complex development projects throughout Wyoming.

Royalty Litigation

Holland & Hart is litigating private royalty class action lawsuits against major producers in Colorado, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Utah and Wyoming.

We have tracked changes in the wellhead markets over the decades and have developed persuasive arguments, expert testimony, and graphics to demonstrate the historical points of valuation and the validity of various valuation methods.

We are currently leading the combined defense efforts of several major producers in five statewide class action royalty valuation and reporting cases in Wyoming alone, and coordinating the defense efforts of other counsel in roughly 20 similar cases.

Coal Bed Methane

Holland & Hart has been in the forefront of CBM development, and we are well versed in the technical and legal issues confronting the CBM industry.

Our attorneys have worked on the most sensitive issues associated with produced water discharges and have defended CBM plans of development before the IBLA. We work hand-in-hand with our clients to resolve surface owner disputes in an efficient and timely manner, and our expertise also extends to pipeline right-of-way condemnation and construction work, class action royalty valuation litigation and severance tax valuation disputes.

Services Available

Environmental Work
Holland & Hart was recently named one of the top environmental law practices in the world by the International Who's Who of Environmental Lawyers. We built our reputation by developing a deep and broad understanding of the key federal and state environmental programs, especially those relevant to natural resources development. Our attorneys represent clients in environmental matters throughout the United States. We handle permitting, reporting, enforcement, compliance and auditing for all environmental disciplines: air, water, hazardous waste, endangered species, NEPA, and CERCLA.

Emergency Response and Defense of Tort Claims
We provide on-site emergency response representation within hours of a major accident or environmental spill. We have a team of local lawyers in each state trained on evidence preservation, investigation, regulatory agency response and investigation, and subsequent litigation following a major accident, spill, or similar incident. We also provide emergency response training to clients at field, regional and headquarter levels.

State and Local Taxation
Holland & Hart is the leading law firm in the Mountain West on matters of state and local taxation of minerals. Severance and ad valorem valuation issues for oil and gas production are difficult, as plaintiffs' lawyers increasingly take their contingency fee valuation theories to state and local governments looking to increase tax revenues. We handle a large segment of the industry's valuation and tax disputes.

Intellectual Property
Holland & Hart's patent attorneys include former engineers and in-house attorneys for oil and gas companies, with experience in formation evaluation, tools, equipment, structures, Logging While Drilling (LWD), Christmas trees and other completion products and systems, as well as many other production-related technologies. Our practice includes all aspects of patent and trademark law, including acquisition, licensing, opinions and litigation.

Indian Law
A significant portion of the nation's oil and gas reserves is located on Indian lands. Our Indian law practitioners assist oil and gas clients with understanding tribal code provisions, navigating tribal negotiations, working with tribal business enterprises, tribal sovereignty, tribal taxation, and tribal land and environmental regulations.