First Friday Ethics: July 2026

Need ethics credit? We’ve got you covered! UT Law CLE’s First Friday Ethics streams live every first Friday of the month, and features some of our best ethics speakers and presentations for a total of 3.00 hrs ethics credit. Fulfill your entire annual ethics requirement in Texas in one day! Maintaining Your Ethics in Trying Times: One Lawyer’s Tale (0.75 hr ethics)Lawyers know that hard cases make bad law. Likewise, maintaining your professional ethics in a difficult situation is very different than day-to-day practice. Hear ethical perspectives and lessons learned from serving as a local elected official and a defendant in lengthy litigation while still practicing as a lawyer.Leah Stewart, Reed, Claymon, Meeker, Krienke & Spurck, PLLC - Austin, TX Ethics: My Opinion, My License – Is It a Business Decision? (0.75 hr ethics)This session reviews the ethical rules and principles that lawyers must consider when advising clients on land development issues, with a hard look at situations where a client’s mileage may vary from the legal advice given, and the outcomes to the lawyer—is the matter ultimately a risk-taking analysis, where all a lawyer can do is advise the client, leaving them the business decision to make in following (or not) the lawyer’s advice.Alan J. Bojorquez, Bojorquez Law Firm, PC - Austin, TX Kimberley Mickelson, Downtown Houston+ - Houston, TX Generative AI in Litigation: Practical Uses, Pitfalls, and Guardrails (1.00 hr ethics)Generative AI is rapidly reshaping litigation for attorneys and experts—from discovery and expert analysis to drafting and research. This session explores current AI trends, provides concrete real-world use cases, and discusses the legal, ethical, and evidentiary risks that need to be managed.Kristofer Buchan, StoneTurn Group, LLP - Houston, TX Legal Privilege: Understanding Who You Represent and Avoiding Other Ethical Pitfalls (0.50 hr ethics)This topic focuses on the perennially-important ethical issues concerning how to create privilege; how to maintain it; and how, as in-house counsel, to instruct the business to maintain it. Examine (in)famous examples of where things went wrong, and advise on how to avoid similar situations.Allison Standish Miller, Steptoe LLP - Houston, TX

Includes: Video Captions Audio Transcript Paper Slides

  • Total Credit Hours:
  • 3.00 hrs | 3.00 Ethics
  • Credit Info
  • TX, CA, PA
  • TX MCLE credit expires: 6/30/2027
  • First Friday Ethics: July 2026
    4.32 out of 5 stars
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    Rate the overall teaching effectiveness and presentation skills of faculty for the course.
$165   Add to Cart

Modern Oil and Gas Contracts, JOA Agreements, and Other Common Contracts and Disputes

Session 1: Agreeing to Agree: Mutuality of Obligation in Modern Oil and Gas Contracts - Modern oil and gas contracts often contemplate future cooperation between the parties and negotiation of additional agreements, which can lead to enforceability problems. Discuss essential contract formation concepts for complex oil and gas transactions, specifically regarding consideration and mutuality of obligation. The presentation will also include a review of recent cases and suggestions for avoiding common pitfalls.  Session 2: Joint Operating Agreements: Best Practices and Emerging Legal Issues - Explore key legal principles and practical considerations in structuring and negotiating JOAs in oil and gas operations. This session covers various pressing issues, including operator and non-operator rights and obligations, risk allocation, indemnity provisions, and contract modifications in the context of evolving regulatory and market conditions.   Session 3: Lessons Learned on Contract Construction Disputes - Guidance for drafting and interpreting oil & gas leases based on recent Texas Supreme Court decisions.   Session 4: Gas Trading Contracts: Force Majeure and the Fallout from Uri - Cover the basics of NAESB gas trading contracts, the legal issues that arose following Winter Storm Uri, and the NAESB Special Provisions that can make or break your case. 

Includes: Video Captions Audio Transcript Paper Slides

  • Total Credit Hours:
  • 2.00 hrs
  • Credit Info
  • TX, CA, PA
  • TX MCLE credit expires: 6/30/2027
  • Modern Oil and Gas Contracts, JOA Agreements, and Other Common Contracts and Disputes
    4.13 out of 5 stars
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    Rate the overall teaching effectiveness and presentation skills of faculty for the course.
$115   Add to Cart

2026 Oil and Gas Case Law and Legislative Updates

Session 1: Case Law Update: Part One - Review the latest decisions dealing with oil and gas leases, royalties, mineral conveyances, joint operating agreements, state regulation, and related topics.  Session 2: Case Law Update: Part Two   Session 3: Texas Legislative Update - Discuss energy-related legislation that passed, and didn’t pass, during the 2025 Texas legislative sessions. 

Includes: Video Captions Audio Transcript Paper Slides

  • Total Credit Hours:
  • 1.50 hrs
  • Credit Info
  • TX, CA, PA
  • TX MCLE credit expires: 6/30/2027
  • 2026 Oil and Gas Case Law and Legislative Updates
    4.5 out of 5 stars
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    Rate the overall teaching effectiveness and presentation skills of faculty for the course.
$95   Add to Cart

2026: A Rapidly Evolving Energy Landscape

A survey of the current energy markets and outlook. 

Includes: Video Captions Audio Transcript Slides

  • Total Credit Hours:
  • 0.50 hr
  • Credit Info
  • TX, CA
  • TX MCLE credit expires: 6/30/2027
  • 2026: A Rapidly Evolving Energy Landscape
    5 out of 5 stars
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$65   Add to Cart

Beware the Boilerplate! And Other Contract Pitfalls

Explore commonly underestimated contract provisions—including liability limitations, indemnities, insurance, assignments, and dispute resolution clauses—that can dramatically affect organizational risk exposure. Gain practical insights into negotiating and drafting these "boilerplate" terms to avoid costly pitfalls.

Includes: Video Captions Audio Transcript Slides

  • Total Credit Hours:
  • 1.00 hr
  • Credit Info
  • TX, CA, PA
  • TX MCLE credit expires: 6/30/2027
  • Beware the Boilerplate! And Other Contract Pitfalls
    5 out of 5 stars
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    Rate the overall teaching effectiveness and presentation skills of faculty for the course.
$75   Add to Cart

Business Court Update (2026)

(Almost) two years in, how goes the Court?

Includes: Video Captions Audio Transcript Paper Slides

  • Total Credit Hours:
  • 0.50 hr
  • Credit Info
  • TX, CA
  • TX MCLE credit expires: 6/30/2027
  • Business Court Update (2026)
    4.25 out of 5 stars
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    Rate the overall teaching effectiveness and presentation skills of faculty for the course.
$65   Add to Cart

Ethics Involved in Using a Landman

What ethics rules govern a lawyer’s use of landmen? What can landmen do, and what does the law prohibit landmen from doing?

Includes: Video Captions Audio Transcript Paper Slides

  • Total Credit Hours:
  • 1.00 hr | 1.00 Ethics
  • Credit Info
  • TX, CA, PA
  • TX MCLE credit expires: 6/30/2027
  • Ethics Involved in Using a Landman
    2.71 out of 5 stars
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    Rate the overall teaching effectiveness and presentation skills of faculty for the course.
$85   Add to Cart

From Cimarex to Cromwell: A Course Correction on Lease Survival for Non-Operating Interests

Analyze the Texas Supreme Court’s decision in Cromwell v. Anadarko and its rejection of the “washout” theory applied in Cimarex v. Anadarko, focusing on how passive-voice habendum clauses affect lease continuation beyond the primary term.

Includes: Video Captions Audio Transcript Paper Slides

  • Total Credit Hours:
  • 0.50 hr
  • Credit Info
  • TX, CA
  • TX MCLE credit expires: 6/30/2027
  • From Cimarex to Cromwell: A Course Correction on Lease Survival for Non-Operating Interests

    3.5 out of 5 stars
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    Rate the overall teaching effectiveness and presentation skills of faculty for the course.
$65   Add to Cart

Generative AI in Litigation: Practical Uses, Pitfalls, and Guardrails

Generative AI is rapidly reshaping litigation for attorneys and experts—from discovery and expert analysis to drafting and research. This session explores current AI trends, provides concrete real-world use cases, and discusses the legal, ethical, and evidentiary risks that need to be managed.

Includes: Video Captions Audio Transcript Slides

  • Total Credit Hours:
  • 1.00 hr | 1.00 Ethics
  • Credit Info
  • TX, CA, PA
  • TX MCLE credit expires: 6/30/2027
  • Generative AI in Litigation: Practical Uses, Pitfalls, and Guardrails
    3.5 out of 5 stars
    What was the overall quality of the course (presentation, materials, and technical delivery)?
    Rate the overall teaching effectiveness and presentation skills of faculty for the course.
$85   Add to Cart

Lithium Mining in Texas

An overview of the nascent field of lithium mining law in Texas, from leasing, to the governing statutes, to permitting projects under the Railroad Commission’s new rules.

Includes: Video Captions Audio Transcript Paper Slides

  • Total Credit Hours:
  • 0.75 hr
  • Credit Info
  • TX, CA
  • TX MCLE credit expires: 6/30/2027
  • Lithium Mining in Texas
    4.14 out of 5 stars
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    Rate the overall teaching effectiveness and presentation skills of faculty for the course.
$70   Add to Cart

Lost profits damages following ETC Texas Pipeline v. XTO Energy

Look at the court of appeals’ decision in ETC Texas Pipeline v. XTO Energy and similar cases in Texas and across the United States. Discuss drafting ideas for agreements in light of those decisions. 

Includes: Video Captions Audio Transcript Paper Slides

  • Total Credit Hours:
  • 0.50 hr
  • Credit Info
  • TX, CA
  • TX MCLE credit expires: 6/30/2027
  • Lost profits damages following ETC Texas Pipeline v. XTO Energy
    Not yet rated
$65   Add to Cart

Natural Gas Storage in Texas: Under-Investment, Stakes, Challenges and Solutions

Underground natural gas storage, the shock absorber for the natural gas system, has not kept pace with the meteoric rise in Texas natural gas production, transportation and consumption. This presentation will survey natural gas storage facilities, the rising need for additional capacity, the stakes of continued under-investment, challenges to new investment, and solutions.

Includes: Video Captions Audio Transcript Slides

  • Total Credit Hours:
  • 0.50 hr
  • Credit Info
  • TX, CA
  • TX MCLE credit expires: 6/30/2027
  • Natural Gas Storage in Texas: Under-Investment, Stakes, Challenges and Solutions
    Not yet rated
$65   Add to Cart

Recent Developments in Federal Permitting of LNG and Natural Gas Projects

Survey recent developments at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and the Department of Energy and in federal courts, focusing on the difficulties LNG and other natural gas project developers have historically faced due to environmental challenges raised in the regulatory permitting process and on new initiatives to accelerate federal administrative agency review when permitting energy projects.

Includes: Video Captions Audio Transcript Paper Slides

  • Total Credit Hours:
  • 0.75 hr
  • Credit Info
  • TX, CA
  • TX MCLE credit expires: 6/30/2027
  • Recent Developments in Federal Permitting of LNG and Natural Gas Projects
    Not yet rated
$70   Add to Cart

Royalty Overpayments, Self-Help Recoupment, and Division Order Pitfalls

What happens when an operator overpays royalties — and what happens when it tries to get them back? Survey the recoupment toolkit available to Texas operators and zeroes in on the division order issues that can complicate recovery. Drawing on DDR Weinert v. Ovintiv (5th Cir. 2025), Perdido Properties v. Devon Energy (Tex. App.—Eastland 2023), and Samson v. Bordages (Tex. 2024), address self-help recoupment, the risks of paying without a signed division order, and the impact of the Supreme Court's new simple-interest default rule on royalty disputes.

Includes: Video Captions Audio Transcript Paper Slides

  • Total Credit Hours:
  • 0.75 hr
  • Credit Info
  • TX, CA
  • TX MCLE credit expires: 6/30/2027
  • Royalty Overpayments, Self-Help Recoupment, and Division Order Pitfalls
    Not yet rated
$70   Add to Cart

State Regulatory Agencies Refresher for an Oil and Gas Attorney

Discuss recent and ongoing regulatory developments for energy lawyers at the Railroad Commission of Texas, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, and the Public Utility Commission of Texas.

Includes: Video Captions Audio Transcript Paper Slides

  • Total Credit Hours:
  • 0.75 hr
  • Credit Info
  • TX, CA
  • TX MCLE credit expires: 6/30/2027
  • State Regulatory Agencies Refresher for an Oil and Gas Attorney
    3.5 out of 5 stars
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    Rate the overall teaching effectiveness and presentation skills of faculty for the course.
$70   Add to Cart

Hooked on CLE: June 2026

THIS MONTH: How Do We Practice Law? • Legal Issues for Content Creators and Influencers • Financing Data Centers • Corporate Enforcement by the States • Serving Two Masters: The Ins and Outs of the Tripartite Relationship

Includes: Video Captions Audio Transcript Paper Slides

  • Total Credit Hours:
  • 4.00 hrs | 1.00 Ethics
  • Credit Info
  • TX, CA, PA
  • TX MCLE credit expires: 5/31/2027
  • Hooked on CLE: June 2026
    4.18 out of 5 stars
    What was the overall quality of the course (presentation, materials, and technical delivery)?
    Rate the overall teaching effectiveness and presentation skills of faculty for the course.

    Really liked the ethics segment

    The tone of the last presentation was incredibly confrontational for a CLE course.

$99   Add to Cart

Energy Users, Producers and Storers: Land Use Issues

Regulatory concerns for high power usage, generation and storage.

Includes: Video Captions Audio Transcript Paper Slides

  • Total Credit Hours:
  • 0.50 hr
  • Credit Info
  • TX, CA
  • TX MCLE credit expires: 4/30/2027
  • Energy Users, Producers and Storers: Land Use Issues
    5 out of 5 stars
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    Rate the overall teaching effectiveness and presentation skills of faculty for the course.
$65   Add to Cart

First Friday Ethics: May 2026

Need ethics credit? We’ve got you covered! UT Law CLE’s First Friday Ethics streams live every first Friday of the month, and features some of our best ethics speakers and presentations for a total of 3.00 hrs ethics credit. Fulfill your entire annual ethics requirement in Texas in one day! Session 1: Ethics Game Show - Watch shameless appellate practitioners try to outgame each other as they answer ethics questions savvy practitioners need to know. Session 2: What is a Lawyer’s Responsibility in a Democracy Under Duress? - How should lawyers respond to actions that threaten democracy and the rule of law?  Session 3: Forgetting Who Your Client Is - The cooperation between trustees, beneficiaries, and other interested parties often seen in Special Needs Trusts may create a trap for the unwary practitioner. This presentation provides practical guidance and ethical requirements for maintaining appropriate attorney/client relationships, not accidentally forming attorney/client relationships, and keeping in mind the client’s needs and duties in forwarding the progress of a SNT. Session 4: Negotiating Tactics in Energy Disputes: From Good to Ugly - Break down negotiation approaches commonly used in energy disputes—the “good” (effective and ethical), the “bad” (ineffective), and the “ugly” (counterproductive and potentially unethical). Using real-world hypotheticals, discuss actionable strategies to avoid wasted leverage, spot ethical pitfalls, and recognize when aggressive negotiation tactics cross the line into ethical violations.

Includes: Video Captions Audio Transcript Paper Slides

  • Total Credit Hours:
  • 3.00 hrs | 3.00 Ethics
  • Credit Info
  • TX, CA, OK, PA
  • TX MCLE credit expires: 4/30/2027
  • First Friday Ethics: May 2026
    4.1 out of 5 stars
    What was the overall quality of the course (presentation, materials, and technical delivery)?
    Rate the overall teaching effectiveness and presentation skills of faculty for the course.

    presentation on identifying client was quite good.

$165   Add to Cart

Hooked on CLE: May 2026

THIS MONTH: Storytelling in Advocacy • Taxation of Crytpocurrency and Digital Assets • Workplace Accommodations: In-Depth Review and Recent Developments • The Geothermal Market of Today: New Opportunities, New Risks • Avoiding Ethical and Sanctions Risks using AI-Based Legal Research

Includes: Video Captions Audio Transcript Paper Slides

  • Total Credit Hours:
  • 4.00 hrs | 1.00 Ethics
  • Credit Info
  • TX, CA, PA
  • TX MCLE credit expires: 4/30/2027
  • Hooked on CLE: May 2026
    4.33 out of 5 stars
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    Rate the overall teaching effectiveness and presentation skills of faculty for the course.
$99   Add to Cart

eSupplement to the 37th Annual Health Law Conference

Session 1: Avoiding Ethical and Sanctions Risks using AI-based Legal Research - Hundreds of lawyers and law firms around the country face sanctions or grievance problems resulting from the use of AI-based legal research. Learn how you can avoid the traps that snared your unfortunate colleagues. Session 2: Interacting and Dealing with Difficult People: Ethically Working with All Kinds of Others - The Texas Lawyer's Creed reminds us of our oath to "disagree without being disagreeable." But today's polarizing culture ensures we will have to interact with coworkers, leaders, and volunteers who can make it very hard to remain civil. In this enlightening and entertaining session, we'll discuss how to navigate difficult conversations respectfully, manage our own impulses toward being difficult, and actively model civility to ensure that we are in compliance with our legal and professional duties toward all.  Session 3: The Enforcement Landscape: An In-House Counsel Perspective - The panel explores current enforcement and regulatory priorities and their implications for corporations and executives. Session 4: Outsmarting the Smartphone: Crucial Evidence Could Be In Your Back Pocket - In the digital era, smartphones are not just communication devices; they've become repositories of vast amounts of personal and professional data ranging from texts and emails to photos and location history providing a comprehensive digital footprint of a user's life. Examine how we use smartphones, how they work, what data is stored on the phone, proper evidence handling methods, and mobile device forensic examinations and much more.

Includes: Video Captions Audio Transcript Paper Slides No Materials

  • Total Credit Hours:
  • 3.25 hrs | 1.50 Ethics
  • Credit Info
  • TX, CA, PA
  • TX MCLE credit expires: 3/31/2027
  • eSupplement to the 37th Annual Health Law Conference
    Not yet rated
$165   Add to Cart