eCourses

Hear the latest and most essential updates impacting the gas and power industry this year. This program runs through the latest case law, updates in the gas market, what's happening with the Texas Energy Fund, and a PUC Regulatory Update with Commissioner Cobos.   Texas Energy Funds Basics and Next Steps             Alaina Zermeno, Husch Blackwell LLP - Austin, TX PUC Regulatory Updates              Commissioner Lori Cobos, Public Utility Commission of Texas - Austin, TX Gas Market Updates             Robert W. Gee, Gee Strategies Group, LLC - Falls Church, VA Case Law Update Holly Heinrich, Husch Blackwell LLP - Austin, TX

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Session 1: Midstream 101: A Primer on Understanding Midstream Contracts and Identifying Key Issues - Explore midstream transactions and the contracts commonly utilized in the industry to gather, transport, and process oil and gas. Work through commercial and regulatory considerations and key issues when drafting midstream contracts. Session 2: The Oil and Gas Lease, Part I: Classification, Scope of Grant and Duration - An in-depth focus on how an oil and gas lease is classified in law and on the key clauses of the lease. Session 3: The Oil and Gas Lease, Part II: The Royalty Clause in an Oil and Gas Lease - In Texas, the calculation of the royalty obligation created under an oil and gas lease is determined by looking at the specific language contained in the royalty clause. Royalty terms in the lease such as "market value at the well" or "amount realized" establish how the royalty payor must measure and calculate royalty, and what post​-production costs can be allocated to the lessor interest. This presentation reviews some of the principal phrases used to describe such obligations and how the Texas courts have interpreted them, and examine​s how that same language has been interpreted differently in other jurisdictions. It analyze​s the impact of division and transfer orders and royalty payment statutes on royalty obligations contained in the lease. Session 4: The Oil and Gas Lease, Part III: Implied Covenants - Examination of the law of implied covenants, including the duties imposed, elements necessary to establish a claim, and remedies and defenses available. Session 5: The Oil and Gas Lease, Part IV: Other Clauses - Review other clauses in an oil and gas lease, including surface use clauses and riders, retained acreage and proportionate reduction clauses, and savings clauses such as continuous operations, dry hole, force majeure, and shut-in gas royalty clauses. Session 6: Emerging and Re-Emerging Issues in the Use of Surface for Oil and Gas Operations - Explore the nature and extent of the implied easement to use the surface, and a framework for analyzing the accommodation doctrine. Also hear a survey of emerging and re-emerging issues involving conflicting uses of the surface estate, including conflicts with renewable projects, saltwater disposal operations, sand mining, and subsurface easements. Session 7: The 2015 AAPL Form 610 JOA – How to Complete It and Live With It - A checklist and guide to filling in all of the blanks in the 2015 AAPL Joint Operating Agreement and drafting suggestions along with some suggested additional provisions. Session 8: Indemnity Provisions in MSAs: Texas vs. New Mexico - A practical review of the application of indemnity provisions in Texas vs. New Mexico. Session 9: Ethics for Lawyers and Landmen - A look at the ethical obligations of both lawyers and landmen: where they align, and where they diverge, using hypotheticals based on real-world situations.

Includes: Video Audio Paper Slides

Session 1: The Duty of Technology Competence - Understand the importance of technology competence for your practice and the ethical obligations to be competent. Explore the current landscape and recent decisions in this area, as well as common problem areas for attorneys. Session 2: Conducting Cost-Effective E-Discovery and the Use of Technology Assisted Review (TAR) - Examine how technology-based processes, specifically technology assisted review (TAR), can be cost-effective and efficient solutions for e-discovery in litigation. This session highlights situations where TAR is often the preferred tool over attorney review and flags times that it is not, and discusses how to address contentious issues that may arise in TAR-related negotiations with opposing counsel.  Session 3: Communication - Attorneys have a duty to keep client communication secure. Get practical tips on conducting communication with the courts or with opposing counsel, as well email filtering and its impacts on communication including filing deadlines, etc. Session 4: Cybersecurity and Protecting Against Cyber Scams - An informative program about the legal standards that govern a compliant cybersecurity program as well as an update about the ethical duty of technology competence that affects all Texas lawyers. Session 5: ChatGPT Ethics - Topic description generated by ChatGPT: Using ChatGPT for legal purposes promises efficient information processing, yet raises ethical concerns including client confidentiality and the risk of providing inaccurate advice. It is paramount that attorneys ensure adequate supervision, maintain professional discretion, and stay vigilant about the tool's limitations to uphold their ethical obligations.

Includes: Video Audio Paper Slides

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!   This month includes: (0.75 hr | 0.75 hr ethics) Lessons Learned From GCs Behaving Badly (Allegedly) (Replay) It is always better to learn from someone else’s mistakes. Examine examples of in-house counsel allegedly (or admittedly) behaving badly—from alleged assaults and slurs to embezzlement—and what in-house counsel can learn from those situations. Discuss examples of in-house counsel allegedly being punished for doing the right thing, and review applicable Model Rules of Professional Conduct, including Rules 1.13 and 8.4. Joseph T. Clees, Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart, P.C., Phoenix, AZ (0.75 hr | 0.75 hr ethics) Ethics and Cybersecurity in the Virtual Practice of Law (Replay) Explore some of the ethical hazards associated with practicing law virtually including unauthorized practice of law, confidentiality and cybersecurity, and the challenges of remote supervision. Anthony Hendricks, Crowe & Dunlevy, Oklahoma City, OK Paige A. Masters, Crowe & Dunlevy, Oklahoma City, OK (0.75 hr | 0.75 hr ethics) Brady v. Maryland, the Michael Morton Act, and the Texas Disciplinary Rules (Replay) The obligation to disclose evidence comes from multiple sources, including constitutional, statutory, and ethical. This presentation discusses each source and recent, significant cases in the area. Carson R. Guy, Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, Austin, TX (0.75 hr | 0.75 hr ethics) What We Say and Do Matters…(Replay) Discuss the various approaches to ensuring that clients with disabilities are treated with the respect and dignity they deserve and is ethically required. Gain insight on how to approach family members, clients, and other professionals as well as practical dos and don'ts when handling cases where the client has limitations. Amanda E. Carter, Matthew Harris Law, PLLC, Lubbock, TX Jennifer L. Coulter, Townsend Allala, Coulter & Kludt, PLLC, El Paso, TX

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THIS MONTH: The Science of Readable Legal Writing • Techniques for Negotiating With Difficult Counterparties  • Election Year Issues: Political Engagement by Nonprofit Organizations • Bank Failures and Banking Distress • ​Safety and Texas Schools: Their Future Depends on What We Do Today • ​Dealing With the Problem of Opposing Counsel

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With the rise of water treatment technology and facilities capable of treating produced fracking water into a substance able to be used for beneficial purposes, the value of produced water has risen exponentially in recent years. The increase in value of produced water have allowed owners to benefit greatly in how they beneficially use that water. Owners now have a financial incentive when choosing the method of how they dispose of produced water. Whether by deep saltwater disposal wells, treatment for beneficial use, or treatment for storage in geothermal pore spaces, each method presents legal ownership issues. Texas statutory, RRC regulations, and recent Texas case law have given ownership of produced water new financial opportunities, but also new legal considerations. The intersection of the mineral estate, surface estate, and even the “geothermal” estate have the possibility to meet, and even conflict, in the arena of produced water. Discuss what practitioners should be mindful of with clients having interests related to produced water or its treatment.

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Session 01: Case Law Update: Part One - Review recent decisions dealing with oil and gas leases, royalties, mineral conveyances, joint operating agreements, state regulation, and related topics. Session 02: Case Law Update: Part Two - Review recent decisions dealing with oil and gas leases, royalties, mineral conveyances, joint operating agreements, state regulation, and related topics. Session 03: Regulatory and Legislative Update - Review recent regulatory and legislative issues impacting the oil and gas industry, including developments in oil and gas waste management, carbon capture, and geothermal energy.

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Address the question of who owns subsurface pore space rights when there is a split estate, and discuss the typical terms and conditions of agreements by which prospective carbon capture and storage operators contract for the use of pore spaces. Also consider whether the law provides a mechanism for the use of pore spaces in the absence of the owner’s consent (eminent domain? pooling?), and examine whether the migration of carbon dioxide in the subsurface would give rise to an actionable trespass in the absence of contractual or other authority to use pore spaces.

Includes: Video Audio Paper Slides

Topic description generated by ChatGPT: Using ChatGPT for legal purposes promises efficient information processing, yet raises ethical concerns including client confidentiality and the risk of providing inaccurate advice. It is paramount that attorneys ensure adequate supervision, maintain professional discretion, and stay vigilant about the tool's limitations to uphold their ethical obligations.

Includes: Video Audio Slides

COPAS accounting procedures are most commonly dealt with in the transactional phase of drafting a joint operating agreement, and then later during the life of the agreement in the course of ongoing accounting activities and routine audits. However, they can also have a significant impact in the course of litigation, including in terms of potential preclusive effects of the exception deadlines, and in terms of discovery strategy. Hear an overview of COPAS audit procedures, as well as potential implications on litigation.

Includes: Video Audio Paper Slides

Keynote presentation delivered by Matt Gallagher, Founder, President and Chief Executive Officer of Greenlake Energy

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Examine the liability regime for decommissioning offshore wells and platforms and how predecessors can be held responsible for decommissioning in the event of a default of the current owners. Discuss the evolving landscape of the financial assurance (bonding) regulations to cover decommissioning liability.

Includes: Video Audio Slides

Like other business sectors, simultaneous sign-and-close acquisitions are becoming more popular in the oil and gas industry. Discuss the differences between deferred closings and sign-and-close deals, the features and benefits of each, and when to use one over the other.

Includes: Video Audio Slides

The Texas Supreme Court’s landmark Van Dyke opinion changed the rules for resolving mineralownership disputes. Discuss what led to the Court’s decision, what the opinion means for current litigants, and what questions were left unanswered for us to litigate about for the next decade or more.

Includes: Video Audio Paper Slides

A look at the ethical obligations of both lawyers and landmen: where they align, and where they diverge, using hypotheticals based on real-world situations.

Includes: Video Audio Paper Slides

A practical review of the application of indemnity provisions in Texas vs. New Mexico.

Includes: Video Audio Paper Slides

Keeping Score: When does bankruptcy law override oil and gas law? Discuss the clash of federal and state law.

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An overview of the rebranding of Texas’s first purchaser liens that provide interest owners with a second chance at first-priority protection.

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Examine common questions and legal issues associated with the practice of drilling allocation and production sharing agreement wells in Texas, particularly against the backdrop of the Third Court of Appeals’ recent decision in Opiela. Also offer guidance for operators who have already drilled such wells or are considering doing so in the future.

Includes: Video Audio Paper Slides

Provide an update on the current state of the law on well-bore assignments, examine certain drafting considerations, and discuss current issues regarding well-bore only ownership.

Includes: Video Audio Paper Slides