Best Lawyers in America for Natural Resources Law

Bland Williamson is a founding member of Pray Walker and has been affiliated with the firm and its predecessors since 1969. His legal practice has been concentrated in Oil and Gas law and related regulatory areas for over 30 years. During this period, he has been involved in the acquisition and disposition of oil and gas properties and mid-stream facilities on numerous occasions, involving various differing business structures and financing mechanisms.Bland has experience in the drafting and ...

Dan Jensen has been practicing natural resources law since 1988. His practice encompasses mining, water, oil and gas, public land and administrative law. Mr. Jensen focuses on transactional work involving mineral interests, water rights and public lands, acquisitions and transfers of mineral land and water rights, title and due diligence reviews, land use entitlements, and development agreements. Mr. Jensen also handles related litigation, including disputes concerning property titles and bou...

Stuart Butzier has assisted mining, energy, high-tech, industrial and ranching clients throughout his thirty-plus year legal career with Modrall Sperling. His counsel has included helping clients strategically navigate the maze of environmental and mining regulatory and permitting regimes, the morass of litigation, and the unique challenges of complex deals and real property transactions involving private, Federal, State, Indian and split-estate lands. Recognized in the area of Natural Resour...

Bill Gorton is Chair of the Environmental, Natural Resources & Energy Service Group for the firm. He is national counsel to numerous clients on environmental regulatory and land and water resources matters. He advises healthcare clients in permitting, acquisitions and environmental compliance matters. Bill has represented clients in the waste management sector including acquisitions, due diligence, compliance and contracting. He has been counsel in the development of numerous independent ...

Chris Carr is widely regarded as one of the leading project development, environmental, and energy lawyers in the United States. Drawing on his experience with the U.S. Department of the Interior and the U.S. Department of State, Mr. Carr represents businesses, land developers, public agencies, and nonprofits in all areas of environmental and natural resource law, including energy, transportation, water, forestry, mining, coastal and marine resources, and agriculture. In particular, his pract...

Preeminent natural resources attorney. Obtains and defends development approvals for energy, mining and recreation industries. Executive level experience in the ski industry. Andrew Spielman is a widely respected energy, public lands and natural resources lawyer assisting with policy and regulatory issues involved in developing new facilities, as well as in the public land use and environmental permitting process. Committed to client success, Andy helps navigate the cyclical nature of the ene...

Overview Brandon Curtis practices in the areas of environmental and natural resource law. Mr. Curtis represents clients in the steel manufacturing, mining, and electric utility industries. Mr. Curtis's practice focuses on assisting clients through the full breadth of the air permitting process. Mr. Curtis's practice includes developing emission inventories, compiling applications, negotiating with the regulatory body, responding to public comment, and litigating permitting decisions before ad...

Army joined the Firm in March 2011, bringing the knowledge and experience he earned over the course of his successful entrepreneurial career. His practice focuses on creditors’ rights, bankruptcy, and commercial transactional work for corporate, oil, gas and energy clients in Louisiana and Texas. Army is also one of only seven Sub-Chapter V bankruptcy trustees selected by the Department of Justice’s United States Trustee Program to serve in the State of Louisiana. Army is a skille...

Jason Moyes’ practice is focused in the area of natural resource law. Included in his practice is the representation and defense of agricultural irrigation and electrical districts, small utilities, real estate developers, and other special taxing districts. He is experienced in water rights, electricity, solar, gas-fired and hydroelectric power generation, land use planning, and other permitting matters. Jason has successfully represented clients on numerous state and federal regulator...

Sam Masur’s practice is concentrated in the areas of oil and gas litigation, general commercial litigation, oil and gas titles, oil and gas and oil field service company acquisitions and divestitures, and general business acquisitions and divestitures. In both Louisiana state and federal courts, Sam litigates oil and gas and general business contract disputes involving oil and gas leases, overriding royalty interest agreements, joint operating agreements, and distribution agreements and...

Erin Hopkins is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Natural Resources Law. Erin, who practices law in Houston, Texas, has been recognized since 2026. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Erin is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.

Tim McKee is Triplett, Woolf & Garretson, LLC’s senior energy, natural resource, and regulatory attorney, having served as a Commissioner and Chairman of the Kansas Corporation Commission (KCC). Since the early 1970’s, Mr. McKee’s legal practice has focused on representation of business clients in litigated and regulated matters involving oil and gas, natural resource, and utility issues. In his private practice, Mr. McKee has made numerous appearances before the KCC and...

Loulan Pitre has extensive experience with the development, construction, operation, and decommissioning of energy, environmental, and infrastructure projects. He has represented energy and other industrial companies, real estate developers, financial institutions, ports, levee districts and other public entities, and participants in the construction and service industries such as contractors, engineers, and material suppliers. His work has included entity formation and governance, traditiona...

Nora Sheriff is a Shareholder in Buchalter’s San Francisco office and a member of the Firm’s Energy & Natural Resources Practice Group. With decades of experience in the energy industry, Ms. Sheriff focuses her practice on electric and natural gas regulatory and administrative litigation, legislative efforts, and end-use contractual transactions; she works to ensure clean energy tools are available for large end-use customer use to help mitigate the impacts of the high cost of...

Richard W. Hughes is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Gaming Law, Native American Law and Natural Resources Law. Richard W., who practices law in Santa Fe, New Mexico, has been recognized since 2007. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Richard W. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.

Troy A. Eid, the former U.S. Attorney for the District of Colorado, is a principal shareholder in the firm's Denver office. He has wide-ranging experience in complex federal, state and tribal litigation at the administrative, trial and appellate court level. Mr. Eid also handles a wide range of sensitive commercial transactions and disputes that require statutory, regulatory or administrative approval. Recent examples include: Spearheading the statutory review and community participation proc...