What I appreciate most about secondment are all the talented people – in legal and non-legal disciplines – that I know and who have taught me so much. Last year, I was seconded to Equinor`s legal department, where I am part of the Legal Exploration team that provides legal advice on Equinor`s international exploration activities. Chair of the Institute`s Annual Program: BRUCE M. Kramer is a nationally recognized lawyer in the fields of oil, gas, energy and land use and was a long-time professor at Texas Tech University School of Law. Bruce has been advising companies on a variety of legal issues and energy strategies for over 40 years. His areas of experience include state and federal laws, as well as regulations and rules affecting exploration, production and upstream assets. Bruce has co-authored several important books that have become authoritative references for energy lawyers, including two multi-volume articles, The Law of Pooling and Unitization and Williams and Meyers Oil and Gas Law (since 1996). Bruce`s legal books and articles have been cited as an authority in numerous court decisions and notices of appeal, including decisions of the Supreme Court of Texas and several other states, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth District, and numerous federal district courts. as well as before legislative and administrative bodies. • Legal advice and assistance for a variety of activities, mainly, but not limited to: MEGAN HAINES is associated with Reed Smith`s Pittsburgh office. She is an experienced energy litigation lawyer and environmental regulatory advocate who helps clients meet their business needs and manage risk. She has litigated numerous high-profile energy and environmental litigation in state and federal courts, as well as state and federal agencies.
It has successfully negotiated lease terminations, underpayment of royalties, joint operating agreements, gas collective agreements and property damage claims. She has also advised clients on a wide range of environmental issues, from negotiating a Clean Air Act review agreement with the U.S. EPA to advising on the environmental aspects of transactions. Megan is part of the firm`s global environmental, social and governance (ESG) practice. She focuses particularly on the environmental and governance aspects of ESG criteria. She has advised clients on carbon and climate related regulations and laws, as well as ESG financing issues related to energy transactions. MARIANNA BOZA MORÁN is Director of Brigard Urrutia`s Bogotá, Colombia office and leads the Oil and Gas and Mining practice group. She has extensive experience providing comprehensive legal advice to clients worldwide on the corporate operations and transactions of upstream, midstream and downstream oil and gas companies, as well as infrastructure and financial projects in the mining, energy, oil and gas and petrochemical sectors. She has been involved in major upstream, midstream and downstream projects in Latin America and has advised on the negotiation and drafting of relevant contracts as well as the creation and financing of joint ventures to develop activities. She also has extensive experience advising extractive sector service companies and developing due diligence on mining, oil and gas projects in Colombia and Venezuela. Marianna serves on the boards of the Colombian-Canadian and Australian-Colombian Chambers of Commerce, the AIPN Latin American Regional Committee and the International Committee of the Foundation for Natural Resources and Energy Law.
She is also a certified translator in Colombia and Venezuela and a legal project manager. Marianna leads equality organizations related to the oil, gas and mining sector in Colombia. In order to get the most out of external advice, I think it is important that the in-house counsel does not simply leave the matter to the external consultant and wait for the outcome, but that the in-house counsel works closely with the external consultant to prioritize tasks and direct the external consultant to achieve a result. That is, in a format and structure that meets operational needs. It starts with the scope of the work, where costs can be reduced, and saving time by specifying exactly what you need external advice versus what you can deliver in-house yourself. NATASHA J. MARTIN`s practice focuses on administrative and regulatory disputes, particularly environmental and utility law. She has represented clients in litigation and grievance proceedings before the Texas Commission of Environmental Quality (TCEQ), the Public Utility Commission of Texas, the Texas Alcoholic and Beverage Commission and the State Office of Administrative Hearings. Natasha has experience advising clients on regulatory approvals and enforcement actions on air, water and waste issues. She has also represented clients who receive Certificates of Applicability and Necessity (CCN) for electricity, water and wastewater. Natasha is General Counsel for several water utilities and groundwater protection districts in Texas. Prior to law school, she worked as an aerial permit technical examiner at TCEQ, where she reviewed mechanical and agricultural air permit applications in accordance with federal and state laws.