Brian Wells, Partner in the Lexington, KY, office of Wyatt, Tarrant & Combs, assumed the role of President of the Energy & Mineral Law Foundation at the annual board of trustees meeting during the 36th Annual Institute at Amelia Island Plantation, June 21-23, 2015.

Wells concentrates his practice in the area of corporate mergers and acquisitions, with an emphasis in mineral and energy transactions. He has served on the EMLF Executive Committee and as Treasurer of the Foundation and Chair of the EMLF Finance Committee.

Other new officers are Dan Wolff of Crowell & Moring, Washington, DC, who was elected Vice-President and President-Elect; Erin E. Magee of Jackson Kelly PLLC, Charleston, WV, who was elected Treasurer; Natalie N. Jefferis of EQT, Pittsburgh, PA, who was elected Secretary; and Kevin L. Colosimo of Burleson LLP, Canonsburg, PA, who was elected Assistant Secretary/Treasurer.

Executive Committee members elected for a one-year term are Sheila Nolan Gartland, Vorys Sater Seymour & Pease, Columbus, OH; Timothy J. Hagerty, Frost Brown Todd, Louisville, KY; Frank B. Harrington, Alpha Natural Resources, Bristol, VA; Amber Nisbet Hodgdon, EnerVest Operating, Charleston, WV; C. David Morrison, Steptoe & Johnson PLLC, Bridgeport, WV; and James M. Van Nostrand, West Virginia University Center for Energy & Sustainable Development, Morgantown, WV.

Past Presidents Kevin K. Douglass, Babst Calland, Pittsburgh, PA, and Sharon O. Flanery, Steptoe & Johnson PLLC, Charleston, WV, will also serve as immediate Past Presidents on the Executive Committee.

First-term members of the Board of Trustees are Stephen G. Barker, Executive VP/General Counsel, Kentucky River Properties, Hazard, KY; Armando F. Benincasa, Steptoe & Johnson PLLC, Charleston, WV; Karen C. Bennett, Hunton & Williams LLP, Washington, DC; R. Clay Larkin, Dinsmore & Shohl, LLP, Lexington, KY; Beth R. Minear, Contract Land Staff, Charleston, WV; Justin W. Ross, Wyatt, Tarrant & Combs, LLP, Lexington, KY; Eric R. Waller, Columbia Pipeline Group, Charleston, WV; and William G. Williams, Krugliak Wilkins Griffiths & Dougherty, Canton, OH.

Many thanks to all EMLF members who served on the various committees throughout the past year, and a very special thanks to Kevin Douglass for the countless hours he spent as President of the Foundation.

John L. McClaugherty Award Announced at Annual Institute

Robert G. McLusky, Member of the Charleston, WV office of Jackson Kelly PLLC, has received the Foundation’s most prestigious award for service to the EMLF and to the legal profession, established to honor the memory of John L. McClaugherty’s service to the Foundation and the legal community.

Bob is a Member of Jackson Kelly PLLC, working in the Firm’s Environmental Practice Group, where he focuses on environmental litigation and client counseling for the coal, chemical and oil and gas industries in West Virginia and surrounding states. Bob provides advice on permitting, surface mining, water discharge and other environmental issues, and for the past decade, most of his time has been spent representing the coal industry in the mountaintop mining controversy and in water permitting and compliance issues concerning selenium.

A graduate of Colgate University and Washington and Lee University School of Law, Bob is a Past President of the EMLF and served as its Secretary and Vice-President.  A long-time member of the Board of Trustees, Bob has presented at EMLF conferences more than a dozen times and authored numerous articles published in the Energy & Mineral Law Institute.

Kentucky Mineral Law Conference Planning Meeting on July 28

Planning for the October 21-22 Kentucky Mineral Law Conference at the Hyatt Regency Lexington will be on Tuesday, July 28 from 11:00 – 2:00 p.m. in Lexington, KY.  Lunch will be served.  If you would like to attend, please contact sharon@emlf.org and we will provide you with the exact location of the meeting.

The Kentucky Mineral Law Conference is the Foundation’s largest program, usually drawing attendees from about 15 states. Complimentary registrations are extended to five students from each EMLF member law school.  The EMLF committees (Programming, Governance, Law School, Membership and Technology) will also be holding luncheon meetings during this program.

We invite EMLF members to submit topics on anything related to energy and mineral law, natural resources, sustainable and renewable energy development, ethics, land issues, real property and title issues.  Topics should be submitted to Sharon Daniels by Thursday, July 23.  You should provide a title and brief description of the topic and the name of any proposed speaker, including yourself.

Program chair for the conference is Kathy G. Beckett, Steptoe & Johnson PLLC, Charleston, WV; Oil and Gas Chair is Britt A. Freund, Bowles Rice LLP, Canonsburg, PA; and Coal Chair is R. Clay Larkin, Dinsmore & Shohl LLP, Lexington, KY.

Scholarship Recipients Announced at Annual Institute

As part of its mission to foster the study of energy and mineral law, the EMLF awards scholarships to students attending law schools who are members of the EMLF.

This year the Foundation has awarded $50,000 in scholarships to the following students:

• F. Adam Abulawi – $10,000, The University of Texas School of Law
• James M. Carroll – $7,000, Louisiana State University Law Center
• Kenneth R. Chapman – $5,000, Appalachian School of Law
• Daniel Franklin – $1,000, University of Oklahoma College of Law
• Tyler J. Hall – $1,000 (James H. Davis Scholarship), Ohio State University – Moritz College of Law
• Taylor Hay – $2,000 (Mary Sue Schulberg Scholarship), Appalachian School of Law
• Robert McFadden – $10,000, Washburn University College of Law
• Jordan D. Volino – $5,000, University of Oklahoma College of Law
• Ryan Michael Watson – $7,000, West Virginia University College of Law
• Fraser Wayne – $1,000, University of Houston Law Center
• Nawzad Mirali Yasin – $1,000, Southern Methodist University, Dedman School of Law

EMLF Scheduled Programs

September 10-11, 2015
6th Law of Shale Plays Conference
Omni William Penn Hotel, Pittsburgh, PA
Co-sponsored with the Institute for Energy Law/ CAIL

October 21-22, 2015
Kentucky Mineral Law Conference
Hyatt Regency Lexington
Lexington, KY

February 28-March 1, 2016
Winter Workshops on Energy Law
Lago Mar Beach Resort and Club
Fort Lauderdale, FL

June 12-14, 2016
37th EMLF Annual Institute
The Doubletree Hotel
Charleston, SC