The following is an excerpt from Practice Perspectives: Vault's Guide to Legal Practice Areas.
Garrett Korbitz advises clients on a wide range of energy transactions, including mergers, acquisitions, and divestitures related to project developments involving upstream and midstream oil and gas assets, renewable energy projects, and rare earth mineral deposits.
Garrett has significant experience representing exploration and production companies and financial partners with respect to operations, acquisitions, and divestitures in major U.S. conventional and unconventional onshore oil and gas basins. He regularly advises midstream clients on pipeline development and associated agreements, including gathering, transportation, and processing agreements.
In addition, Garrett is well-versed in real property and oil, gas, and mineral law, and he regularly assists clients with energy project development, operations, lease negotiations, mineral, and royalty transactions. Further, Garrett is heavily involved in the development of carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) projects, as well as the development, operation, acquisition, and divestiture of renewable energy projects.
Alex Miron offers strategic counsel to clients on a wide range of domestic transactions in the oil and gas industry, focusing on corporate matters. He routinely advises on oil and gas matters, including asset acquisitions and divestitures, mergers, supply arrangements, project development, and joint ventures. He also represents clients in connection with the development, operation, acquisition, and divestiture of energy transition projects. Alex is currently representing multiple clients in the development of CCUS projects across the United States.
Prior to law school, Alex worked as a CPA in the oil and gas section for PwC and Carrizo Oil and Gas. His experience at PwC included auditing large independent oil and gas exploration and production companies. During law school, Alex clerked at Motiva Enterprises LLC.
Describe your practice area and what it entails.
Alex: I represent clients on a broad range of energy transactions, specializing in upstream and midstream industry including mergers, acquisitions, and divestitures; this includes advising clients regarding the structuring of potential transactions, drafting and negotiating transaction documents, and working with the client to support successful signing and closing of the transaction. In addition, we assist clients in long-term development projects not only in oil and gas but also in the carbon capture, mineral, and geothermal industries.
Garrett: My practice focuses on the energy industry and entails representing clients on a broad array of transactional matters in various sectors of the energy industry, including oil
and gas, renewables, and the energy transition. My primary focus is on energy transactions, including mergers, acquisitions, and divestitures and on commercial arrangements related to upstream and midstream oil and gas assets and development of CCUS projects. This entails due diligence with respect to the underlying assets/contracts, negotiating and drafting key agreements for these transactions/arrangements, and advising clients on the interpretation of these agreements and how they impact their businesses.
What types of clients do you represent?
Alex: We represent supermajors to independent exploration and production companies. In the midstream space, we represent private equity portfolio companies as well as Fortune 100 companies. We also represent private equity funds and financial institutions in various energy transactional matters.
Garrett: I represent a diverse group of clients of all sizes, including individuals, family offices, financial institutions and lenders, renewable energy/energy transition developers, mining companies, pipeline companies, and upstream exploration and production companies.
What types of cases/deals do you work on?
Alex: Much of my work involves M&A and divestitures involving upstream or midstream at the asset level. I also advise clients in connection with joint ventures, as well as other energy transactional matters, such as leasing, surface use, transportation agreements, and offtake agreements. Recently, we assisted a private equity portfolio company in acquiring a large midstream company. In addition, we have recently closed multiple transactions involving upstream assets representing both buyers and sellers.
Garrett: Most of my practice and the deals I am involved in relate to the acquisition and divestiture of upstream and midstream oil and gas assets and commercial arrangements
between companies operating in the upstream and midstream oil and gas industries. Many oil and gas attorneys like me have become heavily involved in the CCUS industry because of the
synergies the industry shares with oil and gas. Given many of these CCUS projects are still in their early stages, my involvement has focused on the acquisition of pore space and other real property rights necessary for projects.
How did you choose this practice area?
Alex: Prior to law school, I was a CPA working in the oil and gas industry. When I attended law school, I had every intention of practicing in the energy industry. It was, of course, very helpful to be in Houston where the energy M&A market is very robust.
Garrett: I became interested in the oil and gas industry while pursuing my undergraduate degree. Being new to Texas, I quickly became aware of the impact the industry had on
the state. I became fascinated with the science and history behind the industry and decided this was an area where I could focus my future legal studies.
What is a “typical” day like and/or what are some common tasks you perform?
Alex: There really is no typical day in our industry. While we may have tasks that we want to accomplish for that day, clients may have new matters that may need to be resolved quickly. Most days involve drafting documentation and coordinating with junior associates on various items while working with opposing counsel on finalizing a transaction.
Garrett: I would not say there is a “typical” day in the life of a transactional attorney. There are many factors that impact what your day, week, month, quarter, or even year will look
like, such as the market/economy, client needs, legislative and judicial developments, experience level, etc. However, currently, the tasks that I commonly perform include responding to client/partner requests; drafting and negotiation transaction agreements; communicating with clients, counterparties, and colleagues who are working on the deal; and general managerial tasks with respect to the deal.
What training, classes, experience, or skills development would you recommend to someone who wishes to enter your practice area?
Alex: Transaction-related classes will be helpful, especially those who focus on contract drafting and secured transactions. I recommend taking a course in oil and gas along with advanced property classes, if available, to gain a foundation in the basics of property law.
Garrett: If you are a student, I recommend taking as many law school courses tailored to the practice area as possible. These courses are tailored to give you an introduction and base of information that you can use to build off. For students and lawyers, I recommend staying abreast of current events and legal developments and trends relevant to the energy industry. Another good way to develop as a lawyer and a professional is to attend industry group and bar events tailored to the energy industry. These events are great opportunities to learn more about the area and network with and get to know individuals and companies that are active in the space. Lastly, and most importantly, seek out positions that offer the experience for which you are looking. Real world, substantive experience is the best way to develop and hone skills as a lawyer.
What do you like best about your practice area?
Garrett: The aspect of my practice area that I like best is that no two deals are the same. There are many considerations that determine how a deal is negotiated and the final terms
that are agreed upon such as the type of assets, whether your client is buying or selling, who the counterparty is, who is counsel for the counterparty, the leverage of the respective
parties, market conditions, etc.
What are some typical tasks that a junior lawyer would perform in this practice area?
Garrett: When a junior energy lawyer is staffed on a deal, they should expect to perform due diligence on the assets and underlying agreements for the transaction, prepare and maintain the closing checklist, manage the transaction documents and versions thereof, perform quality control on documents (i.e., check grammar and spelling, section references, defined terms, etc.), prepare and maintain signature packets necessary for the closing of the deal, and possibly, draft specific provisions or ancillary agreements.
What kinds of experience can summer associates gain at this practice area at your firm?
Alex: Summer associates in our group will have the opportunity to see a transaction through from start to finish. Our summer associates will have the opportunity to participate meaningfully in most aspects of the transaction and get the experience of a junior associate.
What are some typical career paths for lawyers in this practice area?
Alex: Typical career paths in the energy field are varied. Working in oil and gas is a specialty; as such, many oil and gas lawyers were previously land professionals or engineers or were involved in the energy industry prior to going to law school. However, that is not a requirement; working at a law firm such as Akin provides great training and opportunities
to work with industry leaders and quickly gain insight on the energy sector.
Garrett: There are three main career paths in the energy/oil and gas space that come to mind. The first is the law firm route, which is where many lawyers start their careers. The
second is the in-house legal route. Although it is possible to start your career as an in-house lawyer, oftentimes after working for a law firm, lawyers decide that the law firm career
path is no longer for them. They will then go work for one of their clients or will find another company in need of their skill set. The last main career path for lawyers in the energy space is the government. The government has many departments and agencies operating in this space that are tasked with promulgating legislation/regulation for the industry and ensuring compliance with such legislation/regulation, all of which requires the work of lawyers.
For those considering corporate work, why would you advise them to specialize in Energy, Oil, & Gas?
Garrett: As mentioned above, no two deals are the same, which makes life as a lawyer interesting. But, in addition to no two deals being the same, the energy space is always
evolving, which opens doors for work in other sectors of the energy space. Many of your clients will not just be involved in oil and gas but will also be involved in many different facets
of the energy industry. For example, many of the oil majors have joint ventures, subsidiaries, and other involvement in the renewable energy sector and the energy transition sector. As
an energy lawyer, it is very possible that, during your career, you will have the opportunity to see the emergence of a new technology or development within the industry that significantly impacts the way people live and will live their lives for generations to come.