The 11th Annual Energy Litigation Conference presented by the Institute for Energy Law (IEL) with the co-sponsorship of the ABA Section of Environment, Energy and Resources (SEER) and the Energy Litigation Committee of the ABA Section of Litigation, took place at the Hilton Post Oak Hotel on November 15 in Houston.

We hope you joined us, an outstanding faculty, and your colleagues at this timely conference viewed by many as the primary annual gathering for in-house and private practice energy litigation counsel, and designed, as always, to bridge the gap between general energy law seminars and general litigation conferences.

Highlights

Treaty-based consent to arbitration - The "Treaty Shopping" Debate
A panel focused on trying complex energy cases
Oil & gas lease termination litigation
Predictive coding
Case Study: trying an Alien Tort Statute lawsuit to verdict

Lifetime Achievement in Energy Litigaiton Award

Honoring

David J. Beck
Beck, Redden & Secrest, L.L.P.
Houston, Texas

Conference Co-Chairs

Russell D. Howell
Managing Counsel, Upstream, ConocoPhillips
Houston, Texas

Mark D. Christiansen
Shareholder, Crowe & Dunlevy
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

Download the Brochure (pdf)
For more details, download the online brochure.

Tuition

Registration includes the Conference, course materials, continental breakfast, the networking luncheon and the networking reception for conference registrants and faculty.

$395 / $445 - Regular registration fee
$295 / $345 - IEL Advisory Board Member
$295 / $345 - IEL Supporting or Sustaining Member Employee
$295 / $345 - ABA-SEER Member
$295 / $345 - ABA-SOL-ELC Member
$295 / $345 - CAIL Member or Member Employee
$295 / $345 - Government Employee
$145 - Materials Only

Schedule and Faculty

8:00 am

Registration and Continental Breakfast

8:45 am

Welcome and Introduction to the Conference

Russell D. Howell, Managing Counsel, Litigation, ConocoPhillips, Houston, Texas

Mark D. Christiansen, Shareholder, Crowe & Dunlevy, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

9:00 am

Treaty-based Consent to Arbitration - The “Treaty Shopping” Debate

A sovereign state’s consent to arbitration is often contained in a treaty between it and another state. In a number of recent investor/state arbitrations, the state has vehemently objected to its consent to international jurisdiction being based on the country of incorporation of an intermediate holding company in the investor’s group, with which the state happens to have a Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT). Is the concern of the state legitimate? What other considerations about jurisdiction should the practitioner have in mind in BIT arbitration?

Thomas (T.L.) Cubbage III, Covington & Burling LLP, Washington, D.C.

9:40 am

Trying Complex Energy Cases

Many industry cases involve really complex contracts governing really complex transactions. Our panel of veteran trial lawyers will discuss their techniques for simplifying the complexities for a jury and how best to extract and explain the critical issues.

John A. “Jad” Davis, Davis, Gerald & Cremer, Midland, Texas

Michael V. Powell, Locke Lord, LLP, Dallas, Texas

The Hon. Randy W. Wilson, Judge of the 157th District Court, Houston, Texas

10:40 am

Break

10:55 am

Current Issues in Oil and Gas Lease Termination Litigation

Lease termination. Two words lessees never want to hear, yet courts hear often. Explore lessons learned from recent lease termination litigation, including judicial interpretation of key terms like “producing in paying quantities,” “completion,” and “operations” in the context of today’s advanced drilling techniques.

Craig L. Stahl, Andrews Kurth LLP, The Woodlands, Texas

11:40 am

“Predictive Coding”: What It Is, How Does It Work, and Why Should You Use It?

The legal world is abuzz about “predictive coding” as the solution to the high cost and heavy burden created by electronic discovery. Predictive coding promises to help lawyers manage document-intensive litigation and is slowly gaining acceptance in the courts. This session will cover such topics as: What is predictive coding? How does it work? How do we know it is accurate and reliable? And, also, how it can help you to reduce costs and improve the quality of your document review process.

Maura R. Grossman, Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz, New York, New York

12:15 pm

Hosted Luncheon - Lifetime Achievement in Energy Litigation Award

Honoring David J. Beck - Beck, Redden & Secrest L.L.P. Houston, Texas

2:00 pm

The Alien Tort Statute: Trying an ATS Lawsuit to Verdict, and Pending Issues Before the Supreme Court Regarding the Scope of the Statute

Lead outside counsel for Chevron and Bridgestone will discuss the widely-publicized Nigeria and Liberia cases to provide insights on preparing and trying an ATS case and on the key issues pending before the Supreme Court involving the scope and application of the ATS.

Robert A. Mittelstaedt, Jones Day, San Francisco, California

Katie J. Colopy, Jones Day, Houston, Texas

Michael L. Rice, Jones Day, Houston, Texas

3:00 pm

Young People Nowadays...

Presenting a case to a jury of tech-savvy generation X-ers requires a diﬀ erent approach on the part of the trial lawyer from the one which has worked for him or her in the past. Our panel will discuss changes in juries over the last 25 years or so, focusing on both their perceptions of the industry as well as the ways in which they prefer to receive information.

D. Patrick Long, Patton Boggs LLP, Dallas, Texas

David J. Beck, Beck, Redden & Secrest L.L.P., Houston, Texas

Mikal C. Watts, Watts Guerra Craft LLP, San Antonio, Texas

Shelley Spiecker, Persuasion Strategies, Denver, Colorado

4:00 pm

Break

4:15 pm

Current Issues in Condemnation Litigation

Increased public opposition and successful challenges to eminent domain actions pose new legal hurdles for condemners and signiﬁ cant issues for electric transmission and pipeline projects. Mr. Lewis will discuss the evolving state of condemnation rights and procedures in jurisdictions critical to the energy industry.

Russell Lewis, Baker Botts L.L.P., Houston, Texas

5:00 pm

Adjourn & Networking Reception

Testimonials

"Participants were well informed and subjects of presentations were very relevant and well presented."

"Very, very high quality, very interesting; great topics."

"Speakers and attendees are experienced litigators."

— 2011 participants

CLE Credits

MCLE Credit

This program is approved by the State Bar of Texas for 5.75 hours, no ethics. Course ID Number: 901252707. Sign-in sheets and/or certiﬁcates of attendance will be available for ALL states.

Specialization Credit

This program is approved by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization for 5.75 hours in the following areas:

Civil Appellate Law
Civil Trial Law and
Oil, Gas and Mineral Law

Hotel Information

The cost of housing is not included in tuition. However, rooms (in limited number) have been reserved at the Hilton Post Oak Hotel, 2001 Post Oak Blvd., Houston, TX 77056. Registrants should call (800) 445-8667 and advise them of group code OFS to receive a reduced room rate of $169 + tax. The last day to obtain this special rate is October 31, 2012.

Cancellation Policy

Tuition, less a $50 cancellation fee will be refunded upon receipt of written cancellation received by November 2, 2012. E-mail cancellation notice to cburkel@cailaw.org. After this date, no refunds, but substitution of attendees for this program will be permitted. Registrants not entitled to a refund will receive the course materials.

Other Information

Press Policy

All IEL conferences are held under the Chatham House Rule. Participants, including journalists, are free to use any information received, but comments may not be attributed to any speaker identiﬁed by name or affiliation.

Nondiscriminatory Policy

The Center for American and International Law does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, sex, religion, national origin, age, disability, veteran status or any other protected status in educational activities, scholarship programs or admissions.

Privacy Policy

We do not sell or rent information to any outside parties. By providing your information, you will receive postal and electronic communications from the Institute for Energy Law (IEL) of The Center for American and International Law (CAIL) in accordance with CAIL's Privacy Policy. If we co-sponsor a program with another organization, information may be shared between the parties. All such co-sponsors will be identified on the event details and registration page. At any point, you can opt-out or unsubscribe by selecting either link at the bottom of each email or call us at 972.244.3400.

11th Annual Energy Litigation Conference