Energy Litigation

Our energy litigation team includes lawyers with decades of trial experience and service in federal and state law-enforcement agencies across the country. Among our ranks are former U.S. district and appellate judicial clerks, officers of the Judge Advocate General (JAG), and U.S. attorneys, assistant U.S. attorneys, and special assistant U.S. attorneys. Our number also includes lawyers who previously held senior positions in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the U.S. Coast Guard, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and numerous state agencies.

We represent individuals and companies in the full range of energy-related disputes, including products liability and professional liability claims, environmental and toxic torts, class actions and mass torts, public utility regulation, labor and employment disputes, contract disputes, insurance coverage disputes, white-collar criminal defense, securities enforcement, and bankruptcies and reorganizations.

We understand that litigation—whether defending against allegations of civil or criminal misconduct or pursuing redress from wrongdoers—can represent an expensive investment in justice. With our proactive approach to dispute resolution, competitive rate structure and flexible fee arrangements, we help clients minimize the costs associated with litigation. For this and other reasons, Jones Walker was named to the BTI Client Service A-Team in 2013.

Recent engagements including the following:

• Defense of a number of Haynesville Shale operators in putative class actions, "failure to develop" actions, alleged groundwater and air contamination actions arising out of hydraulic fracturing (fracking) activities, and actions seeking termination of mineral leases
• Defense of major energy companies in resolving royalty disputes, including putative class actions relating to the payment and calculation of royalties
• Defense of major energy companies in multi-state litigation concerning environmental damages cases and legacy lawsuits related to historical operations and matters involving contractual indemnity and defense claims against other operators
• Prosecution of oil and gas operators for engaging in fraudulent leasing activities
• Representation of a subsurface natural gas storage operator in an action against a state relating to authority to brine new caverns, including winning a court ruling declaring unconstitutional a project-specific groundwater law
• Defense of an electrical power company in a permit appeal involving water rights in Louisiana
• Defense of asbestos litigation on behalf of manufacturers, suppliers, and premises owners
• Defense of mass tort, class action and cost-recovery suits claiming personal injuries and property damage resulting from releases of chemicals or other toxic substances
• Assisting in the appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court and the Supreme Court of Oklahoma of the largest punitive damages award in Oklahoma history