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7660 Woodway, Suite 311
Houston, Texas 77063
713/952-6011 (land line - if you need to leave a message)
281/782-9049 (cell - to talk to me personally)
sriner@og-law.net
Stephen N. Riner, Attorney
EDUCATION:
J.D. Degree in Law, 1980, LSU Law School, Baton Rouge, Louisiana (top 1/3 of the class); B.S. Degree in Accounting, 1977, LSU, (minor in French); Member LSU tennis team and off-campus student council representative; Graduated from Broadmoor High School, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, 1972.
LICENSES AND CERTIFICATIONS:
Licensed in Louisiana (April 1981) and Texas (November 1982); Board Certified, Oil, Gas and Mineral Law, Texas Board of Legal Specialization (1991 to present).
WORK EXPERIENCE:
1986-present: sole practice of law, oil and gas e&p title examination, oil and gas/real estate litigation, Texas and Louisiana; 1982-1986: associate and partner with Jones, Stephens, Bell & Willey, Houston, Texas; 1981-1982: law clerk to Judge Frank Polozola, U.S. District Court, Middle District of Louisiana; 1979-1980: law clerk, Parish Attorney’s Office, Baton Rouge, Louisiana; 1975-1977: assistant manager, Bocage Racquet Club, Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
PUBLICATIONS:
(i) “The Eagle Ford Shale” presented to NADOA, Sheraton Hotel, Chicago, Illinois, September 3-5, 2014, (ii) “Title Examination Issues in Texas and Louisiana”, presented to HADOA, Petroleum Club, Houston, Texas, on March 18, 2015, to PBADOA, Midland County Horseshoe Arena, Midland, Texas, on May 5, 2016, and to NALTA, Moody Gardens, Galveston, Texas, on September 29, 2017, (iii) “Running Title From Inception: a Comparative Study of Louisiana and Texas” presented to NADOA Webinar on June 29, 2016, and to NALTA, Moody Gardens, Galveston, Texas, on September 28, 2017.
PERSONAL:
Born 1-12-55 in Corpus Christi, Texas; married to Kevine West Riner since 1987 and have four children named Nate (born 5-5-88), Marc (born 1-20-90), Patrick (born 11-28-91) and Daniel (born 7-17-97); members and deacon since 1983 at Second Baptist Church, Houston, Texas, Dr. H. Edwin Young, Pastor; members of the Houston Racquet Club since 2005.
I prepare oil and gas drilling, division order, acquisition due diligence and standup title opinions. I have 35 years experience in Texas and Louisiana preparing opinions from abstracts or directly from the courthouse records. Although I have extensive experience litigating land titles, my current practice is limited to preparing oil and gas title opinions.
My opinions are succinct and reflect that my clients are professionals who want me to get to the point, do not need a lecture on the law and do not have the time to read pages of boilerplate.
My opinions are complete. Everything you need to know about the tract is found in the opinion including a detailed history of the title. If you have a question, usually I can give you a complete answer in just a few minutes.
I perform the work myself. I do not broker title work out to other attorneys on a contract basis because that arrangement detracts from the quality of the service provided and from the opinion. My signature is my certification that I did the work and that I can promptly provide you with answers to your questions. Although I have staff who assists me, I personally review all the documents and I draft the opinions.
I treat your projects with respect. I realize that your work is what pays the bills and that you would not send it to my office if you thought that I would neglect it.
My rates are competitive. I keep strict records of my billable time spent. I never charge more than my billable hours, and usually I charge less. Even so, I feel that I am well-compensated, and that it is my privilege to serve the industry.
Following are my references/representative clients:
Endeavor Energy Resources, LP (contacts: Kevin Gavigan (432/262-4121), Katie Ehrnwald (432/262-8945), Jade Jones (432/262-4152); Mesa Minerals Partners LLC (contact: Darin Zanovich (832/948-6284); EP Energy E&P Company, LP (contacts: Robert Kincannon (current phone number provided upon request), Derek Shannon [713/997-3644], Nicholas Pieper [713/997-4888]); Coastal Plains Exploration LLC (contact Jim Gilstrap [361/484-4995]); Schalk Oil Company (contact John Schalk [940/322-3424]); Neumin Production Company (contact Jeff Hermes [361/987-8920]), Redwood Energy, LP, Carrizo Oil & Gas, Inc., Cockrell Oil Corporation, UMC Petroleum Corporation, Entex Energy Operating, Ltd., Newstar Energy of Texas, Inc., Petroci Holding (Cote d’Ivoire), BNP Petroleum Corporation, Miller Energy, Inc., Union Pacific Resources Corporation, AMAX Oil and Gas, Inc., Cities Service Oil & Gas, Inc., and Ethyl Corp.