Ms. Kate E. Brasseux
Student
LSU Law Center
Kate Brasseux earned her Bachelor of Humanities and Social Sciences, Sociology with a concentration in Criminology and a minor in Psychology from Louisiana State University. She has worked as a law clerk at multiple law firms that practice in the fields of oil, gas, and energy law, and she is enrolled in the Energy Law & Policy Certificate program at LSU’s Paul M. Hebert Law Center. Upon graduation in May 2024, she will sit for the Louisiana bar exam and join the Lafayette office of the Oliva Gibbs law firm to practice oil and gas law.
Mr. James Blake Canfield
La Dept Of Natural Resources
J. Blake Canfield is Executive Counsel for the Louisiana Department of Natural Resources (LDNR). In this role Mr. Canfield manages LDNR’s Legal Division, is responsible for certain legislative matters involving LDNR, and advising the Secretary and staff of LDNR on administrative and operational functions of the Department, as well as matters concerning LDNR’s regulation of Louisiana’s abundant natural resources, including but not limited to regulation of activities which impact the state’s Coastal Resources, management of the State’s mineral property, water resources, and promotion of energy conservation. Prior to becoming Executive Counsel of LDNR in 2013, Mr. Canfield was Senior Attorney for the Louisiana Office of Conservation. As Senior Attorney for the Office of Conservation, Blake represented the agency in litigation and administrative matters and provided legal counsel to the Commissioner of Conservation regarding his office’s regulation and conservation of oil, gas, lignite, and other mineral resources in Louisiana. Mr. Canfield is a graduate of LSU’s Paul M. Hebert Law Center. Blake is currently a member of the Louisiana Mineral Law Institute’s Advisory Council, is a past representative to the Interstate Oil & Gas Compact Commission, has previously served on the Expropriation Committee of the Louisiana State Law Institute, and he recently chaired the legislatively created Public Recreational Access Task Force.
Ms. Sarah K Casey
Of Counsel
Baker Donelson
Ms. Casey's oil and gas experience includes handling disputes over surface damage, mineral leases and
deeds, and royalties, as well as legacy lawsuits. She also defends commercial motor carrier clients against personal injury claims.
Ms. Monique M. Edwards
The Edwards Law Group, LLC
Monique Marie Edwards was appointed by Governor John Bel Edwards as the Commissioner of Conservation and was the first woman to hold the position until February of 2024. The Office of Conservation is located within the Louisiana Department of Energy and Natural Resources (LDENR) and has the statutory authority to regulate all oil and gas activities in the state. The staff of over one-hundred-eighty-five (185) includes geologists, engineers, GIS, and attorneys. Under her leadership the office collected over $1 million in penalties; the most the office had ever collected. Ms. Edwards previously served as a Visiting Professor at the Southern University Law Center in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, where she taught Louisiana Obligations, Common law contracts, State and Local Government, Professional Responsibility and Law Office Practice. Previously, she was appointed by Governor Bobby Jindal as the first African American secretary of the Louisiana State Mineral and Energy Board and Assistant Secretary for the Office of Mineral Resources also in LDNR. As Assistant Secretary Ms. Edwards managed a staff of seventy-two (72) employees consisting of auditors, geologists, accountants, engineers and GIS professionals. The Office of Mineral Resources has the statutory authority to lease, manage and audit oil and gas exploration and production activities on state owned lands and water bottoms.
A Louisiana native, Attorney Edwards has served as counsel to the Louisiana House of Representatives’ Committee on Natural Resources and Environment. This committee has oversight over Louisiana Departments of Environmental Quality, Natural Resources and Wildlife & Fisheries. Prior to that, she was the managing member of Edwards, Valdez and Ellis, LLC of Orlando, Florida, in charge of the business law and governmental relations areas. She is a graduate of St. Mary’s Dominican College formerly in New Orleans and received her Juris Doctor from the Southern University Law Center on May 10, 1986 in Baton Rouge. She continues to serve as the principal of The Edwards Law Group, LLC.
Her activities include being a member of the United States Commission on Civil Rights, Louisiana Advisory Committee, Junior League of Baton Rouge, the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated, the National Panhellenic Council of Greater Baton Rouge, Inc., the Catholic Charities for the Catholic Diocese of Baton Rouge Advisory Board and the Diocesan School Board for the Catholic Diocese of Baton Rouge.
Ms. Edwards is a member of both the Louisiana State Bar Association and The Florida Bar. Her service to the LSBA includes past Chair of the Mandatory Continuing Legal Education (MCLE) Committee, a member of the Committee on the Profession and she serves as a mentor for new lawyers. Her professional affiliations include being a member of the Louisiana Mineral Law Institute Advisory Council, being the first African American woman to be a member; the National Bar Association where she was selected to serve on the Centennial Commission to commemorate the establishment of the organization in 1925; and the Louis A. Martinet Legal Society of Greater Baton Rouge. Previously, Ms. Edwards served as the Louisiana state representative to the Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Commission (IOGCC). She was appointed by the Chair, Governor Mark Gordon of Wyoming to the Operational Finance Committee and serves as Vice Chair of the IOGCC Legal and Regulatory Affairs Standing Committee.
Mr. Tyler P Gray
Secretary
Louisiana Department of Energy and Natural Resources
Tyler Gray currently serves as the corporate secretary for the Placid Refining Company, LLC; an independent and privately owned, oil and gas company, producing and distributing a full range of transportation fuels across the Southeast from Texas to Maryland. At Placid, he’s responsible for governance, human resources, and external affairs. Previously, he served as president and general counsel to Louisiana Mid-Continent’s Oil and Gas Association, advocating for members on all oil and gas issues as the youngest president in the Association’s 100 year history. Prior to that, Tyler served as an attorney in the Department of Natural Resources, Office of Conservation and for the City of New Orleans. He received his B.A. in Economics from James Madison University in Virginia, a J.D. from Loyola University in New Orleans, M.B.A. with a specialization in Economics from Louisiana State University, and is licensed to practice law in Louisiana. Lastly, he serves on multiple for profit and non-profit boards, including Louisiana Arts and Sciences Museum, St. James Episcopal Day School, the Louisiana Association of Business and Industry, Public Affairs Research Council, West Baton Rouge Chamber of Commerce, the Governor’s Climate Task Force, and several other state boards.
Mr. Beaux Jones
President & CEO
Water Institute
Beaux Jones is President and CEO for The Water Institute, an independent, non-profit applied research organization based in Louisiana. Prior to becoming the President and CEO, Jones was the General Counsel and Chief of Staff at The Water Institute and handled general legal matters for The Water Institute, such as contracts and immigration law. He also was a key member of the leadership team, merging the Institute’s ongoing work in science, engineering, and resiliency with legal policy.
Before joining The Water Institute, Jones served as the environmental section chief for the Louisiana Department of Justice, where he represented the State of Louisiana and its agencies in a wide variety of matters ranging from environmental and coastal law to criminal and appellate law. He most recently worked as an environmental and coastal lawyer for the law firm Baldwin Haspel Burke & Mayer in New Orleans.
Jones has extensive experience representing agencies, companies, and organizations inside the courtroom and internally. He has argued cases at every level of state and federal court in Louisiana and has worked on several high-profile cases related to the Gulf Coast and Louisiana. He was on the BP spill litigation team with the Louisiana Attorney General.
Jones earned his bachelor’s from Davidson College and his law degree from the Paul M. Hebert Law Center at LSU. He is active in a variety of community and environmental causes.
Mr. Caleb Madere
Liskow & Lewis, APLC
Caleb practices in the areas of Energy & Natural Resources Law and Energy Litigation. His practice focuses on title examination, contract negotiation, and various issues relating to the acquisition and divestiture of mineral interests. Caleb also has experience in the emerging renewables industry where he has experience drafting and negotiating solar leasing agreements for clients and has advised clients on carbon capture and sequestration projects. He also has experience litigating various oil and gas, property and environmental matters, including joint operating agreement disputes, mineral lease maintenance disputes and environmental contamination suits.
Professor Tracy L. M. Norton
LSU Law Center
Tracy L. M. Norton joined the LSU Law faculty in 2022 and is the Erick Vincent Anderson Professor of Professional Practice. Prof. Norton is an accomplished legal educator and scholar whose significant contributions to the field of legal communication and pedagogy include published works and influential presentations on a variety of pressing issues such as the application of artificial intelligence in law practice and legal education; the transition to online teaching before, during, and after the pandemic; and the challenges and opportunities presented by generational shifts in the legal profession. She began introducing technology into the law school classroom in 1998 with her pioneering self-paced legal citation tool, the Interactive Citation Workstation, housed on Lexis+. Through her scholarly work and advocacy for effective teaching strategies over the past 27 years, Prof. Norton has left an indelible mark on the landscape of legal education – both nationally and internationally -- with her forward-thinking approach to pedagogy and law practice. She has taught at Touro University School of Law in New York, South Texas College of Law in Houston, and Texas Tech University School of Law in Lubbock. She currently researches and writes about using generative artificial intelligence within the bounds of the Model Rules of Professional Conduct.
Mrs. Margaret G. Patton
Patton Law Firm, LLC
Margaret G. Patton’s practice focuses primarily on oil, gas and energy law. Margaret represents major and independent oil and gas companies in title examination, division order work, and litigation, and she routinely advises her clients in all aspects of oil and gas exploration and production operations, including matters related to lease disputes, mineral owner demands, risk fee issues, contract negotiation and interpretation, statutory interpretation and other issues relevant to the drafting and operation of clauses found in mineral leases, joint operating agreements, and conveyances of mineral rights.
Margaret has drafted hundreds of title opinions for numerous oil and gas companies on acreage in Louisiana’s Haynesville Shale, Cotton Valley and Lower Cotton Valley, Tuscaloosa Marine Shale, Austin Chalk, and other Louisiana plays in both North and South Louisiana and has handled numerous curative projects involving complex title issues.
Margaret routinely represents oil and gas companies with respect to royalty owner demands and working interest owner demands made against her clients under La. R.S. 30:103.1, La. R.S. 31:137, La. R.S. 31:212.21, and La. R.S. 30:10. Margaret has a long history of success in reaching favorable and cost effective resolutions of such demands, often times helping her clients avoid costly litigation.
In addition to her work in the area of oil and gas exploration and production, Margaret has represented industrial clients, including oil and gas operators, before LDEQ, LDWF and LDNR, handling permitting and regulatory compliance matters in the areas of air, water and waste. Margaret also routinely represents clients in matters of commercial real estate and transactions and general business litigation.
Margaret is a frequent speaker on a variety of mineral law issues at various oil and gas industry events. She has authored two papers for the Louisiana Mineral Law Institute and one paper for the Rocky Mountain Mineral Law Foundation Institute on Mineral Title Examination. Margaret was selected to the 2020 SuperLawyers® Rising Star list and the 2023 and 2024 SuperLawyers® List in the area of Energy and Natural Resources. She currently serves as a member of the Advisory Council to the LSU John P. Laborde Energy Law Center. Margaret also serves on the Board of Managers of A. Wilbert’s Sons, LLC and Wilbert Mineral Group, LLC, two family-owned land management companies owning substantial agricultural, mineral and timber properties in South Louisiana.
Professor Tara K. Righetti
Professor of Law and Energy Resources
University of Wyoming
Tara Righetti is a professor of law at the University of Wyoming. She is a member of the faculties of the College of Law and the School of Energy Resources. Tara teaches courses related to oil and gas and energy in the law, PLM, and Energy MBA programs. Her scholarship explores topics related to energy development and sustainability including split estates, property rights, contract disputes, and conservation regulation. Prior to joining the University of Wyoming, Tara worked as a landman, counsel, and in executive management at a privately held E&P company. Tara earned her B.A. in Environmental Design and a J.D. from The University of Colorado in Boulder, CO. Tara serves as a trustee-at-large for the Rocky Mountain Mineral Law Foundation and on the board of the Albany County Safe Project.
Mr. Jonathan J. Rose
Shareholder
Hargrove, Smelley & Strickland, PLC
Jonathan J. Rose is a shareholder in the Shreveport firm of Hargrove, Smelley & Strickland. His practice focuses primarily on oil and gas, including title examination, transactions, litigation and advisory. Jon is a Shreveport native and received his undergraduate degree from Louisiana State University. He then received his juris doctorate from the Paul M. Hebert Law Center at Louisiana State University, where he was a member of the Louisiana Law Review. Jon is a member of the Louisiana State Bar Association, the Shreveport Bar Association, the State Bar of Texas, the Shreveport Wildcatters Association, and the Ark-La-Texas Association of Professional Landmen.
