Wm Lake Hearne Jr.

Lake has an active litigation practice representing both plaintiffs and defendants in disputes focused primarily in the oil and gas industry, including ownership disputes, servitude maintenance, royalty accounting, breach of contract, wellbore trespass, and production in paying quantities, but also commercial and transactional disputes, construction, employment and successions.

Lake also has an active transactional practice focused primarily in the oil and gas industry, including complex mineral leases, operating agreements, rights-of-way, surface use agreements, and mineral and royalty deeds, but also business formation, lending and purchasing, and estate planning.

Areas of Practice:

• Oil & Gas
  • Transactions
  • Exploration, Title & Acquisitions Due Diligence
  • Litigation
• Corporate & Commercial
  • Commercial Transactions & Lending
  • Business Formation, Transaction & Organization
  • Litigation
• Successions & Estate Planning

Bar Admissions:

• Louisiana (2009)
• Texas (2017)
• U.S. Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit
• U.S. District Court for the Western, Eastern and Middle Districts of Louisiana
• U.S. District Court for the Eastern and Southern Districts of Texas

Education:

• Louisiana State University Law Center, Baton Rouge, Louisiana
  • J.D./D.C.L. (2009)
• Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana
  • B.A. (History), cum laude (2006)
  • B.A. (Political Science), cum laude (2006)

Published Works:

• Title Issues: Mineral Servitude Maintenance in the Modern World, 64th Annual Mineral Law Institute (LSU, March 10, 2017)

Representative Cases:

• Schmidt v. J-Lu Co Ltd LLC (W.D. La 2014), affirmed 598 Fed. Appx. 257 (5th Cir. 2015)
• Norwood v. Mobley Valve Services, 144 So. 3d 1143 (La. App. 2 Cir. 2014); writ denied in part, granted in part, 161 So. 3d 5 (La. 2015)
• Yates v. Marston, 121 So. 3d 673 (La. App. 2 Cir. 2013)
• B.A. Kelly Land Co., L.L.C. v. Questar Exploration and Production Company, 106 So. 3d 181 (La. App. 2 Cir. 2013); writ denied, 112 So. 3d 223 (La. 2013)

Professional Associations & Memberships:

• Louisiana State Bar Association
  • Mineral Law Section
  • Corporate and Business Law Section
• State Bar of Texas
  • Oil, Gas, and Energy Resources Law
  • Real Estate, Probate, and Trust Law
• American Bar Association
  • Business Law Section
  • Section of Environment, Energy and Resources
• Booth-Politz American Inn of Court (Barrister)
• Shreveport Bar Association
• Institute for Energy Law (Young Energy Professional)
• Ark-La-Texas Association of Professional Landmen (Associate Member)