Bridget D. Furbee

Biography

Bridget Furbee focuses her practice in the area of energy law. She has extensive experience in major transactions as well as litigation and regulatory proceedings in the oil and gas industry. She has represented production and midstream clients in transactions, operations, and litigation matters, including litigating and settling class action royalty claims. She is the former in-house counsel for Fortune 500 energy companies where she was responsible for legal issues related to gas exploration and production, including the development of major new geologic plays in West Virginia, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. With over 30 years in the industry, Bridget brings a practical perspective to find legal solutions to various types of contract disputes, including joint operating agreements, farmouts, leases, and gas contracts.

Representative Experience

  • Negotiated and drafted various master services agreements, drilling contracts, and operating agreements
  • Experienced in pooling and unitization issues, including representation of clients before the West Virginia Oil and Gas Conservation Commission
  • Represented sellers and buyers in various oil and gas acquisitions, including the corporate sale of one entity worth $3.75 billion, and multiple transactions, each exceeding $100 million
  • Litigated class action royalty claims
  • Resolved disputes and litigation between landowners and operators
  • Represented buyer of E&P assets for $2.5 million
  • Counsel for a seller of E&P company (stock and assets) for $3.47 billion
  • Negotiated and drafted various agreements involved in farmouts, joint ventures, sales, and acquisitions of E&P properties, including stock and asset sales
  • Experienced in negotiating, preparing, and analyzing various types of gas sales, marketing, transportation agreements, and gas storage agreements
  • Worked with industry to draft proposed legislation for horizontal wells and road bonds

Licensed In

  • Ohio
  • Pennsylvania
  • West Virginia

Education

  • J.D. West Virginia University College of Law
  • B.A. West Virginia University

Memberships

  • Gas and Oil Association of WV, Inc. (GO-WV), Legal Committee
  • Director, Legal Aid of West Virginia
  • Member, Bridgeport Development Authority
  • Council on Ministries, Bridgeport United Methodist Church
  • American Association of Professional Landmen (AAPL)
  • Michael Late Benedum Chapter AAPL (MLBC)
  • Energy & Mineral Law Foundation (Board of Trustees)
  • Harrison County Bar Association
  • Former Director, Harrison County CASA Program, Inc.
  • Former Director, Habitat for Humanity of Harrison County

Achievements

  • Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business – Energy & Natural Resources (2016 – Present)
  • The Best Lawyers in America®, Commercial Litigation (2024-Present), Energy Law (2017-Present), Oil and Gas Law (2024-Present)
  • Best Lawyers® 2021 Morgantown, WV, Energy Law, Lawyer of the Year
  • Who’s Who in Energy, Pittsburgh Business Times, 2017
  • Business Today News: Top 10 Influential Energy & Natural Resources Lawyers in West Virginia, 2023

Speaking Engagements

  • “Carbon Capture and Sequestration: Legal and Drafting Considerations,” IEL/EMLF (September 2022)
  • “Be Careful What You ‘ASSUME’ – Risks Associated with Oil & Gas Contracts,” IEL Transactions Conference (October 2019)
  • “Getting Old and Finding a New Lease on Life,” IEL/EMLF (September 2019)
  • “Appalachian Basin Royalty Litigation Update,” IEL Oil & Gas E-Report (January 2018)
  • “Ohio Dormant Mineral Acts & Ohio Forced Pooling”
  • “Holdouts and Houdinis: Partition Actions, Missing Heir Petitions & Dormant Mineral Acts”
  • “The Future of the U.S. Oil and Gas Industry”
  • “Partition Actions & Missing Heirs”
  • “Farmouts & JOAs”
  • “Employment Law from A to Z, ” CLE Presenter 2006

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