BakerHostetler has announced that L. Poe Leggette, a renowned energy attorney, has joined the firm in its Denver office. Leggette will serve as partner with the firm and will perform as co-chair of BakerHostetler’s energy practice, as well as its national shale team. Leggette previously worked at Norton Rose Fulbright as partner-in-charge of the Denver and Pittsburgh offices, and served as regional head for the Americas energy practice, according to a press release from the firm.
Ray Whitman, Chair of BakerHostetler’s litigation practice, is enthusiastic about Leggette’s joining the firm: “As the energy sector continues to grow in importance and shale development makes an increasing impact on America’s energy profile, the addition of someone with Poe’s deep knowledge and experience becomes a real differentiator for us…Oil and gas development inevitably brings with it a host of complex litigation, regulatory challenges, and policy changes. Poe has represented the world’s leading energy products and trade associations before state and federal courts as well as the most powerful regulators and we look for him to make significant contributions to our entire energy practice moving forward.â€
Leggette’s focus has revolved around the energy sector in both his private practice and his public sector work. He spent more than 10 years with the U.S. Department of the Interior, where he served as Assistant Solicitor. He advised the Bureau of Land Management and Mineral Management Service on both onshore and offshore energy programs. He has authored and co-authored briefs in federal courts on outer continental shelf issues. Two such briefs obtained Supreme Court reversals of unfavorable Ninth Circuit decisions. Leggette has litigated cases on behalf of energy clients at the trial, appellate, and Supreme Court levels. He has a wealth of knowledge on the National Environmental Policy Act, the Endangered Species Act, the Coastal Zone Management Act, the National Historic Preservation Act, the Marine Mammal Protection Act, the Federal Land Policy and Management Act, the Mineral Leasing Act, the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, the National Forest Management Act, and Indian mineral development statutes, according to the press release.
Currently, Leggette’s active litigation and deal work focuses on onshore shale plays, the operation of oil and gas companies on federal and Indian lands, and companies operating under federal leases in the Gulf of Mexico.
Raymond Sutton, Jr., Managing Partner of Baker Hostetler’s Denver office, remarked, “The arrival of Poe Leggette is a boon to the Denver office and exemplifies the growing importance of the energy practice and BakerHostetler’s position as a top-tier energy counsel in the western U.S. as well as nationally…hydraulic fracturing has been a hot-button issue in Colorado and in many other regions where the firm has offices. We are thrilled to have one of the nation’s foremost authorities on shale and offshore energy development as part of our team.â€
Leggette states that the United States has become a net energy exporter for the first time due to its production surge in shale gas. “BakerHostetler has been at the forefront of this change and has built a reputation as a go-to law firm for energy-related matters. This is a momentous time for the energy industry and I’m very happy to join such an esteemed practice and look forward to helping expand our base as the industry continues to evolve.â€
BakerHostetler is one of the first national law firms to create a dedicated shale practice. Its energy practice manages transactions for its clients such as financings, land acquisitions, exploration and drilling, and production distribution.
Leggette is nationally recognized as a leading energy attorney. He is ranked in Chambers USA, Chambers Global, Legal 500, and The Best Lawyers in America©.