Dallas lawyer Bryan L. Clark, who was Pioneer Natural Resources’ primary marketing and midstream counsel, has joined Bracewell as a partner in the firm’s oil and gas and energy transition practice groups.
Clark also served as lead counsel on energy transition matters, including wind and solar development, for Pioneer, which was acquired by ExxonMobil Corporation last year.
“Bryan has been a Bracewell client for a number of years,” JJ McAnelly III, co-chair of Bracewell’s oil and gas practice, said in the firm’s announcement. “His experience with unregulated, day-to-day midstream contracts, including processing, gathering, interconnections and blending agreements, brings additional depth to our market-leading oil and gas practice.”
Clark joined Pioneer in 2012 as senior counsel and, after two promotions, became managing associate general counsel in 2022. The SMU Dedman School of Law graduate began his career with the Office of the Texas Attorney General, served as an attorney advisor with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, and worked as an associate at Morgan Lewis in Washington, D.C. prior to Pioneer.
As managing associate counsel, Clark advised the board of directors, executive management, and senior officers on matters involving complex commercial transactions, mergers, acquisitions and divestitures, federal and state energy regulations, and litigation. Clark was also involved with Pioneer’s continuing efforts to electrify its production activities through engagement with the Public Utility Commission of Texas and several investor-owned utilities.
In a LinkedIn post about his last day at Pioneer, Clark described his tenure as a “transformative chapter” in his career.
“Working alongside a visionary executive and management team, I had the privilege to provide legal counsel for projects that shaped innovative strategies in the oil and gas industry. The relationships forged at Pioneer, both within the company and with our counterparties, have been invaluable. Many of these relationships are lasting friendships, enriching my professional experience. As ExxonMobil Corporation takes the reins of Pioneer’s Permian Basin assets, I am confident that the world will witness the excellence that defines this premier global oil and gas production basin,” he wrote.