© 2013 The Texas Lawbook.
By Brooks Igo
Staff Writer for The Texas Lawbook
Energy lawyer Jeff Weems has joined Houston-based Porter Hedges as a partner in its litigation practice group. He left Houston-based Harrison Bettis Staff McFarland LLP, where he had been since 2008.
“My clients needed a full service platform,” he said. “I have good lifetime friends at Harrison Bettis, but the firm was just focused on litigation.”
The move comes nearly three months after Porter Hedges added litigator William Scott Matney from Hunton & Williams. The 32-year-old firm has close to 100 lawyers now.
While at Harrison Bettis, Weems ran as the Democratic candidate for Texas Railroad Commissioner in 2010 and lost to Republican Tom Porter despite being endorsed by every newspaper in the state—except for the Midland Reporter-Telegram. In case you were wondering, he said he’s not running again.
“I had a great time when I ran,” he said. “It was a huge educational opportunity and I checked it off my bucket list.”
Weems, a University of Texas School of Law graduate, said the biggest challenge facing his clients in the year ahead is raising the level of public awareness about the facts and science behind the expansion of drilling and production in the shale plays in Texas and elsewhere.
“The drilling is occurring in areas where people don’t have a good understanding of what is going on; this lack of understanding has caused fear and misconceptions,” he said. “This situation creates an unnecessary cost and operational burden.”
It’s a challenge and cost he said his clients don’t have to worry about with him—Weems paid for his undergraduate education by working on oil rigs. He later worked as a landman before becoming a lawyer.
“My experience does help with clients because they have to spend zero dollars on getting me up to speed on a case,” the third generation oil man said. “It also helps in presenting your case—if a trial lawyer is very comfortable with the concepts of drilling or production activities, he can communicate and become the teacher. You want to be the one teaching the jury.”
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