© 2016 The Texas Lawbook.
By Brooks Igo
(Jan. 3) – Prominent Austin trial lawyer Shannon Ratliff is combining forces with energy-law boutique Davis, Gerald & Cremer (DGC), the firm announced yesterday.
The Midland-based oil and gas law firm, which now has 21 lawyers, is also adding Ratliff’s colleague Lisa Paulson.
“Shannon loves to practice law,” said Jad Davis, managing shareholder of DGC. “You can see it in his eyes.”
DGC primarily represents upstream oil and gas producing companies. The firm currently has five or six cases before the Supreme Court of Texas, Davis says, including representing Chesapeake Energy and Occidental Petroleum.
He says the unanswered legal questions brought on by the changes in technology in the oil and gas industry was a major motivator to add quality trial talent to the firm.
“We thought we needed a deeper bench to represent our clients better,” he said. “We are going to Austin to better serve our Permian Basin clients. We want the highest level of representation for our clients at the State Capitol.”
Davis says the firm anticipates making another high-profile addition by the end of the month. He added that they are looking for railroad commission lawyers as well.
Ratliff and Paulson join appellate attorney Ryan Clinton and title attorney Lauren Shapiro in DGC’s Austin office.
“I’ve known Jad for a long time and always thought he was a hell of a trial lawyer,” Ratliff said. “We are excited because [the move] gives me a potential shot to work on more cases in West Texas in the Midland Basin.
“We added it up and two plus two was more than four.”
A past winner of the Texas Bar Foundation’s Outstanding Trial Lawyer Award, Ratliff has argued more than 50 cases at the Texas Supreme Court over his 50-plus-year legal career. He is currently representing ExxonMobil in a case that is pending an opinion at the state’s highest court.
Ratliff, who served as an assistant to President Lyndon Baines Johnson and clerked for U.S. Supreme Court Justice Tom Clark, says the practice of law has changed considerably since he first began, but it remains “fun and mentally challenging.”
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