DO NOT PAY ANYONE TO DO WHAT YOU CAN DO YOURSELF FOR FREE!!!
My comments have been misinterpreted by one individual (or more). So my message does not get lost, please consider the following: I am an attorney, but I am not giving you LEGAL advice. I will not represent anyone so please don't ask. I am simply giving my PERSONAL opinion as the 1st amendment to the U.S. Constitution allows me to do.
I am tired of seeing new sites pop up offering to negotiate, draft, advise, etc., folks on their mineral rights, leases, and tax implications. YOU PROBABLY DO NOT NEED TO PAY ANYONE TO HANDLE YOUR MINERAL LEASING ISSUES unless you are a large landowner, complicated title to land issues, or other "unusual" facts are at issue. People don't hire attorneys to negotiate the terms of their mortgages, or credit card agreements, or car leases. There are many complicated legal documents we all sign often without the benefit of an attorney's counsel. There are numerous sites "popping up" which provide accurate information about mineral leasing and mineral rights. It will take some time, but if you read the materials, you probably can grasp the issues relevant to your situation. If you don't feel comfortable after "educating" yourself in the area of LA mineral law and leasing, then seek advice of counsel. If you work long hours and then have kids at home and other obligations that make research impossible, then perhaps an attorney should be consulted.
HOWEVER, BEFORE HIRING AN ATTORNE, CONSIDER JOINING A "NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION!" I, for example, belong to NorthPark Estates Neighborhood Association. We are landowners who are taking our collective knowledge and expertise and helping each other free of charge to the members. If the association has knowledgeable members, then you don't need to hire an attorney. Just about every neighborhood in Shreveport and Bossier has formed an "association." If you have this option, it doesn't make financial sense to pay for services that you can obtain for free through your "association."
If you must pay someone to handle your mineral lease negotiations, don't pay 2-4%. In my opinion, such a fee is unreasonable. You should pay NO MORE THAN 1%, especially if there is a large group retaining the services of an expert. If you can't get your expert to accept a 1% fee, go to the next person until you find someone who will.
Let me make myself even more clear, if there are complicated legal issues involved, like trusts, you should consider an attorney. If you find yourself in litigation, you definitely need to hire an attorney. If you have a 1/3, 1/2 or 1/4 of an acre, then the costs of an attorney and CPA may be cost prohibitive.
I am tired of seeing new sites pop up offering to negotiate, draft, advise, etc., folks on their mineral rights, leases, and tax implications. YOU PROBABLY DO NOT NEED TO PAY ANYONE TO HANDLE YOUR MINERAL LEASING ISSUES unless you are a large landowner, complicated title to land issues, or other "unusual" facts are at issue. People don't hire attorneys to negotiate the terms of their mortgages, or credit card agreements, or car leases. There are many complicated legal documents we all sign often without the benefit of an attorney's counsel. There are numerous sites "popping up" which provide accurate information about mineral leasing and mineral rights. It will take some time, but if you read the materials, you probably can grasp the issues relevant to your situation. If you don't feel comfortable after "educating" yourself in the area of LA mineral law and leasing, then seek advice of counsel. If you work long hours and then have kids at home and other obligations that make research impossible, then perhaps an attorney should be consulted.
HOWEVER, BEFORE HIRING AN ATTORNE, CONSIDER JOINING A "NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION!" I, for example, belong to NorthPark Estates Neighborhood Association. We are landowners who are taking our collective knowledge and expertise and helping each other free of charge to the members. If the association has knowledgeable members, then you don't need to hire an attorney. Just about every neighborhood in Shreveport and Bossier has formed an "association." If you have this option, it doesn't make financial sense to pay for services that you can obtain for free through your "association."
If you must pay someone to handle your mineral lease negotiations, don't pay 2-4%. In my opinion, such a fee is unreasonable. You should pay NO MORE THAN 1%, especially if there is a large group retaining the services of an expert. If you can't get your expert to accept a 1% fee, go to the next person until you find someone who will.
Let me make myself even more clear, if there are complicated legal issues involved, like trusts, you should consider an attorney. If you find yourself in litigation, you definitely need to hire an attorney. If you have a 1/3, 1/2 or 1/4 of an acre, then the costs of an attorney and CPA may be cost prohibitive.
Views: 254
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Johnyd on
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Ambulance Chaser, I love those guys Who is it "The Heavy weight" Or "The Man with that Hat"?
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Permalink Reply by OilPro on
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Sorry, Mr. Visconte, but I don't agree with you. My family has been leasing our property in South Louisiana since O&G came into that area, and even now we wouldn't dare go into a new lease without an attorney. Mind you, I'm not talking about using an attorney who was specializing in divorces, probates, or personal injuries until just recently--I'm talking about using an experienced O&G attorney.
Of course, we don't pay a %, I don't know a single experienced O&G attorney who works that way. We pay an annual retainer and an hourly fee. We pay a bonus on a new lease if it is over a predetermined amount. Over the years we've paid the attorneys millions of dollars, true, but we've made hundreds of millions of dollars, so I think the investment has been worth it.
Our situation is perhaps a bit more difficult than most of the HS landowners because we hold the minerals on hundreds of acres of land, some of which has been sold with the minerals retained, the property has been held in a family trust for generations there are quite a few owners many who no longer live in the area, and there are residential and agricultural concerns operating on some of the acreage also. It's the attorney's job to make sure that the lease contains terms that protect our residences, the residences of those who have purchased land from us to build their homes, our agricultural operations, and our reserved minerals. For instance, the attorney follows the drilling to make sure that we don't lose any of the reserved minerals. They follow the industry, attend the various hearings, and did the exhaustive research some 30 years ago to prove to the State of Louisiana that we did, indeed, own this land when Louisiana was questioning the ownership of some Spanish Land Grant properties.
I'd say it's been money well spent.
(And yes, before I sign a lease for my HS property, I'll have that same O&G attorney in South Louisiana look at it. I'll have to pay him an additional fee, since my HS property isn't covered by the annual retainer that the trust pays him, and I'll be happy to write the check.)
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Permalink Reply by Jaybird on
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Nicely put Oilpro. We have 255 acres and it is time to use a lawyer that knows the business.
Jaybird
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Permalink Reply by W T Visconte on
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Fair enough. I agree your situation definitely warrants O & G. Some attorneys will accept a % for drafting and negotiating a mineral lease when the mineral owner does not have the means to pay in $. I should have qualified that I was talking about the "average joe" who doesn't have a great deal of land. If a person has a 1/4 or 1/2 acre, they should look at a cost/benefit analysis of whether retaining an attorney, CPA, petroleum engineer, or whatever is worth the cost.
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Permalink Reply by Bobi Carr ("parker") on -
Would you also like to give us the name of said attorney?
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Permalink Reply by Cathy Moffett on
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If the people who signed up around 6-8 months ago for $100-300 an acre would have checked matters out, they would not be stuck with such small bonuses and be mad at their neighbors for getting thousands an acre. A person who represents themselves when they have no expertise in that area has a fool for a client.
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Permalink Reply by Snake Stewart on
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Would it be safe to say , that an attorney that is seeking you out and asking for a % of your royalties ,for the rest of your lives , should be listed in Martindale Hubbell as possessing expertise in oil , gas and mineral rights. If we don't have expertise in O&G matters then we probably don't have expertise in choosing proper representation either.
I believe the original phrase which you speak of states that ... An attorney that represents himself has a fool for a client.
I hope non of the thousands that frequent this site daily, that are refusing to give up millions on overpaid representation were offended by my dear cousins sentiment.
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Snake makes an excellent point. If you are going to consult with an O & G attorney, find one at Martindale Hubbell's web site that specifies O & G as an area of practice. If you want the best possible representation, make sure the attorney is "AV" rated. This means they have been rated as having the highest legal capabilities by their peer attorneys.
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Permalink Reply by CMI A1 on
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I know many, many people who will be offended by your comments, especially the "fool" part.
You were only at the Doyline High School meeting a few minutes when you offended many people by displaying all of your ties and love to Doyline. Only to sit down and make way for your employer to propose the worst Haynesville Shale % deal in the history of Doyline seeking millions from the Webster Parish citizens.
You just joined this site yesterday, and in one day you have successfully offended thousands.
This seems to be an unfortunate trend for you. Best of luck in the future.
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Permalink Reply by Bobi Carr ("parker") on
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Don't believe for one minute that just because we leased for these amounts that we did not consult an attorney.
Just because you have the benefit of knowledge that we did not possess at the time, don't make us out to be fools. You do not understand the facts.
It is easy to say you would have done this or that, because you obviously have the benefit of disclosure that we did not experience. Many of us asked plenty of pertinent questions and were given misleading information.
I DON'T KNOW OF ANYONE WHO IS MAD AT THEIR NEIGHBORS FOR GETTING MORE THAN THEM. I AM TRYING TO HELP MY NEIGHBORS GET MORE.
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Permalink Reply by CR on
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I do. Some of my neighbors got hoodwinked 3 years ago for a 5 year lease at $100 and acre and 1/6 royalty. No one had ever heard of the Haynesville Shale back then and they are certainly not to blame for the deal they got. Some of them are now very bitter that the rest of us that didn't sign are getting what everyone else is at this time. Some have even tried talking people out of our group. We have not alienated them in any way and have included them in our meetings also. I guess misery loves company.
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