Jim Strawn started his legal career as an oil and gas administrative judge right out of law school, presiding over hundreds of hearings involving geology, engineering, land, well design, class two permitting, well operations, and environmental issues. He spent the next twenty years working as an in-house attorney for Conoco and Pennzoil’s E&P company. At Conoco and Pennzoil, he was fortunate to have mentorship from seasoned professionals in the oil and gas business.

Following Devon’s acquisition of Pennzoil, Jim helped create and manage Devon’s legal department as Associate General Counsel, where he worked closely with management during the company’s period of tenfold growth. After Devon, Jim worked for “big law,” handling oil, gas, and renewables transactions, including carbon sequestration, solar, and deep well geothermal.

Jim is passionate about the “ole business” and knows it from the prospect identification stage to the burner tip.  Jim has experience handling oil and gas issues, claims, contracts, and transactions in every oil and gas-producing state and several countries.  

After ten years, Jim recently left Big Law to join R. Reese & Associates, where, under its in-house model, he can use his entire range of experience to help clients reach their goals in the business he loves. You won’t find many attorneys in big law who can read well logs or know what a Darcy, key seat, or salt scrape are.

Jim enjoys sharing his knowledge and experience in teaching classes and presenting to oil and gas land and legal audiences. He has published articles in bar journals and testified in court as an oil and gas transaction expert.

Aside from the oil and gas business, Jim’s hobbies include remodeling homes, trimming carpentry, creating furniture, composing music on his piano, and playing competitive ice hockey.