Gregory Russell

Practice Areas

Greg is a partner in the Columbus office and leads the firm’s energy group, one of the most experienced energy state and national practices in the Midwest. For more than 25 years, he has been advising producers and pipeline operators in Ohio on business and regulatory matters, ranging from asset transactions, to unit operations and development, to leasehold and royalty disputes. Greg's practice frequently involves appearing before state and federal courts and regulatory agencies.

Work Highlights

Serving as trial counsel for the first modern unitization application proceeding under R.C. 1509.28; and successfully defending statutory unit orders against claims that they constitute unconstitutional takings of private property and violate private lease rights;

Representing oil and gas producers in multimillion-dollar asset transactions, including the negotiation of related purchase and sale, participation and joint operating agreements;

Counseling clients on the calculation of oil and gas royalties, including the ability and advisability of allocating post-production costs to royalty owners under common lease royalty provisions and market-enhancement clauses;

Representing oil and gas producers and industry participants in litigation matters involving issues of first impression in Ohio, including whether off-lease operations preliminary to drilling and unit formation will maintain a lease into its secondary term and what constitutes bad-faith pooling and bad-faith mineral trespass under Ohio law.