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Whether Buyer or Seller: Heed This WARNing

Certain New York Retailers Must Now Establish Workplace Violence Prevention Programs

Prior to law school, Alex worked with Credit Suisse, a Switzerland-based investment bank. During his tenure, he was involved in securities trading that occurred after the Macondo well blowout, which gave Alex insight into the corporate and financial aspects of issues affecting energy clients.

core/freeform

J.D., University of Wyoming College of Law, 2013, 

B.A., Economics, Harvard University, 2008, 

<ul>
<li>Chambers USA: Energy &amp; Natural Resources Litigation (2023)
<ul>
<li>Up and Coming (2023)</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>C-Suite Spotlight: Top 100 Lawyers of 2022</li>
<li>The Best Lawyers in America® (2021 to 2024)
<ul>
<li>“Ones to Watch” Colorado: Commercial Litigation</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Law Week Colorado: Up and Coming Lawyer (2018)</li>
</ul>

Denver

Alex Obrecht, John Lehrer, James Perry to speak at 6th Annual UHLC/DLW International Energy Tax Conference and 24th Annual HBTLI Symposium

Webinar: What’s Next in Washington? Federal Energy Permitting Reform Update

Chambers USA Guide 2023 Honors 147 BakerHostetler Attorneys and Recognizes 64 Practice Areas

Private Oil and Gas Royalty Obligations: High-Dollar Disputes Impacting Producers

Fourth Circuit Decides West Virginia Royalty Case

BakerHostetler Elevates 23 Attorneys to Firm Partnership

Alex Obrecht Presents to Colorado Bar on Federal Oil and Gas Leasing Issues

Hundreds of BakerHostetler Attorneys Honored as 2023 Best Lawyers, Ones to Watch and Lawyers of the Year

Pillar and Post

Swimming Upstream Part II: New Incident and Annual Reporting Requirements for Rural Gas Gathering Lines

Alex Obrecht Co-Authors Paper on Oil Well Plugging and Abandonment Costs

Swimming Upstream: PHMSA Extends Reporting and Safety Regulations for Onshore Gas Gathering Lines

Alexander Obrecht Speaks at Energy Law and Politics Conference

191 BakerHostetler Attorneys Named in 2022 “Best Lawyers” List; 10 Recognized as “Lawyer of the Year”

Alex Obrecht and Poe Leggette Co-Author Article on High-Stakes Royalty Litigation

Alex Obrecht Discusses Effects of Federal Oil and Gas Regulation on Public Land Development

Alex Obrecht Authors Paper on Incidental Take Permit Program

Obrecht Authors “Energy Policy Act of 2005: Pseudo-Fed for Transmission Congestion”

Industries

Energy

Commercial Litigation

Litigation

Environmental

Energy Litigation

<h5>Trade Associations</h5>
<ul>
<li>Secured a nationwide preliminary injunction and merits order invalidating the Bureau of Land Management&#8217;s hydraulic fracturing regulations on federal and Indian lands. Successfully defended the subsequent administration&#8217;s recission of the regulations.
<ul>
<li>Order Granting Preliminary Injunction: Wyoming v. U.S. Department of the Interior, 136 F. Supp. 3d 1317 (D. Wyo. 2015)</li>
<li>Order Setting Aside Regulations: Wyoming v. U.S. Department of the Interior, 2016 WL 3509415 (D. Wyo. June 21, 2016)</li>
<li>Order Upholding Recission of Regulations: California v. Bureau of Land Management, 612 F. Supp 3d 925 (N.D. Cali. 2020)</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Counsel to a national oil and gas trade association in a challenge to the Bureau of Land Management’s compliance with its oil and gas lease sale obligation under the Mineral Leasing Act; defeated a motion to intervene by special interest groups.</li>
<li>Counsel to a national agricultural trade association involved in efforts to review and prepare comments to Environmental Protection Agency&#8217;s and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers&#8217; proposed rulemaking related to the Clean Water Act&#8217;s definition of the &#8220;Waters of the United States.&#8221;</li>
<li>Routinely assist trade associations (and individual companies) with developing comments for regulatory proposals and approvals that impact energy development.</li>
</ul>
<h5>Independent Oil and Gas Companies</h5>
<ul>
<li>Obtained dismissal of environmental plaintiff groups’ various challenges to over 400 applications for permit to drill for lack of standing. Defeated a preliminary injunction that threatened to stop all development for an oil and gas project that covered an area the size of Delaware.
<ul>
<li>Powder River Basin Res. Council v. U.S. Dep’t of the Interior, 2023 WL 7298815 (D.D.C. Nov. 6, 2023).</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Overturned administrative decision for the Director of the Natural Resources Revenue on summary judgment, which denied oil and gas producer royalty allowances based on an arbitrary and capricious application of the valuation regulations.
<ul>
<li>Ovintiv USA, Inc. v. Haaland, 665 F. Supp. 3d 59 (D.D.C. 2023).</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Obtained full dismissal of fraud, breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duties and dissolution claims on behalf of family oil and gas business and its general partner after 12-day arbitration and obtained an order for more than $1,100,000 in attorney fees.</li>
<li>Obtained $3,300,000 judgment after five-day court trial on counterclaim for oil and gas producer and defeated $13,000,000 affirmative damages claim from midstream company in dispute related to whether the producer used reasonable commercial efforts to deliver natural gas.</li>
<li>Defeated $30,000,000 fraud and antitrust claims after eight-day jury trial related to oil and gas producer’s leasing practices and subsequent transaction and prevailed on a counterclaim that entitled the client to over $1,500,000 in attorney fees.</li>
<li>Secured summary judgment and affirmance on appeal for an independent oil and gas company in an antitrust suit related to natural gas development from coal bed methane deposits in the Rocky Mountains.
<ul>
<li>Order Granting Summary Judgment: Buccaneer Energy (USA) Inc. v. Gunnison Energy Corp., No. 12-cv-01618-RPM, 2015 WL 5655519 (D. Colo. Sept. 25, 2015)</li>
<li>Tenth Circuit Affirmance: Buccaneer Energy (USA) Inc. v. Gunnison Energy Corp., 846 F.3d 1297 (10th Cir. 2017)</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Obtained reversal on appeal of an unfavorable district court order obtained by previous counsel for independent oil and gas company in federal royalty litigation.
<ul>
<li>District of Columbia Circuit Reversal: Continental Resources, Inc. v. Jewell, 846 F.3d 1232 (D.C. Cir. 2017)</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Obtained novel mandamus relief for independent oil and gas company because of the Bureau of Land Management’s failure to issue oil and gas drilling permits and to comply with the agency’s obligations under the Mineral Leasing Act. Successfully implemented similar lawsuits to obtain drilling permits that have been withheld contrary to the Mineral Leasing Act.
<ul>
<li>Order Granting Motion for Mandamus Relief: EnerVest, Ltd v. Jewell, 2016 WL 7496116 (D. Utah Dec. 30, 2016)</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Routinely assist with administrative challenges to Bureau of Land Management decisions and orders through the State Director Review process and appeal to the Interior Board of Land Appeals. These challenges have resulted in the agency staying and overturning multiple decisions that were onerous to the clients’ business or otherwise an arbitrary and capricious application of the governing regulations.</li>
<li>Routinely assist with audits from the Office of Natural Resources Revenue and resulting administrative challenges to orders and decisions through review by the Director of the Office of Natural Resources Revenue, the Interior Board of Land Appeals and federal court.</li>
<li>Member of a defense team for an independent oil and gas company in ongoing Department of Justice civil investigation pursuant to the False Claims Act for allegedly underpaid royalties on natural gas.</li>
</ul>
<h5>Hazardous Materials</h5>
<ul>
<li>Counsel to a midstream client developing a compliance plan with hazardous materials regulations for crude oil transportation.</li>
<li>Routinely assist upstream and midstream oil and gas clients with assessing potential penalties for hazardous materials releases and administrative or judicial challenges to resulting orders.</li>
<li>Counsel to an oil and gas wastewater treatment company.</li>
</ul>

Alexander K. Obrecht

Alexander K. Obrecht

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