Lance Joiner

Partner

Lance’s practice focuses on advising clients in a variety of upstream and midstream energy matters, including acquisitions and divestitures of producing and nonproducing assets; mineral and leasehold ownership disputes; interpretation and drafting of deeds, oil and gas leases, assignments, and various industry agreements; title curative procedures; pooling; PSA/Allocation Wells; regulatory issues; and negotiation and drafting of geothermal energy leases and carbon sequestration agreements.

He has drafted and reviewed hundreds of title opinions, including acquisition, drilling, division order, and supplemental title opinions. He has managed teams of attorneys working in conjunction with landmen, division order analysts, and in-house counsel to conduct extensive title examination and transactional due diligence.

Lance also counsels clients in the estate planning process, identifying individual goals and preparing wills, trusts, medical directives, HIPAA releases, and powers of attorney tailored to meet client needs and protect their legacies.

Prior to practicing law, Lance earned his B.A. in Government from The University of Texas at Austin and his J.D. from South Texas College of Law. Following law school, he worked as a petroleum landman and as an attorney with two highly recognized Houston-based oil and gas law firms. He is licensed to practice law in Texas, Ohio, and Nebraska, is Board Certified in Oil, Gas, and Mineral Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization, was named a Texas Super Lawyer (2022-2025), and was named a Houstonia Magazine Top Lawyer in Houston (2021).

Presentations / Publications

Carbon Capture Projects: Considerations, Potential Roadblocks, Contractual Provisions, and State Regulatory Oversight, Houston Association of Professional Landmen Technical Workshop (April 2022); American Association of Professional Landmen Southwest Land Institute (August 2022).
Pooling without Pooling: The History of PSA and Allocation Wells in Texas, Section Report of the Oil, Gas & Energy Resources Law Section of the State Bar of Texas (November 2021).
To Pool or Not to Pool: The Path to PSA and Allocation Wells, Houston Association of Division Order Analysts Luncheon at the Petroleum Club of Houston (August 2021).
Oil and Gas Deed Interpretation, Houston Association of Division Order Analysts Luncheon at the Petroleum Club of Houston (October 2018); Permian Basin Association of Division Order Analysts Spring Seminar (April 2019); Permian Basin Landmen’s Association Spring Education Seminar (April 2021).
Yours, Mine, and Ours – Operating Agreements and the Parties they Govern, Operating Agreements in Oil and Gas, Half Moon Education (October 2015).
The Inherent Ambiguity of Instrument Interpretation or – How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Not Being Omniscient, State Bar of Texas Continuing Legal Education Seminar (August 2012).
Clarifying the Parties’ Intent – Grains of Clarity in a Desert of Interpretive Confusion, State Bar of Texas Continuing Legal Education Seminar (November 2010).