Despite turmoil in the oil industry from plummeting oil prices, law firm energy partners remain bullish about their prospects for the year ahead. “We’ve seen price collapses before, and we’re well placed to handle them,” says Buddy Clark, head of the energy practice at Haynes and Boone. “As we say here in Texas, this is not our first rodeo.” Ten energy lawyers interviewed for this article said they expect the likely reduction in upstream project work to be offset by an increase in disputes, restructuring and distressed M&A.
Firms may soon find themselves facing increased fee pressure from oil sector clients, however, with in-house counsel at two U.S. oil companies saying that they plan to slash their external legal spend by as much as 30 percent.
