West Virginia Surface Owners' Rights Organization

Lawyers and Experts for Surface Owners


Lawyers

Surface owners and small mineral owners often want a lawyer to give them general advice, to help them comment on an oil and gas well drilling permit application, to sue an oil and gas driller/company regarding surface damage or owner rights or for help with royalty problems or other conflicts with oil and gas companies. 

We are providing this list because lawyers can be hard to find who have some knowledge of this field, but who do not already represent so many oil and gas companies that they are or feel conflicted from representing surface owners.

Lawyers on this list have advised us of the kind of cases they will take and the counties in which they will work.  We do not make any warranty that they are good lawyers, but we would not put them on if we heard they were bad lawyers.

You may have to pay money up front for a lawyer to give you advice or to sue somebody for you.  That is becuase these may not be the kind of cases in which the lawyer can count on getting paid by taking a percentage of the damages you win.

If you find a lawyer who is very helpful who is not on this list, please let WV SORO know.  If you are reading this and you are a lawyer and want on the list, or want your information changed, please contact WV SORO.

Firm or lawyer: Atkins and Atkins PLLC
Types of cases: Damages to land.
Office location: Kanawha County
Counties go to: Boone, Clay, Fayette, Jackson, Kanawha, Lincoln, Nicholas, Putnam, and Raleigh.
Address:   

1335 Virginia Street East
Charleston, WV 25301

Phone: 304-346-0318
E-mail: doug.atkinslaw@charter.net

Firm or lawyer: Joel Baker at Cook and Cook
Types of cases: • General advice
• Assistance in commenting on well drilling permit applications
• Damages to land etc.
• Other conflicts with oil and gas companies.
Office location: Madison
Counties go to: Boone, Lincoln, Logan
Address: PO Box 190
Madison, WV 25130
Phone: Work: 304-369-0110
Alternate: 304-784-9261
Fax: 304-369-6800
E-mail: jbaker@cookandcook.com
   

Firm or lawyer: Rod Berry
Types of cases: General Advice
Property damage and loss of water
Coal bed methane claims
Office location: Marshall County
Counties go to: WV and PA
Address: 514 Seventh St.
Moundsville, WV 26041
Phone: (304) 845-2580
   

Firm or lawyer: Loren B. Howley
Types of cases: • General advice
• Assistance in commenting on well drilling permit applications
• Damages to land etc.
• Other conflicts with oil and gas companies.
Office location: Calhoun County
Counties go to: Braxton, Calhoun, Clay, Gilmer, Ritchie, Roane and Wirt.
Address: P.O. Box 580
Grantsville, WV  26147
Phone (fax): 304-354-7037 (304-354-6045)
E-mail: howleylaw@frontiernet.net
   

Firm or lawyer:

Bradley H. Thompson, Attorney-at-Law
Cassidy, Myers, Cogan & Voegelin, LLC

Types of cases:

Will give free consult to mineral owner receiving royalties on how to read their royalty check/documents and whether they are   getting proper payments.

Office location: Wheeling
Counties go to: Statewide.  Not necessary to come to office.  See type of case above.
Address: 1413 Eoff St., Suite 300                                
Wheeling, WV   26003
Phone (fax): 800-592-9870
E-mail: bht@cmcvlaw.com
   

Firm or lawyer: Christopher J. Winton, Esq.
Types of cases: General advice
Termination, abandonment, and forfeiture of leases
Easements or right of way disputes
Office location: Kanawha County
Counties go to: Statewide WV
Address: RAY, WINTON & KELLEY, PLLC
109 Capitol Street, Suite 700
Charleston, West Virginia 25301
Phone: (304) 342-1141
   

Experts

Algrow Management Co., Inc.
Bill Bleckley, Consulting Forester
Cell# 412-848-7264
Email: wwpb@aol.com

  1. gas well site timber damage appraisals
  2. log and timber sales
  3. general forest management services

 

1500 Dixie Street, Charleston, West Virginia 25311
304-346-5891    Fax 304-346-8981