Oil & Gas Law Conference 2026

overview faculty related courses This program is eligible for 6 hours of CLE credit in 60-minute states. In 50-minute states, this program is eligible for 7.2 hours of CLE credit. Credit hours are estimated and are subject to each state’s approval and credit rounding rules. Overview Coming this November, join PBI for our 2026 Oil & Gas Law Conference, where we offer a progressive meeting ground for legal leaders in the oil and gas industry. Participate in engaging discussions ranging from recent legislative and case law developments to the technological advancements, practices, and trends that are shaping the industry. This is the event that will transform your practice. Why is this the conference for you? We focus on Pennsylvania practice – your practice! The course line-up is designed with you in mind –the topics zero into your practice The speakers are known names—hear from the state’s leading O&G practitioners The materials compliment and expand upon the topics—you’ll refer to them day after day Catch up on the latest developments in legal and regulatory practice: Explore, debate and strategize on the hottest issues facing the shale energy practice today. Topics include: Oil & Gas Case Law: Emerging Trends and Key Takeaways The Tax Side of Oil & Gas: Landowners, Operators & Emerging Issues Fifteen Years After Jedlicka: Production in Paying Quantities in Practice Inside the DEP: New SOPs, NOV Processing & Enforcement Trends Subsurface Title Questions in Roads, Rivers, Lakes & Rail Corridors Smart Tools, Serious Duties: Ethical Issues in AI-Assisted Legal Practice Special thanks to our exceptional planning team members: Robert J. Burnett, Esq., Houston Harbaugh PC John R. Dixon, Esq., Saul Ewing Arnstein & Lehr LLP Heather A. Hurst, Esq., EQT Corporation Lauren R. John, Esq., Range Resources-Appalachia LLC Matthew L. Wolford, Esq., Wolford Law Firm Co-sponsored with the PBA Environmental & Energy Law Section. Faculty Matthew L. Wolford, Esq. Matthew L. Wolford, Esq. Mr. Wolford maintains a solo practice, Wolford Law, in Erie. Before going into private practice, he served as Regional Counsel and as an Assistant Counsel for the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), Northwest Region. Before joining the DEP, Mr. Wolford served as a prosecutor for the Office of Attorney General (OAG), Environmental Crimes Section and also as a civil litigation attorney for the OAG’s Torts Litigation Section. He was also a special prosecutor of environmental crimes for both the OAG and the United States Attorney for the Western District of Pennsylvania. Mr. Wolford is currently a member of the Pennsylvania Environmental Hearing Board Rules Committee and the State Water Plan Statewide and Great Lakes Committees. He is also a member of the Pennsylvania Bar Association’s Environmental and Energy Law Section, a Past Chair of the Section Council, the current Chair of the Section’s Programs and Publications Committee, and previously served as a contributing feature editor for the Section’s newsletter. He has lectured for the Pennsylvania Bar Institute, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (National Enforcement Training Institute), the DEP, the Erie County Bar Association, Pennsylvania’s minor judiciary, and various other organizations. Mr. Wolford received his undergraduate degree from the Pennsylvania State University and his J.D. from the Temple University School of Law, and is a member of the Erie County and Pennsylvania Bar Associations. Lauren R. John, Esq. Lauren R. John, Esq. Lauren John is Senior Counsel at Range Resources in Canonsburg. Prior to this position, she was in both private practice and in-house at a private equity-backed natural gas producer. She is a graduate of the Thomas R. Kline School of Law, Duquesne University, J.D., and The Pennsylvania State University, B. A., Advertising and Public Relations and B.A., International Politics. Ms. John is a member of the Pennsylvania Bar Association and the Pittsburgh chapter of the Womens Energy Network. John R. Dixon, Esq. John R. Dixon, Esq. Mr. Dixon is an associate at Saul Ewing LLP, where he represents clients in matters involving environmental regulation and litigation, including government enforcement proceedings. He helps companies navigate federal and state environmental agencies in their effort to obtain permits to build projects that are regulated by the government or require considerations involving impacts to the environment. Mr. Dixon formerly served as assistant counsel to the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), where he counseled several DEP programs and represented DEP in litigation proceedings. He also served as assistant counsel to the Honorable Richard P. Mather, Sr., of the Pennsylvania Environmental Hearing Board (EHB). In that capacity, he counseled the EHB on complex environmental laws and regulations, assisted the judges in hearings, and drafted opinions and adjudications. Mr. Dixon received his BA, with high distinction, from the Pennsylvania State University, and his JD from Widener University Commonwealth School of Law. Robert J. Burnett, Esq. Robert J. Burnett, Esq. Mr. Burnett is a director with Pittsburgh law firm Houston Harbaugh, P.C.; his practice is exclusively devoted to the representation of landowners and royalty owners in oil and gas matters. He is the Chair of the Firm’s Oil and Gas Practice Group and represents landowners and royalty owners in a wide array of oil and gas matters throughout the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. He assists landowners and royalty owners in the negotiation of new oil and gas leases as well as modifications to existing leases. He also negotiates surface use agreements and pipeline right-of-way agreements on behalf of landowners. He also advises and counsels clients on complex lease development and expiration issues, including the impact and effect of delay rental and shut-in clauses, as well as the implied covenants to develop and market oil and gas. He also represents landowners and royalty owners in disputes arising out of the calculation of production royalties and the deduction of post-production costs. Mr. Burnett also assists landowners with oil and gas title issues and develops strategies to resolve and cure such title deficiencies. A prolific author and speaker on numerous oil and gas topics, he is a frequent lecturer at Pennsylvania Bar Institute oil and gas programs and currently serves on the Pennsylvania Bar Institute’s “Oil and Gas Law Advisory Committee.” He is also a contributing author of The Law of Oil and Gas in Pennsylvania (1st Ed. 2014), published by the Pennsylvania Bar Institute, and is a member of the Executive Committee of the Pennsylvania Bar Institute’s premier oil and gas law program, the annual “Oil and Gas Law Colloquium.” He is a member of the Board of Directors of the Pennsylvania Oil and Gas Landowner’s Alliance and is an active member of its Legislative Committee. He also served on the “Siting and Routing” Workgroup of Governor Wolf’s “Pipeline Infrastructure Task Force” in 2015. He is also a retired officer from the United States Army. Mr. Burnett received his B.A. in political science, with honors, from John Carroll University and his J.D., cum laude, from Duquesne University School of Law. He is admitted to practice in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania, the United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, and the Third Circuit Court of Appeals. He is BV® Rated, in the Martindale-Hubbell Peer Review Rating System and named a Who’s Who in Energy, Pittsburgh Business Times, 2011-2017. His memberships include the Pennsylvania Bar Association (Shale Energy Law Committee, Civil Litigation Section and Environmental and Energy Law Section); National Association of Royalty Owners; Pennsylvania Oil and Gas Landowner Alliance (Board of Directors); and the Allegheny County Bar Association. Heather A. Hurst, Esq. Heather A. Hurst, Esq. Heather A. Hurst helps energy companies accomplish their operational and transactional goals. She focuses her practice on commercial and real estate transactions and transition projects within the coal, oil and gas and renewables industries (including solar, wind and renewable fuels). Heather assists industry clients with all stages of acquisition, operation and divestiture of coal, oil and gas, and renewable energy assets and on a variety of mergers and acquisitions, land management, joint venture, commercial and title-related matters in the Appalachian region. She has abstracted and drafted title examination opinions for surface, oil and gas and coal interests. She has experience performing title, site control and commercial due diligence for oil, gas, coal, solar and wind operations and transactions, negotiating leases, options and agreements, and drafting a variety of transactional, commercial and operational instruments and agreements. Her experience also includes negotiating and drafting gas gathering, purchase and sale, service, easements, correlative right agreements and construction agreements. Heather has also represented oil, gas, coal, and renewable owners, operators and companies in real estate closings, transfer, severance and property tax matters, and property, landowner and contract disputes. Need help navigating your CLE requirements? You have a lot on your plate. We’ll help you stay on top of your compliance — in PA and beyond. learn more Related Courses On-Demand Video CC What’s New with PFAS? 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