Attorney-at-Law
Partner
713-652-4068
mjones@jonesgill.com
vCard
Board Certified in Oil, Gas Mineral Law Civil and Trial Law
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Mr. Jones focuses his practice on oil, gas and mineral law issues and disputes, civil litigation including commercial matters and oil and gas issues, and any appeals of these cases. He has appeared and presented oral arguments before the Fifth Circuit Court, the Texas Supreme Court, the First Court of Appeals in Houston, the Fourteenth Court of Appeals in Houston, the Fifth Court of Appeals in Dallas, the Fourth Court of Appeals in San Antonio, the Thirteenth Court of Appeals in Corpus Christi, and the Thirteenth Court of Appeals in Edinburg. Mr. Jones has tried cases in numerous Texas counties, including Austin, Bexar, Brazoria, Dallas, Ector, Fort Bend, Galveston, Harris, Hidalgo, Jefferson, Jim Hogg, Liberty, Matagorda, and Midland counties, as well as the trial of cases in Wyoming, Colorado, California and Illinois. Mr. Jones has tried over 35 jury trials to conclusion and judgment where the amount in controversy exceeds $250,000 and up to $14,000,000. Mr. Jones has tried over 10 cases before the judge, administrative tribunal, or arbitrators in judgment, decision, or award where the amount in controversy exceeded $250,000 and up to $4,000,000,000. The great majority of these cases involved oil, gas, and energy law issues. Mr. Jones has also served as an expert witness in oil, gas, and mineral law cases, as a mediator in oil, gas, and mineral law cases, and has served as an AAA arbitrator in oil, gas, and mineral law cases.
Mr. Jones is the author of The Implied Covenant to Protect – Revisited, delivered at the 30th Annual Ernest E. Smith Oil, Gas & Mineral Law Institute, University of Texas School of Law in 2004; Subsurface Trespass and Hydraulic Fracture Stimulation of Oil and Gas Wells, 33rd Annual Ernest E. Smith Oil, Gas & Mineral Law Institute 2007; When Law and Technology Collide, ABA Litigation Section Annual Meeting, 2007; Garza and Subsurface Related Issues, 20th Annual Energy Law Institute, South Texas College of Law, 26th Annual Oil Gas & Energy Resources Law Course; and Subsurface Trespass by Hydraulic Fracturing (The Garza Case Revisited), presented at State Bar of Texas 26th Annual Advanced Oil Gas & Energy Resources Law Course.
Since 1991, Mr. Jones has been an Adjunct Professor at South Texas College of Law. In 1998 and 2009, he received the Professor Excellence Award for Adjunct Professors.
He received a B.A., magna cum laude, from Shimer College in 1974 and a Juris Doctorate degree, cum laude, from the University Illinois College of Law in 1977. He is a member of the State Bar of Texas and the Houston Bar Association.
Mr. Jones was born in Hettinger, North Dakota on February 23, 1952, and was admitted to the Illinois Bar in 1977 and the Texas Bar in 1980. Mr. Jones is admitted to practice before all State Courts in Illinois and Texas, as well as all U.S. District Courts in Texas, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals, and the U.S. Supreme Court.
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Shimer College (B.A., Magna Cum Laude, 1974)
University of Illinois College of Law (J.D., Cum Laude, 1977)
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Licensure:
- State Bar of Texas
- State Bar of Illinois
Affiliations:
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- Author, Fee Wars, Section Report of the Oil, Gas & Energy Resources Law Section of the State Bar of Texas, Volume 37, Number 4 – Summer 2013
- Author and speaker, The Implied Covenant to Protect – Revisited, delivered at the 30th Annual Ernest E. Smith Oil, Gas & Mineral Law Institute, University of Texas School of Law in 2004;
- Author and speaker, Subsurface Trespass and Hydraulic Fracture Stimulation of Oil and Gas Wells, 33rd Annual Ernest E. Smith Oil, Gas & Mineral Law Institute 2007;
- Author and speaker, When Law and Technology Collide, ABA Litigation Section Annual Meeting, 2007;
- Author and speaker, Garza and Subsurface Related Issues, 20th Annual Energy Law Institute, South Texas College of Law, 26th Annual Oil Gas & Energy Resources Law Course;
- Author and speaker, Subsurface Trespass by Hydraulic Fracturing (The Garza Case Revisited), presented at State Bar of Texas 26th Annual Advanced Oil Gas & Energy Resources Law Course;
- Author and speaker, Lease Perpetuation: The Many Devices to Perpetuate the Fee Simple Determinable, presented at the State Bar of Texas 29th Annual Advanced Oil, Gas & Energy Law Course;
- Author and speaker, Lease Perpetuation: The Many Devices to Perpetuate the Fee Simple Determinable, presented at the State Bar of Texas 31st Annual Advanced Oil, Gas & Energy Law Course;
- Author and speaker, Division Orders: The Uses and Abuses of the Division Order, Neither a Contract nor a Conveyance, a Shield but Not a Sword, presented at the State Bar of Texas 36th Annual Ernest E. Smith Mineral Law Institute, April, 2010;
- Co-Author, Selected Oil & Gas Cases for Texas, 2010, Harry L. Reed and Michael D. Jones. Dallas, Texas: Imprimatur Press, 2010. Print.
- Author and speaker, Division Orders: The Uses and Abuses of the Division Order, Neither a Contract nor a Conveyance, a Shield but Not a Sword, presented at the State Bar of Texas 38th Annual Ernest E. Smith Mineral Law Institute, March 29, 2012;
- Author and Speaker, Surface Use Obstruction Issues, or How do You Get Into Your Lease?, State Bar of Texas 30th Annual Advanced Oil, Gas and Energy Resources Law Course
- Author and speaker, Trespass to Try Title, State Bar of Texas 37th Annual Ernest E. Smith Mineral Law Institute, April 8, 2011.
- Shale and Natural Gas (Lease Issues, Fracking, and Surface Rights), State Bar of Texas 21st Annual Texas Land Title Institute, December 2011;