News
United States Senate Passes Amendment “Supporting” Transfer of Public Lands to States
Last week, the United States Senate passed a largely symbolic budget amendment sponsored by Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski (chair of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee) that “supports” the idea of selling, transferring or trading federally-managed public...
Mediation in a Nutshell
Mediation typically occurs at some stage of the adversarial process. That process involves parties who are focused on the strengths of their respective positions/cases, and who are committed to convincing a decision maker that the other side should be defeated. The...
Energy Book Review: “The Big Rich: The Rise and Fall of the Greatest Texas Oil Fortunes,” Bryan Burrough (Penguin 2009)
Now that it looks like at least four of the Republican Presidential candidates claim a Texas connection - Jeb Bush, Ted Cruz, Rand Paul, and Rick Perry - a look back at where the Texas connection to the White House began (hint: it wasn’t LBJ) is well-timed....
New BLM Fracking Rule
On March 20, 2015, after considering more than 1.5 million comments, the BLM released its much anticipated fracking rule for oil and gas wells on Federal and Indian lands. More than 90 percent of all wells, including those on Federal and Indian property, are...
Baseball Arbitration
Now that Spring Training is in full swing, let’s talk some baseball! Okay, not that kind of baseball, but another topic in our series on arbitration - “baseball arbitration.” Some parties are reluctant to submit disputes to arbitration because they worry about “split...
James Noble chosen for the Rocky Mountain Mineral Law Foundation Journal Editorial Board
Welborn Shareholder James Noble has been selected to become a member of the Rocky Mountain Mineral Law Foundation Journal Editorial Board.
Congratulations to Ken Jones
Welborn proudly congratulates Kendor P. Jones on being selected for ten years as a Colorado Super Lawyer®.
“Balanced Prosperous Energy Future” on Public Lands?
On March 17, 2015, Secretary Jewell presented what was billed as a “major speech” to describe her vision of a “balanced prosperous energy future” at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Directly tying the U.S. “energy transformation” to the recovered...
Six Welborn attorneys recognized as Colorado Super Lawyers and Rising Stars
Welborn Extends Congratulations to Keith D. Tooley, Brian S. Tooley, Rebecca W. Watson, and William Rapson selected as 2015 Colorado Super Lawyers® as well as Jennifer Cadena and Joseph Pierzchala selected as Colorado Rising Stars.
Employer Alert: Colorado’s New Wage Protection Act Implements Sweeping Changes to Wage Claims
Colorado employers need to be more mindful than ever with regard to timely payment of wages. A new Wage Protection Act (“Act”) has expanded wage claims under the Colorado Wage Claim Act by broadening remedies, creating an administrative resolution procedure, and...
Sixty Years of Fracking Data – What Does it Say?
On January 27, 2015, the U.S. Geological Survey, the science arm of the U.S. Department of the Interior, published a scientific investigative report, supported by a separate data series, consisting of hydraulic fracturing and fracturing treatment records from...
Colorado Supreme Court Issues Important Water Rights Opinion in Wolfe v. Sedalia Water & Sanitation District.
The Colorado Supreme Court has now determined the standard for quantifying water rights that have already changed from one use to another in a prior case. This is an issue that has been very unclear for some time, and many water users have been uncertain about how...