J. Nile Kinney

Nile Kinney has over 30 years' experience guiding clients through transactions, administrative issues and disputes in the upstream oil and gas industry. He offers practical advice and solutions over a wide range of issues, including very large oilfield acquisition and development projects, complex energy-related litigation, lease negotiations and lease management issues on behalf of energy companies and mineral owners, and consultation on everyday operational and transactional issues.  In negotiations and transactions, Mr. Kinney specializes in decoding and simplifying complex concepts and party goals to achieve effective and durable drafting solutions.  Mr. Kinney also has extensive litigation experience in oil-related matters, and works hard to find successful legal solutions to minimize cost and inconvenience to clients forced to bring or defend lawsuits.  He has prosecuted and defended large civil cases involving eight-figure damages at the trial and appellate levels.

Mr. Kinney's areas of practice include:

Mineral, drilling and division order title opinions and curatives
Recordation issues
Purchase and Sale Agreements
Operating agreements, farmout agreements and their variants
Title analysis, disputes and litigation
Contractual analysis, disputes and litigation, transactional and operational
Permitting and regulatory compliance for upstream projects
Environmental issues relating to upstream operations
Lease negotiations, management and administrative issues
Practical advice and strategic guidance on everyday upstream issues confronting our clients

Practice Areas
Oil & Gas
Agriculture
Business Litigation
Civil Litigation
Environmental
Public Agency
Probate and Trust

Education
B.A., University of Southern California (magna cum laude), 1975
M.A., University of California Santa Barbara, Religious Studies, 1979
J.D., University of Southern California, 1982

Professional and Community Affiliations
Board Member, Bakersfield Homeless Center
Board Member, Alliance Against Family Violence and Sexual Assault
Member, Kern Kiwanis Club