Meaghan Nowell
Senior Associate
Meaghan Nowell practices oil and gas litigation and complex disputes in a variety of industries. Meaghan handles all stages of state and federal litigation and appeals. She also has significant experience in internal investigations, overseeing insurance and indemnity issues, and providing guidance on interpreting and analyzing leases and joint operating agreements. Meaghan’s clients rely on her thoughtful approach that balances business needs with litigation strategy.
Insurance Oversight and Oilfield Incidents
- Represent clients in multi-layered indemnity disputes involving competing obligations and entities.
- Provide oversight of insurance counsel and coordinated defense strategy arising from oilfield accidents and environmental incidents.
Lease and Royalty Litigation
- Represent operators and non-operators in disputes involving lease termination and purchase contracts.
- Advise operators and landowners in analyzing lease terms and interpreting royalty provisions, including pre-dispute guidance on lease termination and royalty allocation.
- Handled various royalty disputes, including royalty class actions, on behalf of lessors and lessees.
- Obtained a favorable resolution of a purchase agreement dispute involving large sale of Texas mineral interests.
- Obtained summary judgment in favor of seller of mineral interests in a breach-of-warranty title dispute.
- Facilitated a favorable settlement on behalf of the lessors in multiple royalty underpayment disputes.
Industry Contract Disputes
- Represent operators and non-operators in all stages of disputes involving purchase contracts, and joint operating agreements throughout Texas and the Permian Basin.
- Resolved multiple force majeure disputes through early negotiation with favorable results for clients obtaining 100% of outstanding balances without litigation..
- Advised buyers in oil and gas transactions of potential litigation risks arising posed by potential asset acquisition.
Investigations
- Represented employers in internal investigations related to potential violations of state and federal laws.
- Represented large public corporations in investigations of whistleblower accusations, including allegations of harassing conduct by executives..
- Key associate on multiple nationwide internal investigations of various corporations related to money laundering, contract fraud, and breaches of securities laws and regulations.
Appeals
- Won Fifth Circuit appeal affirming summary judgment for federal contractor.
- Drafted appellate briefs at all stages of state and federal courts of appeal, including representing preeminent legal scholars and nationally known organizations in submitting amicus briefs to the United States Supreme Court and various federal circuit courts.
- Obtained lifelong benefits for a disabled veteran in administrative appeal.
Admissions
- Oklahoma
- Texas
- U.S. Supreme Court
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
- U.S. Courts of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
- U.S. Courts of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
- U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois
- U.S. District Court, Western District of Oklahoma
- U.S. District Court, Northern District of Texas
- U.S. District Court, Southern District of Texas
- U.S. District Court, Southern District of Texas – Bankruptcy
Clerkships/Judicial Internships
- Judicial law clerk for the Hon. Debra H. Lehrmann of the Supreme Court of Texas
- Judicial intern for the Hon. Jeffrey L. Cureton, Federal Magistrate in the North District of Texas
Education
- University of Texas (J.D., 2016)
- With honors
- Order of the Coif
- Articles editor for the Texas Law Review
- Champion of the 2014 Thad T. Hutcheson Moot Court Competition
- Volunteer at the Children’s Rights Clinic, Actual Innocence Project, and Supreme Court Clinic
- Baylor University (B.A., 2012)
- With honors
Memberships
- Tarrant County Bar Association
- Women’s Energy Network
- Corporate Secretary, Trustee, and Steward of First United Methodist Church of Fort Worth
- “Evolving Royalty Interpretations,” Dallas-Fort Worth Association of Lease and Title Analysts (DFW-ALTA) Fall Seminar, October 3, 2023.
- The Uniform Electronic Transaction Act: Risk of Binding Oil and Gas Industry Contracts, The Journal of the Energy Law Practitioner, Vol. 1, No. 1, Texas Tech University School of Law, July 2022.
- “Evolving Royalty Interpretations,” 2022 PALTA/PBADOA Seminar, April 13, 2022.
- Proactively Managing Cybersecurity Risks in Vendor Contracts, Texas Lawyer, June 13, 2018.
- Thompson Reuters, Texas Super Lawyers, “Rising Stars,” 2023-2024.
- BL Rankings, Best Lawyers, “Ones to Watch,” 2024.