Attorney recommendations in eastern PA?

I'm looking for attorney recommendations in eastern Pennsylvania that specialize in negotiating with oil & gas companies and natural gas leases. I'm a member of a hunting club that owns land in Sullivan County, PA. We have recently been contacted by Chief Oil & Gas saying they would like to sign a lease with us. The majority of our members live in Lancaster County, PA so any attorneys located between Lancaster and Sullivan counties are preferable. We signed a lease on the land years ago which has now expired and used a small firm located in Williamsport, PA when signing that lease; however, we didn't feel completely comfortable with their services, and some of our members want to use a local firm that they trust more to sign the next lease. I'm concerned that using the local firm will put us at a disadvantage with the gas company due to their lack of experience with negotiating gas leases.  Has anyone here had a good experience with an attorney that is both trustworthy and has experience with gas leases?  If so, do you know how I could get in contact with them?  Thanks.

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Permalink Reply by lamar r king on February 13, 2014 at 9:34am

im from Lancaster county ,also.do not even think about using an attorney from down home.i use a tax accountant from upstate ,also ,because our local accountants do not know what a depletion rate is[nice tax break ].lester greevy is probably most experienced in gas and oil matters-hes done this stuff for 40 years.he is near Williamsport.the lawyers down home just do not understand the PA gas and oil laws.[by the way,cheif seems to be a fair co.to work with from what I hear as far as deductions are concerned which is one thing you need to REALLY whatch out for.

Permalink Reply by rob grant on February 13, 2014 at 10:18am
Lester Greevy. ...Montoursville
Permalink Reply by Kara winter on February 14, 2014 at 5:40am
Please call or email me and I can give u some information. 570.498.5921 or karalynwinter@gmail.com
Permalink Reply by N Bohl on February 14, 2014 at 7:15am


Our family used Greg Gass to negotiate a fairly complicated lease for a somewhat larger piece of land in Tioga County. Greg lives near Ricketts Glen State Park and I believe will travel. We could not have been happier with his services and I would suggest that you call him and have a conversation - he is very easy going but highly professional. Every single issue we had with leasing was addressed in great detail and I believe some points were unusual. This is land with major conservation, agricultural and water concerns - and the lease had to be signed off on by a large conservation group which they did happily - in fact I would say they were impressed with its thoroughness and had not seen anything quite like it up to that point. I believe there are several people - all with a variety of their own concerns and priorities - that frequent the Tioga County section that have had similarly good experiences with Mr Gass and would not hesitate to direct anyone in these surrounding counties to Greg. After we reached the point where we had the lease nailed down we had Lester Greevey's office examine it and it was used without any modifications. I don't know if the small firm you used was Lester's or not but this was about 4 years ago. I could go on and on about Mr. Gass so if you want to contact me off list please feel free to.

Permalink Reply by John Capwell on February 14, 2014 at 9:21am

Addendums are very important to your lease. Environmental, pipeline, waterline, well pad and spud fees should be clearly be listed as separate negotiated fees. Check out the Friends Lease which does appear to be available on line. Greevy is a good start and there are a few others. If you can form a block with other adjacent landowners, your advantage improves. Also, if  you are sure that drilling will occur in a timely fashion, the upfront money is not as important as the royalty percentage. Taxes are higher on the upfront bonus as opposed to the royalty. Go for 20% or higher on the royalty.

Do not accept a draft from a gas company. If they send you a lease that they claim is the same as the one your attorney wrote, check it word for word with the copy your attorney gave you. If it is possible to get a look at their intended well unit so you that you understand the shape of the unit, make that a part of your decision making process.

Permalink Reply by Dallas Martin on February 16, 2014 at 6:48am

I've never heard of the Friends Lease.  Do you know where I can find a copy of it?  We're not sure when and where drilling will occur; so far there hasn't been any activity close enough to our property to see production.  Our land is right up against a very large section of state game land; supposedly Chief has secured the rights for the state game lands which is why they are also interested in our land.

Permalink Reply by John Capwell on February 18, 2014 at 4:35am

Dallas--email me at jccapwell@yahoo.com

Permalink Reply by Kara winter on February 14, 2014 at 4:20pm
Addendums and royalty is important, but without someone representing you to enforce that lease and over see your royalty payments ... Signing the lease isn't the end of the process, it is the beginning.
Permalink Reply by David on February 15, 2014 at 4:56am
I have spoken to Greg Gass on occasion and wold suggest you speak to him. Very intelligent. If I may ask where is your land located
Permalink Reply by Dallas Martin on February 16, 2014 at 6:50am

We're located in Fox Township (northwest corner of Sullivan County).

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