Resume

Arbitration Experience

Since 1992 Mr. Reavley’s practice has been limited to service as arbitrator and mediator and since 2000, primarily as arbitrator, including serving as the sole arbitrator, panel member and panel chair. Representative arbitrations include:

  • Gas purchase and gas processing contract dispute in the Permian Basin between independent producer and mid-stream company (Chair)
  • Indemnity claim under sale refinery sale contract between major oil company and refiner (Chair)
  • Gas processing contract dispute between major pipeline and mid-stream company (Chair)
  • Royalty damage claim between the State of Alaska and major oil companies arising out of an oil spill and subsequent curtailment of production on the Alaska North Slope and involving numerous reservoir engineering issues such as decline curve analysis, computer reservoir modeling and economic models for valuing future production (Panel member)
  • Joint operating agreement and farm-out dispute over production in California between independent oil companies (Sole arbitrator)
  • Contract dispute involving revenue division from the operation of a Houston chemical plant (Chair)
  • Wellbore damage case between producer and well service company (Chair)
  • Well payout accounting dispute involving Texas production (Chair)
  • International arbitration between Canadian fertilizer manufacturer and large independent oil producer over complex gas supply contract for plant located on Alaska’s Kenai Peninsula (Chair)
  • Contract indemnity dispute between major accounting firm and former client (Panel member)
  • Claims under contract partitioning family partnership assets, including oil and gas property (Panel member)
  • Gas supply contract dispute between pipeline and electric power generator (Panel member)
  • Series of arbitrations of various gas purchase contract disputes between large independent producer and major pipeline involving Montana gas production (Panel member)
  • Contract dispute between bank and data processing company (Chair)
  • Contract dispute between coal producer and railroad over transportation contract (Sole arbitrator)

Other Experience as a Neutral

From 1992 until 2000 Mr. Reavley served as a mediator in a wide variety of cases, but with particular emphasis on oil and gas related disputes. Included within the latter category were:

  • A gas contract indemnity dispute
  • Accounting claim on an overriding royalty interest involving major bank and major oil company
  • Oil and gas joint operating agreement and joint venture disputes
  • Disputes under gas processing contract
  • Dispute over operating rights
  • Interpretation of deed reservation of oil and gas rights
  • Dispute over acreage dedicated to gas purchase contract
  • Drainage, pooling and development under oil and gas leases
  • Environmental damage, Superfund issues
  • Disputes between offset operators
  • Gas well blowout insurance dispute

Litigation Experience

From 1977 until 1992 Mr. Reavley was an oil and gas and commercial litigation partner in the firm of Scott, Douglass & McConnico, based in Austin, Texas. During those fifteen years he engaged in a litigation practice that included representation of major oil companies, independent oil companies, pipeline companies, individual royalty owners and investors in a wide variety of oil and gas matters, including:

  • Gas purchase contract disputes, including quantity obligations and pricing issues
  • Oil and gas lease cases, including claims for lease termination, failure to develop, failure to prevent drainage and bad faith pooling
  • Mineral and surface title disputes
  • Joint operating agreement, AMI and farmout disputes
  • Security and fraud claims by investors in oil and gas projects
  • Gas transportation agreement dispute
  • Hydrocarbon pipeline rights of way
  • Claims under federal oil and gas pricing regulations
  • Reservoir damage claims between independent oil and gas companies
  • Trade secret theft claims related to oil and gas production
  • Claims arising out of underground gas storage projects
  • Commercial bribery claim brought by gas pipeline company against former employee

Employment History

1992-present: Self-employed, practice limited to arbitration

1985-1992: Managing Partner of Scott, Douglass & McConnico, Austin, Texas

1977-1992: Litigation partner with Scott, Douglass & McConnico

1973-1977: Associate attorney, Bronson, Bronson, McKinnon, San Francisco, CA

1972-1973: Law Clerk to Hon. Tom C. Clark, U.S. Supreme Court

Education

B.A. Stanford University 1969

J.D. Harvard Law School 1972

Professional Associations

Member of the National Panel of Distinguished Neutrals, Energy, Oil and Gas Panel and Texas At Large ADR Panel of the CPR Institute of Dispute Resolution.

Fellow, Center for Public Policy Dispute Resolution, University of Texas Law School

Professional Activities

Served as chair of the Travis County Alternate Dispute Resolution Section and as President of the Robert W. Calvert Chapter of the American Inns of Court. Numerous papers and lectures on alternate dispute resolution.

Languages

Fluent in Spanish