Prior BigLaw and In-house Experience
- Akin Gump
- Fulbright & Jaworski
- Burleson LLP
Education
- LL.M. – Energy, Environmental & Natural Resources Law, University of Houston, Houston, Texas
- J.D. – Southern Methodist University School of Law, Dallas, Texas
- A.B. – Mathematics, Brown University, Providence, R.I.
Practice Areas
- Litigation
- Oil & Gas Law
- Real Estate Law
- Insurance Law
Licenses
Bar Admissions
- State Bar of Texas
- Oklahoma Bar Association
Court Admissions
- United States Supreme Court
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit
- U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas
- U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas
- U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas
- U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas
- U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma
Biography
After earning his bachelor’s degree in mathematics from Brown University and his juris doctorate degree from Southern Methodist University School of Law, Bob Ballentine began his practice of law with a small Houston firm, concentrating on oil & gas law, litigation, and natural gas price regulation. After two years, he moved his regulatory and litigation practice in-house with a major interstate gas transmission company. He subsequently joined Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld in its Houston and San Antonio offices as a litigation associate, with particular emphasis on energy and insurance litigation. After eleven years, he then moved on to Fulbright & Jaworski as a litigation counsel for the next ten years, during which time he also earned his Master of Laws degree (LL.M.) in Energy, Environmental, and Natural Resources Law at the University of Houston Law Center where he was later honored to serve as an adjunct professor of energy law. After another ten years as a partner in Burleson LLP and one of its spin-off firms, Barry Conge Harris, following the onset of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, in July 2020 he opened Ballentine Law PLLC for the practice of commercial litigation and business law. In March 2021, he hung his shingle with Grable Martin, becoming a member of the well-established Texas-based firm to continue his practice of commercial litigation, energy and oil & gas law, and insurance law.
Memberships and Activities
- State Bar of Texas
- Litigation Section
- Oil, Gas and Energy Resources Law Section
- Public Utility Law Section
- Antitrust and Business Litigation Section
- Oklahoma Bar Association
- Energy and Natural Resources Law Section
- Litigation Section
- Houston Bar Association
- Litigation Section
- Oil, Gas and Mineral Law Section
- Montgomery County Bar Association
- The Woodlands Bar Association
- Energy Resources Section
- Energy Bar Association
- Natural Gas Committee
- Compliance and Enforcement Committee
- Houston Gas Processors Association
- Gulf Coast Power Association
- Regional alumni interviewer for Brown University’s Alumni Schools Committee
- Adjunct Faculty, Environment, Energy & Natural Resources Center, University of Houston Law Center
Presentations and Publications
- “Recent Supreme Court Developments in Deed Construction Issues,” presenter, American Association of Professional Landmen’s (AAPL) Texas Land Institute, Houston, September 24, 2018.
- “Negotiating Essential Terms of Midstream Contracts,” author, 35 Natural Gas & Electricity 1 (Wiley Periodicals, Inc., a Wiley company, August 2018).
- “Ethics in Environmental Regulatory Compliance – Conflicts Arising in a Transitional World,” author, 58 S. Tex. L. Rev. 491 (2017).
- “Ethics in Environmental Regulatory Compliance,” presenter, South Texas College of Law 23rd Annual Symposium: Ethics in Environmental & Energy Law, Houston, Texas, February 24, 2017.
- “Interpretation of Mineral and Royalty Deeds,” presenter, Oil, Gas and Mineral Title Examination Course sponsored by the State Bar of Texas and the Oil, Gas & Energy Resources Law Section, Houston, June 25-26, 2015.
- “Latest Developments in Commercial Arbitration: What’s New for In-House Counsel,” presenter, Association of Corporate Counsel – The Woodlands Chapter, The Woodlands, March 17, 2015, and ACC – Houston Chapter, Houston, March 10, 2015.
- “Midstream Oil & Gas Contracts: Effective Negotiation, Drafting, and Dispute Resolution,” presenter, Electric Utility Consultants, Inc. (EUCI), Denver, January 22 & 23, 2015.
- “Midstream Oil & Gas: Recent Legal Developments,” presenter, Texas Lawyer’s Energy Summit, Dallas, September 18, 2014.
- “Midstream Oil & Gas Contracts,” presenter, EUCI, Houston, September 15 & 16, 2014.
- “Litigating Easements & Restrictive Covenants,” presenter, National Business Institute, Houston, July 24, 2014.
- “The Arbitration Alternative,” presenter, Association of Corporate Counsel, Houston, July 8, 2014.
- “Midstream Oil and Gas: Recent Developments,” presenter, Texas Lawyer’s Energy Summit, Houston, May 21, 2014.
