Conrad Hester

Lessor/Lease Litigation 

• Represented clients at all state levels of lease termination litigation, including production in paying quantities, retained acreage cases, and total cessation. 
• Provided pre-dispute counseling on a variety of lease matters, including negotiation, maintenance, expiration, and acquisition.
• Represented clients in damages disputes and surface access matters, including easements, saltwater disposal, water rights, and injunctions. 
• Represented the payors and payees in royalty disputes, including overriding royalties, underpayment, nonparticipating royalty rights, post-production, and suspension issues. 
• Represented a Texas-based client in a series of allocation-well cases.
• Counseled clients on production-sharing agreement issues and well-allocation formulas. 

Title Issues 

• Represented clients in leasehold title and mineral deed litigation, including defect guidance, cotenancy rights, trespass to real property, bona fide purchaser issues, farmouts, and partition suits. 

Industry Contract Disputes 

• Represented both operators and non-operators in a variety of joint operating agreement litigation, in addition to advising on operational compliance matters.
• Represented clients in upstream and midstream indemnification, fraud, breach of contract, and related tort cases.

Conrad Hester is an experienced litigator who focuses his practice on the oil and gas industry. He represents clients in contract disputes, lease termination and title suits, surface access and damage disputes, and royalty litigation. Conrad has drafted and negotiated deeds and leases and operational, production, and exploration agreements. Additionally, Conrad represents clients in complex commercial litigation matters.

Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business has recognized Conrad as an “Up and Coming” lawyer and The Legal 500 named him an “emerging talent” in Energy Litigation: Oil and Gas (USA). He is regularly listed by Benchmark Litigation on its “40 & Under Hot List.” In addition, he has been named to the “Rising Stars” list by Texas Super Lawyers (2017–2023) and “Up-and-Coming 100” list (2022–2023), and Fort Worth, Texas magazine “Top Attorneys” list (2017–2019).

Conrad is board certified in oil, gas, and mineral law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization.

Bar Admissions

• Texas

Education

• The University of Texas (J.D., 2008)
• Abilene Christian University (B.S., 2005)

Memberships