Blake D. Williams, Associate
Blake Williams joined Rash Chapman in 2022. His practice primarily focuses on oil and gas title examination and energy transactional matters, and includes examining title during all phases of exploration and production, due diligence, advising E&P companies and oil and gas interest owners, and drafting and negotiating commercial contracts. As an attorney, and former in-house landman, he has extensive experience in a wide range of transactional matters, including: oil and gas leases; assignments; operating agreements, purchase and sale agreements; joint development agreements; production sharing agreements; pooling declarations; surface use agreements; surface leases; easements; water purchase agreements; and conveyance instruments.
Prior to joining Rash Chapman, Blake was employed by Marathon Oil Company in Houston, Texas as a Sr. Land Professional. During his 10 years of service, he held various roles in the land department managing the company’s acreage positions in South Texas and the Northern Delaware basin in southeast New Mexico, and supporting the development program for the drilling of hundreds of unconventional oil and gas wells. On the transactional side, Blake facilitated trades of producing and non-producing properties, negotiated joint development opportunities, and was involved with the due diligence efforts in several large asset acquisitions.
Blake began his career in the oil and gas industry in 2006 as a landman with Dale Operating Company, LLC, a private exploration and production company based in Dallas, Texas. There he specialized in acquisitions of producing and non-producing oil and gas properties, developing early stage prospects, and researching complex title issues in multiple unconventional oil and gas trends throughout Texas and the northeastern United States. Blake subsequently worked for an established lease brokerage firm based in South Texas.
Born and raised in Austin, Blake graduated from The University of Texas at Austin with a Bachelor of Arts, and earned his Juris Doctorate, with honors, from St. Mary’s University School of Law in San Antonio, Texas. He was admitted to the State Bar of Texas in 2017.
Blake lives in the Austin area with his wife, Ellen, and their two children. Outside of the office, Blake enjoys spending time with his family in the outdoors, and taking trips to their family ranch in Kinney County, Texas, and to the San Juan Mountains in southwest Colorado.
Education
- Bachelor of Arts, Government – The University of Texas at Austin
- Doctor of Jurisprudence – St. Mary’s University School of Law
Professional Licenses, Affiliations, & Honors
- Attorney at Law, State of Texas (2017)
- State Bar of Texas – Oil, Gas and Energy Resources Law and Real Estate, Probate, and Trust Law Sections
- American Association of Professional Landmen
- Permian Basin Landmen’s Association
- Houston Association of Professional Landmen
