One of the first things I learned in oil and gas, and which I have tried to preach to my operator clients, is the importance of the relationship with the landowner. So many operators would get their lease and then basically forget that there was anything else that mattered besides their oil wells. Until a cow would end up dead in a pit, or big patch of beans died from salt water, and the landowner called up hopping mad. And, even then, dealing with the problem was considered a pain in the ass as opposed to discharging an obligation. Even without such unfortunate incidents, or perhaps because they’re virtually inevitable, I’ve told my clients to at least send the landowner a Christmas card every year, better yet a turkey or box of candy, better yet just drop by once in a while and have coffee. Very cheap insurance. Of course, better yet would be to also keep the landowner informed on a regular basis about what’s going on with lease operations; if wells are going to be drilled, why; if wells aren’t going to be drilled, why; if a road needs to be built, why; etc. When it comes to recommending that level of “cooperation” to clients I’m often met with a set of rolling eyes and a look communicating without words the message that I should stick to practicing law and leave the practical side of operating a lease to people who know better. And, so, I never run out of opportunities to practice that part of oil and gas law that has to do with who legally has the upper hand in a given set of circumstances, the landowner or the operator. It’s a question that, more often than not, could have been avoided.