Stratigic Partners
REINVENTING THE DELIVERY OF LEGAL SERVICES
The term “Strategic Partners” as used here, refers to separate firms coming together to fulfill a client’s needs. The Hill Law Firm has established relationships with other lawyers, not part of the Hill Law Firm, to enhance its legal services offerings.
Strategic Partners are introduced to clients on a case-by-case basis and in matters where a strategic partner’s involvement is beneficial and the client has expressly made the choice. Where strategic partners are not expressly hired by the client nor involved in the matter, no connection to the strategic partner is to be assumed or implied merely as a function of being a strategic partner to the Hill Law Firm, and in cases which a strategic partner is not involved, the Hill Law Firm, by itself, shall hold a legal relationship with the client.
The approach of utilizing strategic partners shows that when the abilities of lawyers, of separate firms, combine on a project basis, clients are benefited by that level of service, sophistication, experience, and collaboration. Clients may even achieve cost savings through this approach. The Hill Law Firm has teamed up with some of the best attorneys in the oil and gas industries.
Fred MacDonald
Fred is a founding member of MacDonald & Miller Mineral Legal Services, PLLC. He focuses on oil and gas law, including title examination of Federal, fee, State of Utah and Indian lands, farmout, joint operating agreement and other contract drafting and interpretation, unit formation and operation, and administrative practice before the Utah Board of Oil, Gas and Mining and U.S. Interior Board of Land Appeals.
He received his B.S. in engineering from Purdue University in 1983 and his J.D. from the Valparaiso University School of Law in 1986.
Prior to forming MacDonald & Miller Mineral Legal Services, PLLC, he practiced for 22 years with the Salt Lake City natural resources law firm of Pruitt Gushee, PC, where he was a shareholder and managing director, and five years with the Denver-based energy law firm of Beatty and Wozniak, PC where he was a shareholder in its Utah office.
Fred is a member of both the Utah and Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals Bar Associations. He is an active member of both the Utah and American Association of Professional Landmen (AAPL). He currently serves as chairman of the AAPL’s Form 610 Operating Agreement Revision Task Force. In addition, Fred is actively involved with the Rocky Mountain Mineral Law Foundation. He previously served on the faculty of the biennial Federal oil and gas leasing short course for nearly 20 years and as a trustee at large for the Foundation.
He has authored many articles and papers, including “Coalbed Methane Units: Making the Square Peg Fit the Round Hole, Regulation and Development of Coalbed Methane,” Paper No. 7 (Rocky Mtn. Min.L. Fdn. 2002), “The New AAPL Form 610 Coalbed Methane Checklist: Making the List and How to Check it Twice,” 27 Energy & Min. L. Inst. Ch. 4 (2006), and “Preparing and Finalizing the Unit Agreement: Making Sure Your Exploratory Ducks Are In A Row,” Federal Onshore Oil and Gas Pooling and Unitization, Paper No. 8 (Rocky Mtn. L. Fdn. 2006).
He also lectures frequently on various oil and gas topics. He has been listed in the Best Lawyers in America and in Super Lawyers in the area of oil and gas law every year since 2007 and 2008, respectively Fred was named Best Lawyers in America’s 2012 Salt Lake City Oil and Gas Lawyer of the Year.
Fred is originally from Detroit, and has a passion for Motown music. He also considers himself Utah’s most rabid Red Wings fan.
Thomas Karrenberg
Thomas R. Karrenberg, an “AV” rated lawyer, was born in New York City and is a graduate of Columbia College. In 1980, he received his J.D. from the University of Utah College of Law, where he was the Articles Editor of the Utah Law Review and a member of the Order of the Coif.
He began his legal career as an associate at the Los Angeles firm of O’ Melvene & Myers.
Mr. Karrenberg is a trial lawyer who practices in both federal and state courts. His practice emphasizes antitrust and securities cases, major construction and real property matters for bonding companies, general contractors and developers, and significant commercial litigation for national computer and software companies, franchisors and franchisees and other businesses. He has extensive experience in media-related law representing local television and radio stations.
He is listed in Naifeh and Smith’s “The best lawyers in America.” He has also been lead and co-lead class counsel in national class actions, including Stenovich v. Eccles (settled for $30 million), In re Bonneville Securities Litigation (settled for $25 million) and others.
In addition, for 15 years he served as a member of the Utah Supreme Court’s Advisory Committee on the Utah Rules of Civil Procedure.