Firm dealing with oil law expands despite energy industry downturn
When Nathan Enos and Ted Hans decided to go in together and start their own law firm, they thought their timing was perfect.
The two lawyers founded Enos and Hans Attorneys PLLC — which specializes in oil-field title law — in April 2014, when oil prices were more than $100 a barrel and the industry was booming.
The environment changed quickly.
“Oil has gone down almost every day since we opened our practice,” Enos said.
Oil prices tumbled to as low as $26 a barrel within the next 22 months, causing oil-field activity to slow and land deals to stall. Lower prices meant companies had fewer needs for legal services and those that did need a lawyer had a harder time paying the fees.
“We recognized our clients were taking it in the teeth, so we slashed our rates, trimmed down and stayed as lean as possible,” Hans said. “With both of us young and motivated, we want to be doing this for a long time. We’re willing to not make as much money now to establish relationships with folks who will be in the industry in Oklahoma for a long time.”
Enos and Hans also benefited from both geography and geology. Central Oklahoma’s STACK and SCOOP plays are among the few areas where oil and natural gas exploration have continued despite the downturn.
“We’ve stayed busy the entire time,” Enos said. “We’ve stayed focused on Oklahoma and haven’t had the need to change or diversify.”
Enos grew up in the Dallas area, and Hans is from New York. Both said they plan to stay in Oklahoma City.
“This is one of the few cities where people our age are able to do something like this,” Enos said. “I don’t know if it would have been possible in another city.”
Over the past six months, oil prices have recovered and industry activity has picked up, especially in central Oklahoma.
“We’re extremely busy, especially for the last two or three months,” Hans said. “There seems to be a real change in attitude.
This is one of the few cities where people our age are able to do something like this. I don’t know if it would have been possible in another city.”
We’re seeing a significant amount of companies contemplating acquisitions or divestitures. There also have been bankruptcies. That provides an opportunity as well as people look at buying assets out of bankruptcy.”
Enos and Hans recently brought on attorney Laura Rudnicki and use a fourth attorney on a contract basis. All the attorneys have full workloads, and Enos and Hans said they are considering bringing on another full-time lawyer.
“We’re going to grow slowly,” Hans said. “We would rather work harder over a short period of time and make sure we’re in a period of growth than bring someone on and have to lay them off.”
While oil prices have nearly doubled from the February lows, prices still are below comfortable levels for most oil companies, and there is concern that prices could dip again.
Still, Enos and Hans are confident enough to begin considering luxuries such as hanging a sign outside their office.
“We are cautiously optimistic,” Hans said. “The first year or so we wanted to make sure we were viable and had enough to keep two of us busy. We are cautiously optimistic that we will grow over the next year.”
NATHAN ENOS