Robert J. Burnett

Robert's practice is exclusively devoted to the representation of landowners and royalty owners in oil and gas matters. Robert is the Chair of the Firm's Oil and Gas Practice Group and represents landowners and royalty owners in a wide array of oil and gas matters throughout the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Robert assists landowners and royalty owners in the negotiation of new oil and gas leases as well as modifications to existing leases. Robert also negotiates surface use agreements and pipeline right-of-way agreements on behalf of landowners. Robert also advises and counsels clients on complex lease development and expiration issues, including the impact and effect of delay rental and shut-in clauses, as well as the implied covenants to develop and market oil and gas. Robert also represents landowners and royalty owners in disputes arising out of the calculation of production royalties and the deduction of post-production costs. Robert also assists landowners with oil and gas title issues and develops strategies to resolve and cure such title deficiencies.

A prolific author and speaker on numerous oil and gas topics, Robert is a frequent lecturer at Pennsylvania Bar Institute oil and gas programs and currently serves on the Pennsylvania Bar Institute's "Oil and Gas Law Advisory Committee." He is also a contributing author of The Law of Oil and Gas in Pennsylvania (1st Ed. 2014), published by the Pennsylvania Bar Institute, and is a member of the Executive Committee of the Pennsylvania Bar Institute's premier oil and gas law program, the annual "Oil and Gas Law Colloquium."

Robert has been a member of the Board of Directors of the Pennsylvania Chapter of the National Association of Royalty Owners and since 2012 and is an active member of its Legislative Committee. He also served on the "Siting and Routing" Workgroup of Governor Wolf's Pipeline Infrastructure Task Force in 2015.

Robert is also a retired officer from the United States Army.