ATTORNEYS & STAFF

Partners:  Michael L. Mullins  |  Karl F. Hirsch  |  Nicholle Jones Edwards  
 Donald F. Heath, Jr  |  Glenn M. White  |  Tracey D. Martinez  
 
Associates:  Robert K. Campbell  |  Ryan J. Reaves

Donald F. Heath, Jr.

Partner

Biography

Donald F. Heath, Jr. has practiced oil and gas law in Oklahoma City for over 20 years years. His practice focuses on oil and gas title examination and oil and gas transactions. He has prepared hundreds of title opinions for independent oil companies operating in Oklahoma.

Mr. Heath is the principal author of Oklahoma legislation to simplify probate proceedings (58 Okla. Stat. §§ 245-247), to create rebuttable presumptions in land titles (16 O.S. § 53), to expand the application of the Simplification of Land Titles Act (16 O.S. § 67), and to limit the practice of deceptive term royalty deeds. He also participated in the drafting of legislation on the filing of pooling affidavits and the general filing requirements of instruments with County Clerks in Oklahoma. Mr. Heath has filed amicus curiae briefs on oil and gas issues with the United States Supreme Court, the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals, and state supreme courts in Oklahoma, Texas, Kansas, Colorado, Michigan and Alaska.

His publications include Oklahoma’s New Summary Probate Act: Reducing the Time and Expense of Probate, 70 Okla. Bar Jour. 2283, July 24, 1999; Rebuttable Presumptions under House Bill 2783, 66 Okla. Bar Jour. 2946, September 30, 1995; Limited Liability Companies in Real Estate Titles: What Requirements Should the Examiner Make?, 65 Okla. Bar Jour. 1112, March 26, 1994; and Force Pooling Mortgagees: Due Process and Jurisdictional Considerations, 58 Okla. Bar Jour. 1527, May 30, 1987.

Mr. Heath has served as President of the Oklahoma City Mineral Lawyers Society (2003-2004), Chariman of the Oklahoma chapter of the National Association of Royalty Owners (1999-2000), President of the Oklahoma City Real Property Lawyers Association (1999), and Chairman of the Real Property Law Section of the Oklahoma Bar Association (1996). Mr. Heath also served for many years on the Title Examination Standards Committee and the Legislative Liaison Committee of the Real Property Law Section of the Oklahoma Bar Association.

Mr. Heath lives in Edmond, Oklahoma, with his daughter, Mary Kate. He is an elder of his church and is near completion of the Masters of Divinity program at Phillips Theological Seminary in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

ADMISSIONS

• Oklahoma, 1982
• U.S. District Courts for the Eastern, Northern and Western Districts of Oklahoma
• U.S. Court of Appeals, 10th Circuit
• U.S. Supreme Court
  

EDUCATION

• J.D., University of Oklahoma, 1982
• B.A., Grinnell College, 1979
  

PROFESSIONAL ORGANIZATIONS AND MEMBERSHIPS

• Oklahoma Bar Association
• American Bar Association
• Oklahoma City Mineral Lawyers Society
• Oklahoma City Real Property Lawyers Association
  

PRACTICE AREAS

• Natural Resources and Oil and Gas Law (including Title Opinions)
• Real Estate Law
• Transactional Law
• Wills, Trusts and Estates
• Litigation (State and Federal)
• Appellate Practice