Lauren K. Turner

Biography

Lauren Turner focuses her practice in the area of energy litigation and represents the interests of energy companies, particularly from the oil and natural gas industry, in state and federal court. In addition to trial experience in energy-related litigation and condemnation, she assists oil and natural gas producers with legal issues that arise in all phases of exploration and production. This includes defending oil and gas E&P companies in class action royalty disputes and claims before the West Virginia Mass Litigation Panel.

Representative Experience

  • Trial experience in energy-related litigation and condemnation
  • Successfully defended oil and gas exploration and production company before the West Virginia Mass Litigation Panel and Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia in claims involving private nuisance and negligence relating to natural gas activities
  • Defended oil and gas exploration and production companies in class action royalty disputes
  • Obtained access injunctions for drilling and maintaining oil and gas wells and pipeline infrastructure
  • Represented several of the nation’s largest interstate natural gas pipelines in the exercise of eminent domain in federal court
  • Responded to emergency incidents and fatalities for oil and gas operators and clients in the chemical industry, conducted on-site investigations, and coordinated responses to regulatory agencies (OSHA; WVDEP; MSHA)
  • Represented drilling and production companies working to develop the Marcellus shale in surface-use and surface damage disputes
  • Trial counsel in the prosecution and jury verdict of $24 million claim for a coal operator in a condemnation proceeding
  • Trial counsel in condemnation proceeding for national outdoor advertising company, resulting in a favorable judgment as a matter of law

Licensed In

  • West Virginia

Education

  • J.D. West Virginia University College of Law
  • B.A. West Virginia University

Memberships

  • Women’s Energy Network – West Virginia
  • Energy & Mineral Law Foundation, Board of Trustees
  • Gas and Oil Association of WV, Inc
  • Defense Trial Counsel of West Virginia
  • Harrison County Bar Association
  • Harrison County Chamber of Commerce
  • Leadership Harrison County (2013)
  • Pipeline Emergency Response (2018)

Achievements

  • Generation Next: 40 Under 40
  • 2021 Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch
  • The Best Lawyers in America®, Commercial Litigation (2024-Present), Mass Tort Litigation / Class Actions – Defendants (2024-Present)

Speaking Engagements

  • “From 1981 to 2019: West Virginia Court Applies ‘Reasonable and Necessary Use’ to Modern Mineral Development,” Energy Law Advisor – Volume 13, No. 3 – August 2019
  • “Surface Use in the Age of Horizontal Drilling,” NADOA Annual Institute (Scottsdale, AZ), September 2016

Related Services

Related News & Resources

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Bridgeport, WV – Steptoe & Johnson PLLC is excited to share that 123 of the firm’s atto...
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Bridgeport, WV – Steptoe & Johnson PLLC is pleased to announce that Lauren K. Turner, a M...
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​Steptoe & Johnson is pleased to announce that 18 of its attorneys have been promoted t...

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