L. Mark WalkerShareholder/Director
L. Mark Walker, a director in Crowe & Dunlevy’s Oklahoma City office, focuses his practice in the areas of energy, natural resources and environmental law. His practice includes litigation in both federal and state courts, as well as practicing before the Oklahoma Water Resources Board, Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality and Oklahoma Corporation Commission. Mark is listed by Chambers USA as a leading individual in Energy and Natural Resources, in addition to his rankings in Best Lawyers and Super Lawyers.*
An esteemed fellow in the American College of Environmental Lawyers, Mark has authored numerous energy, natural resource and environmental articles for publications such as the Oklahoma Bar Association’s Bar Journal, Oklahoma Law Review and Tulsa Law Review. He lectures at numerous conferences and seminars, including those sponsored by the American Bar Association and Oklahoma Bar Association. He is also a member of the Mineral Lawyers Society of Oklahoma City and serves on the regulatory and environmental committee of the Oklahoma Independent Producers Association.
Mark graduated with special distinction from the University of Oklahoma, where he completed his Bachelor of Business Administration in Economics in 1980. He obtained his Juris Doctor at the University of Oklahoma College of Law in 1983, where he was elected to the Order of the Coif. He has also served his community, helping with tornado disaster relief and legal services for the indigent.
*Crowe & Dunlevy has no input in the rating methodologies used by Chambers USA, Best Lawyers or Super Lawyers.
University of Oklahoma College of Law
Norman, Oklahoma
J.D., 1983
Honors:
Order of the Coif
Oklahoma Law Review, Note Editor
University of Oklahoma
Norman, Oklahoma
B.A., 1980
Honors:
With Special Distinction
Beta Gamma Sigma
- Oklahoma, 1983
- U.S. District Court Western District of Oklahoma, 1983
- U.S. Court of Appeals 10th Circuit, 1983
- U.S. Supreme Court, 1989
- U.S. District Court Eastern District of Oklahoma, 1992
- U.S. District Court Northern District of Oklahoma, 1993
- U.S. District Court Western District of Arkansas, 1996
- U.S. District Court Eastern District of Arkansas, 1996
- U.S. District Court Eastern District of Texas, 2001
- U.S. Court of Appeals 5th Circuit, 2007
- Southern District of Texas, 2009
- U.S. District Court Northern District of Texas, 2011
- Fellow and former regent, American College of Environmental Lawyers
- Member, Mineral Lawyers Society of OKC (1985 – Present)
- Luther Bohanan Inn of Courts, Member (1998 – 1999)
- Member, Oklahoma Bar Association Section of Mineral and Environmental Law
- Member, Oklahoma Independent Producers Association Regulatory and Environmental Committee
- Delta Theta Phi
- Member, American Bar Association Section of Environment, Energy and Resources
- Member, American Bar Association Section of Administrative Law and Regulatory Practice
- Member, Environmental Litigation and Toxic Torts Committee, American Bar Association Section of Environment, Energy and Resources
- Member, Oil and Gas Committee, American Bar Association Section of Environment, Energy and Resources
- Member, Water Resources Committee, American Bar Association Section of Environment, Energy and Resources
- Member, American Bar Association Section of Litigation
- Listed in Best Lawyers in America in CleanTech Law, Energy Law, Energy Regulatory Law, Environmental Law, Litigation – Environmental, Mass Tort Litigation/Class Actions – Defendants, Natural Resources Law, Oil and Gas Law, Water Law (2001 – Present)
- Ranked in Chambers Band 1 in Energy & Natural Resources (2008 – Present)
- Ranked in Chambers Band 2 in Environment (2014 – Present)
- Named Best Lawyers Lawyer of the Year (OKC) in Environmental Law (2015, 2021)
- Named Best Lawyers 2019 Lawyer of the Year (OKC) in Energy Regulatory Law
- Named Best Lawyers 2020 Lawyer of the Year (OKC) in Energy Law
- Ranked in Super Lawyers (2006 - Present)
- The Basics of Oklahoma Water Law - What Every Practitioner Should Know (Co-Author), the Oklahoma Bar Journal, Volume 80, No. 23, September, 2009
- Co-Author - Water Law Chapter of the Environmental Law Handbook (published by the Environmental Law Section of the OBA, 2009
- Admissibility of Expert Testimony in Oil & Gas Pollution Cases (Co-Author), Eugene Kuntz Conference on Natural Resources Law & Policy sponsored by OBA Mineral Law Section and the University of Oklahoma, November 18, 2005
- Money Damage Versus Cleanup in Pollution Cases (Co-Author), Oklahoma Law Review, Vol. 48, Spring, 1995
- An Abridged Primer on the Law of Public Nuisance, Tulsa Law Journal, Vol. 30, Winter, 1994
- Injuries to Land Resulting from Oil and Gas Operations: Measure of Damages, 60 OBAJ 3245, No. 48, 1989
- The Oil and Gas Operator's Duty to Protect Non Operators from Drainage, 59 OBAJ 3675, No. 49, 1988
- Surface Damages, Operators and the Oil and Gas Attorney, Oklahoma Law Review, Vol. 36, Spring, 1983
- Speaker, "Current Developments in Oil and Gas Law," Oklahoma Bar Association hosted CLE, May 17, 2013, Oklahoma City, OK
- Speaker, "Current Developments in Oil and Gas Law," Oklahoma Bar Association hosted CLE, May 16, 2013, Tulsa OK
- Speaker, "When Is Water Regulation A Taking?," 6th Annual Oklahoma Water Law Conference, April 11, 2014, Oklahoma City, OK
- Panelist, "Pitfalls to Avoid During the Exploration and Production Phases of an Oil and Gas Prospect," Oil and Gas Rights in Oklahoma, April 16, 2014, Oklahoma City, OK
- Speaker, "Water Litigation in Oklahoma," 7th Annual Oklahoma Water Law Conference, April 23, 2015, Oklahoma City, OK
- Speaker, "Water Litigation in Oklahoma," Water Rights in Oklahoma Seminar, June 2, 2015, Oklahoma City, OK
- Speaker, “Earthquake Litigation in the Oilfield,” Crowe & Dunlevy's Avoiding a Shakedown: Induced Seismicity and the Legal, Regulatory and Operational Impacts of Earthquakes in Oklahoma, July 16, 2015, Oklahoma City, OK
- Oil and Gas Lawyers' Guide to Environmental Issues, "State Common Law Pollution Claims as They Affect Transactional Matters", American Bar Association, Section of Natural Resources, Energy and Environmental Law, 1994
- Environmental Laws and Issues in the Oil and Gas Industry, Oklahoma Bar Association Seminar, 1991 Damages in Pollution Cases, Oklahoma Bar Association Seminar, 1990
- The Troubled Operator: Protecting the Rights of Non-Operating Working Interest Owners, Contractors and Subcontractors Against the Bankrupt Operator, Oklahoma Bar Association Seminar, 1986
- Various American Bar Association, Oklahoma Bar Association and Oklahoma City Mineral Lawyer
- Trinity Legal Clinic of Oklahoma City - Pro Bono legal services for the homeless/indigent - 2010
- Oklahoma Bar Association Tornado Relief Assistance (1996 – 1997)