Stephen L. Frederick is Of Counsel to our firm in the Lafayette office. His practice centers on rendering oil and gas title opinions for drill site, division order, and mortgage purposes, but also includes the review and preparation of contracts  for the operation of oil and gas properties and for their acquisition and divestiture.  Additionally, Stephen has experience in complex litigation involving producing properties.

He became interested in mineral law under the tutelage of Professor George W. Hardy, III, whose seminar in 1972 consisted of examination and comment on the galley proofs of the Louisiana Mineral Code, which became effective January 1, 1975. Mr. Frederick had the good fortune to practice law with Professor Hardy in later years.

In the mid-to-late 1970’s, he worked in-house in the land department of The Superior Oil Company in its Lafayette office, where he learned much about in-house legal and field land work, especially from the several veteran landmen (all former scouts) who worked on contract for Superior.

In the ensuing years, Mr. Frederick has practiced independently, overseeing legal, abstracting and curative work and as an attorney with several well-known oil and gas firms in Lafayette and Houston.

Stephen presently resides in  his ancestral home in Abbeville, Louisiana, with his wife, Justyna, who is originally from El Dorado, Arkansas. They have been married for forty years. They have a daughter, Georgia, and two sons, Justin and Nicholas. He and his wife share a passion for art, and both are working artists. Stephen’s lifetime love of and mostly solitary wanderings in the woods, bayous, coulees and marshes in and around Abbeville is evident in his paintings, some of which can be seen on the website www.stephenlfrederick.com.

Practices:

  • Oil, Gas and Energy Litigation and Arbitration
  • Oil, Gas and Energy Regulatory
  • Oil, Gas and Energy Transactions
  • Title Services

Industries:

  • Energy and Natural Resources

Admissions:

  • Louisiana

Education:

  • LSU Paul M. Hebert Law Center, J.D., 1972
  • University of Southwestern Louisiana, B.A., Political Science, 1969

Judicial Clerkships:

  • Honorable John Covington, 19th Judicial District Court for the Parish of East Baton Rouge
  • Honorable Richard J. Putnam, U.S. District Court, Western District of LA