Clinton Butler is a Shareholder who works in both the San Antonio and Karnes City Offices and also serves as the Chair of Langley & Banack, Inc.’s Oil, Gas & Energy practice group. Clinton’s oil and gas practices primarily center around representing landowners in transaction and litigation matters. In addition to his litigation practice, he has negotiated numerous transactions on behalf of his landowner clients related to the development of the Eagle Ford and Permian Shale mineral plays including, but not limited to, oil and gas leases; top leases; pipeline, road, and surface use easements; and water use agreements. While most of Clinton’s clients are individual landowners located in South Texas, he also represents a variety of large and small businesses in both litigation and transactional matters involving the development of the Eagle Ford and Permian Shale mineral plays.
In addition to his busy oil and gas practice, Clinton is very active in commercial, construction, and fiduciary based litigation. His client base ranges from large companies such as Buc-ee’s, Ltd., Southstar Bank, and South Texas Electric Cooperative to small business owners and individuals. While Clinton aggressively fights for his clients, he firmly believes that zealous advocacy must also be matched with an ethical and good natured attitude in order to achieve the best results possible for his clients.
Education
Baylor University Law School, J.D., 2004
Baylor University, B.A., 2001
Bar Admissions
State of Texas, 2004
Court Admissions
United States District Court, Western District of Texas, 2010
Accolades
Best Lawyers in America, Oil & Gas Law, 2021 – 2023 (published by Woodward and White)
Best Lawyers in San Antonio, Energy, Oil & Gas, San Antonio Magazine, 2019 – 2023
2018 40 under 40, San Antonio Business Journal
2017 Outstanding Lawyer, San Antonio Business Journal
Who’s Who in Energy, San Antonio Business Journal, 2015 and 2016
Associations
National Association of Royalty Owners, Texas Chapter
President, 2022-2024
Vice President, 2021-2022
Board of Directors
Member
Member, San Antonio Hispanic Chamber of Commerce
Member, Karnes County Rotary Club
Volunteer, Dress for Success Charitable Organization
Volunteer, San Antonio Food Bank
Volunteer and Sponsor, Scooby Van of San Antonio (children’s literacy program)
Every year, Woodward and White publishes their Best Lawyers in America list. These attorneys are selected by their peers as the top in their field. Langley & Banack proudly announces that we have 36 attorneys in 23 practice areas named Best Lawyers in America or Best Lawyers in America: Ones to Watch for 2024.
More than 300 mineral and royalty owners from across the state of Texas attended last week's Annual Texas and New Mexico Conference hosted by the National Association of Royalty Owners-Texas (NARO-TX) at the Grand Hyatt in San Antonio.
Clinton Butler, Chair of Langley & Banack, Inc.’s Oil, Gas & Energy practice group, was re-election as President of the Texas Chapter and will lead for another one-year term. He offered these takeaways from the 2023 conference.
“It has been an honor serving as NAROTexas president the past two years, as I’ve had the pleasure of working with many talented people, among them Clinton Butler, who continues to bring fresh ideas for growth and advocacy to our organization,” said John Collier V, Past President of NAROTexas and Mineral Manager at Texas Pacific Land Corp.
Cases & Publications
Mr. Butler has served as lead counsel on the following:
Cause No. 11-11-00269-CVK; Cynthia Dupnik v. Hermina Hermis; in the 81st Judicial District Court, Karnes County, Texas; appealed to the Fourth Court of Appeals.
Cause No. 15-07-00134-CVL; Buc-ee’s Ltd. v. Sierra Resources LLC; in the 218th Judicial District Court, La Salle County, Texas.
Cause No. 16-01-0001-CVL; Buc-ee’s Ltd. v. Sierra Resources LLC; in the 81st Judicial District Court, La Salle County, Texas.
Cause No. 16-01-00008-CVK; Louise Jung Jenschke v. Elaine Clausen, et al; in the 81st Judicial District Court, Karnes County, Texas; appealed to the Fourth Court of Appeals.
Cause No. 13-03-88866-CVK; Roman Gawlik Family Trust v. Jeanie W. Mayne, et al; in the 218th Judicial District Court, Karnes County, Texas.
Cause No. 13-11-29007; Kelly v. Held; in the 365th Judicial District Court, Maverick County, Texas.
Cause No. 13-07-0655-CVA; Richard Janek, et al v. Mary Dell Maldonado, et al.; in the 81st Judicial District Court, Atascosa County, Texas.
Cause No. 14-10-00188-CVL; Travis Crow et al. v. Heddie Knappick Lookadoo et al.; In the District Court, 218th Judicial District Court, La Salle County, Texas; appealed to the Fourth Court of Appeals.
Cause No. 13-11-00232-CVK; Charles E. Harrell and Hollis R. Harrell v. Peter J. Dragon; in the 218th Judicial District Court, Karnes County, Texas; appealed to the Fourth Court of Appeals.
Cause No. 5968-15; Estate of Georgia Linhart; in the County Court of Karnes County, Texas
Cause No. 11-06-00215-CVF; Carolyn Grace Nicholson et al. v. Texas Outfitters et al.; in the 81st Judicial District Court, Frio County, Texas; appealed to Fourth Court of Appeals.
Cause No. 15-08-00185-CVK; Louis Dorfman et al. v. Viceroy Petroleum, L.P. et al.; In the District Court, 81st Judicial District Court, Karnes County, Texas; appealed to Fourth Court of Appeals.
Cause No. 15-06-00131-CVK; Don Wilkie, et al. v. Seven Operating LLC et al.; In the District Court, 81st Judicial District, Karnes County, Texas.
Cause No. 16-03-00066-CVK; The Texas Brandon Corporation, Inc. et al. v. Karbuhn Oil Company, et al.; In the District Court, 218th Judicial District, Karnes County, Texas.
Cause No. 43 GDN; In the Guardianship of Pete Szalwinski, an Incapacitated Person; in the County Court of Karnes County, Texas.
Cause No. 14-11-0276-CVK; Elma Kerlick v. Donald McFadden et al.; in the 218th Judicial District Court, Karnes County, Texas.
Cause No. 13-12-00252-CVK; Blaise Mika v. Phillip J. Mika and Adam O. Mika; in the 218th Judicial District Court, Karnes County, Texas.
Cause No. 14-07-00172-CVK; Nordic Oil USA, LLC v. First Solid Energy Group LP; in the 218th Judicial District Court, Karnes County, Texas.
Cause No. 14-12-00300-CVK; Rancho Grande Land Management, LP v. Sable Environmental, LLC; in the 218th Judicial District Court, Karnes County, Texas.
Cause No. 16-02-00044-CVK; James Davis v. George Schroeder; in the 218th Judicial District Court, Karnes County, Texas.
Cause No. 16-05-00115-CVK; John Henry McMullen and Andy Joe McMullen v. Texas Crude Energy LLC; in the District Court, 81st Judicial District, Karnes County, Texas.
Cause No. 16-11-00312-CVK; Ladislaus Krawietz v. Marlyn Wiatrek Individually and as Trustee for Ladislaus Krawietz; in the District Court, 218th Judicial District, Karnes County, Texas.
Cause No. L-15-0131-CV-C; Stacie Renee Esse Woelfel et al. v. Pioneer Natural Resources, USA Inc.; in the District Court, 343rd Judicial District, Live Oak County, Texas.
Cause No. 12-03-00059-CVK; Burlington Resources Oil & Gas Company LP. and Virgil W.C. Yanta et al. v. West 17th Resources, LLC; in the District Court, 81st Judicial District, Karnes County, Texas.
Cause No. B-13-1149-CV-A; Kent Karstadt v. Betty Gay Kennedy et al.; in the 36th Judicial District Court, Bee County, Texas.
Publications
“Protecting Oil & Gas Royalties During Bankruptcy,” Oil, Gas & Energy Resources Law Section Report, Volume 44, Number 2: June 2020
Personal Information
Clinton is a native South Texan. He was born in Cuero, Texas in 1979, where his father practiced law and his mother taught English at the high school. Clinton and his family moved to San Antonio in 1989 when his father took a position with a San Antonio law firm. Upon graduating from San Antonio’s Winston Churchill High School in 1997, Clinton went on to earn an undergraduate degree in Corporate Management and Communications from Baylor University in 2001, and a law degree from Baylor Law School in 2004. At Baylor Law School, he made the Dean’s List on multiple occasions and was made a member of the Order of the Barristers. Clinton was recognized as one of the top student advocates in the school’s rigorous Practice Court Program, and was selected by the professors as the following semester’s Practice Court Teaching Assistant, an honor given to the top two students for that year’s Practice Court Program.
After graduating law school and passing the Texas Bar Exam, Clinton took a position with the Bexar County District Attorney’s Office in 2004, where he worked in the office’s misdemeanor section bringing and trying over twenty cases to verdict until he took a position with the Travis County District Attorney’s Office’s Violent Felony Section where he tried over ten cases to verdict. After serving as a prosecutor for the first seven years of his legal career, he joined his father in 2010 to form Butler Attorneys at Law. In 2013, Butler Attorneys at Law merged with Langley & Banack, Inc.
Clinton lives with his wife, Patricia Butler, and their two beautiful daughters in north San Antonio. Clinton met Patricia while working at the Travis County District Attorney’s Office, where she served as a Spanish interpreter for court proceedings. In addition to his full time legal practice, Clinton and Patricia also own a coffee company on San Antonio’s south side called Coffeecionado. Coffeecionado was started in 2015 with the goal of empowering women in the coffee industry. When he is not working, Clinton enjoys spending time with his daughters, going to new and interesting restaurants with his wife, playing golf, and spending time outdoors. He also gives his time to worthy causes such as Dress for Success and the San Antonio Food Bank. In addition, Clinton also serves as a District Chair and Board Member for the National Association of Royalty Owners -Texas Chapter, which is an organization dedicated to defending the rights of land, mineral, and royalty owners in the State of Texas, particularly in regard to their dealings with oil and gas companies.