Poe Leggette joined the firm as a partner in 1998 and is now partner in charge of the firm's Denver office.

Poe heads the firm's Western Lands and Energy Practice. His practice focuses on judicial and administrative litigation concerning natural resources development on federal and Indian lands. He has extensive experience in deepwater oil and gas operations and regulation, including permitting delays and lease suspensions. He counsels oil and gas and wind energy companies on obtaining and operating leases on federal and Indian lands. He also defends oil and gas companies under investigation by the Office of the Inspector General or who are accused of violating the False Claims Act. 

Prior to his private practice, Poe served as Assistant Solicitor for the U.S. Department of the Interior, advising the Bureau of Land Management and the Minerals Management Service on their onshore and offshore energy programs, and MMS's Royalty Management Program on questions of royalty valuation. While with the Department, he authored or co-authored virtually all briefs filed in the federal courts on outer continental shelf issues, obtaining, among other things, two Supreme Court reversals of unfavorable Ninth Circuit decisions. 

During and after his government service, Poe has been involved in many significant cases at the trial, appellate and Supreme Court levels regarding ownership of mineral rights, royalty disputes and compliance with environmental statutes such as the National Environmental Policy Act, the Endangered Species Act, the Coastal Zone Management Act, the National Historic Preservation Act, the Marine Mammal Protection Act, the Federal Land Policy and Management Act, the Mineral Leasing Act, the various Indian mineral development statutes, the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act and the National Forest Management Act. These include recent decisions in In re Natural Gas Royalties Qui Tam Litigation, 562 F.3d 1032 (10th Cir. 2009) cert. den. 130 S. Ct. 301 (2009); Kerr-McGee Oil & Gas Corp. v. Dep't of the Interior, 554 F.3d 1082 (5th Cir. 2009) cert den. 130 S. Ct. 236 (2009); and Wilderness Workshop v. Bureau of Land Management, 531 F.3d 1220 (10th Cir. 2008).

Poe's experience also includes counseling American companies on the legal issues they face doing business in Libya. He has spoken on this subject at conferences in Valleta, Malta, and Tripoli, Libya. Poe has also presented at conferences in Vancouver, St. John's and Halifax on the policy and history of the American offshore energy program for Canadian government and business leaders.

• Oilfield services company in investigation over testing of blowout preventers offshore
• Geophysical survey company in dispute over confidentiality of data
• International drilling company regarding approval of deepwater drilling technology
• U.S. energy company in dispute over pipeline operating agreement
• U.S. energy company in review of royalty value of exported commodities
• U.S. energy company in dispute under Sherman Act
• U.S. energy company in first challenge to an EPA noncompliance order under Sackett v. EPA
• U.S. energy company in litigation over pre-emptive effect of Pennsylvania's Act 13 (2012) as to local zoning power
• U.S. energy company in suit by United States over alleged bid rigging in lease acquisition
• U.S. energy company in royalty dispute in Bakken Shale
• Non-U.S. energy company in litigation over access to split estate minerals in Niobrara Shale
• Non-U.S. energy company in litigation over expiration of leases in Marcellus Shale
• U.S. energy company in dispute with federal government over deduction of compression costs from royalty payments
• U.S. energy company in dispute with EPA over wetlands jurisdiction
• U.S. trade association in dispute with Interior Department over CEO certification requirement for offshore leases
• Non-U.S. energy company in acquisition of oil and gas assets in Utah and New Mexico
• Non-U.S. energy company in acquisition of oil and gas assets in Piceance Basin in Colorado
• Non-U.S. energy company in acquisition of oil and gas assets in Wyoming and Colorado
• U.S. energy company in high-profile royalty dispute with federal government
• U.S. midstream company in litigation over rights of way in Marcellus shale
• U.S. energy company in litigation over construction of natural gas pipeline in Forest Service roadless area
• Federal lessees in litigation brought under the False Claims Act for allegedly underpaid royalties on oil and natural gas
• U.S. energy company in obtaining suspensions of operations for deepwater OCS leases
• U.S. energy company in obtaining lease suspensions to develop subsalt oil and gas projects in the Gulf of Mexico
• Advised U.S. and non-U.S. energy companies in joint operating agreements for oil and gas development
• Geophysical survey companies in acquisition of survey permits in Gulf of Mexico

• American Bar Association
• Colorado Bar Association
• Ohio Bar Association
• Wyoming Bar Association
• District of Columbia Bar Association
• Rocky Mountain Mineral Law Foundation Trustee

• "Who's Who in Energy," Denver Business Journal (2012)
• "Leader in Energy: Oil & Gas – Regulatory & Litigation," Chambers Global (2011, 2012, 2013)
• "Colorado Super Lawyer," Energy & Natural Resources, Thomson Reuters (2010 - 2013)
• "Leading Practitioner, U.S. Energy: Oil & Gas – Regulatory & Litigation" and "Leading Practitioner, Colorado Litigation: General Commercial," Chambers USA (2010 - 2012)
• Best Lawyers in America – Energy Law and Natural Resources Law, The Best Lawyers in America (2010 - 2013)
• "Energy and Natural Resource Lawyer," Expert Guides (2010, 2013)
• "Leading Practitioner, U.S. Energy: Oil & Gas – Regulatory & Litigation," Chambers Global (2009)
• "Washington, D.C. Super Lawyer," Energy and Natural Resources, Thomson Reuters (2007, 2008)
• "Leader in Energy: Oil & Gas," Chambers USA (2006, 2007)
• "Pre-eminent Practitioner," Guide to the World's Leading Energy and Natural Resource Lawyers, 7th Edition (2007)
• 500 Leading Litigators in America, Lawdragon Magazine

• Co-author, "Trade Secrets and the Regulation of Hydraulic Fracturing: Toward a Global Perspective," Norton Rose and Fulbright White Paper (March 2013)
• "All of the Above," Fulbright White Paper - Offshore Oil & Gas Task Force,  September 2012
• Co-author, "Federal Regulation of Hydraulic Fracturing: A Conversational Introduction," 2012 Energy and Mineral Law Foundation Annual Institute, Chapter 22.
• Co-author, "IPAA Appeal Forces BSEE to Vacate NTL No. 2010-N05," Fulbright Briefing, May 8, 2012
• Co-author, "Department of Interior Releases Draft Rule on Well Stimulation," Fulbright Briefing, February 10, 2012
• "Legislation and Litigation: The Life and Death of the Offshore Seismic Market in the Gulf of Mexico?," Fulbright White Paper – Offshore Oil & Gas Task Force, February 2012
• "The President's Speech and Regulatory Reality on the OCS," Fulbright White Paper – Offshore Oil & Gas Task Force, February 2012
• "Cape Wind Project in Court Again," "Duty to Permanently Abandon an OCS Well Survives Interior's Breach of an OCS Lease," "Habitat Conservation Plan for Commercial Wind Energy Development Within Nine States," Western Lands & Energy Newsletter, August 2011
• "Duty to Permanently Abandon and OCS Well Survives Interior's Breach of an OCS Lease," Western Lands & Energy Newsletter, July 2011
• "A Safer and Swifter BOEMRE," Western Lands & Energy Newsletter, May 2011
• "Energy Deals with Tribes: A Short Refresher on Tribal Sovereign Immunity," Western Lands & Energy Newsletter, April 2011
• "Utility-Scale Solar Projects on Federal and Indian Lands," Western Lands & Energy Newsletter, March 2011
• Co-author, "National Historic Preservation Act: Overcoming the Obstacles in Developing Renewable Energy Projects," October 2010
• Co-author, "Preservation and Energy Development on the Public Lands," Rocky Mountain Mineral Law Foundation Special Institute on Energy Development: Access, Siting, Permitting, and Delivery on Public Lands, September 2009
• "National Historic Preservation Act Compliance Before Leasing," International Law Office – Energy and Natural Resources Newsletter, July 20, 2009
• "BLM Tries a New Approach to Capture Methane During Coal Mining," Denver Association of Division Order Analysts Newsletter, March 13, 2009
• "Tenth Circuit Affirms Pipeline Construction in Forest Service Roadless Area," Fulbright Western Lands and Energy Monthly Update, July 2008
• "Western States Need to Lead on Carbon Storage," Denver Business Journal, March 17, 2008
• "Offshore Leasing and Operating Agreements: Provisions and Deal Points," University of Houston Law Foundation Symposium on Oil, Gas and Energy Law, September 2007
• Co-author, "MMS Issues Proposed Rules for OCS Pipelines," Fulbright Briefing, June 12, 2007
• Co-author, "Federal Land Access: Renewed Litigation Over Perceived Wilderness," Fulbright Trends in Energy Litigation 2007, April 2007
• "Litigation Over Federal Royalties," Fulbright Trends in Energy Litigation 2007, April 2007
• Co-author, "Deep Water Royalty Relief," Rocky Mountain Mineral Law Foundation, Royalty Institute, February 2007
• "Toward an Energy Ethic" (revised), Rocky Mountain Mineral Law Foundation Journal, Volume 42, No. 2, 2005
• "Toward an Energy Ethic" (revised), Texas State Bar Energy Section Newsletter, December 2005
• Co-author, "Interior Board of Land Appeals Rejects Petition to Stay Exploratory Well Project and Pipeline Upgrade on Federal Lands in Carbon County, Utah," Fulbright Legal Update, December 2004
• "Law Governing the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf," Second Annual Pacific Canada and North Coast Offshore Oil & Gas Development Summit, March 31, 2004
• Co-author, "Federal District Court Judge Rejects Environmentalists' Challenge of Oil and Gas Exploration Project in Utah; Holds BLM's Permit Complied with NEPA, NHPA, and FLPMA," Fulbright Legal Update, August 2004
• "Toward an Energy Ethic," Petroleum Accounting and Financial Management Journal, April 2004
• Co-author, "No Lack of Litigation Over Oil and Gas Royalties," The National Law Journal, March 15, 2004
• Co-author, "The Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act Turns Fifty: A Premature Look at the First Half-Century of the OCSLA," Oil and Gas Development on the Outer Continental Shelf, Paper No. 1, Page 1, Rocky Mt. Min. L. Fdn., 2002
• "Valuation of Affiliate Sales and Joint Ventures: Perspectives of an Industry Sympathizer," Rocky Mountain Mineral Law Foundation Special Institute on Federal & Indian Oil & Gas Royalty Valuation and Management III (2000)

• "U.S. Legislative Update," Spring Conference 2013, Association of International Petroleum Negotiators, Austin, Texas, April 25, 2013
• "Global Contracting Trends: Dispute Resolution and Risk Allocation," with Alex de Meyrick, presented to the ConocoPhillips Global Attorneys Meeting, Houston, Texas, April 8, 2013
• "Federal Regulation of Hydraulic Fracturing," Rockies Energy Action Luncheon, Denver, Colorado, January 22, 2013
• "All of the Above?"  An update on federal policies affecting the development of oil and gas from federal leases, presented to the Oil, Gas, and Mineral Law Section of the Houston Bar Association, Houston, Texas, September 25, 2012
• "Federal Regulation of Hydraulic Fracturing," Energy and Mineral Law Foundation Annual Institute, Charleston, South Carolina, June 26, 2012
• "OCS Regulatory Update," Marsh & McLennan Upstream Energy Risk Management Seminar, Houston, Texas, February 23, 2012
• "Legislation and Litigation: The Life and Death of the Offshore Seismic Market in the Gulf of Mexico?", Annual Membership Meeting of the International Association of Geophysical Contractors, Houston, Texas, February 21, 2012
• "The President's Speech and Regulatory Reality on the OCS," OCS Advisory Board of the American Association of Professional Landmen, 2012 OCS Workshop Program, The Woodlands, Texas, February 2, 2012
• Deep Offshore Technology International Conference, Offshore Risk Management Forum, "Political and Regulatory Issues & Challenges," New Orleans, Louisiana, October 12, 2011 
• "The Latest Assault on Deepwater Assets: The Vanishing Suspension of Operations," Fulbright Web Seminar, June 16, 2011
• "Developments in Gulf Deep Water Permitting," Houston Bar Association, Oil, Gas & Mineral Law Section Luncheon, Houston, Texas, April 26, 2011
• "The Gulf Deepwater: A Peculiarly Personal Pro-Production Polemical," Houston Association Petroleum Landmen Monthly Luncheon, Houston, Texas, April 21, 2011
• "Challenges Companies Face Under the New US Deepwater Regulatory Environment: Views from the Regulator and the Industry," Association of International Petroleum Negotiators Spring Conference 2011, San Antonio, Texas, April 14, 2011 
• "Utility-Scale Solar Projects on Federal and Indian Lands," ABA/ACORE Webinar, March 16, 2011
• "Allocation of Environmental Liabilities in Gas Processing Agreements," Rocky Mountain Mineral Law Foundation Special Institute on Oil & Gas Agreements: Midstream and Marketing, Houston, Texas, February 24, 2011
• "U.S. Regulatory Developments in Managing Risk in the New Offshore Environment: Implications from the Gulf of Mexico," London, October 21, 2010
• Panelist, "40 Years in the Wilderness – The Quest for a U.S. Energy Policy," Global Energy Management Program at the University of Colorado Denver Business School, Denver, Colorado, September 14, 2010
• "Wednesday's Child: The Woes of the MMS", Energy Law Institute for Attorneys and Landmen, South Texas College of Law, Houston, Texas, September 2, 2010
• "Historic Preservations and Cultural Resource Management in Energy Development," Web Seminar, Electric Utility Consultants, Inc. (EUCI), June 25, 2010
• "Washington Update," OCS Advisory Board Meeting, Washington, D.C., April 2010
• "Washington Update," OCS Advisory Board Workshop, Houston, Texas, January 2010
• "Preservation and Energy Development on the Public Lands: Some Cases on the Conflicts," RMMLF Special Institute, Denver, Colorado, September 2009 
• "Managing Your NEPA Document: Suggestions on Not Becoming a Hapless Victim of Inexorable Fate," Wyoming Association of Petroleum Landman Seminar (WAPL), Jackson, Wyoming, August 2008
• "NEPA Issues," American Association of Professional Landmen Annual Meeting, Chicago, Illinois, June 2008
• "How A Private Developer Can Use Federal Lands," Facing the Transmission Challenges: Wind, Solar, Geothermal and New Generation Fulbright Web Seminar, May 2008
• "Sour Grapes in NEPA Valley: Four Bad-Tasting Topics and How to Avoid Their Delays," Co-presented with Dawn Martin, Fulbright & Jaworski L.L.P. and Buys & Associates Seminar, Denver, Colorado, April 2008
• "Rockies Oil and Gas Law," Denver Association of Petroleum Landmen (DAPL), Rockies Landman Level 1 Course, Denver, Colorado, March 2008
• "Carbon Capture and Sequestration Introduction and Overview," Carbon Capture and Sequestration Technologies and Legal Issues, Fulbright & Jaworski L.L.P. Web Seminar, November 2007
• "Offshore Leasing and Operating Agreements Provisions and Deal Points," University of Houston Law Foundation, Oil, Gas and Energy Law, Houston/Dallas, Texas, September 2007
• "Land Access Issues," IPAA/API Land Access Strategy Meeting, Jackson, Wyoming, August 2007
• "The Law on Federal Lands," Wind Energy Offshore and on Federal Lands, Fulbright Web Seminar, June 2007
• "R.E.M. Sleep and NEPA Nightmares: Preparing a Defensible NEPA Document," Independent Association of Mountain States (IPAMS) Annual Meeting, Vail, Colorado, June 2007
• "Royalty and Severance Tax Disputes," Denver Association of Division Order Analysts (DADOA), Denver, Colorado, June 2007
• "Drilling, Wildlife and Wilderness: Recent Developments on Federal Lands," Colorado Bar Association, Natural Resources and Energy Law Section, Denver, Colorado, December 2006
• "Policies and Energy: Second Installment on the Energy Policy Act of 2005," National Oil and Gas Royalty Conference, Houston, Texas, November 2006
• "Smart Companies, Foolish Choices: Recent Litigation Affecting Leasing and Production," October 2006
• "Natural Gas Market Manipulation: FERC Gas Market Transparency and New Market Manipulation Rules," Fulbright & Jaworski L.L.P. and Ernst & Young Seminar, Denver, Colorado, September 2006
• "Ethics in Government, Ethics in the Energy Debate: Morons, Oxymorons and Statistics," AAPL 2006 OCS Committee Workshop, The Woodlands, Texas, January 2006
• "Energy Policy Act of 2005," National Oil and Gas Royalty Conference, Houston, Texas, December 2005
• "Split Estates Legislation Panel," Land and Royalties Conference, Denver, Colorado, November 2007
• "Federal Land Access Issues," New Mexico Oil & Gas Association (NMOGA), Santa Fe, New Mexico, October 2005
• "National Energy Policy – 10 Things I Hate About You," National Oil & Gas Royalty Conference, November 2004
• "Oil and Gas on the Continental Shelf: The U.S. Experience, Half a Century in Half an Hour," 4th Annual North East Oil and Gas Summit, Nova Scotia, May 2004
• "The Framework of Private Law for the United States Outer Continental Shelf: Regimes for Contract, Tort and Property," 2nd Annual Pacific Canada and North Coast Offshore Oil & Gas Development, British Columbia, March 2004
• "A Tale of Three Circuits: Pitfalls at the Leasing Stage," Roads and Roadblocks to Increased Production on Federal Lands, Fulbright & Jaworski L.L.P. Seminar, Denver, Colorado and Houston, Texas, February 2004
• "Sources of Private Law Governing the United States Outer Continental Shelf," 3rd Annual Atlantic Canada Oil & Gas Summit, Newfoundland, September 2003
• "Fundamentals of the Law of the OCS," 54th Annual Program on Oil and Gas Law, Center for American and International Law, February 2003

1977 - J.D., University of Virginia
1974 - B.A., magna cum laude, Tufts University

Poe is admitted to practice in Ohio, the District of Columbia, Pennsylvania, Wyoming and Colorado. At the federal level, he is admitted to practice before the United States Supreme Court, the federal courts of appeals for the District of Columbia, the Fifth, the Seventh, the Ninth, the Tenth, the Eleventh and the Federal Circuits. He is also admitted to practice before the federal district courts for the District of Colorado, the District of Wyoming, the Northern District of New York and the District of Columbia.

• Colorado
• District of Columbia
• Ohio
• Pennsylvania
• Wyoming

• Representing pro bono U.S. veterans in matters before the Board of Veterans Appeals and the United States Court of Veterans Appeals