Running into an issue with Surface Rights acquired by a large Houston O&G on some land we own. Does the board have a recommendation on an attorney who can deal with this issue or who can make some headway at a huge O&G company?

Reach out to queso1

Ran this by a Landman that I know, I have played that gig as well but this guy is a guru. He told me that
you can pay lots of money to an attorney and still lose. Most likely it will be out of your control and you will
have shelled out a pile of cash to be stuck at zero.

I would talk to the Attorney first, make sure they know the whole story, all of it, and have all the documents that are relevant to the property. You can save yourself a lot of money by going to the courthouse yourself and
doing your own research. Clerks in the courthouse are usually a lot more helpful to landowners than they are to landmen, so they will point you in the right direction.

If you are just searching the surface, you shouldn't have to go back all that far (meaning not all the way to the 1800s). You don't need certified copies, regular ones will do.

Good luck, but I would "interview" the attorney before you pay out.

Also, what county is this land in?

I'm on vacation, but I'm sure I can help. I don't have access to my office email (I disabled it on my phone years ago).

You can email me at queso1 at me dot com. It's raining at the beach anyway