Michelle Phillips, CPL

Michelle Phillips is the vice president of land at Lime Rock Resources in Houston and an adjunct faculty member teaching Oil and Gas Law and Energy and Mining Law at the University of North Dakota School of Law. Her extensive experience across the United States includes the Permian, Eagle Ford, Bakken, Rockies and Mid-Continent basins.

Phillips earned a bachelor’s degree in business from Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., and both her Juris Doctor and MBA from the University of Oklahoma. After completing her graduate programs, she started her career at Shell in 2007 working the Rockies, Northern Louisiana and Mid-Continent assets. In 2011 she transitioned to Hess and worked the Bakken for 10 years. During that time she served in commercial, surface and mineral land roles that included surface land manager and land negotiations manager.

Joining AAPL as soon as she started her land career, Phillips sat for the CPL in 2013. She has served on the Certification Committee for AAPL since 2018 and is currently the committee chair. She also has been a member of the Houston Association of Professional Landmen, West Houston Association of Professional Landmen and Landman’s Association of North Dakota. In addition, she is a member of the state bars for Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming, North Dakota and Montana.

Phillips lives in Houston with her daughter, Ella. Involved in her community, she serves as cookie manager for Ella’s Girl Scout troop, adviser for Tall Pines Hills Community Girl Scout Higher Award, board member for the Trinity Health Foundation in Minot, North Dakota, trustee for The Foundation for Natural Resources and Energy Law, and admissions interviewer for Georgetown University. She also is an active member of Cornerstone United Methodist Church and enjoys traveling, baking, knitting, reading and hiking. She and her daughter are on a joint mission to visit and earn Junior Ranger badges from all 423 locations in the National Park System.