RPL/CPL Certification Exam Review - Denver

Jerris Johnson

Landman and Technology Advocate

Jerris Johnson, CPL, has more than 20 years of practice as a land professional in the oil, gas, and renewable energy industries. He advises companies on blending traditional workflows with improved data systems, technological advancements, and AI to help land departments and professionals maximize productivity and efficiency. He is grateful for opportunities to present and educate at regional and national conferences and corporate events. Jerris also co-hosts the Real Deal Landman Show podcast, available on all major streaming platforms.

Michelle Phillips

Vice President of Land, Lime Rock Resources

Michelle Phillips is Vice President of land at Lime Rock Resources in Houston, TX.  Michelle earned her undergraduate degree in business from Georgetown University in Washington, DC. She completed both her Juris Doctorate and Master of Business Administration from the University of Oklahoma.  During her years at Shell Exploration and Production, Hess Corporation, and Callon Petroleum, Michelle worked in a variety of land roles spanning commercial, surface, and mineral. She has extensive experience in basins across the United States including Permian, Eagle Ford, Bakken, Rockies, and Mid-Continent.  She has also served as a faculty member teaching Oil and Gas Law, Energy and Mining Law, Business Associations, Transactional Negotiations, and Domestic Petroleum Transactions at the University of North Dakota School of Law and South Texas College of Law.  Michelle gives her time back to the Energy and Legal Communities as a trustee and for the Foundation for Natural Resources and Energy Law, board member of Houston Association of Professional Landmen, Co-Chair of the NAPE Operating Committee, Assistant Chair of the Annual Meeting Planning Committee, and Co-Chair of AAPL’s Women in Energy Institute.  She has also served as the Second Vice-President of the American Association of Professional Landmen as well as chairing the Certification Committee, Landman Scholarship Trust, and NAPE Operating Committee.   In addition to AAPL certifications, Michelle is a member of the state bars of Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming, and Montana.  

Outside of her career, Michelle is very active in her community – serving as Girl Scout Troop Leader and Gold Award Mentor; National Board Member for the Women’s Public Leadership Network; Southeast Texas Community Leadership Board Member for American Diabetes Association; Finance Committee member for Cornerstone Methodist Church; and Alumni Admissions Volunteer for Georgetown University.  Michelle and her daughter, Ella, are on a joint mission to visit and earn Junior Ranger badges from all 423 locations in the National Parks System.

Tom Rucker

Buell Rucker Land Services

Tom Rucker has over thirty-five years diversified oil and gas experience and has worked most of the major U. S. basins in all phases of land work. He graduated from The University of Texas with a Petroleum Land Management degree in 1981 and has worked for large and small E & P’s as well as in trust management positions at The Northern Trust Company, managing the mineral holdings for affluent clients.

He interned at Palo Petroleum while attending UT and then worked the Anadarko Basin in Oklahoma with Mack Oil Company. In 1981 he joined Shell Oil Company in Houston and assigned to Rocky Mountain Division. At Shell Tom worked extensively on field assignments in Colorado, New Mexico, Nevada and North Dakota, conducting title and securing leases, dealing with the BLM and Bureau of Indian Affairs before returning in-house to work federal units in Nevada. In 1985 Shell transferred Tom to its West Coast operations in Bakersfield where he handled land issues in Shell’s heavy oil operations in Kern County, California.

When oil prices tanked in the mid to late 80’s Tom left Shell to pursue an MBA also working for lease brokers and managing mineral interests for California trustees. He passed the CPL exam in 1990 having joined Trust Services of America in Los Angeles in 1988. There, he managed a fledgling department turning it into a profit center. His career took him to Dallas when Northern Trust acquired TSA in 1992. At Northern, Tom was promoted to Vice President and responsible for managing the energy assets, negotiating leases, monetizing the assets and conducting client presentations.

After 17 years in energy trust management Tom joined Encana in 2005 as a Land Negotiator in its East Texas Cotton Valley Bossier and Lime fields. There, he managed a five-rig drill schedule, negotiated multiple-well carry farmouts and acquired large blocks of leases to promote Encana’s drilling program. In 2010 he left Encana to join Pioneer’s Barnett Team and managed the title and drill schedule for Pioneer’s horizontal drilling program and also its surface operations.

A member of AAPL since 1980 Tom served as AAPL’s Ethics Chairman in 2014-2015. In March 2015 after the sale of its Barnett operations, Tom accepted a package with Pioneer and launched Buell Rucker Land Services, offering consulting services. Tom lives in Dallas with his wife, Debbie. They have three children, six grandchildren, and a German Shepard.