Richard Howell

Career

Richard A. Howell is a commercial trial lawyer and leader of Jackson Walker’s Energy Litigation group. At 6’8”, Richard enjoys standing up for clients in trials and hearings. As an advocate, Richard uses his strategic understanding of complex situations and a client’s business to help businesses achieve its goals and win either in the courtroom or at the negotiating table.

Richard has been recognized as a top litigator by Super Lawyers (Business Litigation) and The Best Lawyers in America (Energy Litigation). Lawdragon selected him as one of its 500 Leading Litigators in America as well as one of the 500 Leading Energy Lawyers.

Richard represents energy companies in complex disputes, including novel cases and issues that have been covered by the Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, Texas Tribune, and Houston Chronicle. This includes disputes related to interconnections between common carrier oil pipelines, natural gas transportation rate discrimination, and a first-of-its-kind challenge to a producer’s request to flare natural gas despite being connected to a natural gas gathering system. Richard has also assisted clients with multi-state regulatory and litigation proceedings related to natural gas sales, distribution, and penalties, including disputes arising from Winter Storm Uri. His clients include oil and gas exploration and production companies, natural gas gathering system operators, oil and natural gas trading companies, power generators, and oil storage and terminal companies. Richard represents energy clients in state and federal court trials and hearings, arbitration proceedings, and contested Texas Railroad Commission hearings. Richard has a strong understanding of the energy industry, but one of the things he enjoys about his work is the opportunity each case presents to learn more. Richard’s strengths include understanding, applying, and communicating nuanced or complicated technical, operational, and financial matters to judges, juries, and arbitrators.

In addition to energy disputes, Richard represents businesses in a variety of industries in complex disputes that require a skilled and creative presence in the courtroom. This work includes representation of an international electronic payment processing company, data center operators, hospitals, banks, chemical companies, and a telecommunications company. In these disputes, Richard has obtained multi-million dollar judgments and arbitration awards when representing plaintiffs, and he has obtained dismissals of lawsuits and total defense jury verdicts and judgments for defendants.

Richard also represents many clients in “emergency” actions related to temporary restraining orders (TRO) and injunctions. His work includes efforts to enjoin – or avoid injunctions of – business activities on behalf of an offshore oil and gas producer, pipeline operators, a national bank, a private equity company, a chemical plant, and a food distributor. Richard has helped businesses obtain receiverships over hotels, a TV station, and a hospital.

At Jackson Walker, Richard serves as the leader of the firm’s Energy Litigation group and a member of two of its firm-wide committees.

Richard was born in Houston, Texas. He attended Episcopal High School where he now serves on the Board of Trustees (2020-Present) and as its current Executive Chairman (2023-Present). He attended the University of Texas at Austin, and he now serves on the visitors’ advisory committee to the Thomas Jefferson Center. While in college, he interned at the White House with the President’s Deputy Senior Advisor, and he also interned for the Texas Governor and Speaker of the Texas House of Representatives. After graduating college, he worked for the White House and for NASA’s General Counsel. Richard attended Baylor Law School where he was active in advocacy programs and served as the Articles Editor for the Baylor Law Review.

Richard lives in Houston with his wife and three children. He is actively involved with his family, church, children’s school, and other community organizations.

Professional Memberships

Episcopal High School - Board of Trustees, 2020-Present; Executive Committee, 2021-Present; Executive Chairman, 2023-Present

St. John the Divine - Associate Vestry, 2016-2018; Generosity Committee, Member, 2018-2023, and Chair, 2021

University of Texas at Austin, Visitors’ Advisory Committee – Thomas Jefferson Center for the Study of Core Texts and Ideas, 2024-Present

Jackson Walker – Houston Pro Bono Co-Chair and Statewide Pro Bono Committee, 2017-2020

River Oaks Baptist School – Alumni Board, 2018-2022

Globalaw, Leadership Programme Participant, 2016

Texas Bar Association – Litigation Section and Oil, Gas and Energy Resources Law Section

Houston Bar Foundation, Fellow

Texas Bar Foundation, Life Fellow

Houston Bar Association – Speakers Bureau; Committee Member, 2012-2016; Co-Chair, 2013-2014

Greater Houston Partnership Energy and Sustainability Committee

Greater Houston Partnership, Business Resource Group–Business Beyond Borders

Education

Work Highlights

- Rainbow Energy Marketing v. American Midstream (2019; 2025) – The Supreme Court of Texas unanimously reversed a judgment against American Midstream, providing key guidance for energy litigation, contract interpretation, and lost profits damages. The Court held that American Midstream was excused from providing balancing services whenever Transco required limitations, as clearly stated in the contract. It found no falsity in American Midstream’s representations, rejected Rainbow Energy’s tort and repudiation claims, and ruled Rainbow’s lost profits model speculative. The decision reinstated American Midstream’s counterclaim and reinforced that contracts and their exceptions will be enforced as written, offering greater certainty for parties in the energy sector.

- Converge Midstream v. Magellan Midstream (2024) – Represented Converge Midstream, an oil storage provider, in an antitrust suit against Magellan Midstream in state district court in Houston. Converge alleged that Magellan carried out a monopolistic scheme by controlling crude oil shipments in the Houston area, denying access to its distribution system, and improperly downgraded crude oil from West Texas Intermediate (WTI) to lower grades, resulting in a significant value decrease for the oil when it re-entered Magellan’s system. Converge sought more than $200 million in damages plus trebling under the Texas Free Enterprise and Antitrust Act. Magellan denied liability. After more than 20 depositions and more than a million pages of document production, Converge’s claims were called to trial in July 2024. The court denied all three of Magellan’s dispositive motions and ruled in Converge’s favor during the pretrial conference on critical evidentiary issues related to Magellan’s crude oil downgrading practice and crude oil blending program. As reported publicly, before jury selection, Magellan and Converge successfully resolved their dispute. The nature and amount of the settlement are confidential.

- Constellation v. Energy Transfer (2024) – Represented Constellation Energy Generation in state district court in Houston arising from Energy Transfer’s miscalculation of fees under the parties’ natural gas transportation service agreement. Energy Transfer counterclaimed for the recovery of additional fees. Both parties denied liability. In May 2024, the Court denied both parties’ motions for summary judgment and ordered Energy Transfer to produce its policies and communications related to pipeline operations and imbalances. Later that month, Energy Transfer filed a joint motion to dismiss, noting that the parties resolved their dispute.

- Constellation v. Various Natural Gas Sellers (2023-24) – Represented Constellation Energy Generation in natural gas sales disputes (in arbitration, federal court, and state court) arising from Winter Storm Uri. Many of these disputes are on-going, but through this litigation, Constellation has already recovered millions of dollars from parties that engaged in opportunistic sales during the storm rather than fulfilling their sales baseload commitments to Constellation.

- CNOOC v. Williams (2024) – Represented the Williams Companies in an appeal filed by the Chinese National Offshore Oil Corporation. In 2021, the Railroad Commission of Texas ruled in favor of Williams, finding that it did not engage in discrimination related to natural gas gathering service to more than 3,000 wells in the Eagle Ford area. CNOOC appealed that ruling and sought remand for a new trial. After briefing and oral argument, the court affirmed the Railroad Commission’s ruling. Additionally, the Railroad Commission’s dismissal of CNOOC’s associated rate case became a final dismissal following this appellate win.

- Confidential v. Callon Petroleum (2023) – A midstream company and Callon Petroleum arbitrated a complex dispute worth more than $300 million concerning a right of first refusal provision of a gas gathering agreement and related midstream transactions. Jackson Walker tried the case to an arbitration panel that included two former Texas Supreme Court justices and obtained a total victory for Callon and an award of attorneys’ fees. Based on short time limits in the parties’ arbitration clause, the entire case was prepared, tried, and decided between January and June 2023. In light of the ruling, Callon can move forward with a new gas gathering agreement with a third party and limit unnecessary waste of natural gas that was caused by the claimant midstream company’s oversubscribed system.

- Confidential v. Ascent Resources (2022) – A midstream company and Ascent Resources arbitrated a dispute related to the dedication provisions of their natural gas gathering and processing agreements. Jackson Walker represented Ascent. The arbitrator granted partial summary judgment for Ascent and against the midstream company related to a contract interpretation issue that had an estimated more than $100 million. After that ruling and further discovery, the case was favorably resolved, and Ascent was able to move forward with a new, more favorable gathering and processing agreement with a third party.