Lauren Varnado, a partner in Brown Rudnick's Litigation & Dispute Resolution Practice Group, is an experienced first-chair trial lawyer. She tries high-stakes, “bet the company” oil, gas, energy and tech disputes, securing victories for plaintiffs and defendants before trial and appellate courts, juries and arbitration panels. Lauren has been recognized by The American Lawyer and Lawdragon Top 500 U.S. as a leading energy lawyer, and honored by Vogue as an “Influential Woman of Houston.” She represents clients in breach of contract, fraud, oil and gas royalties, alleged environmental contamination, theft of trade secrets, midstream transportation, processing and refinement, joint operations and FERC enforcement litigation, as well as market manipulation related to trading in energy and commodity markets.
Lauren routinely advises private and public E&P companies on rights and obligations under upstream, midstream, power and LNG contracts; litigation avoidance and risk mitigation; climate litigation; and investments and obligations in carbon emissions reduction, carbon capture, and renewable energy (solar and wind).
Lauren has advised clients with oil and gas operations in Texas, Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Virginia, California, North Dakota, New Mexico, Kentucky, Louisiana, Colorado and Oklahoma.
Earlier in her career, she was seconded to Shell Oil Company, Upstream Americas, where she provided legal support to Shell’s domestic unconventional business, which included drafting upstream transactional agreements.
