Brian Sullivan

Educational Qualifications
JD, University of Texas, 1979.
BS, Petroleum Engineering, with Honors, 1976.

PGE Courses Taught
PGE 379: Oil, Gas and Mineral Law

Expertise
Sullivan is a Licensed Professional Engineer in Texas in Petroleum and Natural Gas Engineering (66213), and is Board Certified in Oil, Gas, and Mineral Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. He is a founding partner in the law firm McElroy, Sullivan, Miller & Weber, LLP. Prior to entering private practice, he was a Legal (now titled Administrative Law Judge) and Technical Examiner in the Oil and Gas Division of the Railroad Commission of Texas, Staff Counsel to Commissioner Buddy Temple, an Adjunct Assistant Professor of Petroleum Engineering at UT Austin, a consulting engineer with Max F. Powell, PE, and a production engineer with Amoco Production Company. Now a partner emeritus at McElroy, Sullivan, Miller & Weber, he practices law on a redued basis and is a grader for the Oil, Gas and Mineral Law Certification Examination. He is also the co-author/editor of Smith & Weaver, Texas Law of Oil and Gas.

Sullivan was appointed by Governor George W. Bush to the Regulatory Affairs Committee of the Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Commission, and he is past chairman of the Oil, Gas and Energy Resources Law Council of the State Bar of Texas. He is also a past chairman of the Visiting Committee of the Petroleum and Geosystems Engineering Department of UT Austin. He has served as a Trustee at St. Stephen’s Episcopal School in Austin, Texas, as a Trustee at Schreiner University in Kerrville, Texas, and as an Elder at Westminster Presbyterian Church.

Awards & Honors
E. E. Smith Lifetime Achievement Award in Oil and Gas Law, 2026.
UT PGE Distinguished Alumni Award, 2023.
Martindale-Hubbell AV Preeminent Attorney.
Go To Lawyers for Energy Law, Texas Lawyer Magazine.
Super Lawyer, Thompson Reuters, 2007–present.