Charleston, WV
600 Quarrier Street
Charleston, WV 25301
T: (304) 347-1111
F: (304) 343-2867
  • Former Law Clerk to The Honorable John A. Field, Jr., U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit

J.D., West Virginia University College of Law (1973)

B.A., Washington and Jefferson College (1968)

  • Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia
  • Supreme Court of Pennsylvania
  • U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
Photo of J. Thomas Lane

J. Thomas Lane

Partner

Thomas Lane practices primarily in the areas of natural resources, coal, oil and gas, commercial real estate, zoning and land development. This practice ranges from complex transactions of mineral property and companies to complex litigation of natural resource issues. He also engages in lobbying and government relations, particularly on issues affecting the mineral industry.

As the former Robert T. Donley Adjunct Professor of Law at the West Virginia University College of Law, Tom taught a course in Coal, Oil and Gas Law (1986-2005).

Tom served as an elected member and president of the Charleston City Council from 1987 to 2018. He is involved in various special projects from homeless shelters to public safety and has organized and oversees task forces to carry out a city plan on comprehensive improvements.

An owner of a land development company, Tom is involved in land development, construction and rental. He is a veteran of the United States Army, having served from 1969 to 1971.

Professional Highlights

  • West Virginia University College of Law, Robert T. Donley Adjunct Professor of Law, Coal, Oil and Gas Law (1986-2005)

  • Published articles: Rights-of-way and Easements in Mineral Development; Maintaining Oil and Gas Lease in Distressed Markets; West Virginia Ad Valorem Property Taxes; Fire in the Hole to Longwall Shears, Old Law Applied to New Technology; Accounting for Cotenants, Trustees, Lessees, Trespassers and the Like; Carbon Sequestration:  Critical Property Rights and Legal Liabilities – Real Impediments or Red Herrings?

  • Named to The Best Lawyers in America ® (Energy Law; Mining Law; Natural Resources Law; Oil & Gas Law; Real Estate Law; and Litigation - Real Estate), 1989-present
  • Recognized multiple times as Best Lawyers' Lawyer of the Year in the southern West Virginia region (2014, Oil & Gas Law; 2012, Mining Law; 2011, Energy Law; and 2010, Real Estate Law)
  • Recognized by Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business among “Leaders in their Field” for Natural Resources Law
  • Peer-Review Rated AV by Martindale-Hubbell
  • Recognized by Super Lawyers (Energy and Natural Resources), 2007-present

  • McClaugherty Award Recipient, Energy and Mineral Law Foundation (2006)

  • Presentation:  Held By Production Leases:  When Are They Actually Held?, by J. Thomas Lane
    Energy & Mineral Law Foundation's 2015 Annual Institute
    Amelia Island, Florida, June 23, 2015
  • Bowles Rice attorneys among presenters at Energy & Mineral Law Foundation Annual Institute
    Energy & Mineral Law Foundation's 2015 Annual Institute
    Amelia Island, Florida, June 23, 2015
  • "Held By Production Leases:  When are They Actually Held?," by J. Thomas Lane, Britt A. Freund and J. Breton McNab
    36 Energy & Min. L. Inst. § 25, 2015
  • Charleston City Council (1987-2018)
  • Charleston Land Trust (Chairman)
  • Energy and Mineral Law Foundation (Trustee and Past President)
  • Gas & Oil Association of WV, Inc.
  • Fourth Circuit Judicial Conference
  • West Virginia Bar Association (Past President and Executive Council Chairman)
  • West Virginia Coal Association