Andrea Tettleton

Andrea Tettleton knows enough to know she doesn’t have to know everything.

“My mentor was my first law partner, and he would always tell me that you don’t have to know everything, but you have to know what you don’t know, meaning stay curious,” she said. “You should never feel like you have all of the answers, because it will definitely lead to blind spots in your critical thinking and title analysis.”

And even prominent energy attorneys start off by not knowing much.

“I did not have a particular desire to enter the oil and gas industry, but I graduated law school in 2009 during the Haynesville boom, and the law firm that hired me specialized in oil and gas transactional law,” Tettleton said. “I did well in successions, property, matrimonial regimes and other key areas of title examination, but, hilariously enough, I had not taken mineral law. I had no idea what a mineral servitude even was. The partners assured me that I would pick up the ‘mineral law’ part, but I was doubtful! It was a steep learning curve, but here I am 15 years later.”

The same held true for public speaking. Tettleton is good at it, but it wasn’t always this way.

“When I first started out in this industry, I was terrified of public speaking, but it is essential to promoting yourself and your law firm,” she said. “My first public speaking engagement was at a landman’s seminar in front of 20 people, and I honestly did not think I would make it through the hour without tears. This past year, I was asked to be the keynote speaker at the Horizon Breakfast for the AAPL Annual conference in front of 500-plus people. The cliché is true: to get over your fear of public speaking, you should continue to participate in public speaking.”

Tettleton was the 2023 President of the Global Board of the Women’s Energy Network, an organization with more than 7,000 members across 25 chapters. Yet, the challenges of being a woman in the oil and gas industry apply to her too. She is often mistaken for her law partner’s wife, paralegal or secretary. She responds to it with humor and assertiveness.

“It is rare that I walk into a room, and I am recognized automatically as the managing partner of a law firm, so those situations can amplify my imposter syndrome thoughts,” she said. “I encourage young women in the energy industry to walk into a room with confidence and to not let anyone’s erroneous perceptions overshadow their successes or determine their self-worth.”

Tettleton’s goal at the outset of her career was that of a typical associate: to learn oil and gas law and to bill enough hours to make partner. However, her goals today are focused outward.

“I recently became licensed to practice law in Texas, so I hope to expand our law practice to include Texas prospects,” she said. “I also want to provide more mentoring opportunities to the associates with our firm.”

A lot has changed since she began practicing oil and gas law, but a lot has not.

“The first client dinner I attended was comprised of 30 men and me,” Tettleton said. “Fifteen years later, there has been an increase in women in the energy industry, but we are still woefully underrepresented, accounting for less than 25% of the workforce and worse, only around 17% hold executive leadership positions.

“We need to be the change we want to see in the industry by showcasing successful women in leadership positions as role models. This not only provides inspiration but also demonstrates that the industry values and supports the advancement of women. We need to actively seek out diverse talent through inclusive recruitment practices. This may involve reevaluating job descriptions, using diverse interview panels, and partnering with organizations that focus on promoting women in STEM fields.”

Check out the rest of Hart Energy's 2024 Women in Energy here.