Professor Tara Righetti Publishes in Yale Law Journal and Other High Ranking Law Review Journals

Professor Tara Righetti of the College of Law recently released a myriad of articles published by top law journals nationally and internationally. Regionally renowned for her expertise in the field of oil & gas and energy law, she has further gained national notoriety with her publications in the Yale Law Journal Forum, the Ohio State Law Review Online, and the Utah Law Review. Additionally, she published with the International Journal of the Commons in a special guest-edited edition.

According to the averaged top ranking entities of peer-reviewed law journals, the Yale Law Journal is ranked #1 in the nation. The Ohio State Law Journal is ranked 37^th, while the Utah Law Review comes in closely behind at 52nd. Article submission to top 100 journals is fiercely competitive, with a rigorous vetting process.

With expertise in the areas of oil and gas regulation and split estate issues, Righetti’s articles are linked by their focus on environmental governance of oil and gas development, particularly with respect to opportunities for collaboration and private contracting. The first three articles focus on administrative law developments surrounding the changing landscape of environmental regulations, while the article in the International Journal of the Commons looks at split estates through the lens of mismatched property interests.

Her essay “The New Oil and Gas Governance” published in the Yale Law Journal Forum, which is the online version of the journal, examines how changes in oil and gas production have driven an overhaul of conservation regulation that has shifted from a focus on maximizing production to one that prioritizes minimizing impacts. The essay pays particular attention to the revolutionary Colorado Senate Bill 19-181, which prioritizes the protection of public safety, health, welfare, and the environment in the regulation of the oil and gas industry.

Her work in the Ohio State Law Review Online, entitled “Collaborative Pipeline Risk Governance: A Response to Professor Gosman,” responds to an article in the Ohio State Law Review by Professor Sara Gosman of the University of Arkansas. It suggests that providing landowners and communities more meaningful involvement in pipeline siting decisions could improve pipeline safety.

Her article “The Incidental Environmental Agency” in the Utah Law Review was released earlier this week. It examines the growing environmental regulatory function of state oil and gas conservation agencies, and the potential hazards of reforming conservation agencies into environmental regulators.

In addition to her local publications, Righetti published with the International Journal of the Commons in a special edition of the publication. The Journal is an interdisciplinary, peer-reviewed resource, dedicated to the furthering the understanding of institutions for use and management of shared natural resources. It is an initiative if the International Association for the Study of the Commons (IASC).

Her article, “Liberating Split Estates,” examines split estates as a limited commons. It considers how legal evolutions have modified the scope of the common law implied servitude, and the mineral estate’s dominance and opportunities for exit. The publication is expected to be available in the next few weeks.

Righetti began working for the University of Wyoming in 2014 in a joint capacity with the College of Law, College of Business, and the School of Energy Resources. Prior to her career in academia, she was the CEO and general counsel of a privately owned upstream oil and gas company with operations in six states and on the outer continental shelf. In her time at UW, she has helped students advance their research and energy goals by facilitating multiple grant-funded opportunities, and has been regularly sought out for her expertise and aid on major energy-related projects in Wyoming. In 2018, she was appointed as a trustee-at-large with the Rocky Mountain Mineral Law Foundation (RMMLF), and most recently, she was awarded tenure at the College of Law.

The College of Law recognizes how fortunate it is to have a faculty member of her caliber among its ranks. Professor Righetti has continued to raise the profile of the law school through her outreach, her dedication to her students, and through her impressive scholastic achievements.