CHS is proud to be a platinum sponsor for the East Texas Association of Petroleum Landmen Annual Skeet Shoot! Excited to support this event and connect with everyone there. We'll see you on the range!

We are excited to share that one of our founding partners, John Childers, has been recognized as one of D Magazine's 2025 Best Lawyers in Dallas! This honor highlights the significant impact John has made (and continues to make) in the energy and real estate industry. We're so fortunate to have his knowledge, dedication, and talent at CHS. Check out the May issue of D Magazine to read more!

Congrats to Associate Attorney Dan Sexton! He's officially licensed to practice in New Mexico, joining our other attorneys with NM licenses - Carly Hewett, Kurt Miller, and Christian Garcia! This achievement complements his existing Texas license and further strengthens our firm's ability to serve clients in New Mexico and Texas.

Congratulations to Caitlin Harrington and Dan Sexton for passing the bar! We're thrilled to welcome them to our team as Associate Attorneys.

CHS is pleased to announce that Jon Bailey has joined our team as an Associate Attorney! Please join us in welcoming Jon!

CHS is pleased to announce that Christian Garcia has joined our team as an Associate Attorney! Please join us in welcoming Christian!

CHS is proud to announce the promotion of Kurt Miller and Mark Walston to Partner!

What's your favorite part of working at Childers Hewett Slagle?

My answer is equal parts simple and true: the people. I truly believe in the saying “people don’t leave bad jobs, they leave bad leaders,” and luckily the leaders here are pretty dang good. Truthfully, the workplace environment at CHS is as good as it gets.

What are some career lessons you've learned thus far?

I’m still learning to put this into practice, but the advice to embrace discomfort as a necessary and crucial part of becoming a better attorney has served me well.

Why did you decide to pursue the career you have today?

So much of the work we do here is like solving a complex puzzle, and I just happen to be a puzzle-person. Really though, I ended up in this industry by happenstance and have stuck around because the work is stimulating, and you really can’t beat the people!

We are pleased to announce that Tori Sharockman has joined CHS as an Associate Attorney! Everyone, please welcome her to our team!

What's your favorite part of working at Childers Hewett Slagle?

My favorite part of working at CHS is the overall culture and commitment to work-life balance.  We work as a team to get projects done for our clients as quickly and efficiently as possible, but the Partners understand that personal things come up in life that take priority as well.

What are some career lessons you've learned thus far?

Staying in constant communication with the client from start to finish is the best way to ensure everyone is happy at the end of a project.

You want to under-promise and over-deliver (as opposed to the opposite) to manage client expectations effectively.

What do you do at our firm?

As a Senior Associate, I stay in constant communication with the Partners and our clients, while also coordinating with the younger associates to train them and answer any questions they have.

What's your favorite part of working at Childers Hewett Slagle?

It’s the camaraderie that we all have with each other. There are very few workplaces where people genuinely enjoy working together, but this is one of them.

What are some career lessons you've learned thus far?

Don’t make excuses. I learned that when I was probably still in my teens. Just accept responsibility, fix the issue, and move on. People appreciate that.

Why did you decide to pursue the career you have today?

I graduated from college shortly after the Great Recession, and at the time there wasn’t a lot of optimism. But there was a bright spot: U.S. shale was kicking into high gear. While I was in college I remember reading about the booming U.S. oil-and-gas industry, and I thought it seemed exciting—I knew that I wanted to be involved in the industry.

What's your favorite part of working at Childers Hewett Slagle?

It's a firm full of professional lawyers, but we in no way resemble a stuffy law firm, which is by design. From day one, John, Carly, and I have expended a great deal of energy making sure the office culture is collaborative and supportive and that none of us take ourselves too seriously. We can't change that we are lawyers, but we sure don't have to act like them!

Why did you decide to pursue the career you have today?

I graduated from college in the thick of the Great Recession, and it was clear that the part time work I could find in my small East Texas hometown wasn't going to pay the bills. So, like so many other financially illiterate Millennials, I decided to go back to school and take on six-figures of debt to become a lawyer! Really, I grew up in Kilgore surrounded by friends and family in oil and gas, and I saw an opportunity to serve that industry as an attorney. I took all of the oil and gas, real property, and contracts drafting classes I could in law school and managed to score a law clerk position at an oil and gas title firm. Over a decade later, I'm still hoping to figure out what I want to do when I grow up.

What's your favorite part of working at Childers Hewett Slagle?

As much of a cliché as it might be, the people. A driving motivation for starting our firm was the opportunity to work with great people with who we truly enjoy spending time. Clearly everyone is at their job in order to earn an income, but dealing with the daily stresses and responsibilities of work is made so much easier when you are sharing those days with people you enjoy being with and have mutual respect for both professionally and personally. That does not exist everywhere.

Why did you decide to pursue the career you have today?

I grew up in the energy industry and began working in the oil and gas business right out of high school.  During those early years as a landman, both during and after college, it was clear that being in the energy industry in some capacity was where I wanted to be.  I've been fortunate that my career has allowed me to working in various areas of the industry (oil, gas, uranium, wind and solar), in various capacities (in-house with energy companies and as a practicing attorney), and to expand into other, related areas of practice (real estate and corporate governance).

This month’s Spotlight Attorney is our partner Carly Hewett!

What's your favorite part of working at Childers Hewett Slagle?

I love working with this amazing group of people – both those within the firm as well as our clients!

What are some career lessons you've learned thus far?

When you get a raise or bonus, use those funds to outsource something that will make your life run more smoothly (and that you really don’t like to do), such as hiring someone to do your laundry or cook for your family a few days a week.