Deputy General Counsel, Equitrans Midstream Corporation
Photo by Equitrans Midstream Corporation.
By Hinaa Noor
Jessica Brisendine, deputy general counsel for Equitrans Midstream Corporation, grew up wanting to include writing in her career, but she did not settle on what shape that writing career might take until later.
Growing up in Campbells Creek, WV, Brisendine attributes her love for English and her interest in the oil and natural gas industry to her parents. Her father worked for a local gas distribution company, while her mother taught English across the river at East Bank High School—thus bridging her interest of two seemingly different careers.
With two working parents who had four children in college at the same time, Brisendine considered it a huge achievement when she received a full Presidential Scholarship to West Virginia State College, allowing her to stay in the Charleston area with her family during her undergraduate years. After receiving a bachelor’s degree in English, her focus remained on professional writing.
Brisendine’s law career did not take off until 2004, when she graduated from West Virginia University (WVU) with a degree in law. Prior to this, she spent a year working evenings and nights as a copy editor at the Charleston Gazette and sometimes working as a substitute teacher for Kanawha County Schools.
With a creative mindset and a different approach to learning, law school was a big adjustment for Brisendine. Not only was this her first time being away from family, but Brisendine also faced a few challenging academic experiences. While the skills required for her undergraduate degree in English came easily, she found law school was vastly different, requiring her to study more than usual and adapt to a new way of thinking.
With her practice focus as an in-house generalist, Brisendine has significant expertise in oil and gas law that includes litigation, claims and operational legal matters; however, her responsibilities also include a broad range of topics and issues, such as employment, insurance, corporate compliance, shareholder claims and personal injury.
“I like having a broad practice that allows me to continuously grow and provide a number of services to my clients,” says Brisendine.
Growing up in a blue-collar community, Brisendine was unsure of what kind of lawyer she would be and how she would retain her individuality in her practice. She came to realize that she may be a bit different than what others may perceive to be or define as a corporate lawyer.
“I’m best when I’m myself—plain spoken and practical. Embracing those qualities helped me gain a reputation as being a lawyer who could communicate just as well with the people working in the field as I could with executives in the boardroom,” she says.
Brisendine’s first job was as an associate attorney in the litigation department of Robinson & McElwee, PLLC in Charleston. This became a learning platform for her in the basics of oil and gas law, a crucial part of her practice as an oil and gas litigator. This experience also helped her learn how to look at a case as a whole instead of as a linear set of tasks to be completed, thus enabling her to become an effective strategist.
After three years, Brisendine left Robinson & McElwee to take an entry-level position as a staff attorney for Equitable Production Company, now EQT Corporation, focusing her attention on litigation matters. Brisendine climbed the legal department career ladder and assumed additional responsibilities, including oversight of all litigation matters, as well as claims, insurance and procurement contracts for EQT’s marketing, midstream and production subsidiaries.
In 2018, EQT split its upstream and midstream business units, and Brisendine transitioned to the role of deputy general counsel for Equitrans Midstream Corporation, an independent, publicly traded company. In her current role, Brisendine’s responsibilities include litigation, claims, employment, insurance and corporate compliance.
As a current member of the Energy and Mineral Law Foundation’s executive committee and a member of the legal committee and in-house working group of the Marcellus Shale Coalition, she has learned that flexibility at work is key to taking on new challenges.
Brisendine genuinely believes in her organization and enjoys working with the company’s many functional and operational groups. Aside from crediting her parents and husband in helping shape her career, Brisendine has also been blessed to have professionals in her life as mentors who recognize and appreciate her work ethic and dedication.
“West Virginia attorneys Tim Miller and Brian Swiger first recognized my potential as a young associate and helped me learn the basics of litigation and oil and gas law,” she says. “Those gentlemen—and numerous people at both EQT and Equitrans—stand out to me as individuals who have, each in their own way, pushed me to continue striving to be better and helped me realize that I have the potential to reach the highest levels as a lawyer and corporate leader.”
While much of her work occurs behind the scenes, Brisendine has played a significant and active role in the development of oil and gas law throughout the Appalachian Basin. During her nearly 20 years of practice, she has successfully managed lawsuits and legislative efforts that have shaped important industry issues, such as royalty and rental obligations, dual-purpose lease interpretation, lease termination, multi-lease development necessitated by horizontal drilling and subsurface trespass and coalbed methane ownership.
“There isn’t much that has developed in the oil and gas legal arena that I haven’t been involved with,” she says.
Equitrans operates throughout the Appalachian Basin, including in West Virginia, which enables Brisendine to have many opportunities to come home and remain a part of the legal community.
“One of my favorite things about being an in-house attorney is that I play an active role in ensuring that the decisions we make as a company advance our business goals while taking into account the interests of the communities where we work,” she says. “I know and care about these people and communities, and helping to facilitate operations that are beneficial to everyone involved is important to me.”
Currently residing with her family in Wexford, PA, Brisendine eventually plans to return to West Virginia.
“As an in-house lawyer, I’d like to work my way to that top in-house spot at some point. I’m not in a hurry though. I enjoy the work I do now,” she says.
