Case Support, Advisement, and Project Management
Stillwater Associates offers expert testimony, litigation support, and arbitration support to law firms and individual clients on energy supply and distribution issues. We provide lost profits, business interruption, and damages analyses for events that have happened in the downstream petroleum industry. Stillwater advises counsel on how the energy industry functions, analyze the merits of a client’s case, provide case management, write position papers, participate in depositions, and offer testimony. We have also advised in settlement negotiations.
Stillwater recognizes that litigation only arises after the related parties have exhausted efforts to resolve their disagreements. The original intent of the parties may not be clear. Circumstances in the markets have changed. The governing law itself may be in conflict. Industry insight alone will not settle the matter.
Knowledge of the industry and its common practices can identify strengths and weaknesses in the opposition’s position. The ability to bring together an understanding of the operational, accounting, financial, engineering, and science elements of the business can clarify the underlying disagreements of the parties in a way that can allow attorneys to focus on the legal issues in play. Our experts can assist the judge or jury in understanding the technical and commercial issues, and allow them to focus on the issues of their expertise – the law.
The person who directs this analysis will be the ultimate testifier. You will benefit from a witness with deposition and testimony experience, and a supporting staff of research experts in this industry. Your expert will easily meet the Daubert standard, and peer review excellence in comparison to the opposition expert.
We have provided expert testimony before the U.S. Congress and the California Public Utilities Commission. We have delivered litigation support services on a wide variety of subjects including the impact of oil company mergers on the marketplace, oil refining and market issues, interstate fuel transit, petroleum operations, and refining business and technical petroleum issues. Typical situations we have encountered in litigation and arbitration settings include:
- Refinery downtime from fire and explosion
- Economic loss from pipeline outages
- Compliance with regulations and regulatory intent
- Fair value for risks incurred
- Petroleum operations
- Impact of company mergers on the marketplace
- Petroleum logistics, refining, and markets
Our clients include major oil and gas producers and suppliers; holding companies; multi-national companies; start-ups; processing and distribution companies; developers and owners of renewable energy sources; and trading companies.
Our experience runs deep
Our associates have extensive expertise in energy transactions, oil and refined products pipelines, the sale and purchase of transportation fuels assets such as terminals and refineries, mergers and acquisitions, fuels storage, transmitting arrangements, economic and safety regulations, transportation fuels infrastructure, downstream and midstream markets, and alternative fuels like bio-based diesel.
Please contact us to learn more about our litigation support services.