Landman (Due Diligence)

Overview

We are engaging experienced, detail-oriented Due Diligence Landmen with a minimum of 5 years of oil and gas title and due diligence experience to support acquisition and divestiture projects. This is a project-based independent contractor engagement supporting buy-side and sell-side transactions — reviewing and verifying ownership, identifying and quantifying title defects, and producing diligence work product that stands up to counterparty and counsel scrutiny. The ideal contractor brings a proactive approach, strong organizational skills, and the judgment to know which issues are material to a transaction and which are noise.

Scope of Work

• Perform buy-side and sell-side due diligence on working interest, leasehold, mineral, and royalty assets, verifying record title ownership against the seller's asset schedules and interest representations.
• Review data room materials — leases, assignments, JOAs, unit and pooling agreements, division orders, DOTAs, JIBs, check stubs, and prior title opinions — and reconcile them to record title.
• Confirm lease validity and continuous maintenance, including HBP status, pooling and unitization history, continuous operations, and Pugh clause or depth severance effects.
• Identify, document, and quantify title defects; prepare defect notices, defect schedules, and supporting exhibits with proposed cure paths and materiality assessments.
• Draft and respond to curative requirements, and prepare runsheets, ownership reports, and stipulations of interest or curative instruments as directed.
• Track diligence findings in the project's defect log and reporting templates, flagging material issues to the project lead promptly rather than at delivery.
• Coordinate with landmen, title attorneys, and project leads to meet transaction and basin-specific deadlines and reporting standards.
• Conduct courthouse, online, and county/parish records research as required to support diligence conclusions.
• Maintain strict confidentiality and data integrity across all client and project records.

Requirements

• Minimum of 5 years of oil and gas title experience, including transactional due diligence on acquisitions or divestitures.
• Demonstrated ability to prepare defensible HBP title analysis and defect schedules.
• Strong proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Excel, Outlook) for document preparation and data analysis.
• Familiarity with real estate law principles, legal descriptions, easements, rights-of-way, and title search procedures.
• Ability to interpret public records, legal documents, and legal descriptions accurately.
• Excellent research skills combined with attention to detail for thorough title record examination.
• Strong written communication skills; diligence work product must be clear enough for counsel and counterparties to rely on.
• Ability to work independently, without day-to-day supervision, while managing multiple assignments against firm transaction deadlines.
• Own computer, internet connection, and software necessary to perform the work.

Engagement Terms

This is an independent contractor (1099) engagement, not employment. Contractors are engaged on a per-project basis under a written independent contractor agreement, control their own schedule and the means and methods of performing the work, invoice at an agreed day rate or hourly rate, supply their own equipment, and are responsible for their own taxes, insurance, and business expenses. Contractors are free to accept work from other clients. No benefits, paid leave, or employment relationship of any kind is offered or implied.

Education

• Bachelor's (Preferred)

Experience

• Oil and gas title: 5 years (Required)
• A&D / transactional due diligence: 2 years (Preferred)

License/Certification

• CPL (Preferred)

Work Location

Remote, with occasional courthouse or client-site work as project scope requires.

If you are a diligence-minded land professional who takes pride in accurate, defensible work product and wants a steady flow of project work, we would like to hear from you.

Pay: $350.00 - $400.00 per day

Work Location: Remote