Zack Oliva

Biography

Growing up in Ohio, the natural place to go to college was The Ohio State University. Originally, Zack Oliva wanted to enter the U.S. Department of State’s diplomatic corps. The complexity of international relations, many jurisdictions, and negotiation all tied up into one area was fascinating to Zack.

By the time he graduated with his political science degree, the Great Recession was in full swing and the only job that he could find was in Texas.

“I am not moving to Texas,” young Zack said.

A friend of his was going to law school, and Zack needed a new plan, so he, too, attended law school. It was during that time that wildcatter Aubrey McClendon discovered the Utica Shale and Ohio became a real player in oil and gas.

Zack became fascinated by the business. It involved all the things that attracted him to the idea of the diplomatic corps — many different jurisdictions, lots of parties involved, and the need to be able to negotiate and resolve conflicts. Zack, in that moment, knew he wanted a career in oil and gas. Not “energy law,” but real deal, upstream oil and gas law.

Then an interesting turn happened in 24-year-old Zack’s life. Remember that Texas opportunity he didn’t take?

Well, in 2011, one of Zack’s professors told him, “If you want to be taken seriously in oil and gas, you need to go where the real action is. You need to go west, young man.” As in, you must go to the Energy Capital of the World: Houston, Texas.

With his goal in mind, Zack put his butt where his heart wanted to be. He found a firm that was big in Texas but needed an Ohio lawyer to handle the Ohio boom. And that was Zack.

In 2013, he co-founded a lean oil and gas title and due diligence firm serving clients in Ohio, Texas, and New Mexico. The next year, Zack hired Brad Gibbs, an experienced Texas oil and gas attorney, as well as former punk rocker and resident of Japan, to double down on dirt law and expand markets. Brad cut his teeth in the drilling boom of the Barnett Shale and the acquisition frenzy in the Permian Basin. Zack and Brad saw eye-to-eye that success would come from fanatical client service, collaboration, continuous learning, and a true passion for the industry itself.

Zack continues to be fascinated by the industry. To be successful, you must understand title, litigation, and transactions. And some engineering. And some geology. And some genealogy. And know how to negotiate. There’s always a story that happens behind the scenes — when you understand the story, you can solve the problems.

Today, the firm has achieved national recognition as one of Texas’ top mid-sized law firms to work for by Vault Law. They’ve been ranked on the 2024 and 2025 Chambers lists and have also been recognized by Legal 500 for their work in Energy Litigation and Energy Transactions. The firm is part of the Inc. 5000 list of America’s fastest growing private companies and has won the Hoston Business Journal’s Fasting Growing Company Award.

Not bad for an Ohio boy interested in oil and gas who didn’t want to move to Texas and then partnered with a former punk rocker.