David A Morgan

Subsurface landman and title abstractor combining twenty years as a practicing attorney - including ownership of a title agency - with current, daily subsurface title practice: complex chains of title through county indexes from patent-era roots to present; interpretation of deeds, assignments, probates, and leases; interest calculations (WI, NRI, MI, RI, ORRI) reconciled to ownership tables; and runsheets, abstracts, and ownership reports built on client-prepared templates.

Areas worked: Pennsylvania (Susquehanna, Bradford, Armstrong, Tioga, Lycoming, Wyoming Counties and others), Ohio, West Virginia, New Jersey (2011-present); East Texas (2025). Fully remote and independent, with high-volume data discipline and Excel-based deliverables.

Principal | Title Analyst, Curative Specialist, Abstractor at Bailey Hollow Land Management, LLC (Present)

Serve as review-tier title examiner for land services clients: completeness-and-accuracy review of certified title abstracts — every instrument re-verified against the record — with written findings memoranda and QC notes keyed line-by-line to the file; recent reviews reversed a lease-status conclusion (held-by-production established from well and production records) and identified root-of-title defects unseen by the original examiners. Perform title due diligence supporting energy development, including utility-scale renewable energy projects and oil and gas leasehold acquisition — verifying site control, analyzing exceptions and encumbrances, and reporting title risk against development timelines. Prepare certified full abstracts from Commonwealth warrant and patent to present across Pennsylvania counties: estates, tax-sale and sheriff's titles, undivided interests, life estates, unit/pooling analysis, and mortgage/lien audits verified against actual satisfactions of record.

Maintain issue trackers, deliver findings in plain-language memoranda, and escalate material risks early and in writing — while carrying concurrent files for multiple clients under hard deadlines.

Title Abstractor (Remote) at Purple Land Management (2025-12 – 2026-03)

Prepared full surface and mineral abstracts, including chain-of-title verification, deed analysis, mineral ownership, leasehold status, and encumbrance research; produced ownership reports and runsheets to client standards.

Title Abstractor / Curative Landman (Remote) at The Spillers Group, LLC (2025-09 – 2025-12)

Performed curative analysis for East Texas counties — heirships, missing conveyances, unreleased liens, chain discrepancies; drafted affidavits of heirship, stipulations, and corrective deeds; delivered defensible title packages under strict deadlines.

Curative Specialist / Landman / Right-of-Way Agent at Independent Contractor (2012 – 2021)

Full abstracts, mineral title verification, and curative research across PA, OH, NJ, and WV; landowner negotiations for leases, easements, and rights-of-way; resolved complex heirship, probate, and conveyance issues for major operators; supported the PennEast Pipeline project with FERC-compliant documentation.

Landman (Contract) at BP (Northeast Ohio) (2012 – 2012)

Verified leasehold ownership, mineral interests, and title status for exploration activities; negotiated leasehold interests.

Landman, Curative Section at Southeast Land Services (Shell Western E&P) (2011 – 2012)

Resolved title defects and heirship issues supporting drilling and development; assisted easement and right-of-way negotiations.

Attorney: Real Estate & Title, Corporate/Commercial, Litigation at Law Offices of David A. Morgan, Jr. (1992 – 2013)

Owned and operated an affiliated title agency; conducted and supervised title examinations and personally handled hundreds of residential and commercial closings — reading commitments, exceptions, lender instructions, and underwriting guidelines from the owner's chair. Identified title defects and chain-of-title gaps and prepared curative instruments: corrective deeds, affidavits of heirship, releases, quitclaims; handled discharges, satisfactions, and lien releases; coordinated with title insurers, lenders, surveyors, and recording offices across multiple jurisdictions. Drafted and negotiated easement, right-of-way, and access agreements affecting surface and subsurface estates; worked extensively with probate, intestate-descent, and Orphans' Court records to establish heirship and cure breaks in chain — the same skill set now applied to energy title.

Corporate/commercial: asset and equity purchases, due diligence and data-room management, closing checklists and exhibit packages, LLC/partnership/joint-venture structuring — directly analogous to energy JOA and development-agreement work.

Litigation: quiet-title, boundary and title disputes, partition actions, probate contests; drafted and argued motions in state trial courts; resolved disputes through negotiation and mediation.

Juris Doctor – University of New Hampshire, Franklin Pierce Law Center (1991)

M.S. in Chemistry (Bio-Organic/Medicinal) – Lehigh University (2013)

Graduate Certificate – Lehigh University (2011)

M.A. in Biochemistry – University of Scranton (1982)

B.S. in Biochemistry – University of Scranton (1981)