Bio

Ken Hedge is a Partner in the Energy, Environment and Natural Resources Department in the firm’s Bismarck, North Dakota office. For more than 18 years, Ken has been representing and advising public and private companies and their owners in a variety of sectors. He has been actively involved in many aspects of the Bakken formation development in Montana and North Dakota since its inception in 2002. Ken has centered his practice at the intersection of land and business, principally offering expertise in title examination for oil and gas exploration and development, due diligence title review, surface mineral (sand, gravel and scoria) ownership and development, and general real property advice for North Dakota’s businesses and farmers and ranchers. He also enjoys guiding clients through the process of business and asset acquisitions and divestitures for a range of clientele from large, national companies to main street entrepreneurs, and assists business owners in all stages of business development, from initial entity formation and day-to-day operation through wealth and succession planning for owners. Most recently, Ken has spent a substantial part of his practice representing private equity companies in the acquisition of non-operated oil and gas leasehold interests, mineral interests and other assets in the Bakken formation. Ken is a Fellow in the American College of Real Estate Lawyers and serves on the North Dakota Title Standards committee. He is also the North Dakota Reporter for the Rocky Mountain Mineral Law Foundation Newsletter, providing case summaries of newly-issued opinions affecting oil, gas and mineral law, and related real estate law, for the State of North Dakota. Ken enjoys teaching at public and private seminars, both to sophisticated oil and gas audiences and practitioners looking to expand their knowledge of oil and gas and real estate law. He looks forward to, and finds special satisfaction in, advising and counseling non-profit entities in their formation and day-to-day operation. He formerly co-chaired the firm’s Oil and Gas Practice Group and served as the contact partner for the Bismarck office.