When Jack Balagia started at McGinnis Lochridge & Kilgore in Austin in 1977, his boss asked him if he would like to do some Railroad Commission of Texas work on behalf of the firm’s client, ExxonMobil Corp.

The young associate’s response? “That would be great,” Balagia recalls during a recent interview. “Then I walked down to my office to find out what Railroad Commission work was.”