Clay Brett

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It can be humbling for a fast-riser to suddenly learn just how much more there is to learn. For Clay Brett, it was both humbling and a challenge to tackle with gusto. “The leadership track at Millennial Energy Partners both required and allowed me to dig deep into financial and technical oil and gas analysis alongside a team of highly talented colleagues, who trained me,” he said. “I learned that the level of expertise required for any leadership role on the investment side required the same level of rigor I had developed over nine years of training as an attorney.”

Why did you enter the oil and gas industry? 
It is the industry at the center of nearly all meaningful world events and the shale industry was absolutely ripping while I attended law school.

Which career milestone did you reach sooner than you had planned, and what helped you reach it earlier than expected?
I became the general counsel of Millennial Energy Partners at 29 years old through the mentorship of Michael Piazza, now at Gibson Dunn, an incredible teacher and friend, and earned an investment leadership role at Millennial at 31 by studying under my peers at the firm and our partners at York Capital.

Describe a memorable professional experience.
I brought in my first client as a junior associate—probably broke 10 rules of the firm doing so—but the process validated my investment in relationships and ability to provide very trusted counsel to friends.

What qualities are necessary to be a good leader in the oil and gas industry?
Wisdom and maturity to manage your emotions. Drilling results can be understood statistically and commodity prices can be understood based on fundamentals, but living through them daily is very difficult. The experience of living through several drilling campaigns and commodity cycles delivers invaluable long-term vision to experienced leaders.

How have you exercised leadership to help shape your practice?
I orient my organization to share its deep technical expertise in the energy industry to help investment principals make great decisions and execute transactions tactically and efficiently. Coming from a buy-side role, I was humbled to find that my Baker Botts colleagues command a level of industrial depth on par with our investment team clients. This highly technical approach represents something different from traditional law firms in that my team provides proactive views around investment opportunities, project risks and deal trends more akin to investment banking. It represents a powerful delivery of institutional knowledge and required transformational leadership to introduce and adopt.

Which transformations do you think the industry must undertake for it to thrive in the future?
We live in a different industry than we did 10 years ago—the industry is leading its own decarbonization. It is abundantly rich with drilling and completion data and its leaders have lived through three major crude cycles in the last decade. Now, the market demands significant new investment in reserves, which the industry must deliver by quantifying geophysical views that meet the expectations of an industry that has widely adopted a statistical approach to underwriting.

What advice would you give other young professionals in your sector?
There is no subject within your ambit on which you cannot rapidly develop expertise and actionable views if you devote your entire self to the undertaking. Do not be afraid of stepping outside of your comfort zone and challenging yourself to improve.

 Get to know the rest of the Forty Under 40 class of 2025.