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When seeking an in-house counsel position, Beth Ryan believes that while the role is a generalist’s playground, there is incredible value in digging deep.
“There are a lot of lawyers who know a little of everything, but I decided early on that I wanted to be an expert,” the senior counsel at ConocoPhillips explains. “I was a young, female lawyer working to set myself apart, and I would advise younger lawyers that learning one area extensively is an invaluable springboard to getting where you want to be.”
In Ryan’s case, that meant deep diving into oil and gas title work—reviewing ownership rights in the oil and gas space and spending hours looking into public records, codes, and the areas of law that would be applicable. The work would propel her into transactional and regulatory work, now her specialty, but not before becoming a true subject-matter expert.
Ryan’s knowledge was so respected that New Mexico Governor Susanna Martinez appointed the lawyer to serve on the Environmental Improvement Board for the state. She was the youngest appointee by at least twenty-five years. Her role included sitting on the board responsible for rulemaking and adjudicating rules and regulations for environmental, air, and water quality issues.
“Now, when I appear in front of agencies, I remember what I liked to see from that side of the table.”
Elizabeth Ryan
After that appointment, Ryan was again selected by the governor to the New Mexico Game and Fish Commission.
“I went from environmental to wildlife management issues, which have always been a passion of mine in my personal life,” Ryan says. “In both of these roles, I was the person behind the bench asking the questions. Now, when I appear in front of agencies, I remember what I liked to see from that side of the table.”
Ryan built out extensive firm expertise prior to going in-house and even spent five years running her own practice, a feat she managed soon after giving birth to her second daughter. But eventually, ConocoPhillips recognized the value the student of New Mexico oil and gas law could bring to the Texas-headquartered company. Those years of specialization had paid off big for her.
“Your expertise and intelligence will ultimately carry the day,” Ryan advises. “It can be tough being a female attorney in oil and gas, but if you can keep that chip off your shoulder, your work and expertise will speak louder for you than anything else. You won’t have to ask to be at the table. They’ll be coming to you.”
While moving to Texas for a senior counsel role with one of the most well-known names in energy should have been a dream moment, Ryan was also grappling with real life. A newly single mother of two daughters, the lawyer packed up and moved her family by herself to Midland.
“It was the beginning of COVID, and I had these wonderful girls,” Ryan says. “The three of us were having to adjust to a completely new life in a completely strange environment. But I’m so grateful for it now. We were going to make our own happiness, and we did it together.”
The senior counsel knew she was in the right place when new neighbors showed up with casseroles and desserts, welcoming the new family to Texas. Ryan says after a short amount of time, Midland felt like a hometown she’d never left, and it’s made the challenge of raising two girls on her own just a little bit easier.
Life at ConocoPhillips has been equally rewarding. Ryan says it wasn’t until she came to the company that she knew what a decent night’s sleep on Sunday night felt like. She suddenly had a role she looked forward to, a culture she could thrive in, and a work/life balance that encouraged her to take the time she needed to be the kind of mom she wants to be.
“It might take you some time to find the job that’s right for you and where you want to spend your career. There are steps in a journey. But be a sponge wherever you are, and, eventually, you’ll find the kind of organization that doesn’t make you dread Monday morning.”
Elizabeth Ryan
“I’ve learned a lot of lessons through so many jobs and just life in general, and I hope some younger attorneys can realize that you don’t have to stay in an environment that isn’t good for you,” Ryan says. “It might take you some time to find the job that’s right for you and where you want to spend your career. There are steps in a journey. But be a sponge wherever you are, and, eventually, you’ll find the kind of organization that doesn’t make you dread Monday morning.”
Ryan says she now has the best of both worlds: substantive work that rewards her intellectually and the time to devote to her fifteen- and ten-year-old. The lawyer says her work speaks for itself, but her proudest moments lie in seeing the kind of young women her daughters are becoming. Those girls have quite an example to follow.
