Co-Chair, Real Estate Group | Member
Charleston, WV
office 304.340.3890
mobile 304.545.1907
Mr. Eckley's primary area of practice is mineral, commercial and residential real estate law.

Education

  • Rhodes College, B.A., 2004
  • West Virginia University College of Law, J.D., 2007
  • The Center for Real Estate Law at University of Illinois Chicago John Marshall Law School, LL.M. in Real Estate Law, 2008

Experience

  • Negotiating, preparing and interpreting purchase/sale agreements, leases, easements, licenses, rights-of-way, surface damage agreements and other land use agreements
  • Serving as counsel for the acquisition and development of two major shopping centers in the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia
  • Performing coal, oil and gas title examinations and preparing corresponding title opinions to assist a wide variety of clients in acquiring desired property rights, including large-scale title examination projects for natural resource and renewable energy companies
  • Represented the purchaser in one of the largest auto dealership acquisitions and refinances to occur in West Virginia
  • Counsel in the development, sale and/or financing of five different wind-powered electric generation facilities
  • Representing various clients in timber transactions totaling over 1 million acres
  • Serving as counsel on the long-term development and sale of a shale operator’s oil and gas development projects
  • Serving as counsel on an ongoing coalbed methane development and tax credit project
  • Working on numerous general commercial transactions, financings and contracts, including advising parties in secured lending transactions
  • Served as in-house counsel on loan at a publicly traded oil and gas company working on natural gas production, transportation and storage issues
  • Working on numerous pre-litigation and litigation cases related to contracts and real estate law
  • Representing clients in commercial and mineral real estate transactions, including an acquisition of approximately 130,000 mineral acres
  • Agent for First American Title Insurance Company, Old Republic National Title Insurance Company, and Fidelity National Title Insurance Company

Reported Cases

  • Cunningham Energy, LLC v. Kanawha County Board of Education, No. 20-0346 (W.Va. Supreme Court, March 23, 2021) (memorandum decision)

Distinctions

  • Listed in The Best Lawyers in America for Real Estate Law
  • Listed by West Virginia Super Lawyers as a Rising Star
  • CALI Award, Legal Research and Writing

Admissions

  • West Virginia State Bar
  • Licensed Real Estate Agent (Inactive)

Memberships

  • West Virginia State Bar, Real Estate, Zoning and Land Use Committee, Member
  • American Association of Professional Landmen

Publications & Presentations

  • Author, “Developing Jurisprudence in the Marcellus and Utica Shale,” Energy and Mineral Law Foundation Annual Institute, 2012
  • Contributing author, “Innovative Approaches to Post-Mining Land Use Development,” Energy and Mineral Law Foundation Annual Institute, 2010
  • Speaker at 33rd Annual Energy and Mineral Law Foundation Conference

Community Involvement

  • Episcopal Diocese of West Virginia, Vice Chancellor
  • Attorney Volunteer, Legal Aid of West Virginia Pro Bono Referral Program
  • Former Board Member (7 years) and Big Brother (17 years), Big Brothers Big Sisters of South Central West Virginia