Gregory J. McCleery, Esq.
Managing Oil and Gas Attorney
“Someone once asked me what I regarded as the three most important requirements for happiness. My answer was: ‘A feeling that you have been honest with yourself and those around you; a feeling that you have done the best you could both in your personal life and in your work; and the ability to love others.”
– Eleanor Roosevelt
Attorney Greg McCleery is the founder of McCleery Law Firm and opened his own practice several months after passing the bar in 2011. As the oil and gas industry began to invest in the area, energy law played a significant role in the firm’s early growth. Greg assisted both major industry players and local landowners with title research, and acted as the title supervisor for an oil and gas brokerage firm, overseeing all title operations and leading a team of experienced abstractors. As an oil and gas lawyer with extensive title abstracting experience in Ohio, he is intimately familiar with the intricacies of each county’s records and standard practices.
He worked exclusively with landowners on leasing negotiations, sales of minerals and royalties, and curative title work. After transitioning out of abstracting for title brokerages in 2015, he was able to use his knowledge of the industry to help clients steer clear of costly and dangerous missteps. As an oil and gas attorney in Ohio, he continues to actively represent clients as the majority of his current practice, particularly in oil and gas lease and mineral sale negotiations, curative work, and high-stakes oil and gas litigation.
After several years, Greg expanded into new areas of law, and eventually focused on family law and oil and gas as the core of his legal practice. He strove to build a reputation in the community for listening closely, caring about delivering the best possible outcomes, working quickly, and communicating rapidly and consistently. Within just two years, the firm began rapidly expanding and became the largest law practice based in Tuscarawas County, where its principal office is located. The firm also opened multiple branch offices in surrounding counties, which continue to comprise a significant portion of its practice.
As a managing attorney, Gregory McCleery is passionate about providing quality legal representation to underserved legal markets, leveraging innovation and technology to deliver services more efficiently, and providing advice and mentorship to the next generation of legal practitioners. A significant portion of his current duties include carefully training and overseeing new attorneys to meet the critical need for more attorneys in rural areas.
During law school, Greg was awarded the Perantinides & Nolan Scholarship for his outstanding commitment to public service. While completing his Juris Doctorate degree at the University of Akron School of Law, he took time away from his studies to volunteer at Housing Advocates, Inc. where he was promoted to a position with primary responsibility for overseeing their housing disability program. He also volunteered with legal aid, and still regularly appears at their free family law clinic.
Greg is active with his local church, became an Eagle Scout, and is active in the local bar association, serving as the Treasurer, Vice President, and as the President of the Tuscarawas County Bar Association for four consecutive terms. He also participates in the Ohio Attorney General’s Victims of Crime program, assisting domestic violence victims with obtaining civil protection orders without cost.
Professional Accomplishments of Greg McCleery, Attorney
- One of Ohio’s most active attorneys for oil and gas leasing and mineral sales negotiations, handling over $46,000,000 in transactions from 2023-2026.
- During his first oil and gas quiet title case in 2016, secured over 180 acres on behalf of client.
- Routinely represents landowners in cases with high-six figures in mineral assets in litigation or active marketing.
- Consistent track record of negotiating exponential price increases for oil and gas leases and mineral sales above initial offers. (While frequent, results will vary from case to case.)
- Guest Speaker at Continuing Legal Education Events on Oil and Gas Law.
- Led a team of experienced title abstractors at an oil and gas brokerage firm within three years of entering the field.
- Has practiced law since 2011, gaining extensive experience in oil and gas and domestic relations practice.
- Served four consecutive terms as President of the Tuscarawas County Bar Association.
- Awarded 2026 Regional Award for Outstanding Service by an Individual, by Legal Aid of South Central Ohio (LASCO)
Frequently Asked Questions
Greg McCleery opened his own practice in 2011, gaining early exposure to the early phases of Utica and Marcellus shale exploration by concentrating in oil and gas and family law practice. Initially operating as a solo practitioner, he gained invaluable experience first-chairing high-net-worth oil and gas and domestic relations cases that most practitioners are not given a chance to take on until the latter stages of their careers, bringing each of those cases to a successful conclusion. Since that time, he has personally handled hundreds of oil and gas and family law cases, as well as overseeing thousands of cases as managing attorney of the firm. He has also accumulated extensive trial experience and spent many years personally handling several contested hearings per week and dozens of trials each year before transitioning to a managerial role, training and mentoring other attorneys and offering feedback on their performance.
The firm uses a central database (for internal use only) for all client data as it comes in. The firm’s staff have custom-coded a suite of applications that mine this central database in order to create multiple automated processes and streamline the client experience and administration. For example, when a client is established, their information is gathered by support staff in our intake app, then flows into a prospects app where the attorney enters notes and pricing information, which is then automatically converted into a retainer agreement that is emailed to the client for electronic signature (unless another method is requested). After a client has retained, multiple internal processes are automatically triggered for issues such as billing, evidence collection, tasking, and automated document assembly that is custom-tailored to the particular county where the client lives. This ensures a highly organized, streamlined process for the client that increases response times for the client, helps eliminate error, and cuts administrative costs.
Oil and gas work is the majority of his current practice, approximately 95% of his current case volume. It includes lease and mineral sale negotiations, curative title work, and high-stakes oil and gas litigation. Greg also continues to handle a small number of domestic cases, particularly highly complex family law matters that require significant expertise.
Greg represents exclusively landowners in leasing negotiations, sales of minerals and royalties, and curative title work. Early in his career, he also assisted both landowners and major industry players with title research, before opting to work exclusively with landowners.
Greg’s approach starts with listening carefully to the client – not just for the crucial facts and details of the case, but also for their hopes, fears, concerns, and the values that lie behind them. Being a lawyer involves taking responsibility for some of the most important aspects of a client’s life: their children, their freedom, their savings, their home. Listening to understand who the client is as a person, is key to handling those interests with sensitivity, understanding, and professionalism.
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