Integrity and ethical business practices aren’t “nice to have,” they’re a competitive advantage. In this episode of An Ounce of Prevention, host Rachel Reese sits down with Ella McDonald, founder of McDonald Land Services, to unpack the Cornerstones of Success: honesty, integrity, and ethical behavior, and what they look like in day-to-day decision-making.

Ella shares how growing up on a dairy farm taught her accountability early, how she pushed into land work in 1978 when she was told there were no women in the field, and the leadership standards she set as her company expanded into major U.S. basins serving oil, gas, renewables, and emerging energy sectors.

If you’re a founder, executive, manager, or service provider building a reputation-based business, this conversation is a practical reminder: you have to choose ethics every day, and your organization has to live it, not just say it.

Time Stamps / Chapters

00:00:01:04 Welcome to An Ounce of Prevention

00:00:25:17 Host intro + guest introduction (Ella McDonald)

00:01:31:06 The “cornerstones of success”: integrity, honesty, ethics

00:03:28:04 Starting in land work in 1978—“when pigs could fly”

00:05:15:21 Learning accuracy, then pushing into the field

00:06:18:01 Advocating for equal pay: from $35/day to $75/day

00:06:49:12 Why she started her own brokerage firm

00:08:48:06 The unethical kickback request—and walking away

00:12:32:23 How standards scale across a team and operations

00:14:11:21 Fair invoicing + defending work to clients

00:15:21:19 Growth across basins: Marcellus/Appalachia, Rockies, nationwide

00:18:24:18 Building a family legacy + team leaders carrying it forward

00:21:42:01 Lifetime achievement award + message to women leaders

An Ounce of Prevention explores where energy, law, and real-world operations collide. Each episode pairs timely legal insight with practical conversations from operators who know the field, focusing on the decisions that actually move the industry forward.

In this episode, the spotlight is on distressed oil and gas wells, assets that are often overlooked, underfunded, or written off as companies move on to flashier plays. You’ll hear how experienced operators see opportunity in these forgotten wells, using disciplined operations, automation, and wellbore-only strategies to bring production back online.

It’s a grounded look at how value is created not through hype, but by knowing what to fix, when to act, and when a simple switch can make all the difference.

Caselaw Update:
The update covers Miko, LLC v. Targa Gas Marketing, LLC, a decision from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit

The dispute arose out of Winter Storm Uri (February 2021) and focuses on how far a natural gas seller can go in relying on a force majeure clause under a NAESB (North American Energy Standards Board) gas contract.

Time Stamps:

00:57 – Caselaw Update: Winter Storm Uri and force majeure

04:53 – “Stick to the contract” takeaway and risk mindset

05:19 – Introducing John Benevides and New Height Energy

05:59 – What “distressed” oil and gas wells really mean

06:37 – Why vertical wells get ignored as operators chase horizontals

07:28 – Wellbore-only deals explained

08:43 – Shared infrastructure and legacy asset challenges

10:19 – Turning shut-in wells back on with minimal intervention

11:15 – Automation and personnel efficiency in distressed assets

14:28 – Why aggressive bids on distressed wells often fail

15:45 – Performance bonds, plugging liability, and hidden risks

19:19 – Case study: ~2 BOPD turned into 100+ BOPD

21:06 – Growth strategy built around distressed wells

Where should you register your business, and why does it matter so much?
In this episode of An Ounce of Prevention, we break down how business jurisdiction affects taxes, liability, compliance costs, and long-term growth.

Partner and Corporate Team Lead Tawnya Bell walks through the most common entity-formation choices founders make: Delaware, Texas, Wyoming, and when Series LLCs should be your first choice (and when it creates unnecessary risk). If you’re starting, restructuring, or planning an eventual exit, this conversation can save you time, money, and legal headaches.

This episode is designed for business owners, founders, and executives who want to make strategic, not trendy, decisions about corporate structure.

Time Stamps / Chapters:

00:31 – Introduction to corporate structure & jurisdiction

00:55 – Case law update: Non-compete enforceability

01:00 – Wiggins v. Southern Securities Group overview

02:55 – Mississippi Supreme Court ruling explained

04:05 – Why non-competes are often misunderstood

04:22 – Why jurisdiction matters when forming a business

05:02 – Delaware: benefits and limitations

06:18 – Texas business courts and why they matter

07:16 – Wyoming LLCs and the anonymity myth

08:17 – Series LLCs and long-term structural risks

09:39 – Practical guidance for choosing the right state

10:16 – Avoiding trend-based business decisions

11:12 – Disclaimers and closing remarks