Jessica C. Tully

Jessica C. Tully is a transactional attorney whose practice centers on real estate transactions, real property law, business law, and estate planning.  She is also a licensed notary and real estate broker in the Virgin Islands.  Ms. Tully frequently authors law review articles and other academic papers on property law and complicated title issues. 

Ms. Tully earned a B.A. in Political Science and History from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio in 2005.  In 2003, Ms. Tully studied in Luxembourg and was awarded the coveted Rebecca Andrew and Christopher Eggerton Memorial Scholarship – awarded to one male and one female student each year – for demonstrating “excellent academics, citizenship, attitude, and desire to live life to its fullest” while studying abroad. 

Ms. Tully earned a J.D. at Duquesne University School of Law in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 2008, where she served as the Executive Editor of the Duquesne Law Review and authored an article on the legality of U.S. military commissions in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba that was published therein.  

While in law school, she served two federal judicial internships in the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania and one federal judicial internship in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania.  Ms. Tully was awarded the CALI Award for the highest grade earned in International Law and was inducted into the Louis L. Manderino Honor Society for being among the Top Ten Competitors in the Jessup International Appellate Moot Court Competition.

She began her career in 2008 as assistant in-house counsel for a mid-sized oil and gas company in Pennsylvania.  In 2010, Ms. Tully joined the Business Services Department of a prominent Pittsburgh law firm, where she was the first oil and gas title attorney hired to form the Energy and Natural Resources Practice Group.  In 2012, Ms. Tully joined the Energy Transactions and International Energy Practice Group of a prominent international law firm, where she represented global leaders in oil and gas exploration and production.  

Ms. Tully founded the law firm Tully & Barry in 2014 and represented a variety of clients on matters of business, energy, estate planning, oil and gas, and property law issues.  Ms. Tully moved to the U.S. Virgin Islands in 2016 where she was Of Counsel with the largest law firm in the USVI.  She opened her own practice on the island of St. Thomas in 2019 and added an office on the island of St. Croix in 2020.

Throughout her career, Ms. Tully has authored a variety of articles published in various law reviews, bar journals, and trade and industry journals and has taught continuing legal education courses to attorneys on a variety of subjects.

• "Inner Reward By Helping Others" Duquesne Alumni Magazine (2018)
• “Top 40 Under Forty Award” Shenango Valley Chamber of Commerce (Apr. 2014) 

• "USVI Real Estate Update 2018," Chambers, 2018.
• “The Joys of Title Law,” Virginia State Bar Real Property Section newsletter, The Fee Simple (Jun. 2014); republished in AAPL Landman Magazine (July/Aug. 2014). 
• “Pennsylvania Title Washes Upheld” Energy Alert (June 2014) 
• “Shale Gas and Oil Prospects Loom Large for Argentina,” International Energy and Natural Resources Committee of the International Law Section of the ABA newsletter (Mar. 2014) “Conducting Business in Conflict Zones,” International Bar Association newsletter (Dec. 2012) 
• “PA Law Opens More State Lands for Energy Resource Development,” S&J Energy Alert (Oct. 2012) 
• “A Call to Young Lawyers: Be Kind to Your Secretary,” Young Lawyer’s division of the Allegheny County Bar Association newsletter, At Issue (Mar. 2013) 
• “Conducting Business in Conflict Zones,” International Bar Association newsletter (Dec. 2012) 

• “2014 Survey on Oil and Gas: Illinois Oil and Gas Update,” Texas A&M Law Review, Vol. 1 (Mar. 2014) 
• “2013 Survey on Oil and Gas: Illinois Oil and Gas Update,” Texas Wesleyan Law Review, Vol. 19 (Mar. 2013) 
• “Military Commissions Are Governed by Military and International Law: Hamdan v. Rumsfeld,” Duquesne Law Review, Vol. 45 (Jun. 2007)

• “Oil & Gas Title Law A-Z,” presentation at National Business Institute Seminar in Pittsburgh, PA (Jun. 2016)
• “Basics of Oil & Gas Title Law,” presentation at 2016 Pennsylvania Land Conservation Conference in State College, PA (May 2016) 
• “Conducting Due Diligence: Drilling, Division Order and Leasehold Purchase Title Examination,” National Business Institute seminar on “The Ultimate Guide to Oil and Gas Title Law” in Harrisburg, PA (Dec. 2015)
• “Preparing Oil and Gas Title Opinions for Complex Title Projects,” presentation for National Business Institute “Ultimate Guide to Oil and Gas Title Law” seminar in Harrisburg, PA (Dec. 2015) 
• “Conducting Due Diligence: Drilling, Division Order, and Leasehold Purchase Title Examination,” presentation for National Business Institute “Ultimate Guide to Oil and Gas Title Law” seminar in Harrisburg, PA (Dec. 2015) 
• “Shale Gas and Oil: Tomorrow’s Dominant Energy Source Today,” presentation at Miami University, Oxford OH, February 2015. 
• “Horrors of a Record Room,” presentation for the Northern Appalachian Landman’s Association (NALA) regional chapter of AAPL (Mar. 2014) 
• “2014 Survey on Oil and Gas: Illinois Oil and Gas Update,” Texas A&M Law Review, Vol. 1 (Mar. 2014) 
• “Steptoe & Johnson 2013 Energy Leadership Summit,” presentation on litigation-resistant mineral title (Sep. 2013) 
• “Act 13 in 3D: Drilling, Doctors, and Disclosure,” presentation on the chemical disclosure provision in Act 13 (Feb. 2013)