The Institute for Energy Law (IEL) is one of the divisions of The Center for American and International Law, founded in Dallas, TX in 1947. Originally called the Southwestern Legal Foundation, CAIL presented its first Oil and Gas Conference in 1949, and has done so every year since. The IEL was founded in 1959 and over the years has expanded its programming well beyond the annual conference. The vision and mission of the IEL is to provide superior educational and professional opportunities for lawyers and other professionals in the energy industry through educational courses, conference, scholarly publications and membership activities. IEL is a membership organization, and counts many of the leading energy companies and attorneys among its international membership. It presents several educational conferences and seminars each year, publishes papers, periodicals, and provides an important forum in which contemporary issues affecting the energy industries can be discussed.