The PLDIC’s Corporate Roundtable will present a free virtual CLE, “Remote Work/Return to Work and DEI Implications,” sponsored by Babst Calland on Friday, October 18 from 12-1:30 p.m. PLDIC Board member Don Bluedorn joins a panel discussion to discuss the webinar’s presentation about current research and data on this topic. The event will offer 1.5 hours in PA CLE Credit.
For more information, click here.
Babst Calland is pleased to announce that two lawyers were selected as 2025 Best Lawyers in America® “Lawyer of the Year” in Pittsburgh, Pa. and Charleston, W. Va. (by BL Rankings). Only a single lawyer in each practice area and designated metropolitan area is honored as the “Lawyer of the Year,” making this accolade particularly significant.
Receiving this designation reflects the high level of respect a lawyer has earned among other leading lawyers in the same communities and the same practice areas for their abilities, professionalism, and integrity. Those named to the 2025 Best Lawyers in America® “Lawyer of the Year” include:
Blaine A. Lucas, Litigation – Land Use and Zoning “Lawyer of the Year” in Pittsburgh, Pa.
Timothy M. Miller, Litigation – Environmental “Lawyer of the Year” in Charleston, W. Va.
View the award recipients here.
In addition, 40 Babst Calland lawyers were selected for inclusion in the 2025 edition of The Best Lawyers in America®, the most respected peer-reviewed publications in the legal profession:
View the award recipients here.
17 Babst Calland lawyers were also named to the 2025 Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch® in America which recognizes associates and other lawyers who are earlier in their careers for their outstanding professional excellence in private practice in the United States:
View the award recipients here.
Best Lawyers undergoes an authentication process, and inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America® is based solely on peer review and is divided by geographic region and practice areas. The list has published for more than three decades, earning the respect of the profession, the media, and the public as the most reliable, unbiased source of legal referrals. Its first international list was published in 2006 and since then has grown to provide lists in over 65 countries.
Firm Announces Strategic Partnership with Former PIT General Counsel Jeff Immel
Babst Calland announced today its plan to expand the firm’s capabilities in its Aerospace, Aviation and Airports practice through a strategic partnership with Jeff Immel, former general counsel of the Allegheny County Airport Authority (ACAA), the operator of Pittsburgh International Airport and Allegheny County Airport, and experienced aviation and aerospace attorney.
Prior to joining ACAA, Immel served as the head of U.S. aviation regulatory and legal affairs for Zipline International Inc. where he provided legal counsel in obtaining and maintaining all federal approvals necessary to begin unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) commercial package delivery operations in the U.S. He also served as the primary legal and regulatory counsel to Amazon Prime Air and Amazon Air and was an associate attorney for Jenner & Block and Jones Day where he advised clients on various aspects of aviation regulation and emerging technologies law. Prior to attending law school, Immel served in the United States Navy as a combat fighter pilot, where he achieved the rank of Lieutenant Commander.
Led by Justine Kasznica, Babst Calland currently actively supports the mission and vision of the growing space industry in the region, and currently serves as general counsel for various aerospace contractors and suppliers and non-profit space organizations. Babst Calland is also in partnership with the Department of Defense and U.S. Space Force’s AFWERX/SpaceWERX hub in Pittsburgh, and is a founding member of the Pittsburgh-based Keystone Space Collaborative and the Moonshot Museum,
“We look forward to partnering with Jeff on many new endeavors as we forge new pathways in the aerospace, aviation and airport industries and helping our existing clients in these sectors to grow and expand,” said Justine Kasznica, shareholder, and chair of Babst Calland’s Emerging Technologies practice.
With demonstrated experience as a naval aviator flying in combat, an in-house attorney, airport general counsel, and legal and business advisor to multiple clients in the aviation and technologies industries, Immel is affiliating with Babst Calland to broaden its capabilities to meet the evolving and dynamic legal and regulatory challenges facing these highly regulated fields.
“Aviation, airport, and aerospace law are complex and rapidly evolving disciplines and demand quick answers to difficult problems. Joining forces with Babst Calland’s multidisciplinary legal and regulatory team is a welcome opportunity to focus on the complex needs and expectations of companies with emerging technologies,” said Immel.
“Partnering with Jeff further represents Babst Calland’s commitment to continue to meet the legal and regulatory needs of our clients,” said Donald C. Bluedorn II, Managing Shareholder. “Jeff is well-known in the industry and has a great reputation among local, state and federal regulatory agencies. We’re very pleased to have him as part of our team.”
Babst Calland participated in the Cook County Bar Association (CCBA) Minority Law Student Job Fair in Chicago on July 23, 2024. The CCBA Job Fair attracts hundreds of law students with the of goal of connecting talented minority candidates with legal employers that value diversity. Babst Calland was represented at the CCBA Job Fair by Varun Shekhar, shareholder in the Firm’s Environmental and Pipeline Safety sections.
Morgan M. Madden recently joined Babst Calland as an associate in the Energy and Natural Resources, Public Sector and Employment and Labor groups. Ms. Madden represents traditional and renewable energy industry clients in land use and other local regulatory matters. She also has served as a solicitor for several Pennsylvania municipalities and municipal authorities. Ms. Madden provides a wide range of services to clients in both the public and private sectors, with an emphasis on land use, zoning, planning, labor and employment advice, and litigation.
Prior to joining Babst Calland, Ms. Madden served as an associate with Eckert Seamans Cherin & Mellott, LLC. She is a 2017 graduate of Widener University Delaware Law School.
Babst Calland Attorney Christina Manfredi McKinley was recently elected to the Pittsburgh Board of Trustees of The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society Eastern Great Lakes Region. She will serve a three-year term beginning July 1, 2024.
“I’m honored to serve on the Pittsburgh Board of Trustees and am thrilled to be a part of the team. I look forward to supporting LLS in its mission to find cures and ensure patients can access the lifesaving treatments they need,” said Ms. McKinley.
According to Tina Thompson, Region Executive Director for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society – Eastern Great Lakes Region, “Volunteer leaders like Christina help LLS advance our mission and change the landscape for all cancer patients and are a crucial link in our efforts to cure blood cancers and improve the quality of life of our patients and their families.”
Babst Calland partnered with the Pittsburgh Legal Diversity & Inclusion Coalition (PLDIC) to sponsor and host an event designed for law students who identify as diverse. This event, called “Ask Us Anything,” was a panel discussion, followed by a networking reception, where over a dozen Pittsburgh law students had the opportunity to meet in-house attorneys from various companies and to ask them anything. The panelists included Ariell Antonio, Highmark Health; Jamie Fargo, PNC; David Ross, Giant Eagle, Inc.; Keysha Taylor, BNY; Tony Thompson, Dollar Bank (& PLDIC Board Vice Chair); and Chaton Turner, UPMC. For more information, click here.
Babst Calland has been ranked in the top 400 among the largest U.S. Law Firms. The Law360 400 features the largest U.S.-based law firms and international firms with a U.S. component as measured by domestic attorney headcount.
Babst Calland is pleased to announce that the following attorneys were selected to the 2024 Super Lawyers’ Rising Stars® lists, published by Thomson Reuters. Only 2.5% of attorneys from each state are selected to receive the Rising Stars® designation for any given year, an honor reserved for those attorneys who exhibit excellence in practice. To be eligible for inclusion in the Rising Stars® list, a candidate must be either 40 years old or younger or in practice for 10 years or less. The multi-factor selection process includes independent research, peer nominations and evaluations, as well as professional achievement in legal practice.
Pennsylvania Rising Stars®
Kathleen H. Cooper – Shareholder, Mergers & Acquisitions
Casey Alan Coyle – Shareholder, Business Litigation
Andrew C. DeGory – Associate, Business Litigation
Alexandra G. Farone – Associate, Employment & Labor
Anna S. Jewart – Associate, Land Use & Zoning
James D. Mazzocco – Associate, Environmental Litigation
Christina Manfredi McKinley – Shareholder, Business Litigation
Joshua S. Snyder – Shareholder, Civil Litigation
Washington, D.C. Rising Stars®
Amanda L. Brosy – Associate, Environmental
Gina Falaschi Buchman – Shareholder, Environmental
Yesterday, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court designated Casey Coyle as the next Chair of the Supreme Court’s Civil Procedural Rules Committee, effective July 1, 2024. Established in 1937, the Civil Procedural Rules Committee is the oldest of the Supreme Court’s eight rules committees. The Civil Procedural Committee assists the Supreme Court in the preparation, revision, publication, and administration of the rules of civil procedure. This work includes the entire spectrum of civil matters in the Courts of Common Pleas except matters relating to Orphans’ Court and family court divisions of those courts. Casey—who is one of 13 members who currently serve on the Committee—concentrates his practice on complex commercial litigation and appellate law. He is a former law clerk to Chief Justice Emeritus Thomas G. Saylor of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court.
To view the Court’s Order, click here.
Babst Calland is pleased to announce that we have earned a place on the U.S. News & World Report’s 2024 Best Companies to Work: Law Firms list.
Guided by a panel of experts, the U.S. News’ 2024 Best Companies to Work For: Law Firms list analyzes how individual firms meet the needs and expectations of their employees compared to their competitors. Similar to the Best Companies to Work For methodology, the Law Firms list considers six factors that are important to employee well-being and job satisfaction: quality of pay and benefits, work-life balance and flexibility, job and company stability, physical and psychological comfort, belongingness and esteem, and career opportunities and professional development.
Babst Calland is among the 344 U.S. law firms with the highest composite scores on the six factors to be recognized by U.S. News as “Best” employers. To view the listing, click here.
Babst Calland recently named Gina Falaschi Buchman, Timothy S. Bytner and Carla M. Castello shareholders in the Firm.
Gina Falaschi Buchman focuses her practice on environmental regulatory matters arising under the Clean Air Act. Ms. Buchman provides advice to clients in the energy, transportation, and technology sectors regarding compliance with state and federal environmental regulations. She has assisted companies with disclosure of regulatory violations to state and federal agencies and has counseled clients in negotiations with the U.S. Department of Justice, U.S. EPA, and California Air Resources Board. In addition to counseling on compliance issues, Ms. Buchman has worked with technology and energy companies in developing new projects and has advised clients on regulatory issues arising from joint ventures, mergers, and acquisitions. She has also advised clients regarding aftermarket parts and vehicle tampering enforcement. Ms. Buchman has litigated cases in federal court, represented clients in administrative cases before various federal agencies, and has experience with administrative rule challenges before the U.S. Courts of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit and Third Circuit. Ms. Buchman is admitted to practice in the District of Columbia, California, U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, and U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California. Ms. Buchman has litigated cases in federal court, represented clients in administrative cases before various federal agencies, and has experience with administrative rule challenges before the U.S. Courts of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit and Third Circuit. Ms. Buchman earned her J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center and her A.B. from Georgetown University.
Timothy Bytner focuses his practice primarily on federal and state environmental regulation and litigation. A significant portion of his practice is spent advising clients on matters involving the remediation and reuse of contaminated properties under both state and federal jurisdiction, including counseling clients on Pennsylvania’s Act 2 Land Recycling and Environmental Remediation Standards Act. He has counseled clients on a variety of matters involving storage tank jurisdictional issues and compliance under Pennsylvania’s Storage Tank Program. Mr. Bytner has also counseled clients in environmental compliance issues involving the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, RCRA, EPCRA, CERCLA, and a wide variety of state regulatory issues. He regularly handles wetlands, stream encroachment, and stormwater issues associated with site development. In addition, Mr. Bytner has experience in matters involving environmental emergency response and the Spill Prevention, Control, and Countermeasure Rule, the Facility Response Rule, and various state planning requirements. Mr. Bytner is a member of the Allegheny County, Pennsylvania and American Bar associations. Mr. Bytner received his J.D. from the Duquesne University School of Law, and a B.S. in Biology from the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown.
Carla Castello has a broad range of litigation experience in several practice areas including commercial, labor and employment, consumer protection, antitrust, energy, and toxic tort. Her experience includes assisting corporate clients in defending a variety of matters, including environmental and toxic tort disputes, commercial contract disputes regarding the manufacture, design, installation and testing of large industrial equipment, and conflicts between shareholders in closely-held businesses. Ms. Castello has experience in all stages of litigation, including complex commercial and class action litigation involving extensive electronic and foreign language discovery. She has represented clients in various federal and state courts and before single and three-judge arbitration panels. Ms. Castello is admitted to practice in Pennsylvania, the District of Columbia and Virginia, as well as before the United States District Courts for the Eastern District of Virginia, the Western District of Virginia, and the Western District of Pennsylvania and the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. She is a member of the Allegheny County, Virginia, District of Columbia, and American Bar associations. Ms. Castello graduated from the University of Maryland with a B.A. in Economics and received her J.D. from the George Washington University Law School.
Charles F. (Chad) Wall IV recently joined Babst Calland as an associate in the Corporate and Commercial Group. Mr. Wall’s practice focuses primarily on corporate and transactional matters, including mergers and acquisitions, venture capital and private equity investments, corporate governance, and commercial contracts.
Prior to joining Babst Calland, Mr. Wall was an associate with Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP. He is a 2021 graduate of University of Virginia School of Law.
Babst Calland sponsored the Pittsburgh Smart 50 Awards event recognizing the top executives of the smartest companies in the Greater Pittsburgh region for their ability to effectively build and lead successful organizations.
Babst Calland Attorney Susanna Bagdasarova introduced a group of the Smart 50 honorees and the Sustainability award.
Babst Calland Attorney Justine Kasznica was a Smart 50 honoree and won the Impact award for the Keystone Space Collaborative.
Babst Calland Attorney Tiffany Arbaugh has been elected as President for the Women’s Energy Network West Virginia for 2024.