Babst Calland has been recognized in the 2026 edition of Best Law Firms®, ranked by Best Lawyers®, nationally in 8 practice areas and regionally in 41 practice areas:
- National Tier 2
- Energy Law
- Environmental Law
- Land Use and Zoning Law
- Litigation – Construction
- Litigation – Environmental
- Mining Law
- National Tier 3
- Natural Resources Law
- Oil and Gas Law
- Regional Tier 1
- Pittsburgh
- Bet-the-Company Litigation
- Commercial Litigation
- Construction Law
- Corporate Law
- Energy Law
- Energy Regulatory Law
- Environmental Law
- Land Use and Zoning Law
- Litigation – Construction
- Litigation – Environmental
- Litigation – Land Use and Zoning
- Mediation
- Municipal Law
- Natural Resources Law
- Water Law
- Charleston-WV
- Business Organizations (including LLCs and Partnerships)
- Commercial Litigation
- Energy Law
- Environmental Law
- Litigation – Environmental
- Oil and Gas Law
- Regional Tier 2
- Pittsburgh
- Information Technology Law
- Real Estate Law
- Charleston-WV
- Arbitration
- Banking and Finance Law
- Commercial Transactions / UCC Law
- Corporate Law
- Mining Law
- Natural Resources Law
- Washington, D.C.
- Energy Law
- Environmental Law
- Litigation – Environmental
- Regional Tier 3
- Pittsburgh
- Labor Law – Management
- Litigation – Labor and Employment
- Mergers and Acquisitions Law
- Charleston-WV
- Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights / Insolvency and Reorganization Law
- Bet-the-Company Litigation
- Litigation – ERISA
- Mergers and Acquisitions Law
- Real Estate Law
- Washington, D.C.
Firms included in the 2026 Best Law Firms® list are recognized for professional excellence with persistently impressive ratings from clients and peers. To be considered for this milestone achievement, at least one lawyer in the law firm must be recognized in the 2026 edition of The Best Lawyers in America®.
Achieving a tiered ranking in Best Law Firms® on a national and/or metropolitan scale signals a unique credibility within the industry. The transparent, collaborative research process employs qualitative and quantitative data from peer and client reviews that is supported by proprietary algorithmic technology to produce a tiered system of industry-led rankings of the top 4% of the industry.
Receiving a tier designation represents an elite status, integrity and reputation that law firms earn among other leading firms and lawyers. The 2026 edition of Best Law Firms® includes rankings in 75 national practice areas and 127 metropolitan-based practice areas. Additionally, one “Law Firm of the Year” was named in each nationally ranked practice area.
Click here to view Babst Calland’s profile.
Attorney Nicholas McDaniel received the annual Arthur S. Flemming Award for exceptional civil service in his former role with the U.S. Department of Justice, Environment and Natural Resources Division. One of only 12 public servants from a number of federal agencies being honored for their exceptional service, Nick is being recognized for his outstanding performance for legal achievement. Nick is a shareholder in Babst Calland’s Washington, D.C. office and focuses his practice on energy and environmental law and litigation.
The Arthur S. Flemming Awards are the nation’s oldest and most prestigious award for government service given from outside the government. Flemming Award recipients are exceptional employees, with three to 15 years of federal service, who are nominated by their agencies and selected through a competitive judging process. The awards are presented by the Arthur S. Flemming Awards Commission, in partnership with the George Washington University Trachtenberg School of Public Policy and Public Administration (TSPPPA) and the National Academy of Public Administration (NAPA).
The Flemming induction ceremony will take place on Sunday, November 2, 2025, at the National Academy of Sciences Building in downtown Washington, D.C., as part of the National Academy of Public Administration’s Annual National Conference.
For more information about the Arthur S. Fleming Awards, click here.
Babst Calland announced that Nicholas McDaniel has joined the firm as a shareholder in the firm’s Washington, D.C. office. With more than a decade of combined government and private practice experience, most recently as a senior enforcement attorney with the U.S. Department of Justice’s Environment and Natural Resources Division, Environmental Enforcement Section, McDaniel will be a member of the firm’s Litigation, Environmental, and Energy and Natural Resources groups. He will counsel companies on environmental compliance, enforcement, and litigation challenges.
At Babst Calland, McDaniel will focus his practice on complex environmental and commercial litigation for clients in the energy, natural resources, and manufacturing sectors. His work will include enforcement defense, citizen suits, and disputes involving environmental contamination. He also brings significant experience navigating bankruptcy proceedings involving environmental claims and negotiating settlements with regulators and citizen groups.
During his tenure at DOJ, McDaniel led major federal enforcement actions and complex negotiations that resulted in landmark environmental settlements. Notably, he secured the largest-ever civil penalty under the Clean Air Act, and is a three-time recipient of the prestigious Assistant Attorney General’s Award for Excellence – first for litigating and settling a cost recovery action under the Oil Pollution Act related to the longest-running oil spill in U.S. history, then for securing CERCLA cost recovery and natural resource damages on behalf of the United States, and later for his record Clean Air Act settlement. He also received numerous other honors, including the 2024 Arthur S. Flemming Award for legal achievement and recognition from the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for exceptional service.
Earlier in his career, he litigated energy and rate-making cases before the Public Utilities Commission and in state courts with the Environmental Law & Policy Center.
“Nick is a highly skilled litigator with significant first-chair trial experience who has handled some of the toughest environmental enforcement cases in the country,” said Mark K. Dausch, shareholder in Babst Calland’s Litigation practice. “His government experience and proven ability to lead in the courtroom and deliver results in complex, high-stakes matters will be invaluable to our clients and a tremendous asset to our litigation team.”
“I am excited to join Babst Calland and to continue my practice alongside such a strong team of environmental and litigation attorneys,” said Nick McDaniel. “This firm has a well-earned reputation for excellence in environmental law and energy matters, and I look forward to helping clients address their most pressing challenges.”
“We are thrilled to welcome Nick to Babst Calland,” said Managing Shareholder Donald C. Bluedorn II. “His leadership role at DOJ in some of the most significant environmental enforcement cases in recent years, combined with his strong litigation background, brings exceptional perspective and capability to our clients as they navigate complex environmental challenges.”
McDaniel earned his J.D. cum laude from Harvard Law School in 2011 and his B.A. summa cum laude from Eastern Kentucky University in 2008. He is admitted to practice in the District of Columbia and Massachusetts.
Babst Calland announced the lateral move of veteran attorney Priscilla (Polly) E. Hampton, who has joined the Firm as a Shareholder in its Environmental practice, and opened a new Babst Calland office in New York State.
Ms. Hampton’s practice focuses primarily on contaminated site cleanups, brownfield redevelopment, and environmental diligence and risk management in mergers and acquisitions. She counsels a range of businesses—from mining, manufacturing, and energy to real estate and project developers—on remediation, permitting, compliance, and enforcement matters under federal and state environmental laws.
Ms. Hampton has extensive experience with industrial operations throughout the country. She addresses the “dirty dirt” aspect of deals and projects, counseling on the identification, management, and cleanup of hazardous substances and allocation of related liability. She represents clients in defense of government enforcement and cleanup actions, and she has achieved favorable outcomes for clients facing potential natural resource damages liability. She also oversees internal environmental compliance audits both in the regular course of business and as part of transaction-related environmental due diligence, working with businesses to identify and correct potential deficiencies before and after closing.
A veteran and former U.S. Navy Surface Warfare Officer, Ms. Hampton helped found Women in Environment, an organization aimed at furthering professional development opportunities for women in the environmental field.
“I am excited to join Babst Calland, one of the nation’s premier law firms, with sophisticated and solutions-oriented representation in all areas of environmental law, including projects at the cutting edge of environmental and energy policy. I look forward to working with this well-regarded team of attorneys,” said Ms. Hampton.
Commenting on her lateral move to the firm, Babst Calland Managing Shareholder Donald C. Bluedorn II said, “We are very pleased to welcome Polly as part of our senior-level legal counseling team to serve the needs of existing and new clients across the country. Polly is a well-respected environmental lawyer with a great reputation among local, state, and federal regulatory agencies. She is a natural fit for us as she shares our values, philosophy, and experience in serving a nationwide clientele across a wide range of industries.”
Babst Calland is pleased to announce that Sean M. McGovern has been elected a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation (ABF). Membership is limited to just one percent of lawyers licensed to practice in each jurisdiction. Members are nominated by their peers and selected by the ABF Board.
The ABF Fellows is a global honorary society that recognizes attorneys, judges, law faculty and legal scholars whose public and private careers have demonstrated outstanding dedication to the highest principles of the legal profession and the welfare of their communities. ABF Fellows hail from nearly 40 countries and hold a wide variety of influential roles.
Sean McGovern is a shareholder in the Environmental practice and co-chairman of the Energy and Natural Resources practice of Babst Calland. Mr. McGovern’s practice involves counseling clients on a variety of federal, state, and local regulatory and compliance issues related to mining, renewable, oil and natural gas well development, production, midstream, storage, plugging and restoration in the Appalachian Basin. He counsels these clients on a wide range of environmental regulatory and enforcement matters, including water withdrawal, erosion and sediment controls, various permitting requirements, seismic and acoustic assessments, the transportation and disposal of wastes generated by industry, in addition to other issues related to pooling, unitization, and spacing and setback requirements under Pennsylvania’s Conservation Law. Mr. McGovern regularly handles storage tank issues, stray gas investigations, as well as site reclamation and remediation matters. He also has experience with environmental transactions, including due diligence activities; environmental justice considerations and requirements; and river basin commissions. In addition, Mr. McGovern has counseled clients pertaining to investigations by the Pennsylvania Office of the Attorney General and the U.S. Department of Justice.
Mr. McGovern was recognized in The Best Lawyers in The Best Lawyers in America© in the Environmental Law Section for 2025 by BL Rankings. He is a 2022-23 alumnus of Leadership Pittsburgh XXXIX alumnus. In 2012, Mr. McGovern was selected by The Legal Intelligencer as one of only 35 “Lawyers on the Fast Track” in Pennsylvania. This recognition is given to attorneys under the age of 40 who have demonstrated excellence in four categories: development of the law, advocacy and community contributions, service to the bar and peer/public recognition. He was also selected to the 2012-2013 and 2015-2016 Pennsylvania Rising Stars lists (Thomson Reuters).
Mr. McGovern graduated from the University of North Carolina School of Law at Chapel Hill in 2006.
About the ABF Fellows
Notable Fellows include Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader-Ginsberg, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court Sonia Sotomayor, Chief Justice of the United States John Roberts, Former United States Secretary of State Hilary Rodham Clinton.
The ABF Fellows serve as stewards of the American Bar Foundation, an independent, nonprofit research organization that conducts short- and long-term socio-legal research projects. The ABF’s mission is to serve the legal profession, the public, and the academy through empirical research, publications, and programs that advance justice and the understanding of law. The ABF’s research falls under one of three categories: learning and practicing law; protecting rights and accessing justice; and making and implementing law. The Foundation is committed to broad dissemination of research findings to the organized bar, scholars, and the general public.
Babst Calland has been recognized in the 2025 edition of Best Law Firms®, ranked by Best Lawyers®, nationally in 8 practice areas and regionally in 38 practice areas:
- National Tier 2
- Environmental Law
- Land Use and Zoning Law
- Litigation – Construction
- Litigation – Environmental
- National Tier 3
- Energy Law
- Mining Law
- Natural Resources Law
- Oil and Gas Law
- Regional Tier 1
- Pittsburgh
- Bet-the-Company Litigation
- Commercial Litigation
- Construction Law
- Corporate Law
- Energy Law
- Environmental Law
- Land Use and Zoning Law
- Litigation – Construction
- Litigation – Environmental
- Litigation – Land Use and Zoning
- Municipal Law
- Natural Resources Law
- Water Law
- Charleston-WV
- Business Organizations (including LLCs and Partnerships)
- Commercial Litigation
- Energy Law
- Environmental Law
- Litigation – Environmental
- Oil and Gas Law
- Regional Tier 2
- Pittsburgh
- Information Technology Law
- Labor Law – Management
- Real Estate Law
- Charleston-WV
- Arbitration
- Banking and Finance Law
- Commercial Transactions / UCC Law
- Corporate Law
- Mining Law
- Natural Resources Law
- Washington, D.C.
- Energy Law
- Environmental Law
- Litigation – Environmental
- Oil and Gas Law
- Regional Tier 3
- Pittsburgh
- Litigation – Labor and Employment
- Charleston-WV
- Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights / Insolvency and Reorganization Law
- Bet-the-Company Litigation
- Litigation – ERISA
- Mergers and Acquisitions Law
- Real Estate Law
Firms included in the 2025 Best Law Firms® list are recognized for professional excellence with impressive ratings from clients and peers. To be considered for this milestone achievement, at least one lawyer in the law firm must be recognized in the 2025 edition of The Best Lawyers in America®.
Achieving a ranking in Best Law Firms signifies high-quality legal practice and a depth of legal proficiency. Recognized firms, categorized into three tiers, receive acclaim on both national and metropolitan levels, reflecting the extent of their practice and geographic reach. Receiving a tier designation represents an elite status, reflecting the integrity and reputation earned by law firms.
Receiving a tier designation represents an elite status, integrity and reputation that law firms earn among other leading firms and lawyers. The 2025 edition of Best Law Firms® includes rankings in 75 national practice areas and 127 metropolitan-based practice areas. Additionally, one “Law Firm of the Year” was named in each nationally ranked practice area.
Click here to view the Best Law Firms® profile.
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.
Abigail M. Reecer recently joined Babst Calland as an associate in the Energy and Natural Resources Group and Pipeline and HazMat Safety Practice. Ms. Reecer represents client in pipeline safety matters before the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA), state agencies, and federal courts.
Prior to joining Babst Calland, Ms. Reecer was an associate with Hollingsworth LLP. She is a 2021 graduate of Georgetown University Law Center.
Babst Calland has been recognized in the 2024 edition of Best Law Firms®, ranked by Best Lawyers®, nationally in 8 practice areas and regionally in 31 practice areas:
- National Tier 1
- Environmental Law
- Litigation – Environmental
- National Tier 2
- Land Use & Zoning Law
- Natural Resources Law
- Oil & Gas Law
- National Tier 3
- Energy Law
- Litigation – Construction
- Mining Law
- Regional Tier 1
- Pittsburgh
- Bet-the-Company Litigation
- Commercial Litigation
- Construction Law
- Corporate Law
- Energy Law
- Environmental Law
- Information Technology Law
- Land Use & Zoning Law
- Litigation – Construction
- Litigation – Environmental
- Litigation – Land Use & Zoning
- Municipal Law
- Natural Resources Law
- Water Law
- Charleston-WV
- Commercial Litigation
- Energy Law
- Environmental Law
- Litigation – Environmental
- Oil & Gas Law
- Regional Tier 2
- Pittsburgh
- Admiralty & Maritime Law
- Labor Law – Management
- Charleston-WV
- Mining Law
- Natural Resources Law
- Washington, D.C.
- Energy Law
- Environmental Law
- Litigation – Environmental
- Oil & Gas Law
- Regional Tier 3
- Pittsburgh
- Mergers & Acquisitions Law
- Charleston-WV
- Bet-the-Company Litigation
- Litigation – ERISA
- Real Estate Law
Firms included in the 2024 Best Law Firms® list are recognized for professional excellence with persistently impressive ratings from clients and peers. To be considered for this milestone achievement, at least one lawyer in the law firm must be recognized in the 2024 edition of The Best Lawyers in America®.
Achieving a tiered ranking in Best Law Firms® on a national and/or metropolitan scale signals a unique credibility within the industry. The transparent, collaborative research process employs qualitative and quantitative data from peer and client reviews that is supported by proprietary algorithmic technology to produce a tiered system of industry-led rankings of the top 4% of the industry.
Receiving a tier designation represents an elite status, integrity and reputation that law firms earn among other leading firms and lawyers. The 2024 edition of Best Law Firms® includes rankings in 75 national practice areas and 127 metropolitan-based practice areas. Additionally, one “Law Firm of the Year” was named in each nationally ranked practice area.
Click here to view Babst Calland’s profile.
Babst Calland today published its 13th annual energy industry report: The 2023 Babst Calland Report – Legal & Regulatory Perspectives for the Energy Industry. The Report provides insights on some of the most critical issues facing the industry.
This edition of The Babst Calland Report also features a special video briefing from U.S. Senator Barrasso (R-WY), ranking member of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, who is at the forefront on federal energy policy.
Joseph K. Reinhart, shareholder and co-chair of Babst Calland’s Energy and Natural Resources Group, said, “The U.S. energy sector remains as dynamic as ever. New energy policies and legislation are changing the regulatory landscape and affecting all parts of the energy value chain. It is more important than ever for energy executives and their counsel to stay on top of federal, state, and local regulatory developments, legal risks, and the related business implications.”
This year’s Report highlights various challenges and opportunities in the energy sector, including:
- Hydrogen and Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) are getting a boost as tools for reducing carbon emissions. The 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) provided billions in funding in the form of tax credits, grants, and loans for hydrogen and CCS technologies.
- Climate policy and Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG)-related practices may trigger new reporting requirements imposed by federal and state regulatory agencies. With increased focus on reducing greenhouse gas, particularly methane emissions from the energy industry, several proposed federal agency rules could make ESG reporting mandatory for certain sectors.
- Environmental Justice (EJ) efforts continue to expand as a priority for federal and state agencies following directives from the Biden Administration. The IRA made about $3 billion in funding available for EJ grants. While adoption of the EPA’s proposed budget for 2024 is far from guaranteed, it demonstrates the current administration’s commitment to funding EJ efforts.
- Despite the federal government’s policy drive for growth in the low carbon energy sector, practical issues remain. Grid interconnection and project permitting are driving substantial costs and delays. And many of these problems aren’t limited to just renewables, with permitting headwinds facing all types of energy projects, including CCS, pipelines and oil and gas development. Absent significant reforms to reduce permitting timelines and serial litigation, many of these unprecedented federal incentives may go untapped.
- The Appalachian Basin, like most of the energy producing regions of the U.S., continues to see a variety of novel litigation. The influx of “new” entrants to the energy litigation field has resulted in many new suits asserting variations on traditional energy litigation themes.
- Pennsylvania’s Amended Breach of Personal Information Notification Act (BPINA) went into effect on May 2, 2023. Any companies that do business in Pennsylvania, maintain data belonging to Pennsylvania residents, or do business with the Commonwealth or its agencies, should become familiar with these new data requirements, and review their security-related policies, practices, and incident response plans to ensure compliance with the Amended BPINA.
To request a copy of The 2023 Babst Calland Report, click here.
The Babst Calland Report is provided for informational purposes for our clients and friends and does not constitute legal advice.
Attorney Timothy Miller has been recognized by Business Today among the Top 10 Influential Energy & Natural Resources Lawyers in West Virginia. Click here to view the full article.
Shareholder Mychal Schulz was named “Attorney of the Year” by the Defense Trial Counsel of West Virginia (DTCWV) at its 41st Annual Meeting on June 19, 2023. DTCWV provides a cohesive network of West Virginia attorneys who defend individuals and corporations in civil litigation. Formed in 1981, DTCWV currently has a membership of more than 500 attorneys.
The Chambers USA guide and legal rankings cover practice areas in all 50 states, Washington, DC and at nationwide level and identifies the best practice groups and lawyers working across the US legal market.
Pennsylvania – Environment
Chester R. Babst III
Donald C. Bluedorn II
Dean A. Calland
Kevin J. Garber
Lindsay P. Howard
Pennsylvania – Construction
Marc J. Felezzola
David E. White
Pennsylvania – Litigation: Mediators
Mark D. Shepard
West Virginia – Environment
Christopher B. “Kip” Power
Robert M. Stonestreet
West Virginia – Litigation: General Commercial
Timothy M. Miller
West Virginia – Energy & Natural Resources
Timothy M. Miller
Robert M. Stonestreet
District of Columbia – Environment
Sloane Anders Wildman
Christina Manfredi McKinley, a shareholder in Babst Calland’s Litigation, Energy & Natural Resources, and Environmental groups, was selected by The Legal Intelligencer as a “2023 Lawyer on the Fast Track” in Pennsylvania.
A graduate of The Catholic University of America Columbus School of Law, Ms. McKinley continually strives to provide business-oriented solutions to her clients and routinely serves as a general advisor, counseling clients on day-to-day legal and business matters on any number of issues. Her business-focused, proactive approach to problem-solving allows her to provide solutions to clients in a variety of industries. Her experience spans a wide range of industries, including manufacturing, retail, energy, chemicals, and environmental.
As a litigator who focuses on complex commercial matters, Ms. McKinley’s trial practice encompasses all phases of litigation, from early alternative dispute resolution through post-trial motions. She has concentrated experience in complex purchase agreement and commercial contracts disputes, protection of competitive interests (e.g., Lanham Act, unfair competition, tortious interference, trade secret protection, restrictive covenants), technology disputes (e.g., software services and license agreements), and corporate governance.
The Legal Intelligencer asked the Pennsylvania legal community to submit nominations for the annual Lawyers on the Fast Track honors. After reviewing their results, a six-member judging panel composed of evaluators from all corners of the legal profession and the state selected 29 attorneys as the 2023 Lawyers on the Fast Track. This recognition is only given to attorneys under the age of 40 who have demonstrated excellence in four categories: development of the law; advocacy and community contributions; service to the bar; and peer and public recognition.
Congratulations to Tiffany Arbaugh on being appointed as the 2023 President-Elect of Women’s Energy Network West Virginia Board of Directors.
WEN is an international organization of professional women who work across the energy value chain. Their mission is to develop programs to provide networking opportunities and foster career and leadership development of women who work in the energy industries.