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.
Attorney James Chen was inducted into the Case Western Reserve University – School of Law’s Society of Benchers. Established in 1962, each year the Society inducts new alumni members, as well as a faculty member and public member, on the basis of extraordinary achievement and dedication to the highest principles of the legal profession.
Jim is a shareholder in Babst Calland’s Washington, D.C. office and focuses his practice on emerging technologies, environmental, and transportation technology and energy. He is a 1991 graduate of Case Western Reserve University – School of Law.
Oversupply and pandemic bring on need to adapt to a changing market
PITTSBURGH – Babst Calland today published its 10th annual energy industry report: The 2020 Babst Calland Report – The U.S. Oil & Gas Industry: Federal, State, Local Challenges & Opportunities; Legal and Regulatory Perspective for Producers and Midstream Operators.
In this Report more than 50 energy attorneys provide perspective on the current state of the U.S. natural gas and oil production industry and its growth to historic highs due to more than a decade of advances in on-shore horizontal drilling and high-volume hydraulic fracturing. It asserts that despite current challenges, a maturing shale industry is poised for future growth as natural gas and oil producers have driven down the costs of production. Transportation options for moving these natural resources from growing areas of production to customers continue to be built, even with new hurdles from regulators and other stakeholders.
Joseph K. Reinhart, shareholder and co-chair of Babst Calland’s Energy and Natural Resources Group, said, “The U.S. natural gas and oil industry has experienced tremendous growth and change since we first published this Report in 2011. Fast forward to an unprecedented 2020 with a pandemic, a corresponding economic slow-down and oversupply of natural gas and crude oil. With increased public and government pressure, sustained low prices, and less-reliable financing options, resiliency will continue to be the driving force of a dynamic energy market that continues to evolve.
Report highlights
The Babst Calland Report is an annual review of the issues and trends at the federal, state and local level in the oil and gas industry over the past year. The 102-page Report covers a range of topics from the industry’s business outlook, regulatory enforcement and rulemaking to developments in pipeline safety and litigation trends. The Firm’s collective legal experience and perspectives on these and related business developments are highlighted in this Report, including those summarized below:
- Long-term, U.S. energy production appears poised to continue to outstrip domestic consumption due in some measure to increased consumption efficiency, along with the obvious ramifications from the natural gas revolution.
- The regulatory environment is focused on climate change, reducing emissions, water quality developments, and enforcement. Increased volumes of written agency guidance, enforcement, and penalties continue to challenge the industry.
- Citizens groups continue to actively challenge federal and state initiatives designed to expand natural gas and oil development, creating delays and uncertainties.
- Land use and zoning challenges continue at the local level. Increasing industry headwinds have resulted in a slowdown of new permitting activity amid ongoing challenges and ordinance restrictions.
- Public interest in pipeline safety has grown amid opposition and new rules from the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration in response to increased public and congressional pressure to initiate and finalize new or revised pipeline safety regulations. Operators seek to install new or replace existing pipelines throughout the U.S. while advocacy groups aggressively oppose many pipeline projects.
- Title legislation and court decisions vary by state and basin. In Pennsylvania, for example, Act 85 took effect in January 2020 and defines the conditions in which oil and gas producers may drill a lateral wellbore that crosses between two or more pooled units.
- Although 2019 saw renewed claims of adverse health effects allegedly related to oil and gas development, support for such claims continues to be limited, as now noted by numerous publications.
- Unmanned aircraft systems take hold in the energy sector. Despite the pandemic and its impacts, unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) have emerged as essential tools for the energy industry for conducting complex inspection and monitoring of difficult to access infrastructure and locations.
- From a workforce standpoint, COVID-19 conditions and other wage and hour regulations, amendments to the Family Medical Leave Act, and expanded unemployment benefits under the CARES Act have had an impact on companies across the country.
The natural gas and oil industry continues to expand its reach and impact on U.S. energy supply and independence. Each company has its own set of opportunities and challenges to navigate based on its financing, debt, shareholder goals, and operations and infrastructure footprint. Nonetheless, the United States’ plentiful supply of natural gas and oil is expected to continue to fuel the country’s economic future and support national security.
Request a copy of the Report
Babst Calland’s Energy and Natural Resources attorneys support clients operating in multiple locations throughout the nation’s shale plays. To request a copy of the Report, contact info@babstcalland.com.