Events

Babst Calland joins the Pennsylvania Bar Institute (PBI) for its 2024 Environmental Law Forum, April 22-23, 2026. The following attorneys will be presenters:

Don Bluedorn – “How to Get Started with AI”
Robert Bereschak and Don Bluedornwill discuss GenAI products for use in the legal practice, focusing on products that are available, how the products most effectively can be used in the legal practice, and best practices to avoid GenAI-related pitfalls (both for lawyers using GenAI and for lawyers supervising others who are using GenAI).

Ben Clapp – “Buying a Business”
This session will provide an overview of strategies for identifying, evaluating and mitigating potential environmental liabilities and risks arising in connection with the purchase and sale of a business and/or real property. The discussion will cover the full arc of a transaction, commencing with the signing of a letter of intent and progressing through deal closure, with the panel addressing CERCLA and state-equivalent statutes, environmental due diligence considerations, innocent landowner protections, environmental compliance risks, the drafting and negotiation of environmental provisions in asset purchase agreements, environmental requirements of lenders, and environmental insurance. The presenters will provide insights into challenges that often arise in transactions, and approaches commonly employed by buyers and sellers to minimize their exposure to environmental risks.

Kevin Garber – “Planners’ Roundtable: Energy, Exigency, and Ethics”
Emergencies can suspend the ordinary ways in which environmental law applies. From highway collapses to energy emergencies to national security issues, we have been operating under what appear to be an increasing number of governmentally-declared exigencies. What are the implications for our practice on behalf of regulated clients, governments, and NGOs? Is there an ethical dimension to promoting or opposing an emergency suspension of the usual rules or advising clients when the facts are contested?

Anna Jewart (presenter) and Blaine Lucas (moderator) – “Land Use and Zoning”
Development in Pennsylvania, including most projects involving environmental issues, is governed by the Municipalities Planning Code and local zoning and other land use ordinances. The application of local land use ordinances frequently involves their interplay with state and federal law. This session will review significant land use cases decided over the last year in Pennsylvania, with a focus on review standards, standing requirements, preemption doctrine, and constitutional law. This session will also examine ordinance trends regarding traditional energy sources, renewables, and data centers. This area of the law is continually evolving, and this session is designed to better understand how zoning and land use ordinances could impact your next project.

Kevin Garber also served as a member of the planning team for this Forum. For more information, click here.

Don Bluedorn

Ben Clapp

Kevin Garber

Anna Jewart

Blaine Lucas