Dave White Recognized in Top 10 Powerhouse Construction Lawyers in Pennsylvania

Attorney David White has been recognized by Business Today among the Top 10 Powerhouse Construction Lawyers Redefining Pennsylvania’s Legal Landscape in 2023. To reach the full article, click here.

Tim Miller Named Among Top 10 Influential Energy & Natural Resources Lawyers in West Virginia

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.

Babst Calland ranks among The Law360 400

Babst Calland has been ranked 354 among the largest 400 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.

Mychal Schulz Named “Attorney of the Year” by DTCWV

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.

12 Attorneys Ranked in the 2023 Chambers USA Guide

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

Babst Calland Attorneys Selected to the 2023 Pennsylvania and West Virginia Super Lawyers List, 11 Attorneys Selected to the 2023 Washington, D.C. and Pennsylvania Rising Stars Lists

Babst Calland is pleased to announce that 15 attorneys were selected to the 2023 Pennsylvania and West Virginia Super Lawyers and the 2023 Washington, D.C. and Pennsylvania Rising Stars lists, published by Thomson Reuters. Only a few attorneys from each state are selected to receive the Super Lawyers  and Rising Stars designation for any given year. The multi-factor selection process includes independent research, peer nominations and evaluations, as well as professional achievement in legal practice. Those selected include:

Pennsylvania Super Lawyers

Dean A. Calland

Kevin J. Garber

Mark D. Shepard

West Virginia Super Lawyers

Timothy M. Miller 

Pennsylvania Rising Stars

Kathleen H. Cooper

Casey Alan Coyle

Andrew C. DeGory

Alexandra G. Farone

Ember K. Holmes

Sean R. Keegan

Benjamin A. Kift

James D. Mazzocco

Christina Manfredi McKinley

Joshua S. Snyder

Washington, D.C. Rising Stars

Gina Falaschi Buchman

 

Erin Hamilton Joins Babst Calland as Shareholder

Erin Lucas Hamilton recently joined Babst Calland as a shareholder in the Litigation Group. Ms. Hamilton’s experience spans a wide variety of industries, including energy and natural resources, aviation, engineering, construction, manufacturing, technology, professional sports, banking, insurance and financial services. Her practice involves litigating complex commercial disputes in all phases from initial pleadings through trial and appeal. Ms. Hamilton also provides legal counsel on best business practices, employment matters, risk mitigation and legal and regulatory compliance.

Prior to joining Babst Calland, Ms. Hamilton was a shareholder with Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney PC. She is a 2004 graduate of Notre Dame Law School.

Benjamin Kift Joins Babst Calland

Benjamin A. Kift recently joined Babst Calland as an associate in the Construction and Litigation groups. Mr. Kift focuses his practice on complex construction and commercial litigation matters. He represents contractors, subcontractors, owners, developers, design professionals, and construction companies in a broad range of matters arising from complex construction and development projects. Mr. Kift has extensive experience with Pennsylvania’s Mechanics’ Lien Law, and routinely prosecutes and defends lien claims. He also represents clients in breach of contract claims and payment disputes, and regularly appears before Pennsylvania state and federal courts. Additionally, he advises clients in the review, drafting, and negotiation of construction contracts.

Prior to joining Babst Calland, Mr. Kift was an associate with The Lynch Law Group LLC. He is a 2017 graduate of Duquesne University School of Law.

Christina Manfredi McKinley Selected by The Legal Intelligencer as a “2023 Lawyer on the Fast Track”

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.

Mychal Schulz selected to The Center for Law and Public Policy’s State Legislation and Rules Task Force

Attorney Mychal Schulz was selected to The DRI Center for Law and Public Policy’s newly formed State Legislation and Rules Task Force.

State and local defense organizations (SLDOs) facing potential legislation or rules likely to impact their members can seek support from the task force.

In the past year, The Center, at the request of DANY, offered comments that led to a veto in New York of changes to its wrongful death statute; submitted comments supporting positions taken by DTCWV on proposed changes to the West Virginia civil rules; and assisted ADC with a search for legislation in other states similar to a proposed bill in California to outlaw agreements to limit disclosure of discovery material about products posing danger to health or safety.

The Center’s State Legislation and Rules Task Force will provide similar support to SLDOs in the following ways:

    1. By assisting, upon request, SLDOs interested in evaluating, supporting, or opposing potential legislation or rules affecting their members and clients through

a. Sharing information about the issue from other jurisdictions;
b. Alerting other SLDOs of such issues and soliciting their advice;
c. Supporting SLDOs by providing comments favorable to the SLDO’s position;
d. Spreading word of critical developments with all SLDOs, a sort of early warning system; or

    2. By supporting SLDOs interested in promoting legislation or rules adopted in other jurisdictions, such as the likely changes occurring later this year to FRE 702.

Read more.

Tiffany Arbaugh Appointed as 2023 President-Elect of Women’s Energy Network West Virginia Board of Directors

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.

Babst Calland Attends the ACBA’s Barrister’s Ball

Babst Calland was glad to support the Allegheny County Bar Association’s Barrister’s Ball on Saturday, February 11 at the Westin Pittsburgh in downtown. Attorneys Joe Reinhart, Rick Wiedman, Christina Puhnaty, Jessica Barnes and Carla Castello attended the event.

Eric Spada Joins Babst Calland

Eric M. Spada recently joined Babst Calland as senior counsel in the Litigation Group. Mr. Spada’s practice focuses primarily on commercial litigation. He has represented a diverse array of clients in a variety of cases in state and federal courts in Pennsylvania, Ohio, West Virginia, and Florida, and also in commercial and construction arbitrations. Mr. Spada has also practiced in front of real estate tax assessment and appeal boards and state and federal ALJs. His litigation experience includes matters relating to construction, real estate, energy and natural resources, tax assessments and tax exemptions, and financial services. He has also successfully litigated cases concerning closely-held business disputes, franchising, civil identity theft, and insurance fraud issues. Mr. Spada also has extensive experience in the e-Discovery space.

Prior to joining Babst Calland, Mr. Spada was an associate with Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney PC. He is a 2008 graduate of George Washington University Law School.

IF Ventures Closes First Investment

IF Ventures, a program of Idea Foundry in partnership with Babst Calland, closed its first investment of more than $300,000 in one of the program’s inaugural cohort of companies.

The company receiving investment was one of five companies presented to a group of investors at the end of September 2022. The company remains in stealth mode while it leverages this investment along with other investments to rapidly grow its customer base and enter new markets. Additional investments are still being considered for the inaugural cohort.

IF Ventures operates as an investment group managed as a program of Idea Foundry, Inc., a non-profit economic development organization, backed by a grant from the Economic Development Agency of the U.S. Department of Commerce. The goal of the program is to attract new investors and flow new capital to companies, ultimately triggering economic development through entrepreneurship and business growth. Companies included in the inaugural cohort were selected based on their investment readiness and chosen from more than 100 vetted opportunities.

“The investor interest and attraction of new investors exceeded our expectations at this early stage. We received many compliments from the investors about the model and the cohort of companies. One of the most promising actions that occurred was that our initial group of investors encouraged their peers to join and ultimately became part of this initial investment” stated Michael Matesic, CEO of Idea Foundry, Inc.

The partnership with Babst Calland added to the credibility of the model and the ease by which investors could participate. “Chris Farmakis and his team were so professional and contributed their expertise to ensure investors understood the structure of the investment and investment vehicle” added Matesic.

“Our driving goal was to develop an investment process that is efficient, scalable and predictable.  Our investors appreciated our process of evaluating the companies and putting forth only the best investment opportunities,” Farmakis said. “We vetted many good companies, but only those that met very specific criteria were presented to the prospective investors. This process reduces risk and saves investors time in having to do the vetting themselves.  We’ll continue to build on the foundation we’ve set for this first investment.”

A second cohort of companies will be brought before participating investors in February 2023.

About

IF Ventures is an angel investment program of Pittsburgh-based global investor Idea Foundry in partnership with law firm Babst Calland. Led by Mike Matesic, President and CEO of Idea Foundry and Chris Farmakis, shareholder and Board Chairman of Babst Calland, IF Ventures provides investment opportunities to raise capital to advance high potential, emerging growth stage companies.

Contacts:

Mike Matesic
President and CEO
Idea Foundry
412-613-8126
mmatesic@ideafoundry.org

Chris Farmakis
Shareholder, Board Chair
Babst Calland
412-394-5642
cfarmakis@babstcalland.com

Babst Calland Names Arbaugh, Fennell, Keegan and Wood as Senior Counsel

Babst Calland recently names Tiffany Arbaugh, Dane Fennell, Sean Keegan and Matthew Wood as Senior Counsel in the Firm.

Tiffany Arbaugh is a member of the Energy and Natural Resources and Litigation groups. Mrs. Arbaugh has more than 16 years of experience in the oil and gas industry. She focuses her practice on representing corporations in a variety of litigation matters with an emphasis on mineral title, real estate, trespass, fraud and title curative disputes. Mrs. Arbaugh’s practice also includes advising clients in customary business operations, litigation avoidance strategies and litigation preparedness.

Dane Fennell is a member of the Corporate and Commercial group of Babst Calland. Mr. Fennell’s practice focuses primarily on commercial real estate transactions, mergers and acquisitions, drafting commercial transaction agreements, and general corporate matters. Mr. Fennell’s background includes managing complex due diligence aspects of small and large acquisitions and contract management projects. For these projects, he works closely with Solvaire Technologies, L.P., an affiliate of Babst Calland, to achieve reliable and cost-effective results.

Sean Keegan is a member of the Litigation and Employment and Labor groups of Babst Calland. Mr. Keegan has a broad range of litigation experience in several practice areas including commercial, labor and employment, energy, and maritime. He has experience defending shareholder dispute claims, oil and gas lease disputes, insurance claims, and premises liability claims. Mr. Keegan has represented clients in both state and federal courts throughout the United States.

Matthew Wood is a member of the Environmental group. He assists clients on a variety of environmentally-related legal matters arising under major federal and state environmental and regulatory programs, with a focus on issues involving government inquiries, environmental investigations, remediation and concomitant activities under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), and their state analogs. In connection with this experience, he has advised clients during all stages of multi-year environmental remediation projects under consent decrees and administrative orders at sites across the U.S. Mr. Wood counsels clients in the manufacturing, chemical, metals, and other sectors on permitting matters, compliance, enforcement actions, and government investigations and provides support on issue assessment, risk management, and strategy implementation to ensure effective client operations.

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