Katrina N. Bowers

Area of Emphasis

Katrina Bowers is a shareholder in Babst Calland’s Corporate and Commercial, Litigation, and Energy and Natural Resources groups. Ms. Bowers currently serves as General Counsel to the West Virginia International Yeager Airport, and as general counsel and advisor to airports in West Virginia, on day-to-day legal and business matters, such as compliance with West Virginia and federal law, employment and litigation matters, corporate governance, and contract negotiations.

Ms. Bowers’ practice also includes representing oil and gas companies in litigation concerning a variety of matters including trespass, negligence, property damage, royalty payments, toxic torts, title disputes, breach of contract, preliminary and permanent injunctions, and fraud as well as advising them regarding proposed, pending, and enacted safety, health, and environmental regulations. Ms. Bowers has also represented coal operators in cases alleging adverse treatment, deliberate intent, and wrongful termination. Further, she has represented clients against civil penalties and violations issued by the Mine Safety and Health Administration and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

Background

Ms. Bowers graduated cum laude with a B.A. in Public Relations from Marshall University. She matriculated from the West Virginia University College of Law in 2013, where she served on the Moot Court Board and as the president of the Defense Trial Counsel of West Virginia’s Student Society. During law school, Ms. Bowers worked as an intern for the Uniform Law Commission reviewing proposed uniform laws and rendering recommendations to the West Virginia Legislature based upon the same.

Memberships and Affiliations

Ms. Bowers is admitted to the West Virginia Bar, the U.S. District Courts for the Southern and Northern Districts of West Virginia, and the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. She is actively involved in the Defense Research Institute and the Defense Trial Counsel of West Virginia, where she has chaired the Safety and Health Committee, currently serves as a board member, and participates in the Energy and Safety and Health committees. In 2016, Ms. Bowers was named the Defense Trial Counsel of West Virginia Young Lawyer of the Year.

Ms. Bowers is an active member of the American Association of Airport Executives and the West Virginia Airport Managers Association. She is also a member of the Gas and Oil Association of West Virginia (GO-WV) (merger of the Independent Oil and Gas Association of West Virginia and the West Virginia Oil and Natural Gas Association), the Energy and Mineral Law Foundation, the Foundation for Natural Resources and Energy Law, and the Women’s Energy Network. Also, Ms. Bowers is a member of the Leadership West Virginia class of 2018.

Ms. Bowers received a Best Lawyers®: Ones to Watch recognition from BL Rankings for Energy Law and Environmental Law since 2021.

Publications/Presentations
  • Co-Presenter, “Litigation Update 2022,” EMLF’s 43rd Annual Institute, June 13, 2022.
  • Co-Presenter, “COVID Mandates in the Workplace,” West Virginia Construction & Design Exposition, March 2022.
  • Author, “WV Supreme Court of Appeals to Examine Tawney/Post-production Expense Deductibility,” GO WV News, February 2022.
  • Co-Presenter, “Airport Law in West Virginia,” Webinar, December 2021.
  • Author, “New Court Ruling Relates to Retroactivity of Flat Rate Royalty Law,” GO WV News, October 2019.
  • Co-Author and Co-Presenter, “West Virginia Co-Tenancy Modernization and Majority Protection Act: Practical Application Going Forward,” EMLF Landman Institute, March 2019.
  • Presenter, “Oil and Natural Gas Legal Update,” WVONGA’s 5th Annual Embracing Energy, December 2018.
  • Author and Presenter, “Litigation Update for the Shale Plays,” 9th Law of Shale Plays Conference, September 2018.
  • Co-Author and Co-Presenter, “Pitfalls Associated with Affiliate Transactions in the Gas Industry,” EMLF Annual Institute, June 2018.
  • Co-Author, “Royalty Litigation Update: Navigating Changing Currents,” 8th Law of Shale Plays Conference, September 2017.
  • Co-Author, “Recent Safety Related Initiatives in Energy Industries,” DTCWV Annual Notebook of Articles, 2016.
  • Co-Author, “Fee Shifting Under § 1983: What Every Practitioner Should Know”, DTCWV Annual Notebook of Articles, 2016.
  • Co-Author, “MSHA’s Trends in Enforcement,” DTCWV Defender, Winter 2015.
  • Co-Author, “The Arrival of Proximity Detectors: Good Things Come to Those Who Wait?,” DTCWV Annual Notebook of Articles, 2015.
  • Author, “Revision to W.Va. Code §23-4-2(d)(2)(ii) (the ‘Deliberate Intent’ Statute),” DTCWV Annual Notebook of Articles, 2015.