Ryan Elliott, Michael Murphy and Nikolas Tysiak Join the Firm

Ryan D. Elliott, Michael C. Murphy and Nikolas E. Tysiak recently joined the regional law firm Babst Calland as associates. They will conduct business from the Pittsburgh, PA, office. Mr. Elliott joins the Environmental Services and Energy & Natural Resources groups; Mr. Murphy joins the Environmental Services group and Mr. Tysiak joins the Energy & Natural Resources and Business Services groups.

Mr. Elliott assists clients on a wide variety of environmental matters including federal and state air, water and waste regulatory compliance, and permitting and issues arising in the development of the Marcellus and Utica shale. He also assists in litigation matters involving environmental liability. Mr. Elliott, who earned his J.D. from Capital University Law School in 2010, was formerly with Schumaker, Koop & Kendrick, LLP, in Columbus, OH. He is admitted to practice in Ohio.

Mr. Murphy concentrates his practice primarily on site remediation, solid and hazardous waste, and environmental issues arising in corporate and real estate transactions. He represents potentially responsible parties (PRPs) in all stages of Superfund cleanups, both under federal and state programs, including responding to information requests, negotiating consent orders and participating in PRP group allocations. Mr. Murphy also counsels clients on the potential benefits of participating in voluntary brownfield cleanup programs, management of solid and hazardous waste to comply with federal and state statutes and regulations and transactions on potential liabilities identified in Phase I and Phase II Environmental Site Assessments, Regulatory Compliance Audits and Vapor Intrusion Assessments. Mr. Murphy, who earned his J.D. from Touro College, Jacob D. Fuchsberg Law Center in 2006, was formerly with Phillips Lytle, LLP, in Buffalo, NY. He is admitted to practice in New York and Connecticut.

Mr. Tysiak practices in the areas of energy and real estate law, with a primary focus on transactions and ownership involving oil and gas, where he has extensive experience identifying and curing novel real estate title issues in West Virginia, Ohio and Pennsylvania. He has previously taken a lead position in generating and implementing creative solutions to novel, real estate-related issues. Mr. Tysiak also maintains a general real estate practice, with experience conducting foreclosure proceedings, drafting complex retail and commercial leasing agreements, drafting deeds and other documents necessary to effectuate property transactions, conducting real estate closings, researching and writing title insurance policies and overseeing curative measures to finalize property transactions. Mr. Tysiak, who earned his J.D. from Washington College of Law at American University in 2005, was formerly with Jackson Kelly, PLLC, in Wheeling, WV. He is admitted to practice in Pennsylvania and West Virginia and is currently on the board of the Pittsburgh Chapter of Young Professionals in Energy.