The Babst Calland Women’s Initiative strives to increase the retention and advancement of women attorneys at our Firm and in the broader legal community by promoting inclusivity and equal opportunities.
The Women’s Initiative meets regularly to facilitate open discussions about workplace challenges historically faced by women in professional settings and encourages the exchange of advice and experiences to aid others in navigating those challenges.
The Women’s Initiative further supports the Firm’s women attorneys in developing and promoting their practices by acknowledging and celebrating successes and encouraging mentorship among all of the Firm’s attorneys. A key goal of the Women’s Initiative is to connect women attorneys across the Firm’s practice groups and offices, allowing for organic support systems to develop and prosper. This blending of practice groups and offices encourages collaboration and cross-marketing opportunities that benefit our attorneys and clients. By encouraging these relationships, the Women’s Initiative’s work advances the professional and business development of women attorneys at the Firm and within the legal community at large.
The following celebrates the initiatives of the women attorneys at Babst Calland.
Meghan S. Mesojedec recently joined Babst Calland’s Pittsburgh, Pa. office as an associate in the Corporate and Commercial Group. Ms. Mesojedec focuses primarily on corporate, real estate and transactional matters, including mergers and acquisitions, commercial contracts, and the acquisition, disposition, and leasing of various asset types.
Prior to joining the Firm, Ms. Mesojedec was an associate with Metz Lewis Brodman Must O’Keefe LLC. …
Babst Calland recently named Tiffany M. Arbaugh, Alexandra G. Farone and Stefanie Pitcavage Mekilo shareholders.
Tiffany Arbaugh practices in the Firm’s Charleston, W.Va. office and is a member of the Energy and Natural Resources and Litigation groups. Tiffany focuses her practice on representing corporations in a variety of litigation matters with an emphasis in energy-related litigation, including mineral title, real estate, trespass, fraud, title curative, personal injury and toxic torts. …
AI meeting assistants offer numerous benefits, including allowing participants who would otherwise be taking notes to stay fully engaged, automatically generating meeting summaries and action items, producing uniform and unbiased notes for all participants, and even identifying speakers by their voices. But what many users do not fully appreciate is that these tools introduce a third party into conversations historically governed by strict privacy and confidentiality rules, a shift that carries profound consequences for attorney–client privilege, wiretap compliance, compliance with privacy laws, Pennsylvania’s Right to Know Law (RTKL), and discovery exposure. …
In response to President Trump’s Executive Order 14179, “Removing Barriers to American Leadership in Artificial Intelligence (AI),” EPA announced this week a new EPA webpage dedicated to compiling agency resources related to the Clean Air Act requirements potentially applicable to the development of data centers and AI facilities across the United States. The webpage, Clean Air Act Resources for Data Centers, is intended to promote transparency by aiding developers and other interested parties in locating various agency resources, including Clean Air Act regulations, interpretative guidance, and technical tools, that may assist with Clean Air Act permitting and air quality modeling during project development. …
When can an employee hold its employer liable for harassment by a third-party? In her recent article in The Legal Intelligencer, Janet Meub discusses recent decisions that guide how employers can be held directly liable for the actions of their agents. To read the full article, click here.
On November 17, 2025, the U.S. EPA and Army Corps of Engineers proposed a revised definition of “waters of the United States” under the Clean Water Act. The Trump administration announced that the Proposed Rule would “provide greater regulatory certainty and increase Clean Water Act program predictability and consistency.” If you have any questions or would like any additional information on the Proposed Rule and WOTUS developments or the Clean Water Act, in general, and the impacts on your business, please contact Lisa Bruderly or Ethan Johnson. …
There has been much talk within the oil and gas industry about the potential for lithium extraction from produced water, a waste byproduct produced during hydraulic fracturing and drilling. Is this only talk, or are we approaching another extraction revolution? The answer is that the revolution is knocking on the door, but there remain significant practical and legal hurdles to overcome. To become viable, lithium extraction must become both economically and environmentally sustainable. …
On November 12, 2025, Governor Josh Shapiro signed House Bill 416, a Fiscal Code Bill and a segment of the Pennsylvania budget package for Fiscal Year 2025-26. The Fiscal Code has several important implications for industry regulation, including the abrogation of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) regulations, permitting relief through expedited review schedules for certain air and water general permits, and provisions to ensure grid reliability. …
On November 10, 2025, EPA announced a proposed revision to regulations issued under Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Section 8(a)(7), which would reduce certain per and polyfluoroalkyl substance (PFAS) reporting requirements for manufacturers and importers. Babst Calland’s Environmental Practice attorneys are closely tracking EPA’s PFAS actions, and our attorneys are available to provide strategic advice on how developing PFAS regulations may affect your business. For more information or answers to questions, please contact Sloane Anders Wildman or Ethan Johnson. …
On October 24, 2025, the Albany County Supreme Court issued a decision and directed the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) to issue regulations to meet the emissions reduction mandates pursuant to the State’s 2019 Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA). Babst Calland continues to track climate change legislation and litigation, as well as federal and state regulatory developments. For more information on this and other climate change-related matters, please contact Polly Hampton, Gina Falaschi Buchman or Jordan Brown or any of our other environmental attorneys. …
Babst Calland is pleased to announce the addition of Morgan Hubbard, an associate in the Pittsburgh office. Morgan Hubbard joins the Corporate and Commercial Group and focuses her practice primarily on corporate and transaction matters, including commercial contracts, corporate structuring, mergers and acquisitions. She is a 2025 graduate of the University of Pittsburgh School of Law.
Babst Calland’s Women’s Initiative recently hosted an Instructional Sporting Clays Event at Highlands Sporting Clays, bringing together clients and women attorneys for a fun and empowering afternoon of learning, networking, and camaraderie.
Participants — from first-time shooters to seasoned enthusiasts — enjoyed a hands-on tutorial on gun safety, received expert guidance from Highlands’ outstanding trappers, and shot through 7 stations for a total of 50 clays each. …
Social media has become the modern town square for many public officials. Whether it’s sharing a recap of a school board meeting, celebrating a community event, or commenting on local issues, platforms like Facebook and Instagram are now a routine part of how leaders connect with their constituents. But what happens when those online conversations intersect with Pennsylvania’s Right-to-Know Law? To read the full article by Anna Hosack, Stephen Korbel, and Peter Zittel, click here.
The U.S. Department of Transportation issued an Interim Final Rule effective October 3, 2025, instituting an immediate and significant change for the qualification of women- and minority-owned businesses in the DOT’s Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) and Airport Concessions Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (ACDBE) Program. For purposes of the DBE/ACDBE program, women- and minority-owned businesses were historically presumed to be disadvantaged, automatically meeting one of the requirements for DBE status; this is no longer the case. …
On October 2, 2025, the EPA published a Proposed Rule and a companion Direct Final Rule to extend certain compliance deadlines for effluent limitations guidelines for the Steam-Electric Power Generating point source category in the Federal Register. EPA states that the proposal seeks to advance the goals of the Trump administration’s Unleashing American Energy Executive Orders and provide reliable energy as demand increases due to the rise of AI and data centers. …
