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.
Attorney Susanna Bagdasarova, along with Joseph V. Schaeffer, has been recognized by The Legal Intelligencer as a “2025 Lawyer on the Fast Track, Small/Midsize Winner” in Pennsylvania.
After reviewing the results of nominations for the annual The Legal Intelligencer awards, a judging panel composed of evaluators from all corners of the legal profession and the state selected 12 attorneys as the 2025 Lawyers on the Fast Track, Small/Midsize Winners. …
Regardless of party affiliation, the one issue that most Americans seem to be able to agree about in 2025 is that we all are sick of our healthcare system. Healthcare reform is no stranger to the American political discourse, but recent public sentiment at the expense, difficulty, and confusion inherent in navigating the American healthcare is at an all-time low. In this article, Sick of Healthcare? Healthcare Benefit Update for Employers – What to Watch in 2025, Attorneys Jenn Malik and Anna Hosack outline key issues for employers to watch in the healthcare benefits space this year to guide in planning healthcare benefits and to budget accordingly. …
On Feb. 19, 2025, U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Acting Chair Andrea Lucas announced that the agency will direct its focus on protecting American workers from unlawful national origin discrimination (the February 2025 EEOC guidance). In a shift from previous priorities usually relating to the prevention of discrimination against foreign nationals and historically marginalized groups, the EEOC’s new enforcement priority will likely lead to an increase in investigations, compliance checks and litigation relative to the protection of American workers from alleged discrimination. …
Environmental Attorney Christina Puhnaty will serve as the moderator for “All the Latest HAPpenings: The Transformation of the Clean Air Act’s Air Toxics Program” during the American Bar Association’s Section of Environment, Energy and Resources’ (SEER) 54th Spring Conference, March 26-29, 2025.
Nearly 35 years after it was strengthened as part of the 1990 Clean Air Act (CAA) amendments, the CAA’s air toxics program is being reshaped and expanded significantly to add unregulated air toxics, remove affirmative defenses, and address environmental justice. …
In her recent alert EPA Announces Expansive Deregulatory Plan with Gary Steinbauer and Ethan Johnson, Jessica Deyoe explains that the ambitious plan identifies numerous past EPA regulations or actions that will be reconsidered or reviewed. The regulations identified in the deregulatory plan, which were promulgated under the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, and the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, apply to a wide range of industrial sectors and regulated parties. …
As the “backbone” of digital infrastructure, data centers are becoming more and more critical in meeting the demands of the modern digital world. With advances in artificial intelligence (AI) and the increased reliance on computing by people all over the world, demand for data centers is outpacing supply. In their recent article in the OnRamp Magazine, Justine Kasznica and Moore Capito discuss the increased demand for complex data centers and the infrastructure and legal challenges facing developers in the region. …
Anna Jewart will be a panelist for the Women’s History Month Educational Networking Event on March 26 from 4 – 6 pm. This event celebrates Women’s
History Month by showcasing women driving sustainability in four fields – business, healthcare, law, and technology. The event will also offer an opportunity to network with the panelists.
Undergraduate and graduate students, faculty, and anyone interested are invited. …
On March 8, 2025, we observe International Women’s Day (IWD), a global day to celebrate the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women. This year’s theme for IWD is #AccelerateAction. This theme emphasizes the importance of taking swift and influential steps to achieve gender equality. It calls for urgency in addressing the systemic barriers and biases that women face, both in personal and professional spheres. …
Environmental Attorney Mackenzie Moyer, along with Robert Stonestreet, will present an “Overview of NEPA and PFAS, Two Federal Environmental Issues Impacting the Oil and Gas Industry” at the Ohio Oil & Gas Association’s (OOGA) Annual Meeting, March 5-7, 2025. For more information, click here.
Attorney Janet Meub has been selected as the recipient of the Neighborhood Legal Services Association Partner in Justice Award for her essential and noble legal work for Pittsburgh communities and her leadership in involving Babst Calland attorneys to volunteer in representing victims of domestic violence.
Babst Calland supports Neighborhood Legal Services in their commitment to provide equal access to justice for all residents in the region. …
In their recent alert U.S. EPA Approves Class VI Injection Well Primacy in West Virginia with Jim Curry, Kip Power, and Gary Steinbauer, Gina Falaschi Buchman and Alex Graf discuss on February 26, 2025, the US EPA published a notice in the Federal Register approving West Virginia’s application for Class VI injection well primary enforcement authority (primacy) pursuant to the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) underground injection control (UIC) program. …
In their recent alert BOI is Back: Corporate Transparency Act Reporting Requirements Reinstated with Chris Farmakis and Dane Fennell, Susanna Bagdasarova and Kate Cooper discuss the recent developments for the reporting requirements under the Corporate Transparency Act. FinCEN has announced a 30-day deadline extension for reporting companies. The new deadline for the majority of reporting companies to file an initial, updated, and/or corrected BOI report is March 21, 2025. …
Francesca C. (Cella) Iovino recently joined Babst Calland as an associate in the Litigation Group. Ms. Iovino’s experience encompasses all phases of litigation from initial pleadings through trial and appeal in the state and federal courts. She has handled a variety of complex commercial disputes, involving breach of contract, breach of warranty, shareholder disputes and oppression claims and business torts. Ms. Iovino also has represented clients in financial servicing issues, debt collection and lender liability matters, trade secret misappropriation and restrictive covenants. …
In a recent case, the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court found that the use of an attestation may negate the need for a full privilege log when responding to a Right-to-Know Law request where there are redacted privileged documents and an attestation providing context for the privilege. In her recent article Pennsylvania Right-to-Know Law Update: The Death of the Attorney-Client Privilege Log? with Michael Korns, Anna Hosack provide this Pennsylvania RTKL Update.
The new presidential administration’s efforts to prioritize immigration law enforcement has resulted in increased activity by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and an uptick of questions from employers about how to handle ICE investigations. In their Alert, “Employer Guidance for Workplace Interactions with ICE,” Alex Farone and Steve Antonelli provide guidance to employers for potential interactions with or inspections by ICE at the workplace, including preliminary actions, suggested steps during an ICE visit (whether announced or unannounced), and follow-up recommendations. …
