Conference Chairs

Katrina Bowers

Diversified Energy

Katrina joined Diversified Energy Company in 2024 as the Assistant General Counsel of Litigation. In this role, she is responsible for managing pre-suit claims and litigation against the company as well as providing legal support to its environmental safety and health, land, and government affairs teams across the company’s operational footprint in Appalachia, the Western Anadarko, Permian, Barnett, and Ark-La-Tex regions. Prior to joining Diversified, Katrina was a shareholder in Babst Calland’s Corporate and Commercial, Litigation, and Energy and Natural Resources groups representing oil and gas companies in litigation concerning a variety of matters and leading the firm’s airport practice. Katrina is a 2013 graduate of the West Virginia University College of Law and lives in Charleston, West Virginia with her husband and two small children.  

Michael Moore

Steptoe & Johnson, PLLC

Michael J. Moore is a Member in the Bridgeport office of Steptoe & Johnson PLLC and the Assistant Chair for the Firm’s Traditional Labor Practice Group. Michael is often tapped to represent public and private employers as they navigate high-pressure traditional labor relations matters. He has arbitrated and acted as first chair in labor negotiations in every corner of West Virginia and has provided direct guidance to a variety of clients in all phases of traditional labor work. From assisting clients during union organization campaigns to collective bargaining and arbitrations, Michael is established as a go-to lawyer for clients in this practice area.  Michael has also tried claims before the National Labor Relations Board.  Michael remains active in the community, serving as the Chairperson for the Clarksburg Salvation Army. He serves on the Bridgeport Fire Civil Service Board and is on the Board of Directors for the United Way of Harrison and Doddridge Counties. He was recognized by the West Virginia State Bar as the Young Lawyer of the Year for 2021.

Bryan Rohm

TotalEnergies

Bryan is the Head of Litigation for TotalEnergies in the US.  TotalEnergies is a global integrated energy company with over 100,000 employees in 120 countries that produces and markets energies: oil and biofuels, natural gas and green gases, renewables and electricity.  Prior to TotalEnergies, Bryan was an associate at K&L Gates LLP.

Speakers

Jonathan Ammons

Reed Smith

Isaac Bate

Northern Oil and Gas, Inc.

Isaac Bate is Associate General Counsel at Northern Oil and Gas, Inc. (NYSE: NOG), where he is responsible for all legal matters relating to A&D, joint ventures and other commercial contracts and operating agreements. Before joining NOG, Isaac was an Associate at the Houston office of Kirkland & Ellis, LLP, where his practice focused on mergers & acquisitions, private equity and domestic energy transactions, with an emphasis on the development, acquisition and divestiture of domestic energy and infrastructure related projects and assets. His transactional experience also included advising clients in connection with the purchase and sale of a broad range of energy assets, complex joint development projects, asset-backed securitizations, farmout and participation agreements, oil and gas financing transactions, transportation and gathering agreements, and other commercial transactions.

Bill Bissett, Ed.D.

West Virginia Manufacturers Association

Bill Bissett is the President of the West Virginia Manufacturers Association (WVMA), which represents companies that make products in the Mountain State as well as associate member companies who are dependent on manufacturing for their livelihoods. A native of West Virginia, Bissett previously served as State Director for United States Senator Shelley Moore Capito. Prior to his role with Senator Capito, Bissett led the Huntington Regional Chamber of Commerce, which is located in his hometown of Huntington, West Virginia. He earned his bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees from Marshall University, in addition to receiving his commission in the United States Army.

Anne Blankenship

Robinson & McElwee

Anne Blankenship has worked in West Virginia’s energy industry in various capacities for over two decades.  She has over 20 years of experience as an attorney in the environmental, regulatory, and utility sectors, in addition to her time serving as the West Virginia Oil and Natural Gas Association’s Executive Director.  Ms. Blankenship’s practice includes the representation of public utilities in West Virginia, including oil and gas distribution companies and electric companies. She provides consultation on regulatory and legislative matters for utilities and representation of her clients before the West Virginia Public Service Commission. She also represents clients in the development of power generation, including solar and other renewable energy, and assists in lease negotiations and navigating regulatory and permitting requirements. In the energy and environmental law arena, Ms. Blankenship has over 15 years of experience, primarily in the area of clean air law, in addition to water, waste and emergency response matters. Her clients have included manufacturers, oil and gas companies, major state trade associations, and other industrial and commercial businesses.  She has undergraduate and graduate degrees in biological sciences from Marshall University and a J.D. from Capital University Law School in Columbus, Ohio. 

Brian Boyer

Infinity Natural Resources

Brian Boyer is Senior Counsel at Infinity Natural Resources, where he is responsible for providing legal support on a range of commercial, operational, land, and regulatory matters, including structuring and negotiating joint operating agreements.  Prior to joining Infinity, Brian was a shareholder in Sherrard, German & Kelly’s Energy and Natural Resources practice group, where he represented oil and gas operators throughout Appalachia in regulatory and transactional matters.

Joe Carnicella

Westinghouse Electric Company

Joe’s practice sits at the intersection of globalization, innovation and regulation.  As Deputy General Counsel for Westinghouse Electric Company, LLC, Joe advises the world’s leading provider of nuclear technology on how to maneuver complex multi-jurisdictional regulations and develop strategies to harness and monetize the ever-advancing inventions, all against a truly global backdrop.  With a technical background in molecular biology, Joe began his career in private practice as an intellectual property litigator handling complex infringement actions involving a number of technologies in the energy industry.  In 2014, he joined Westinghouse and rose through the ranks, including helping guide the company in and out of a multi-billion dollar bankruptcy in essentially one year, to serve as a key business partner for its core business units, overseeing the overall intellectual property strategy for the entire company.  In this role, Joe manages an intellectual property portfolio of thousands of patents and trademarks deployed all around the world.  Joe’s role has also been central to the company’s ability to commercialize technology and leverage that advantage to advancing its position as the leader in the nuclear industry on a global scale.

Babst Calland

Moore Capito is a shareholder in the Corporate and Commercial, Emerging Technologies, and Energy and Natural Resources groups of Babst Calland. Moore represents publicly traded and privately held clients in corporate mergers, acquisitions and divestitures, as well as business structuring, governance, commercial contracts, and real estate transactions.

From 2017-2023, Moore represented Kanawha County in the West Virginia House of Delegates where he served as Chairman of the Committee on the Judiciary (2021-2023). Moore previously served as in-house counsel for an independent oil and gas production and midstream company in West Virginia. Prior to law school, he worked in Washington, D.C. at the Pentagon for the Secretary of Defense and the U.S. House of Representatives in the Office of the Majority Whip.

Moore received his undergraduate degree from Duke University and his J.D. from Washington and Lee University School of Law.

Kathy Condo

Babst Calland

Kathy Condo is a shareholder in the Pittsburgh office of Babst Calland. Kathy has spent more than 40 years handling toxic tort and products liability individual and class action litigation in various federal and state courts. For the last 10 years, she has represented the oil and gas industry in defending claims of adverse health and environmental impacts in civil litigation, municipal proceedings, and regulatory appeals. Kathy has been a member of the Academy of Trial Lawyers since 1992 and was previously appointed by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court to serve a three-year term on the Pennsylvania Civil Procedure Rules Committee. Kathy graduated summa cum laude from Duquesne University School of Law.

Tiffany A. Culp

Three Rivers Royalty

Tiffany A. Culp has over twelve years of experience in the oil and gas industry. She currently serves as VP-Land & Legal for Three Rivers Royalty, LLC, where she supports purchasing efforts in Appalachia, manages negotiations and litigation, and assists with asset management. Prior to her current position, she served as VP- Legal for multi-basin San Jacinto Minerals, LLC after coming from EQT Production Company. Tiffany serves non-profit boards within the industry, including the Appalachian Pipeliner’s Association, and the Energy and Mineral Law Foundation. Tiffany holds a Bachelor’s of Science in Biological Sciences from the University of Connecticut, a Juris Doctorate from Western New England University School of Law, and a Masters of Business Administration from Waynesburg University.

Daniel Donovan

Kirkland & Ellis

Dan Donovan is an experienced trial lawyer that litigates energy, financial, technology, pharmaceutical and transportation disputes across the country.  Dan has been successful as a trial lawyer both on the plaintiff side and the defense side.  He has secured nearly one billion dollars for clients in plaintiff-side cases and has secured defense verdicts in wide array of matters.   He is a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers and a Band 1 Chambers-rated trial lawyer in energy litigation.  In the energy space, Dan has litigated working interest disputes, royalty class actions and a wide array of energy industry issues.  Dan received his J.D from the George Washington University Law School and a degree in accounting from Villanova University. 

Caitlin Flanagan

Flanagan Partners

Caitlin Flanagan counsels clients in transactional matters in the context of oil and gas production, clean & renewable energy, insurance coverage, construction, and maritime operations. She drafts and negotiates contracts for oil, gas, and renewable energy producers and service contractors, including master service agreements, drilling contracts, purchase orders, charters, licensing and other software-based agreements, non-disclosure agreements, and construction contracts.

 She is barred in Louisiana, Texas, and Colorado, and splits her time between the firm’s New Orleans and Denver offices. She is a graduate of the Construction Risk and Insurance Specialist (CRIS) program, Energy Risk and Insurance Specialist (ERIS), and Transportation Risk and Insurance Professional (TRIP) program which focus on the insurance and risk-management needs of construction, energy, and transportation work. From 2018 through 2023, Caitlin was named to the Louisiana Super Lawyers Rising Stars list for Energy & Natural Resources. From 2021 through 2025, she was named to the Best Lawyers in America for her work in insurance law. For 2025, she was named to Best Lawyers in America for Energy Law and Oil and Gas law and was Lawyer of the Year for Energy Law in New Orleans. While in law school, Caitlin completed a judicial internship with Chief Judge Brian A. Jackson of the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Louisiana.

Harold Flanagan

Flanagan Partners

Harold Flanagan’s practice includes both contracts and litigation in the areas of oil and gas production, construction, and clean & renewable energy. He drafts and negotiates contracts for oil and gas producers, including drilling contracts, master service agreements, licensing agreements, and purchase orders. He and his team investigate casualties in the oil and gas, construction, and industrial settings, and advise industrial clients on Health, Safety, and Environmental compliance. Mr. Flanagan is frequently associated by other law firms to assist in litigating the insurance aspects of large casualty claims. His team includes lawyers barred in Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Colorado, and California. Mr. Flanagan graduated from Loyola University with a B.S. in Business Management in 1984, and from the Loyola School of Law in 1995, cum laude, where he was a member of the Loyola Law Review. In December 2023, he retired from Tulane Law School, where he taught the Insurance Law class for 23 years. Mr. Flanagan enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps in 1985 and retired at the rank of colonel after 26 years of service, including overseas service in Operation Enduring Freedom.

Britt Freund

Steptoe & Johnson, PLLC

Britt Freund is a Member in Steptoe & Johnson, PLLC’s Southpointe office.  Britt concentrates his practice in mineral and energy law. He is an Assistant Practice Group Leader and an integral part of the firm’s Energy and Natural Resources Department. Britt represents coal and oil and gas producers, financial institutions, and mineral owners with regard to all aspects of real property development, mineral production and sales, and finance transactions.  He is a graduate of Duquesne University School of Law, and a member of the EMLF Board of Trustees, serving as its president in 2023-2024. 

John Grand

Vinson & Elkins

Michael Griffaton

Vorys, Sater, Seymour and Pease

Mike is Of Counsel in the Vorys Columbus office and a member of the labor and employment and government relations practice groups.  He has significant experience in wage and hour law, restrictive covenants, drug and alcohol policies, discrimination, wrongful discharge, Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (WARN Act), affirmative action, and prevailing wage.  Mike regularly advises Ohio and national employers on policy development, personnel matters, and litigation avoidance and represents them before government agencies and the courts and through alternative dispute resolution. He also advises clients on legislative advocacy and strategizes, drafts, and analyzes federal, state, and local legislation. Mike oversees the editing of the Vorys 50 State Employment Manual and is a frequent writer of client alerts. He received his J.D. from Case Western Reserve University.

Ryan Haddad

Blank Rome

Ryan Haddad’s multidisciplinary energy transactional practice focuses on mergers and acquisitions and energy development and operations, primarily in the oil and gas and related sectors, including a leading practice representing project developers in the emerging carbon capture and sequestration (“CCS”) industry.  Ryan counsels industry clients on matters involving acquisitions and dispositions, joint ventures, CCS project development, production prepayment facilities and other structured finance, oil and gas and pore space leasing, corporate governance, project development, coordination of estates matters, distressed asset sales, commercial agreements, and other documents associated with natural gas operations, CCS, waste-to-energy projects, and other energy development.

 Ryan has advised industry clients in equity, debt, and structured financing transactions, including asset-backed securitization (ABS) transactions, volumetric production payments, net profits interests and mineral royalty funds. Ryan also has experience representing debtors-in-possession in transactional and corporate matters in the Chapter 11 context, and has advised established companies and new and emerging business in connection with raising and investing capital and forming alternative asset structures such as special purpose acquisition companies (“SPACs”).

Timothy J. Hagerty

Frost Brown Todd

Tim Hagerty has spent three decades advising clients across the nation on a wide variety of environmental compliance, liability, and litigation issues arising under federal, state, and local laws, with a strong emphasis on energy issues. Tim has provided advice and counsel on complex permitting and compliance matters arising under the Clean Water Act, including helping clients obtain, defend, and comply with NPDES discharge permits for facilities in the electric utility industry and the iron and steel, chemicals, and metals manufacturing sectors. Tim also has extensive experience helping clients navigate the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act and related resource review laws for electric generation and transmission line projects, major highway and bridge projects, pipelines, private commercial and residential developments, public transit, and even riverboat casinos. In recent years, Tim has spent countless hours assisting clients in the electric generation sector to comply with the requirements of the federal Coal Combustion Residuals (CCR) rule and related state waste laws. Tim advises on issues ranging from groundwater monitoring and analysis to closure of CCR surface impoundments. Tim is a Fellow of the American College of Environmental Lawyers and the former President of the Energy and Mineral Law Foundation, and he chairs the annual Kentucky Energy Management Conference. He is a graduate of Yale Law School (1994) and the University of Louisville (1991).

Roger Hanshaw 

Bowles Rice   

Roger G. Hanshaw is a partner in the Charleston office of Bowles Rice who concentrates his legal practice on the environmental and technical issues that arise in business transactions, as well as regulatory compliance matters and litigation for a diverse client base. He holds a Ph.D. in chemistry from the University of Notre Dame. Roger is a certified professional parliamentarian and regularly counsels government bodies and nonprofit organizations throughout the state and nation on meeting procedures, parliamentary law, bylaws construction and convention management. He is also a certified magistrate court mediator and board of directors member for the West Virginia Farm Bureau. He is a member of the West Virginia House of Delegates, representing District 33 (Calhoun, Clay and Gilmer Counties), and serves as Speaker. 

Seth Hayes

Jackson Kelly

An experienced trial attorney, Seth Hayes has tried multiple cases to verdict in both West Virginia and Pennsylvania, as well as before commercial arbitration panels.  Seth has also argued before appellate courts in West Virginia and Maryland, as well as the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. Seth focuses his practice on representing energy companies and commercial businesses in complex litigation.  Seth is an Assistant Managing Member in the Firm and Chair of the Firm’s Litigation Department. He has been selected by his peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America® for Commercial Litigation for the past ten years and has been active in the United Way of Monongalia and Preston Counties, serving previously as the Vice President of the Board of Directors. He practices out of the Firm’s office in Morgantown, WV and is a 2006 WVU College of Law Graduate.

Mark Heath

Spilman, Thomas & Battle

Mark E. Heath, Member, Spilman, Thomas & Battle, PLLC, Charleston, WV, is co-chair of the firms MSHA and OSHA practice group. He has represented employers in over 100 fatal accident investigations including significant mine fires, explosions and mass casualty events, as well as representing corporate owners and parents in numerous rounds of administrative and civil litigation in the years after the event.

Patricia Karppi

Greenberg Traurig LLP

Patricia Karppi is a litigator in Greenberg Traurig’s Washington, D.C. office. She focuses her practice on federal administrative agency hearings and appeals. Patricia represents the mining industry and insurance industry in regulatory challenges and appeals before the Department of Labor, Office of Administrative Law Judges, Benefits Review Board and federal circuit courts of appeals. Prior to joining GT, Patricia was a trial attorney representing health care providers in civil litigation in both state and federal courts.

Jeff Kramer

Range Resources

Jeff Kramer is a Pennsylvania Licensed attorney with over 25 years of experience. In 1996, following his graduation from the Dickinson School of Law, he started his private practice in Washington County.  His practice was committed to all the phases of land work, including basic title work and closings, complex real property litigation, jury trials, and appellate work.  He also focused on oil and gas law in his private practice.  In 2008, he began working at Range Resources – Appalachia, LLC as a Staff landman, where he performed numerous land functions, with a primary area of focus in land lease acquisition.  In 2013, Jeff was promoted to District Land Manager, and subsequently Land Director, where his responsibilities include overseeing the acquisition of all leasing for the Southern Marcellus Shale Division 

Jeff continues to be a member of the Pennsylvania and Washington County Bar Associations and is licensed by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, The Third Circuit Court of Appeals, Western District, and continue to participate in bar functions as a representative of Range Resources within the community.  Jeff is a frequent speaker at both industry and legal seminars and panels.  He currently resides in Avella, PA with his wife and four sons. 

Victoria Bechtold Kush

Buchanan Ingersoll Rooney

Business leaders seek out Victoria as their trusted counsel because of her unique combination of 18 years of legal experience, paired with her fresh ideas, know-how and aggressive commitment to achieving the best results. With Victoria’s broad experience litigating in the oil and gas industry and record of success, clients trust Victoria to be their sharpest advocate in the courtroom and beyond.  Her oil and gas litigation prowess has encompassed numerous eminent domain cases, lease disputes, emergency land use proceedings involving oil and gas infrastructure, complex contractual disputes, environmental permit appeals, contamination disputes arising from inadvertent returns and wastewater disposal permits, and amicus curiae briefing on behalf of an energy industry group related to the Dakota Access Pipeline to the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit and sovereign immunity challenges in PennEast to the United States Supreme Court. Having graduated at the top of her class from business school prior to law school, she blends business pragmatism with legal strategy. She has been repeatedly recognized by Super Lawyers Rising Stars and named to the Best Lawyers in America in the field of Commercial Litigation. A sought-after speaker and an educator in her field, she is also an adjunct professor at Duquesne University in its graduate business school over the last 8 years teaching “The Business Legal Environment” and “Management Business Ethics.”  She has also served as a legal expert for television programming on WPXI for over a decade.

Alexandria Lay

Steptoe & Johnson, PLLC

Alex is a member of Steptoe & Johnson’s Energy & Natural Resources Department and leads the firm’s Energy Contracts Practice Group. She focuses her practice on energy transactions, representing coal, oil and gas, and renewables companies, as well as gas and water utilities, in various matters, including negotiating stock and asset acquisitions and dispositions, conducting and managing wide-scale due diligence projects, and advising on operational and property matters. Alex is a trustee for the Energy and Mineral Law Foundation and serves on the Programming Committee. She received her J.D. from Washington and Lee University School of Law.

Martin Leehr

EQT

Martin concentrates his efforts in the Business Development group at EQT since 2023.  Over the last decade, Martin has focused a large portion of his time on Joint Operating Agreements, both operated and non-operated, acreage swaps, acquisitions and divestitures, trades, farm-in, farm-out, and complex deal structures balancing financial, environmental, legal, midstream, and operational hurdles. Martin has served the majority of his career in the oil and gas arena, beginning in the energy marketing and pipelines group with CoEnergy Trading Co., nka DTE Energy Trading, transitioning to project management roles in multiple states, until opening the Utica office for Gulfport Energy, moving on to business development roles CNX Resources, and now EQT.  He attended John Carroll University and finished his Finance degree at Wayne State University. 

Jason Lucas

Steptoe & Johnson, PLLC

Gregory Ossi

Norton Rose Fulbright US LLP

Gregory Ossi (“Greg”) is a Partner at Norton Rose Fulbright US LLP who resolves employment, labor law and related employee benefit matters for clients in the energy production, mining, government contracting, hospitality, manufacturing and construction industries. Greg counsels employers and litigates on a broad range of human resource issue, such as discrimination, Davis-Bacon, collective bargaining, mergers and acquisitions, union organizing, retiree health care and multiemployer pension plan withdrawal liability.

W. William Prochot

Greenberg Traurig LLP

With twenty-nine years of experience, Will Prochot specializes in federal regulatory and administrative law litigation before the Department of Labor, Office of Administrative Law Judges, Benefits Review Board, federal circuit courts and Supreme Court.  He has broad experience litigating complex medical, insurance, self-insurance, evidentiary and administrative law issues both at trial and on appeal.  He has represented numerous coal mine operators, insurance companies and sureties at hundreds of trials and hearings and has advised numerous law firms regarding strategy for defending claims brought under the Black Lung Benefits Act and its implementing regulations.  He also has robust experience challenging the validity of agency regulations and actions under the Administrative Procedure Act.

Ryan Purpura

Blank Rome

Ryan Purpura represents oil and gas companies, private equity and hedge funds, and other financial institutions in mergers and acquisitions, project finance and development, and other transactions related to the energy industry. A recognized practitioner in Texas and Pennsylvania, as well as across the United States, Ryan also frequently lectures on topics related to oil and gas and has served as an adjunct professor teaching Energy Law at Duquesne University’s School of Law.

Ryan’s experience includes:

• Joint ventures and other strategic combinations regarding the development of oil and gas assets, primarily in domestic shale areas
• Acquisitions and divestitures of oil and gas assets, midstream and master limited partnership assets, and oilfield service businesses
• Financing transactions, including asset-backed securitization (ABS) transactions, volumetric production payments, net profits interests and mineral royalty funds

 He has served as in-house counsel to two publicly traded natural gas companies (including the first-ever exploration and production master limited partnership), where he advised on a range of commercial and operations issues, including oil and gas marketing arrangements, land acquisition and development, employment matters, and litigation. Ryan also serves as outside general counsel to several exploration and production and midstream companies, advising them on all aspects of their operations.

Michael Pusateri

Greenberg Traurig LLP

Michael Pusateri defends national and international companies and individuals in state, federal, and administrative tribunals across the country.

In the administrative context, Michael has represented the mining and insurance industries in rulemaking proceedings, regulatory challenges, adjudications, and appeals before the Department of Labor and other agencies and federal circuit courts of appeals.

Michael’s diverse civil practice has found him defending corporations and individuals in the food, pharmaceutical, publishing, energy, and financial services sectors against allegations of fraud, unfair competition, unlawful discharge, and defamation, among others. His civil practice victories have been featured in leading industry publications including Work Comp Central, Business Insurance, and the Media Law Resource Center. He has also advised clients in all stages of criminal and civil investigations—from the issuance of subpoenas through trial and appellate proceedings in cases involving wire fraud, money laundering, conspiracy, anti-competitive conduct, and violations of federal election statutes.

David G. Ries

Clark Hill PLC

David G. Ries is Of Counsel in the Pittsburgh PA office of Clark Hill PLC, where he practices in the firm’s Cybersecurity, Data Protection and Privacy Group. He has devoted his legal career to helping organizations traverse complex environmental, technology, and data protection challenges. For over 25 years, he has increasingly focused on cybersecurity, privacy, and information governance. Dave frequently speaks and writes nationally on legal ethics, technology, and cybersecurity topics. He is a Trustee and Past President of the Energy and Mineral Law Foundation and Chair of the ABA Law Practice Division Ethics and Professionalism Committee. He is a graduate of Boston College and Boston College Law School.

Holly Rioux-Lefebvre

Kirkland & Ellis

Holly Rioux-Lefebvre is a partner in the Washington, D.C. office of Kirkland & Ellis.  Holly represents clients across a wide array of industries in all aspects of complex commercial litigation, including class actions and trials.  She has represented a number of oil and gas producers in individual and class action royalty disputes, including on issues relating to lease interpretation, the marketability of gas, and reasonableness of post-production costs.  Holly received her J.D. from the George Washington University Law School. 

Thomas Ryan

K&L Gates

Thomas is a go-to trial lawyer for energy clients facing internal or government investigations as well as bet-the-company litigation.  Thomas started off his career at K&L Gates working extensively in the construction and insurance coverage practices, including an extended secondment as a project lawyer on one of the world’s largest international energy projects.  He then spent six years at the Department of Justice trying the full-scope of white-collar crime prosecutions, including a number of high-profile cases in the energy sector involving bribery, public corruption, money laundering and tax evasion.  Since returning to private practice about ten years ago, Thomas has built a multi-disciplinary, multi-jurisdictional practice aimed at representing companies in all facets of the energy sector.  His practice ranges from navigating multi-billion dollar DOJ/SEC investigations to guiding energy clients through all-or-nothing class actions.  In addition to his full-time practice, Thomas also took on the role of Office Managing Partner for the Pittsburgh office of K&L Gates in January 2024.

Al F. Sebok

Jackson Kelly

Al F. Sebok is a Member of Jackson Kelly’s Litigation Practice Group, specializing in complex civil litigation and labor and employment law. Al represents businesses in high-stakes civil cases, from nuisance litigation for energy companies and public utilities to consumer protection defense for financial institutions. He has extensive experience with commercial arbitration, class actions, and constitutional challenges, including cases before the West Virginia Mass Litigation Panel.  He has been selected by his peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America® for Employment Law , Labor Law, Litigation and Mining Law. He practices out of the Firm’s office in Charleston, WV and is a 1985 Washington and Lee School of Law graduate.

Christopher Thatch (Chris)

McGuire Woods

Chris Thatch is a litigation and trial partner at McGuireWoods LLP. His practice focuses on construction disputes and pre-litigation infrastructure counseling. He defends global companies against claims stemming from high-value infrastructure projects, provides front-end risk mitigation advice for clients that are considering or have recently contracted to build or invest in infrastructure, and helps clients draft contracts and effectively manage those contracts once construction begins. He has advised on large-scale public and commercial projects, including energy, environmental cleanup and remediation efforts, flood protection repair, power plant builds, aircraft development, and military programs. He has handled major disputes in state and federal courts, JAMS proceedings, ICC arbitrations, and before administrative judges, including as lead counsel and trial counsel. Chris is Chambers ranked and recognized by Best Lawyers for his construction work.

John Unice

bit-x-bit

John Unice, Chief Executive Officer of bit-x-bit, directs the business, strategic and overall operations of bit-x-bit. Providing exceptional high-level expertise and guidance to bit-x-bit’s clients, John draws on two decades of experience as chief corporate counsel and as a trial lawyer in major corporate and large law firm settings. John’s wide-ranging portfolio includes litigating sophisticated cases, utilizing complex electronic evidence and leading digital risk-mitigation initiatives, both in the U.S. and internationally.

Before joining bit-x-bit, John was Assistant Secretary and a senior legal advisor at the Pittsburgh headquarters of Covestro LLC and, prior, at Bayer Corporation, advancing his clients’ interests in highly regulated industries. At Covestro, he oversaw legal affairs for the company’s U.S.-based polycarbonate business and held global responsibility for the company’s litigation docket. John also led and collaborated on a range of strategic e-discovery, cybersecurity, and digital records management initiatives to mitigate corporate risk and win cases.

Emily Weiss

K&L Gates

Emily Weiss focuses her primary practice on clients in the energy sector and has advised clients in other industries during government investigations. Within the energy sector, she has assisted in oil and gas litigation, including royalty disputes, class actions, and other lease disputes; and compliance in midstream operations. Further, Ms. Weiss has advised multiple energy companies regarding various aspects of their oil and gas operations in West Virginia and Pennsylvania.

Kenneth J. Witzel

Ozdinec & Witzel, LLC

Ken Witzel is a member of Ozdinec & Witzel, LLC, a law firm located in the Pittsburgh area that specializes in oil and gas law. Mr. Witzel has represented operators and mineral rights owners in litigation and pre-litigation matters for over twenty years. He also serves as an arbitrator and is on the American Arbitration Association’s National Roster of Arbitrators. Mr. Witzel received his J.D. in 1998 from The Dickinson School of Law of the Pennsylvania State University and is licensed to practice law in Pennsylvania and West Virginia.