As Western Pennsylvania continues to attract oil and gas companies, as well as attorneys and law firms from far and wide, some lawyers say the region is emerging as a major player in the global energy industry whose importance and influence could last well beyond the life span of the Marcellus and Utica shale plays.
Energy lawyer Michael P. Joy, who recently joined Reed Smith in Pittsburgh as a partner in its energy and natural resources group from his boutique law firm Biltekoff & Joy in Buffalo, N.Y., said he decided to move with his wife and five children to Western Pennsylvania because he wanted to be near what he said is becoming “one of the three or four dominant energy centers” in the United States.
