Justine M. Kasznica

Justine M. Kasznica is a shareholder and chair of the Emerging Technologies Group at Babst Calland. With a focus on technology and commercial transactions, she represents clients in sectors including robotics, artificial intelligence, autonomous vehicles, drones, and commercial space. Her work includes advising technology companies, investor groups, universities, and research institutions on matters related to software, SaaS, IoT, and AI products and services. Her experience also spans corporate finance, technology and commercial transactions, and regulatory compliance for corporations across a wide range of industries.

Technology

• Drafts, negotiates, and advises on agreements for technology companies in the IT, mobility, robotics, banking, oil and gas/energy, healthcare and security and logistics industries.
• Advises domestic and international businesses on a wide range of data protection and network/data security compliance and risk management issues, including GDPR and other international (EU, German) data transfers and information governance issues.
• Assists technology clients in developing internal policies related to privacy and terms of service and use, with experience in COPPA, FERPA, HIPAA/HITECH and FinTech regulatory compliance.
• Advises companies on liability exposure with respect to trademark/copyright infringement and other statutory claims and issues.
• Represents investors and investment funds with respect to convertible debt, angel and venture financing deals with technology companies.
• Assists high growth emerging technology companies with formation, capitalization, and general business operational needs.

Robotics

• Serves as outside general counsel to several robotics and autonomous systems companies in the mobility, autonomous vehicle and smart cities, homeland security and defense, aerospace, and commercial space industries.
• Advises on legal issues surrounding UAS, including commercial drones.
• Negotiates technology commercialization licenses and funding agreements on behalf of robotics companies with universities, government agencies, and technology development laboratories.
• Assists robotics companies with capitalization, including state and federal funding, accelerator funding, angel investment, and corporate, private equity or venture capital financing.
• Supports and develops campus drone and new technology policies for universities.

Aerospace and Commercial Space

• Negotiates payload launch services contracts, NASA Space Act Agreements, SBIRs, STTRs, BAAs, and other technology development agreements.
• Advises on regulatory and policy issues related to UAS and commercial space activities, including FAA approvals and certifications, payload acceptance requirements, and other regulatory compliance requirements.

Kasznica graduated from Yale University with a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science and earned her Juris Doctor from Rutgers School of Law-Camden. She completed a clerkship with Judge Thomas Hardiman of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. She began her legal career as a litigator before transitioning to a corporate and technology practice.

Prior to her current role, Kasznica served as Executive Director of the University of Pittsburgh School of Law Innovation Practice Institute and was a founding board member of Ascender, an early-stage accelerator and co-working hub in Pittsburgh. She was also a founder of ReefBot, a collaborative initiative between Carnegie Mellon University’s Robotics Institute, the Pittsburgh Zoo, and PPG Aquarium to develop autonomous underwater vehicles for oceanographic exploration and coral reef conservation.

Ms. Kasznica is currently admitted to practice in Pennsylvania and New Jersey (inactive). She is recognized in The Best Lawyers in America© in the Corporate Law Section for 2025 by BL Rankings.

Kasznica is actively involved in Pittsburgh’s and the region’s innovation ecosystem. Kasznica co-founded and chairs the board of the Keystone Space Collaborative, a nonprofit organization supporting the Tri-State Region’s (PA, OH and WV) growing space industry. Her expertise extends to advising on regulatory and policy issues related to commercial space activities, unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) and dual use defense innovation activities. She serves on the Board of the Pennsylvania Chamber of Business and Industry and serves as an Honorary Civilian Commander with the 171st Air Refueling Wing (171 ARW), a unit of the Pennsylvania Air National Guard. She is a member of the Moon Village Association’s Working Groups, the Courts of Space initiative, as well as the UL Standards Technical Panel for evaluating autonomous products. Finally, she continues to serve on the Board of Governors of the Yale Club of Pittsburgh, and was the President of the Club from 2012-2014.