Best Lawyers in America for Mining Law

Area of Emphasis Joe Bunn is a shareholder in the Corporate and Commercial Group of Babst Calland. Before obtaining his law degree, Mr. Bunn worked for a Fortune 500 company and a middle market company where he served in numerous roles involving strategic planning, capital raises, acquisitions and divestitures. Armed with a deep understanding of the practical needs of business owners, he now assists clients in financial transactions, mergers, acquisitions, and divestitures. Mr. Bunn also coun...

Stuart Butzier has assisted mining, energy, high-tech, industrial and ranching clients throughout his thirty-plus year legal career with Modrall Sperling. His counsel has included helping clients strategically navigate the maze of environmental and mining regulatory and permitting regimes, the morass of litigation, and the unique challenges of complex deals and real property transactions involving private, Federal, State, Indian and split-estate lands. Recognized in the area of Natural Resour...

Steven Christiansen has over 30 years experience with environmental permitting and enforcement matters, RCRA and CERCLA remediation, air emission credits transactions, climate change, state implementation plan development, environmental legislation, NEPA, public lands permitting, environmental aspects of business transactions, brownfield redevelopment, and the administrative rule-making process. He also works in the areas of energy and public utilities law. Mr. Christiansen actively represent...

Eric Fjelstad, a partner in the Environment, Energy & Resources practice, is managing partner of the Alaska office and leads the firm’s Alaska EER practice. His practice is focused on natural resources project development, defense of governmental and citizen enforcement actions, and compliance counseling. Eric’s project development is focused on due diligence and permitting of mining, oil and gas, energy, forestry, and heavy infrastructure projects. He regularly counsels Alask...

Bill Gorton is Chair of the Environmental, Natural Resources & Energy Service Group for the firm. He is national counsel to numerous clients on environmental regulatory and land and water resources matters. He advises healthcare clients in permitting, acquisitions and environmental compliance matters. Bill has represented clients in the waste management sector including acquisitions, due diligence, compliance and contracting. He has been counsel in the development of numerous independent ...

George House has worked in every area of environmental law and litigation since the birth of the practice in the 1970s. A seasoned environmental litigator, George represents his clients on matters related to mining law, water law, air compliance, and hazardous waste. George has experience in virtually every area of environmental law and focuses his practice on matters related to mining law, water law, hazardous waste and substances, and air compliance. He represents a multitude of clients, in...

John Iani, a partner with the firm's Environment, Energy & Resources practice, focuses his practice on helping clients in developing and structuring business and commercial endeavors, particularly in the areas of project development, energy, natural resources and fisheries. He also represents clients in environmental and regulatory issues before Congress, federal and state agencies, administrative bodies and the courts. John served as the Regional Administrator for Region 10 of the Enviro...

Dan Jensen has been practicing natural resources law since 1988. His practice encompasses mining, water, oil and gas, public land and administrative law. Mr. Jensen focuses on transactional work involving mineral interests, water rights and public lands, acquisitions and transfers of mineral land and water rights, title and due diligence reviews, land use entitlements, and development agreements. Mr. Jensen also handles related litigation, including disputes concerning property titles and bou...

Tom Lane is a partner in the Charleston, West Virginia office of Bowles Rice and is licensed to practice law in West Virginia and Pennsylvania. He practices primarily in the areas of natural resources, coal, oil and gas, commercial real estate, zoning and land development This practice ranges from complex transactions of mineral property and companies to complex litigation of natural resource issues. He also engages in lobbying and government relations, particularly on issues affecting the mi...

Thomas E. Meacham is a solo law practitioner in Anchorage, Alaska. His legal practice areas involve Alaska’s unique body of natural resources law, in all of its aspects. Tom’s legal experience in Alaska natural resources law goes back some 45 years, and encompasses the significant and comprehensive federal and state resource development and conservation laws that continue to shape life in Alaska. His firm, Thomas E. Meacham, Attorney at Law, concentrates primarily on the legal imp...

Malcolm S. Murchison is licensed to practice in Louisiana and Texas and enjoys a broad based commercial law practice. His variety of skills equip him to handle a wide range of legal issues for his clients, including oil and gas, real estate, corporate formations/mergers/dissolutions, commercial lending and financing arrangements, state/local tax disputes, and land-use issues. He has significant experience in handling Louisiana mineral interest issues ranging from acquisitions, title examinati...

A partner of Montgomery Barnett, John Pearce is engaged in general civil practice concentrating in energy (oil and gas) and environmental law for a variety of clients both corporate (international, national, regional and local) and individual. With broad experience in civil litigation and corporate, partnership, environmental, banking, securities and contract law including interpretation, negotiation and preparation of a wide variety of contracts, Mr. Pearce has handled or participated in a b...

Area of Emphasis Kip Power is a shareholder in the Energy and Natural Resources and Litigation groups of Babst Calland. Mr. Power helps clients comply with environmental laws and defend related litigation while keeping their businesses running profitably. He regularly represents companies when permitting and enforcement disputes arise and prosecutes civil actions and appeals challenging unlawful agency actions. Over the course of his career, he has successfully negotiated favorable resolution...

Walter brings more than thirty-five years of experience providing representation, advice and counsel to businesses and individuals in their dealings with Indian tribes and public land management agencies, like the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, the U.S. Forest Service and New Mexico State Land Office. Walter’s practice is focused on natural resources, energy and environmental law. Clients throughout the west and across the country seek Walter’s advice in matters involving transac...

Shane Swindle, a partner in the firm's Litigation practice, focuses on commercial litigation, particularly environmental, contract and insurance coverage disputes. Most of Mr. Swindle’s time is devoted to his active litigation practice, but he also regularly advises clients on environmental, contract, and insurance coverage issues for business planning purposes.

My practice is devoted to civil defense litigation, including defending federal black lung claims, workers' compensation litigation, defending mass toxic torts, mining matters, and personal injury defense at both trial and appellate levels. I am admitted to practice in all state and federal courts in Alabama as well as the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals and the United States Supreme Court. I have very wide experience in representing mining and mineral companies with various issues, includi...