Energy & Environmental Industry Attorney Anne Blankenship Joins Robinson & McElwee

Robinson & McElwee announced today that Anne Blankenship has joined the firm’s energy and environmental practice as Senior Counsel. For over 18 years, Ms. Blankenship has worked in West Virginia’s energy industry in various capacities. She has over 15 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 Gas Association’s Executive Director.

As an energy industry attorney, Ms. Blankenship has represented clients in West Virginia’s state and federal courts before a number of authorities and West Virginia’s Public Service Commission. Her practice includes advising clients on environmental issues, including air quality, water and waste management, as well as public utility regulation.

“Anne’s skills and experience bring another layer of capability to our energy and environmental practice which will directly benefit our clients,” said Chief Executive Officer Kent George. “She is an excellent attorney and will help us continue to serve our clients in navigating the challenging regulatory and environmental matters in the state.”

Ms. Blankenship will be based in the firm’s Charleston, WV office. She has undergraduate and graduate degrees in biological sciences from Marshall University and a J.D. from Capital University Law School in Columbus, Ohio. She returned to West Virginia after law school and has built her career and raised her family in Charleston.

Robinson & McElwee Message Regarding COVID-19

Given the circumstances surrounding the highly contagious nature and expected spread of COVID-19, the CDC recommendations, and the guidelines suggested by federal, state and local officials for the safety of our employees and their families, and the safety of our clients, their colleagues, and their families, Robinson & McElwee PLLC has made the decision to temporarily serve our clients remotely and will close our physical offices (Charleston, Clarksburg and Wheeling, West Virginia and Alliance, Ohio) starting Monday 3/23/2020.

During this time, we are committed and are prepared to continue to uphold the highest level of client service and to maintain the continuity of our firm’s operations on behalf of our clients. Accordingly, and for the following 14 days, it will be business as usual, just from remote locations. In accordance with policies and protocols that we have instituted over the years for unexpected events that may preclude the availability of our physical office, all of our lawyers and staff are trained and equipped to work remotely through our secure remote network system. It is our intention that by serving clients remotely, we will allow our attorneys and staff to play their part in complying with social distancing and other such recommendations of authorities in an effort to control the spread and minimize the adverse impact of the COVID-19 coronavirus.

Our receptionist will be available through a remote connection to answer all calls to our main number (304-344-5800) and will route calls to our lawyers and other staff as requested. Everyone at Robinson & McElwee PLLC will continue to have access to their email and firm systems and their direct office telephone numbers, in most cases, will be automatically directed to the telephone number that is accessible to them at their remote location.

Please rest assured that our systems are secure and designed for this type of remote operation and that all of our attorneys and essential staff have been previously trained and experienced with working by means of secure remote connectivity.

Robinson & McElwee Listed in U.S. News Best Lawyers “Best Law Firms” for 2020

Robinson & McElwee PLLC has been recognized in three metropolitan tiers in two cities in the 2020 U.S. News – Best Lawyers^© “Best Law Firms” list. Firms included in this list are recognized for professional excellence with persistently impressive ratings from clients and peers, according to the Best Lawyers^© press release.

Metropolitan Tier 1: Charleston-WV

Commercial Finance Law
Litigation – Labor & Employment
Mass Tort Litigation / Class Actions – Defendants
Product Liability Litigation – Defendants
Real Estate Law

Metropolitan Tier 2: Akron

Closely Held Companies and Family Businesses Law
Tax Law
Trusts & Estates Law

Metropolitan Tier 2: Charleston-WV

Corporate Law
Employment Law – Management
Labor Law – Management
Litigation – Bankruptcy
Utilities Law

Metropolitan Tier 3: Charleston-WV

Commercial Litigation
Energy Law
Environmental Law
Litigation – Environmental
Mergers & Acquisitions Law
Personal Injury Litigation – Defendants

For a firm to receive a tier designation there must be present a high level of respect for that firm among other leading lawyers and clients in the same communities and the same practice areas for their capabilities, their professionalism and their integrity. The tier rankings were determined through the firm’s overall evaluation derived from a combination of clients’ impressive feedback, the high regard attorneys from different firms in the same practice area hold for Robinson & McElwee, and information provided by the firm.

Robinson & McElwee Attorneys Recognized by Best Lawyers 2020

Joseph S. Beeson, Mass Tort Litigation / Class Actions – Defendants, Personal Injury Litigation – Defendants, Product Liability Litigation – Defendants
Kent J. George, Commercial Finance Law
Mark H. Hayes, Mass Tort Litigation / Class Actions – Defendants, Product Liability Litigation – Defendants
David K. Higgins, Corporate Law, Mergers and Acquisitions Law
Robert E. Lannan II, Environmental Law, Litigation – Environmental
Douglas C. McElwee, Natural Resources Law, Real Estate Law
John C. Palmer IV, Commercial Litigation, Mass Tort Litigation / Class Actions – Defendants
William C. Porth, Administrative / Regulatory Law, Energy Law, Utilities Law
Joseph M. Price, Employment Law – Management; Labor Law – Management, Litigation – Labor and Employment
W. Bradley Sorrells, Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights / Insolvency and Reorganization Law, Litigation – Bankruptcy

The Robinson & McElwee attorney listed in The Best Lawyers in America© 2020 for Alliance, Ohio is Michael A. Ogline for Closely Held Companies and Family Businesses Law, Litigation – Trusts and Estates, Tax Law and Trusts and Estates.

Since it was first published in 1983, Best Lawyers has become universally regarded as the definitive guide to legal excellence. Inclusion in Best Lawyers is considered a singular honor because Best Lawyers is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey in which almost 50,000 leading attorneys cast nearly five million votes on the legal abilities of other lawyers in their practice areas and because lawyers are not required or allowed to pay a fee to be listed. Corporate Counsel magazine has called Best Lawyers “the most respected referral list of attorneys in practice.”

Robinson & McElwee Member Mark Hayes Elected President of DTCWV

Robinson & McElwee is pleased to announce that firm Member Mark H. Hayes was elected President of the Defense Trial Counsel of West Virginia (DTCWV) earlier this summer. Mr. Hayes was officially installed at the Defense Trial Counsel of West Virginia annual meeting at Glade Springs Resort in June when he began his one-year term.

Mr. Hayes’s plans for his year as the organization’s president include enhancing its role as the voice of the defense bar, and expanding the services it provides to its members and the community at large. DTCWV is the only state-wide representative of corporate and business litigators, and works with Chambers of Commerce, the legislature, judicial officers and state administration to enhance West Virginia’s court system and that laws that govern it. Mr. Hayes and the DTCWV Board of Governors also support a diverse community of West Virginia lawyers, and the organization is committed to promoting a legal community of inclusion and equality.

Mr. Hayes has been involved with the Defense Trial Counsel of West Virginia since 1991, a member of the organization’s Board of Governors for ten years, and in the officers’ rotation since 2016. He is a resident of Huntington and has over thirty years of experience representing businesses in West Virginia, specifically in litigation. Outside of the office, Mr. Hayes serves his alma mater Marshall University as a member of the Board of the Directors for the Marshall University Alumni Association and by mentoring undergraduate students on the law and its effect on their future profession as a part of the University’s John Marshall Legal Society. He also serves his other alma mater, the West Virginia University College of Law, as a member of its “Visiting Committee”, providing insight, advice and support to its administration and students.

Robinson & McElwee Recognized by Chambers USA 2019 Guide

Robinson & McElwee has been named among the leaders in West Virginia business law in the 2019 edition of Chambers USA, with three practice groups recognized and three individual attorneys ranked as prominent practitioners in their fields.

When interviewed on Robinson & McElwee’s strengths, clients describe the group as an “excellent team,” adding that it is “very strong due to the personal attention and detail in all aspects.” Such feedback, from clients and peers, earned the firm and its attorneys rankings for:

Douglas McElwee, Real Estate (Band 1)

Joseph Price, Labor & Employment (Band 1)

Kent George, Real Estate (Band 1) and Corporate/Commercial (Band 2)

Real Estate (Band 2)

Labor and Employment (Band 4)

Corporate/Commercial (Band 3)

About Chambers USA

Chambers USA ranks leading law firms and lawyers by carrying out thousands of interviews with lawyers and clients. The rankings are based on such criteria as legal ability, professional conduct, client service, commercial awareness, diligence and commitment to the client. Inclusion in the guide is based solely on the research.

Energy & Environmental Industry Attorney Anne Blankenship Joins Robinson & McElwee

Robinson & McElwee Message Regarding COVID-19

Robinson & McElwee Listed in U.S. News Best Lawyers “Best Law Firms” for 2020

Robinson & McElwee Attorneys Recognized by Best Lawyers 2020

Robinson & McElwee Member Mark Hayes Elected President of DTCWV

Robinson & McElwee Recognized by Chambers USA 2019 Guide

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