Babst Calland Opens Harrisburg Office
Babst Calland today announced the opening of its office in Harrisburg, Pa., and the addition of two experienced litigation attorneys, Michael Libuser and Stefanie Pitcavage Mekilo.
Led by Shareholder Casey Alan Coyle, who joined the firm in August 2022, the Harrisburg office provides legal counsel for local, regional, and national businesses, industry sectors, and trade associations with focused practices in litigation, energy and natural resources, environmental, and legislative and regulatory affairs, among others.
The Harrisburg team of attorneys offers deep litigation experience in matters pending before state and federal appellate courts, with a particular emphasis on appeals before the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. They also represent clients in disputes pending before the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania and state trial courts throughout Central Pennsylvania and matters brought before the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court as part of its original jurisdiction.
“It is an exciting time for Michael and Stefanie to join Babst Calland and open a new office in Harrisburg,” said Mr. Coyle. “The Harrisburg office is uniquely poised to offer its clients the best of both worlds—pairing the service and pricing of a litigation boutique with the deep-bench expertise and resources of a law firm with more than 35 years of experience serving clients ranging from Fortune 100 companies to small and mid-sized businesses nationwide.”
Mr. Libuser represents clients in state and federal trial and appellate courts, with a particular emphasis on cases before the United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania. He served as a law clerk to the Honorable Yvette Kane, Senior United States District Judge for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, where he drafted opinions for the Third and Ninth Circuit Courts of Appeals and handled a wide range of district court matters involving complex civil litigation, commercial contracts, administrative law, trade secrets, and various statutory claims. Before that, he served as a law clerk to the Honorable Karoline Mehalchick, Chief United States Magistrate Judge for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, and previously served as the Principal Law Clerk to the Honorable Jeanette Rodriguez-Morick, an Acting Supreme Court Justice and Judge of the New York State Court of Claims.
Mr. Libuser earned his J.D. from Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law in 2012. He graduated with honors from Stony Brook University in 2006.
Ms. Mekilo is a civil litigator who concentrates her practice in state and federal trial courts, with particular emphasis on cases before the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania. Ms. Mekilo draws on more than a decade of trial-court experience in the federal judiciary to guide clients through all aspects of the litigation process. She focuses her practice on complex commercial disputes involving theft of trade secrets; breach of noncompete and nonsolicitation agreements and other restrictive covenants; breach of fiduciary duties, tortious interference, and related business tort claims; labor and employment; and emergency injunction litigation. Ms. Mekilo also has experience in antitrust, environmental, securities, trademark infringement, product liability, class action, and multidistrict litigation. Prior to joining Babst Calland, Ms. Mekilo served as a judicial law clerk in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania for 12 years—first as a term law clerk to Judge John E. Jones III, then as the managing law clerk to Judge Christopher C. Conner.
Ms. Mekilo received her J.D. from Widener University Commonwealth Law School in 2011, graduating summa cum laude at the top of her class. She earned her B.A. in Business Administration from Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania in 2008. Ms. Mekilo is an active member of the greater Harrisburg community. She currently serves as Secretary of the Middle District Chapter of the Federal Bar Association, as well as Vice President and President-Elect of the Junior Board of the YWCA of Greater Harrisburg.
Commenting on these moves and the opening of the Harrisburg office, Managing Shareholder Donald C. Bluedorn II said, “We are very pleased to welcome this fine team of attorneys to Babst Calland and are thrilled to open a new office in Harrisburg to work collaboratively across our other offices to serve the needs of existing and new clients in the region.”