In 1987, K&L Gates opened its Harrisburg office, both to strengthen its state regulatory practice and to expand its general practice in a steadily growing area of Pennsylvania. The practice has extended beyond the originally conceived scope to include contributions to the firm's national practice. The Harrisburg office also provides our clients with access to legal services around the world through our integrated offices in Europe, Asia, South America, the Middle East and Australia. Our global platform enables us to deliver high quality legal services across all practice areas for our clients interested in or currently doing business around the world.
The practice includes general litigation, environmental law, energy law, infrastructure development and privatization, constitutional law, construction litigation, secured and unsecured lending, health care, public utility regulation, government contracts, gaming and internet gaming, election law, and state taxation. The practice is complemented by a government affairs group that provides guidance on legislative and regulatory matters. The 2013 U.S. News-Best Lawyers® awarded our Harrisburg office Tier 1 practice rankings in the areas of Appellate, Construction Law, and Environmental Law.
The environmental practice has been a mainstay of the Harrisburg office. It encompasses virtually every aspect of environmental and natural resources law, including state and federal regulation of water, air, wetlands, mining, and waste management. The work includes Superfund cases, administrative and enforcement proceedings, the permitting of solid waste and other environmentally sensitive activities, the development of industrial site reclamation projects and energy facilities, and the defense of criminal prosecutions. Since early 2008, the Harrisburg office has been actively engaged in representing oil and gas sector clients in litigation, regulatory, permitting and compliance matters related to exploration and development of natural gas from the Marcellus Shale formation, including leading edge cases involving leasing rights and royalty payments, zoning, well siting, water supply, wastewater management, gathering and transmission facilities, and other key issues. The office’s environmental practice extends across the nation.
The office has a wide-ranging civil litigation practice, which includes a substantial appellate practice and an extensive administrative practice before state and federal regulatory agencies. Our lawyers also handle legislative, election, and apportionment litigation. This includes the representation of state legislative bodies and officers in cases challenging the constitutionality of legislation and legislative practices. In 2004, we successfully defended Pennsylvania’s congressional redistricting plan before the Supreme Court of the United States. Vieth v. Jubelirer, 541 U.S. 267 (2004).