FLB forms Energy and Infrastructure team to meet expected demand

To better serve new and existing clients in an area the firm expects future growth, Fitzpatrick Lentz and Bubba is launching an Energy & Infrastructure team.

Colin Keefe, deputy managing partner for the law firm said FLB has already handled a great deal of business in the area, but thought now was a good time to organize it as a practice area.

With trends towards onshoring of manufacturing and the booming Artificial Intelligence industry, Keefe said the firm believes there will be many new opportunities to service the legal needs of companies working to bring the power and infrastructure needed to meet the demand.

“It is certainly true that in light of the political climate that there is an increased push towards capacity increase in the U.S.,” Keefe said. “You can’t just build a manufacturing facility without infrastructure.”

He also noted that AI technology in particular uses “a tremendous amount of power, and we need to support that infrastructure.”

Keefe also pointed to the fact that since being elected, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro has passed multiple pieces of legislation to incentivize investing in these types of projects, especially for private investors.

These projects require a huge undertaking and major hurdles like zoning and land use, interconnections/permitting, financing/tax and eminent domain.

Part of the inspiration to codify an energy and infrastructure team was a recent addition to the FLB legal team.

Ronald Reybitz, who for 20 years worked in various roles as in-house counsel at PPL Corp., recently joined FLB.

During his time with PPL, Keefe said Reybitz gained significant experience in various aspects of the energy/utility industry, including acquisitions and dispositions, real estate issues/disputes and project development of electric transmission, distribution and generation facilities.

All totaled, FLB has put together a team of about a dozen attorneys who have significant experience in these areas and proven track records of success to help businesses and investors and ensure Pennsylvania infrastructure is future-ready.

“We have capabilities that are a good fit for the companies going into these areas in the next five to 10 years,” Keefe said. “One of the things that we think is important is the local work. You need to have someone on the ground making sure your project is going to work.”