Pittsburgh Attorneys John Leathers and Robert Burns to Participate in 34th Mineral Law Conference

Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney attorneys John R. Leathers and Robert L. Burns, Jr. will participate in the 34th Mineral Law Conference, presented by the Energy & Mineral Law Foundation from October 28-30, 2009, in Lexington, Kentucky. Leathers is a shareholder and Buchanan's general counsel, while Burns is counsel in the Environmental Law section. Both practice in firm's Pittsburgh office. The Energy and Mineral Law Foundation is a nonprofit, educational organization providing information on legal issues related to the energy and mineral industry through workshops, specialty programs, publications and electronic information.

On the first day of the conference, Wednesday, October 28, Burns will participate as a panelist in "Permitting and Regulatory Issues with Respect to Marcellus Shale Wells in New York, Pennsylvania and West Virginia." Topics to be explored include water acquisition, withdrawal, disposal permits and issues, the well permitting process and obstacles that producers encounter during the permitting process, state hydro-fracturing laws and regulations, preemption issues with respect to local zoning ordinances, and the outlook for the current New York moratorium on Marcellus Shale development.

The following day, Thursday, October 29, Leathers will participate as a panelist in an ethics session titled "Attorneys and Clients in Conflict." The panel discussion will focus on ethical obligations arising from conflicts between attorneys and their clients during the course of representation. Based on hypotheticals from Qualcomm v. Broadcom, the group will explore confidentiality (including the self defense exception), candor to tribunals, reporting misconduct, withdrawal from representation, representing organizations (including reporting up and reporting out) and duties of supervising and subordinate lawyers.