PERSONNEL FILE: Jackson Kelly relocates, expands Ohio office

AKRON, Ohio – To serve its growing energy practice, Jackson Kelly has moved its Ohio office from Canton to Akron and added established Akron attorneys Mark Bernlohr, Clay Keller and J. Alex Quay who will practice in the firm’s Industrial, Environmental and Complex Litigation Practice Group.

Working with Sandra Zerrusen, who joined Jackson Kelly in 2012, and the firm’s other Ohio attorneys, the group will continue to offer clients the dedicated service they have come to expect from Jackson Kelly.

Jackson Kelly CEO, Michael D. Foster, said that the firm’s eastern Ohio expansion is in response to continued client needs. The firm currently has offices throughout the Marcellus, Utica, Niobrara and New Albany shale basins and announced the addition of more than 20 attorneys in its Indiana offices last week.

“With the continued development of the Utica Shale, our Akron office is geographically located to further enable Jackson Kelly to provide a full range of legal services to clients who have assets and interests throughout the region,” said Foster. “Mark Bernlohr and Clay Keller bring decades of experience representing clients in the oil and gas industry.

"We are pleased to welcome them, along with associate J. Alex Quay, and to provide our clients with expanded service in the region.”

Foster went on to say that Mark Bernlohr, Clay Keller and J. Alex Quay will be able to provide the firm and its clients a unique insight and understanding into the development of the region.

Of the expansion, Bernlohr said, “Joining Jackson Kelly was a good decision for me. The firm enjoys a strong national reputation in the energy industry and litigation in general. I look forward to building the Akron office and representing the firm’s clients in Ohio matters.”

Bernlohr has practiced in Ohio for more than 25 years and has experience representing large oil and gas exploration companies and related industries in various types of litigation. He represents contractors, owners, developers, architects and suppliers in the prosecution and defense of construction claims; equipment leasing/finance companies and banks involved in equipment leasing and litigation and several large oil and gas exploration companies in the defense of their oil and gas lease rights. Bernlohr has over 55 published opinions and has extensive jury and bench trial experience.

Keller has a broad array of experience representing upstream and midstream companies operating in Ohio for the exploration and development of the Utica Shale. He represents producers and midstream companies as trial counsel in litigation matters involving mineral title disputes, right-a-way agreement disputes, Dormant Mineral Act claims, oil and gas lease termination, trespass, nuisance and water well contamination claims, joint venture disputes, mineral title curative issues and statutory unitization matters.

Quay’s practice involves a wide variety of oil and gas and energy law matters, including litigation related to lease lawsuits, lease construction and interpretation, unitization, and emerging issues involving Ohio’s Dormant Mineral Act. In addition, Quay’s practice involves title examinations and the preparation of certified oil and gas title opinions. He also represents clients in matters relating to real property disputes, quiet title actions, and mineral ownership disputes.

This expansion underscores Jackson Kelly’s reputation as a leader in the energy arena. Recognized by Law360 as having the second largest energy practice in the United States, the firm’s energy and natural resources practices have repeatedly received national first-tier rankings by U.S. News Media Group and Best Lawyers.

Jackson Kelly is a national law firm with more than 200 attorneys located in 12 offices throughout Pennsylvania, Ohio, West Virginia, Kentucky, Indiana, Colorado and the District of Columbia.