Energy Industry Veteran BJ Sturgill Joins Steptoe & Johnson’s Lexington Office

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Barkley J. Sturgill, Jr. (“BJ”) has joined the Lexington office of Steptoe & Johnson PLLC as a Member in the firm’s Energy and Natural Resources Department. He will focus his practice on energy transactional matters.

“I am excited to be joining Steptoe & Johnson,” said Sturgill. “The firm’s national energy practice is well known and respected, and it is a natural fit with my legal practice.”

With more than 30 years of experience in the energy sector, BJ focuses his practice on leading clients through mergers and acquisitions, counseling on strategic business decisions, navigating state and federal regulatory processes and assisting with financing transactions. BJ has served in executive in-house counsel roles for several major U.S. coal operators including Arch Resources, Inc. and, most recently, as Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary for Ramaco Resources, Inc. This unique public company background, along with his experience in private practice, makes him a knowledgeable and trusted legal advisor to energy clients.

“We are happy to welcome BJ to the firm,” said Steptoe & Johnson CEO, Christopher L. Slaughter. “His extensive experience counseling the officers and senior management teams of major coal operators, combined with his skill in navigating complex transactional issues, make him a great fit at our firm and will deepen our bench in the energy transactional practice and bring new, important relationships to the firm. BJ will be a key contributor to our focus on growing the mining practice nationally, including in the metal/nonmetal and rare earth elements mining space. BJ is also a great human being. His eastern Kentucky roots mesh well with my own southern West Virginia roots, so we hit it off from the start.”

Sturgill is a member of the Kentucky Bar Association and the Missouri Bar and is licensed in several federal court jurisdictions. He is a long-standing Trustee of the Energy and Mineral Law Foundation. He earned his law degree from Northern Kentucky University Salmon P. Chase College of Law and his bachelor’s degree from Washington and Lee University.

About Steptoe & Johnson
Steptoe & Johnson PLLC is a law firm nationally recognized for its strengths in energy law with more than a century of know-how in the areas of business, labor and employment, and litigation. Steptoe & Johnson has over 400 lawyers and other professionals practicing in 18 offices in Colorado, Kentucky, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Texas, and West Virginia. Visit and connect with us on X and LinkedIn.

For more information, contact Ryan Daniels, Chief Marketing Officer, at (614) 456-1647 or by email: press@steptoe-johnson.com.