Paul Schmidt.

Post & Schell has made another addition to its growing environmental practice group, bringing on a partner who chaired the environmental and energy practice at Zarwin Baum DeVito Kaplan Schaer Toddy.

Paul Schmidt, Post & Schell's newest Philadelphia partner, works with clients in the real estate development, private equity, commercial construction, manufacturing and energy industries.

He is the second noteworthy departure from Zarwin Baum in recent months. At the end of October, partner Darwin Beauvais and associate Meredith Ferleger left for Dilworth Paxson. Zarwin Baum replaced their zoning and land use practice in short order, hiring partner Dawn Tancredi from Obermayer Rebmann Maxwell & Hippel.

But Schmidt said his move is unrelated to any events at Zarwin Baum, and was more motivated by the growth in Post & Schell's practice. The move will allow him to offer his clients more services on the energy side, as well as greater depth in his existing capabilities, including brownfield funding and clean-up, wetlands permitting, stormwater runoff, and sewage facilities. The firm's existing clients will benefit from his regulatory and litigation experience, Schmidt said.

Post & Schell CEO A. James Johnston said in a statement that the environmental practice group has been growing for several years. He said Schmidt deepens the firm's environmental litigation, regulatory and transactional abilities.

The practice was re-established at Post & Schell in 2014 when the firm hired Stephen Jones and Paul McIntyre from Greenberg Traurig.

Since then, the firm also rehired Terry Bossert, who had previously been a practice group leader at Post & Schell until he went in-house, as a partner Harrisburg and Pittsburgh. Outside the environmental practice, the firm also hired partner F. Traynor Beck, whose corporate practice includes work with energy sector clients.

The geographic expansion of the practice group was a draw for Schmidt, he said.

Environmental and energy practices in all locations are likely to see a good bit of action in the near future, thanks to changes in regulatory programs, Schmidt said. And with the real estate market expanding, he said, he is seeing a lot more need for contaminated sites work.

Before joining Zarwin Baum, Schmidt was a partner at environmental law boutique Langsam, Stevens & Silver. From 1997 to 2001, he was assistant counsel for the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection's water management, sewage facilities, storage tanks, waste management and environmental cleanup programs.

Zarwin Baum declined to comment on Schmidt's departure from the firm.