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Environmental

  • September 09, 2025

    Band-Aid Buyers Defend Standing, Claims In J&J PFAS Suit

    A proposed class of consumers is urging a New Jersey federal court to deny a motion by Kenvue Inc. and Johnson & Johnson seeking to dismiss claims that the companies hid the presence of a group of chemicals known as PFAS in Band-Aid products.

  • September 09, 2025

    11th Circ. Told Insurers Wrongly Denied $5.6M To Railroad Co.

    A Florida railroad company incurred minimal losses from Hurricane Irma in 2017 because it took measures to protect its property, but insurers unfairly used the preventive efforts to justify denying coverage for $5.6 million worth of costs under an all-risk policy, it told an Eleventh Circuit panel on Tuesday.

  • September 09, 2025

    11th Circ. Urged To Revisit Pause Of 'Alligator Alcatraz' Suit

    Environmental groups and a Florida tribe challenging the immigration detention center dubbed "Alligator Alcatraz" have asked the Eleventh Circuit to reconsider its order pausing the case while Florida appeals a preliminary injunction, arguing that it is "overbroad, unnecessary and prejudicial."

  • September 09, 2025

    Post-Chevron, DC Circ. Again Backs FERC Solar Ruling

    The D.C. Circuit on Tuesday stuck to a decision backing the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's conclusion that a hybrid solar facility qualified for small-scale power producer perks, following a U.S. Supreme Court-ordered rethink due to the elimination of the so-called Chevron deference.

  • September 09, 2025

    Feds Say Lejeune Litigants Can't Link Chemical To Illnesses

    The U.S. government asked a North Carolina federal judge to bar veterans and family members suing over injuries from toxic water at Camp Lejeune from claiming that one particular substance caused various diseases at issue in the litigation.

  • September 09, 2025

    Tribes, Enviro Orgs. Urge 9th Circ. To Halt Oak Flat Land Swap

    The U.S. and a copper mining company can't defend a federal law authorizing a land exchange in Arizona's Tonto National Forest, conservation groups and an Apache tribe told the Ninth Circuit on Monday, arguing that requirements for mining the site are unmet due to an inadequate final environmental impact statement.

  • September 09, 2025

    Cenovus Energy Selling WRB Refining Stake For $1.4B

    Cenovus Energy said Tuesday it has struck a deal to sell its 50% stake in WRB Refining LP to Phillips 66 for $1.4 billion, as the Canadian energy company cashes out of a long-standing refining partnership.

  • September 08, 2025

    Split 4th Circ. Axes States' Challenge To Trump Admin Layoffs

    A split Fourth Circuit panel held Monday that a coalition of states doesn't have standing to sue the Trump administration over the mass firing of thousands of probationary government employees, finding that it was the employees — not the states — who "suffered the brunt of the harm" underlying the case.

  • September 08, 2025

    3rd Circ.'s Grid-Planning Ruling Will Coax States To Play Ball

    A Third Circuit decision limiting states' ability to block transmission projects already greenlighted by regional grid operators could make a federal overhaul of transmission planning policies more appealing, even as several states and utilities pursue litigation to block the changes.

  • September 08, 2025

    Chamber Accuses Mich. Of 'Gamesmanship' In Pipeline Fight

    The U.S. Chamber of Commerce has urged the Supreme Court to rule that judges have the power to waive the deadline to transfer a lawsuit to federal court in special circumstances, saying Michigan shouldn't be allowed to play procedural games to keep a case against energy infrastructure firm Enbridge Energy LP in state court. 

  • September 08, 2025

    Calif. Says Texas Doesn't Belong In Emissions Waiver Fight

    The state of California told a federal judge that Texas has no business in a suit challenging the revocation of Clean Air Act waivers that allowed the state to set its own emissions standards, saying the Lone Star State wishes to inject "collateral issues" into the suit.

  • September 08, 2025

    2 Firms Steer $540M IPO For Oilfield Water Infrastructure Co.

    Houston, Texas-based oilfield water management company WaterBridge Infrastructure said Monday that it is seeking to raise up to $540 million in an initial public offering guided by Latham & Watkins LLP and Gibson Dunn & Crutcher LLP.

  • September 08, 2025

    Groups' Exxon Plastic Recycling Nuisance Claims Can Proceed

    A California federal judge ruled Friday that environmental groups can move forward with their public-nuisance claims accusing Exxon Mobil Corp. of knowingly fueling the state's plastic pollution crisis, rejecting the energy company's contention that the suit is merely a disguised product liability case.

  • September 08, 2025

    Firefighters Say PFAS Economic And Health Harms Are Real

    Connecticut firefighters and unions hit back Friday at Honeywell, DuPont and other safety gear manufacturers trying to exit their federal proposed class action that alleges the companies sold gear with hazardous forever chemicals, saying they had alleged enough economic and health risks for their suit to proceed.

  • September 08, 2025

    GAO Flags Barriers In Tribal Energy Loan Program

    The U.S. Government Accountability Office said a federal agency program designed to support Indigenous nations in developing energy projects through loans is limiting its accessibility and effectiveness through high, unpredictable costs; unclear guidance; and a lack of tribal expertise.

  • September 08, 2025

    Idaho Developer Looks To Defend $2B Gold Mine Project

    The developer of a proposed $2 billion Idaho gold mine wants to intervene in a tribe's challenge that looks to block the project, saying it has already invested more than $400 million in the endeavor and has an interest in developing and moving the effort forward without delay.

  • September 08, 2025

    Lawmakers Push To Finalize Tribal Water Rights Settlements

    A bipartisan group of lawmakers is urging congressional leaders to make a move on several tribal water rights settlement bills that are pending before the U.S. Senate, saying that doing so will prevent costly litigation and ensure tribes and others have access to water.

  • September 08, 2025

    Steptoe & Johnson Adds Olympus Energy Atty In Pittsburgh

    Steptoe & Johnson PLLC has grown its Pittsburgh office with the addition of a senior counsel from oil and natural gas company Olympus Energy LLC.

  • September 05, 2025

    8th Circ. Vacates Biden-Era, Updated EV Fuel Economy Rules

    The Eighth Circuit Friday vacated the U.S. Department of Energy's updated method of calculating the fuel economy equivalent estimates for electric vehicles, finding that the DOE didn't have the authority to enact the 2024 rule, nor did it comply with the Administrative Procedures Act.

  • September 05, 2025

    Trump Admin Says Enviro Groups Can't Block GHG Report

    The Trump administration has told a Massachusetts federal judge that a lawsuit challenging its formation of a climate change science advisory panel is a misguided ploy to undermine the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's impending reconsideration of the harms of greenhouse gases.

  • September 05, 2025

    Sierra Club Looks To Secure Border Wall Settlement Funds

    The Sierra Club and a nonprofit ally asked a California federal judge to order the Trump administration to preserve at least $50 million of border wall construction funds to pay for environmental projects required by a settlement struck with the Biden administration.

  • September 05, 2025

    Miner Must Show Why Chuckwalla Suit Belongs In Mich.

    A Michigan federal judge has ordered a Michigan resident challenging the Chuckwalla National Monument's protected status to show why the lawsuit should remain in the Great Lakes State, suggesting that the case seems to fit better in California where the vast desert acreage is located.

  • September 05, 2025

    9th Circ. Affirms Irrigation Exemption For Calif. Water Project

    The Ninth Circuit on Friday rejected fishing industry groups' demand that the federal government require a Clean Water Act permit for a California agricultural water runoff project that's been operating without one for decades.

  • September 05, 2025

    8th Circ. Won't Revisit Crop Damage Arbitration Fight

    The Eighth Circuit has ruled that the existence of arbitration agreements for some farmland owners, who are suing over depressed crop yields in the aftermath of an Alliance Pipeline project, does not amount to grounds for the appeals court to review a decision reviving proceedings.

  • September 05, 2025

    How A 'Risky' Move Fueled Kobre & Kim's Win Over Phillips 66

    In the trial over Propel Fuels' claims that Phillips 66 stole trade secrets during due diligence for an acquisition, Kobre & Kim switched up standard witness order and convinced a jury to award $605 million.

Expert Analysis

  • A Deep Dive Into 14 Nixed Gensler-Era SEC Rule Proposals

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    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission last month formally withdrew 14 notices of proposed rulemaking, including several significant and widely criticized proposals that had been issued under former Chair Gary Gensler's leadership, signaling a clear and definitive shift away from the previous administration, say attorneys at Dechert.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: Skillful Persuasion

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    In many ways, law school teaches us how to argue, but when the ultimate goal is to get your client what they want, being persuasive through preparation and humility is the more likely key to success, says Michael Friedland at Friedland Cianfrani.

  • A Look At Trump 2.0 Antitrust Enforcement So Far

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    The first six months of President Donald Trump's second administration were marked by aggressive antitrust enforcement tempered by traditional structural remedies for mergers, but other unprecedented actions, like the firing of Federal Trade Commission Democrats, will likely stoke heated discussion ahead, says Richard Dagen at Axinn.

  • Litigation Inspiration: How To Respond After A Loss

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    Every litigator loses a case now and then, and the sting of that loss can become a medicine that strengthens or a poison that corrodes, depending on how the attorney responds, says Bennett Rawicki at Hilgers Graben.

  • Tips For Cos. From California Climate Reporting FAQ

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    New guidance from the California Air Resources Board on how businesses must implement the state's sweeping climate reporting requirements should help companies assess their exposure, understand their disclosure obligations and begin documenting good-faith compliance efforts, says Thierry Montoya at Frost Brown.

  • What Calif. Insurance Ruling Means For Smoke Damage Limits

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    As California continues to grapple with an increasing number of wildfire claims, a state court's recent Aliff v. California FAIR Plan decision serves as a clear directive to insurers that policy language that narrows the scope of fire coverage below the California Insurance Code's minimum standards is impermissible, say attorneys at Wood Smith.

  • The Metamorphosis Of The Major Questions Doctrine

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    The so-called major questions doctrine arose as a counterweight to Chevron deference over the past few decades, but invocations of the doctrine have persisted in the year since Chevron was overturned, suggesting it still has a role to play in reining in agency overreach, say attorneys at Crowell & Moring.

  • Series

    Playing Mah-Jongg Makes Me A Better Mediator

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    Mah-jongg rewards patience, pattern recognition, adaptability and keen observation, all skills that are invaluable to my role as a mediator, and to all mediating parties, says Marina Corodemus.

  • Calif. Air Waivers Fight Fuels Automakers', States' Uncertainty

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    The unprecedented attempt by Congress and the Trump administration to kill the Clean Air Act waivers supporting California's vehicle emissions standards will eventually end up in the U.S. Supreme Court — but meanwhile, vehicle manufacturers, and states following California's standards, are left in limbo, says John Watson at Spencer Fane.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: Navigating Client Trauma

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    Law schools don't train students to handle repeated exposure to clients' traumatic experiences, but for litigators practicing in areas like civil rights and personal injury, success depends on the ability to view cases clinically and to recognize when you may need to seek help, says Katie Bennett at Robins Kaplan.

  • Lawsuit, Exec Orders Should Boost Small Modular Reactors

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    A lawsuit in Texas federal court and a set of new executive orders from the White House may finally push the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission to allow for accelerated deployment of small modular reactors — a technology that could change the country's energy future, says Aleksey Shtivelman at Shutts & Bowen.

  • Opinion

    Juries Are Key In Protecting The Rule Of Law

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    Absent from the recent discourse about U.S. rule of law is the crucial role of impartial jurors in protecting the equitable administration of justice, and attorneys and judges should take affirmative steps to reverse the yearslong decline of jury trials at this critical moment, says consultant Clint Townson.

  • Opinion

    4 Former Justices Would Likely Frown On Litigation Funding

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    As courts increasingly confront cases involving hidden litigation finance contracts, the jurisprudence of four former U.S. Supreme Court justices establishes a constitutional framework that risks erosion by undisclosed financial interests, says Roland Eisenhuth at the American Property Casualty Insurance Association.

  • Preparing For Trump Pushback Against State Climate Laws

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    An April executive order from President Donald Trump mandated a report from the U.S. attorney general on countering so-called state overreach in climate policy, and while that report has yet to appear, companies can expect that it will likely call for using litigation, legislation and funding to actively reshape energy policy, say attorneys at Bracewell.

  • How Attys Can Use AI To Surface Narratives In E-Discovery

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    E-discovery has reached a turning point where document review is no longer just about procedural tasks like identifying relevance and redacting privilege — rather, generative artificial intelligence tools now allow attorneys to draw connections, extract meaning and tell a coherent story, says Rose Jones at Hilgers Graben.

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