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Environmental

  • July 09, 2025

    5 Years Ago, The McGirt Ruling Reshaped Tribal Jurisdiction

    It was widely held for decades that Oklahoma had domain over criminal matters on tribal lands, but five years ago, the U.S. Supreme Court turned that regime on its head, finding 19th century federal treaties with the Creek Nation that formed its reservation are valid — and, in turn, reestablishing 45% of the Sooner State as Indian Country.

  • July 09, 2025

    Mass. Cos. Must Keep Bottled Water Flowing In PFAS Case

    A Massachusetts federal judge has ordered defendant companies to keep providing bottled water to residents of Westminster, Massachusetts, maintaining the status quo while the court determines whether those companies have made the residents' tap water sufficiently safe from so-called forever chemicals.

  • July 08, 2025

    Grocer's Octopus In Olive Oil Also Comes With Lead, Suit Says

    Natural grocery store chain Lazy Acres has been selling a tinned "octopus in olive oil" product that also contains lead in violation of California's Proposition 65, according to a suit lodged in Los Angeles County Superior Court on Tuesday.

  • July 08, 2025

    'Tiger King' Star 'Doc' Antle Sentenced For Wildlife Trafficking

    Bhagavan "Doc" Antle, a star of the Netflix docuseries "Tiger King," was sentenced Tuesday to one year in prison and ordered to give up three chimpanzees, having pled guilty in South Carolina federal court to wildlife trafficking and money laundering.

  • July 08, 2025

    Fla. Distorted Detention Center Construction, Group Says

    An environmental nonprofit claimed in Florida federal court filings Tuesday it has evidence additional land in the Everglades is being used to construct a federal immigration detention center, alleging a misrepresentation from Florida officials that the camp is built on the footprint of an existing airport structure.

  • July 08, 2025

    5th Circ. Wary To Let Surety Stick Chevron With $11M Bill

    A Fifth Circuit panel seemed skeptical of a surety company's argument that BP and Chevron need to pony up $11 million to pay for decommissioning costs, asking Tuesday what to do with contractual language that seemingly absolved them of having to pay that bill.

  • July 08, 2025

    Product Liability Cases To Watch In 2nd Half Of 2025

    The fate of a $2.5 billion punitive damages award against Ford and looming bench verdicts in the first PFAS trials brought by a state are among the cases that product liability attorneys will be following closely in the second half of 2025.

  • July 08, 2025

    Trump Declares 50% Copper Tariff, Floats 200% Pharma Tariff

    President Donald Trump announced Tuesday that he will impose a new 50% tariff on copper imported into the U.S., while also raising the possibility of imposing a 200% tariff on pharmaceuticals.

  • July 08, 2025

    Wash. Seafood Plant, Steel Shop Slapped With CWA Suits

    Environmental groups launched a pair of Clean Water Act lawsuits in Washington federal court on Tuesday accusing an Evergreen State seafood producer and specialty machinery firm of releasing pollutants into local waterways in violation of state and federal permitting regulations.

  • July 08, 2025

    Del. Judge Cuts Co-Plaintiff From $57M Refined Coal IP Suit

    A co-plaintiff alongside Midwest Energy Emissions Corp. cannot share in a $57 million award from a jury that found patents on technology for refining coal to reduce mercury emissions from power plants were infringed, with a Delaware federal judge ruling on Tuesday the other company lacks standing.

  • July 08, 2025

    Mich. Judge Certifies Edenville Dam Flood Victim Classes

    A Michigan claims court judge has certified classes of businesses and residents affected by flooding from the collapse of a hydroelectric dam, ahead of a January trial to determine if state agencies are liable for the disaster. 

  • July 08, 2025

    States Back Enviro Orgs. Bid To Block EPA's Halt Of $3B Grant

    A group of Democratic attorneys general on Monday told a D.C. federal district court that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's decision to terminate environmental justice grants deprives vulnerable communities of funding "necessary to achieve a healthy environment."

  • July 08, 2025

    Judge Halts Plan To Slash AmeriCorps Workforce, Funding

    A Maryland federal judge determined that the Trump administration must reinstate hundreds of AmeriCorps employees and restore $400 million in funding and grants to nonprofits, saying public interest and a balance of equities favor a preliminary injunction.

  • July 08, 2025

    Insurer, Guam School Settle Typhoon Coverage Fight

    The owner of a high school in Guam and its property insurer resolved their coverage dispute over the owner's claims the insurer underpaid its more than $5.1 million typhoon damage claim in bad faith, in part through allegedly "causing delay," the parties told a Guam federal court.

  • July 08, 2025

    Tax Court Says IRS Offer In $57M Easement Case Isn't Binding

    A settlement offer the Internal Revenue Service said it mistakenly made to a partnership after rejecting its $57 million conservation easement deduction is not binding, the U.S. Tax Court said Tuesday, declining the partnership's request to enforce the deal.

  • July 08, 2025

    Everglades Plan Won't Spoil Buddhist Temple, Fla. Court Told

    The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers urged a Florida federal court Tuesday to toss a Buddhist temple's claims alleging that an Everglades restoration project is disrupting members' ability to peacefully meditate, arguing that the complaint came too late and that construction isn't coercing a change in their religious practices.

  • July 08, 2025

    Environmental Regulations To Watch In 2025: Midyear Report

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said it is planning big changes to existing regulations and policies, including possibly rescinding its finding that greenhouse gases pose a danger to people's health and rolling back standards for forever chemicals. Here are some of the biggest regulatory matters to watch in the second half of 2025.

  • July 08, 2025

    Trump Admin Backs Off Plan To Revisit Biden Asbestos Ban

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Monday told the Fifth Circuit it's not going to revise a Biden-era rule strengthening restrictions on asbestos use, and asked the court to restart litigation challenging the Biden rule.

  • July 08, 2025

    High Court Allows Trump's Gov't Cuts And Restructuring

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday ruled the Trump administration can move forward with its plans for large-scale layoffs and reorganizations at various federal departments and agencies, lifting a California federal judge's order that had paused the efforts while a legal challenge continues.

  • July 08, 2025

    Oil Cos.' Water Pollution Coverage Suit Gets Trimmed

    Two oil and gas companies can't proceed with bad faith claims against certain underwriters at Lloyd's of London in a dispute over coverage for the remediation of water byproduct pollution, a New Mexico federal court ruled, saying the companies failed to allege facts supporting their claims.

  • July 08, 2025

    Fishing Industry Alleges Feds Allow Red Snapper Overfishing

    A group of commercial fishers and buyers is claiming in a new lawsuit that the National Marine Fisheries Service has failed to set proper catch limits and allowed the overfishing of red snapper due to massive "dead discards." 

  • July 08, 2025

    Michigan Halts Construction Code Rollout Amid Builders' Suit

    Michigan has paused the implementation of a new residential construction code after homebuilders filed lawsuits claiming the adoption of the code violated state law and would drive up the price of homes. 

  • July 07, 2025

    Trump Orders Treasury To Restrain Solar, Wind Tax Credits

    President Donald Trump ordered the U.S. Treasury Department on Monday to begin carrying out cuts and restrictions to the solar and wind production and investment tax credits that were mandated in the budget bill Trump signed Friday.

  • July 07, 2025

    Calif. Coastal Agency Gets SpaceX Launch Suit Trimmed

    A California federal judge has trimmed SpaceX's suit alleging the California Coastal Commission wrongly tried to block its plan to increase rocket launches from Vandenberg Space Force Base, saying the reworked complaint adequately alleges some, but not all, of the purported harms the company faces.

  • July 07, 2025

    EPA, Enviro Orgs. Fight Over 'Big Bill's' Impact On Funding Case

    Green groups fighting to reclaim grant funding frozen by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency asked the D.C. Circuit on Monday to reject the agency's argument that Congress's recent tax and policy bill means their lawsuit should be dismissed.

Expert Analysis

  • The Risks Of Trump's Plan To Fast-Track Deregulation

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    A recent memorandum issued by President Donald Trump directing the repeal of so-called unlawful regulations, and instructing that agencies invoke the good cause exception under the Administrative Procedure Act, signals a potentially far-reaching deregulatory strategy under the guise of legal compliance, say attorneys at GableGotwals.

  • Deregulation Memo Presents Risks, Opportunities For Cos.

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    A recent Trump administration memo providing direction to agencies tasked with rescinding regulations under an earlier executive order — without undergoing the typical notice-and-review process — will likely create much uncertainty for businesses, though they may be able to engage with agencies to shape the regulatory agenda, say attorneys at Blank Rome.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: Mastering Discovery

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    The discovery process and the rules that govern it are often absent from law school curricula, but developing a solid grasp of the particulars can give any new attorney a leg up in their practice, says Jordan Davies at Knowles Gallant.

  • What New Study Means For Recycling Compliance In Calif.

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    Companies must review the California recycling agency's new study to understand its criteria for assessing claims of product and packaging recyclability under a law that takes effect next year, and then decide whether the risks of making such claims in the state outweigh the benefits, say attorneys at Keller & Heckman.

  • Opinion

    Proposals Against Phillips 66 Threaten Corporate Law

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    Activist investor Elliott Investment Management's latest attempted tactic — initiating a high-stakes proxy contest against Phillips 66 — goes too far and would cause the company to both violate Delaware law and avoid the legal exception to the shareholder proposal process, says J.W. Verret at George Mason University.

  • Balancing Deep-Sea Mining Executive Order, Int'l Agreements

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    President Donald Trump's recent executive order directing exploration and exploitation of deep-sea mineral resources appears to conflict with the evolving international framework regulating such activities, so companies and investors should proceed with care and keep possible future legal challenges in mind, say attorneys at Dentons.

  • Mitigating Import Risks Around Southeast Asian Solar Cells

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    The U.S. Department of Commerce's recent final determinations in its antidumping and countervailing duty investigations into solar cells produced in certain Southeast Asian countries make it important for U.S. purchasers to consider risk mitigation strategies, including modifying supply chains and contractually assigning import responsibilities, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • Arbitral Ruling In EU Fisheries Clash Clarifies Post-Brexit Pact

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    The Permanent Court of Arbitration's recent ruling marks a pivotal moment in the evolving jurisprudence surrounding the Trade and Cooperation Agreement, concluded between the U.K. and the EU after Brexit, and sets an important precedent for interpretation and enforcement of trade and environment clauses in cross-border disputes, says Josep Galvez at 4-5 Gray's Inn.

  • Series

    Playing Guitar Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Being a lawyer not only requires logic and hard work, but also belief, emotion, situational awareness and lots of natural energy — playing guitar enhances all of these qualities, increasing my capacity to do my best work, says Kosta Stojilkovic at Wilkinson Stekloff.

  • Crisis Management Lessons From The Parenting Playbook

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    The parenting skills we use to help our kids through challenges — like rehearsing for stressful situations, modeling confidence and taking time to reset our emotions — can also teach us the fundamentals of leading clients through a corporate crisis, say Deborah Solmor at the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation and Cara Peterman at Alston & Bird.

  • 4 Ways To Leverage A Jury's Underdog Perceptions

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    Counsel should consider how common factors that speak to their client's size, power, past challenges and alignment with jurors can be presented to try and paint their client as a sympathetic underdog, says Ken Broda-Bahm at Persuasion Strategies.

  • Why Hiring Former Jurors As Consultants Can Be Risky

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    The defense team's decision to hire former juror Victoria George in the high-profile retrial of Karen Read shines a spotlight on this controversial strategy, which raises important legal, ethical and tactical questions despite not being explicitly prohibited, says Nikoleta Despodova at ND Litigation.

  • What To Watch For As High Court Mulls NRC's Powers

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    If successful, Texas’ challenges to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s authority — recently heard by the U.S. Supreme Court and currently pending before a Texas federal court — may have serious adverse consequences for aspiring NRC licensees, including potential nuclear power plant operators, say attorneys at Haynes Boone.

  • Series

    Adapting To Private Practice: From NY Fed To BigLaw

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    While the move to private practice brings a learning curve, it also brings chances to learn new skills and grow your network, requiring a clear understanding of how your skills can complement and contribute to a firm's existing practice, and where you can add new value, says Meghann Donahue at Covington.

  • Cos. Face Enviro Justice Tug-Of-War Between States, Feds

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    The second Trump administration's sweeping elimination of environmental justice policies, programs and funding, and targeting of state-level EJ initiatives, creates difficult questions for companies on how best to avoid friction with federal policy, navigate state compliance obligations and maintain important stakeholder relationships with communities, say attorneys at Arnold & Porter.

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