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Environmental

  • April 15, 2025

    Trump Orders Overhaul Of Federal Contracting Rules

    President Donald Trump issued orders Tuesday aimed at simplifying and reducing the costs of federal contracting for both government and contractors, directing agencies to pare back the Federal Acquisition Regulation to only "essential" requirements and to prioritize commercial item purchases.

  • April 15, 2025

    No Appeal For Green Energy Co. CEO In $40M Investor Suit

    The CEO of a company purportedly funded by a green energy outfit can't appeal a judge's determination in a proposed investor class action that found the executive is subject to the Tennessee federal court's jurisdiction, saying he failed to meet the requirements for such an appeal.

  • April 15, 2025

    Apple Challenges PFAS Claims In Watch Band Lawsuit

    Apple has urged a California federal judge to toss a proposed class action claiming its smartwatch bands contain toxic chemicals, arguing the suit relies on speculative "barebones" testing data and fails to show its products actually contain harmful substances.

  • April 15, 2025

    DC Circ. Again Nixes Challenge To $44B Alaska LNG Project

    The D.C. Circuit rejected a challenge by conservation groups against the U.S. Department of Energy's reapproval of a $44 billion liquefied natural gas project in Alaska, ruling Tuesday the department's conclusion regarding uncertainty over the project's effects on greenhouse gases was supported by "overwhelming evidence" in its environmental impact statements.

  • April 15, 2025

    Massive Calif. Fire Assessment Pass-Through Sparks Suit

    Public interest nonprofit Consumer Watchdog sued California's insurance chief in Los Angeles Superior Court on Monday to stop him from allowing insurance companies to offset hundreds of millions of dollars in assessment costs as surcharges onto policyholders, claiming the decision was made without any public input, in violation of the state's Administrative Procedure Act. 

  • April 15, 2025

    Dow Says NJ Pollution Suit 'Classic' Case For Federal Court

    Dow Chemical Co. told a Third Circuit panel on Tuesday that the New Jersey attorney general's suit accusing it and other companies of causing widespread groundwater pollution through a product containing a likely cancer-causing compound belongs in federal court, arguing the product was developed for the federal government.

  • April 15, 2025

    Court Abused Discretion In Tesoro Pipeline Row, 8th Circ. Told

    Enrolled members of a North Dakota tribe say a lower court abused its discretion in denying them intervention in a lawsuit challenging the federal government's right-of-way trespassing claims against the Tesoro High Plains Pipeline, arguing it failed to consider the full scope of their interests and rights at stake.

  • April 15, 2025

    Kinder Morgan Must Face $100M Texas Storm Billing Dispute

    A Texas state appeals court said Tuesday that Kinder Morgan must face a suit over $100 million in invoices stemming from a February 2021 winter storm that caused a power crisis in the state, finding that the company hadn't shown it was forced to reduce gas supplied to a customer at the height of the storm.

  • April 15, 2025

    Colorado Judge Tosses Counties' Suit Over $25M Tax Transfer

    A Colorado state judge has dismissed a lawsuit brought by seven counties challenging the transfer of $25 million from a state fund aimed at offsetting the impacts of extractive industries, finding in an order that the state Legislature had full authority to move the dollars.

  • April 15, 2025

    Simpson Thacher Advises On $2.2B Cross-Border Power Deal

    Simpson Thacher is advising Canada's Capital Power Corp. on its planned $2.2 billion acquisition of two U.S. natural gas power plants, marking the energy firm's strategic entry into North America's so-called PJM market.

  • April 15, 2025

    DC Circ. Zaps FERC Fight Over Grain Belt Express Line

    A D.C. Circuit panel on Monday said Illinois landowners, farmers and residents fighting the $7 billion Grain Belt Express high-voltage transmission project lack standing to challenge a Federal Energy Regulatory Commission order that amended its negotiated rate authority.

  • April 14, 2025

    SEC Clears Green Impact Exchange To Enter Market In 2026

    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Monday cleared a proposal by Green Impact Exchange to launch the first sustainability focused national securities exchange, scheduled to begin operating in 2026.

  • April 14, 2025

    Judge Says Barretts Needs Independence To Resolve Ch. 11

    A Texas bankruptcy judge on Monday said he would have to consider ways to increase Barretts Minerals Inc.'s perceived independence from its parent company if he agrees to allow the talc miner to stay in Chapter 11.

  • April 14, 2025

    Allianz Unit Challenges Augusta Golf Club's $2.4M Award

    Allianz SE subsidiary Fireman's Fund Insurance Co. on Friday asked a federal judge to strike down a $2.4 million storm damage appraisal in favor of an Augusta, Georgia, golf club that the insurer said goes far beyond what it agreed to cover.

  • April 14, 2025

    Monsanto's 11th Trial Kicks Off In Seattle Over School PCBs

    Nearly two dozen people told a Washington state jury Monday that they were slowly sickened by Monsanto-made toxins, becoming the largest group yet to try their PCB personal injury claims together in a series of PCB personal injury suits connected to a Washington school.

  • April 14, 2025

    9th Circ. Revives Suit Over Calif. Refinery's Pollution

    A Ninth Circuit panel revived part of a class action that neighbors of a Torrance, California, refinery brought against Exxon Mobil Corp. and Torrance Refining Co. over its pollution, holding that a lower court misconstrued the scope of a trespass claim.

  • April 14, 2025

    Calif. Board Says SpaceX Suit Should Be Grounded For Good

    The California Coastal Commission moved Friday for another dismissal of SpaceX's suit alleging the commission wrongly tried to block its plan to increase rocket launches from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, saying because the commission's opposition was overridden by the U.S. Air Force, no harm was caused.

  • April 14, 2025

    Feds Push To End Alaska Tribe's Gold Mine Permit Challenge

    The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and a gold mine developer are asking a federal court for permission to move for early dismissal of an Alaskan tribe's remaining claim against an open-pit gold mine near the Yukon border, saying its amended lawsuit doesn't fare better than the original.

  • April 14, 2025

    Trump Admin Moves To Weaken Migratory Bird Protections

    The top lawyer at the U.S. Department of the Interior says the federal government lacks the power to prosecute companies that inadvertently kill federally protected migratory birds, a legal position the department took during the first Trump administration but which was overturned by a federal court in 2020.

  • April 14, 2025

    Enviro Groups Sue Trump Admin Over Webpage Removals

    Environmental and science organizations, including the Sierra Club, filed suit on Monday in D.C. federal court over the Trump administration's removal of federal agency webpages that provided critical information concerning the environment, saying agencies removed the webpages without explanation, leaving the organizations unable to access sources they've long relied on.

  • April 14, 2025

    FTC Joins DOJ In Targeting Anticompetitive Regulations

    The Federal Trade Commission launched a public inquiry Monday to look into reducing regulations that are hindering competition, following a similar move by the U.S. Department of Justice last month.

  • April 14, 2025

    Green Group Urges Update On Gulf Oil Well Risks

    The Center for Biological Diversity has urged a D.C. federal court to order government agencies to update their assessment of derelict offshore oil and gas facilities along the southern coast, saying the stalled decommissioning of aging infrastructure is creating a greater likelihood of an environmental disaster.

  • April 14, 2025

    Chemical Co. Owes $11M In Unpaid Pine Oil Bills, Suit Says

    Arbor Renewables, a manufacturer of pine-based chemicals, was hit with a lawsuit Friday alleging that it owes over $11 million in unpaid invoices to a Georgia-based consumer packaging maker.

  • April 14, 2025

    Colorado Oil Co. Says Hefty Penalties Are Unlawful Taking

    An ailing oil and gas company asked a federal judge Friday to block Colorado orders requiring it to halt some operations and pay $8 million in penalties, arguing that they amount to an unconstitutional taking of its property without compensation.

  • April 14, 2025

    NJ High Court Advances DuPont Appeal In $1B Pollution Suit

    The New Jersey Supreme Court will allow Chemours and E.I. du Pont de Nemours to appeal a trial court's ruling that a small New Jersey town has standing to bring its $1 billion pollution suit, according to a recent order.

Expert Analysis

  • What 2024 Trends In Marketing, Comms Hiring Mean For 2025

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    The state of hiring in legal industry marketing, business development and communications over the past 12 months was marked by a number of trends — from changes in the C-suite to lateral move challenges — providing clues for what’s to come in the year ahead, says Ben Curle at Ambition.

  • How Attorneys Can Master The Art Of Eye Contact At Trial

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    As a growing body of research confirms that eye contact facilitates communication and influences others, attorneys should follow a few pointers to maximize the power of eye contact during voir dire, witness preparation, direct examination and cross-examination, says trial consultant Noelle Nelson.

  • Series

    Group Running Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    The combination of physical fitness and community connection derived from running with a group of business leaders has, among other things, helped me to stay grounded, improve my communication skills, and develop a deeper empathy for clients and colleagues, says Jessica Shpall Rosen at Greenwald Doherty.

  • Hawaii Climate Insurance Case Is Good News For Energy Cos.

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    The Hawaii Supreme Court's recent ruling in a dispute between an oil company and its insurers, holding that reckless conduct in the context of activities that can cause climate harms is covered by liability policies, will likely be viewed by energy companies as a positive development, say attorneys at Fenchurch Law.

  • Cos. Must Brace For New PFAS Regulations And Litigation

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    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recently proposed adding over 100 per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances to the Toxic Release Inventory — and with increasing scrutiny of PFAS from the states and the plaintiffs bar as well, companies should take steps to reduce risks in this area, say attorneys at Dechert.

  • Opinion

    6 Changes I Would Make If I Ran A Law School

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    Reuben Guttman at Guttman Buschner identifies several key issues plaguing law schools and discusses potential solutions, such as opting out of the rankings game and mandating courses in basic writing skills.

  • Implications Of NY Climate Case For Generating Facilities

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    Regardless of how Greenidge Generation LLC v. New York Department of Environmental Conservation develops on remand, this decision has immediate repercussions for generating facilities seeking permit applications and renewals in New York, likely involving Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act considerations, say attorneys at Hodgson Russ.

  • Firms Still Have The Edge In Lateral Hiring, But Buyer Beware

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    Partner mobility data suggests that the third quarter of this year continued to be a buyer’s market, with the average candidate demanding less compensation for a larger book of business — but moving into the fourth quarter, firms should slow down their hiring process to minimize risks, say officers at Decipher Investigative Intelligence.

  • Teaching Your Witness To Beat The Freeze/Appease Response

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    In addition to fight-or-flight, witnesses may experience the freeze/appease response at trial or deposition — where they become a deer in headlights, agreeing with opposing counsel’s questions and damaging their credibility in the process — but certain strategies can help, says Bill Kanasky at Courtroom Sciences.

  • Think Like A Lawyer: 1 Type Of Case Complexity Stands Out

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    In contrast to some cases that appear complex due to voluminous evidence or esoteric subject matter, a different kind of complexity involves tangled legal and factual questions, each with a range of possible outcomes, which require a “sliding scale” approach instead of syllogistic reasoning, says Luke Andrews at Poole Huffman.

  • How Litigation, Supply Chains Buffeted Offshore Wind In 2024

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    U.S. offshore wind developers continue to face a range of challenges — including litigation brought by local communities and interest groups, ongoing supply chain issues, and a lack of interconnection and transmission infrastructure — in addition to uncertainty surrounding federal energy policy under the second Trump administration, say attorneys at Liskow & Lewis.

  • What Bisphenol S Prop 65 Listing Will Mean For Industry

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    The imminent addition of bisphenol S — a chemical used in millions of products — to California's Proposition 65 list will have sweeping compliance and litigation implications for companies in the retail, food and beverage, paper, manufacturing and personal care product industries, say attorneys at Alston & Bird.

  • Think Like A Lawyer: Note 3 Simple Types Of Legal Complexity

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    Cases can appear complex for several reasons — due to the number of issues, the volume of factual and evidentiary sources, and the sophistication of those sources — but the same basic technique can help lawyers tame their arguments into a simple and persuasive message, says Luke Andrews at Poole Huffman.

  • Permitting, Offtake Among Offshore Wind Challenges In 2024

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    Although federal offshore wind development started to pick up this year, many challenges to the industry became apparent as well — including slow federal permitting, the pitfalls of restarting permits after changes in project status, and the difficulties of negotiating economically viable offtake agreements, say attorneys at Liskow & Lewis.

  • Series

    Gardening Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Beyond its practical and therapeutic benefits, gardening has bolstered important attributes that also apply to my litigation practice, including persistence, patience, grit and authenticity, says Christopher Viceconte at Gibbons.

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