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Environmental

  • June 30, 2025

    Justices Say Another Biofuel Waiver Case Fits In DC Circ.

    Following the U.S. Supreme Court's decision that the D.C. Circuit was the proper venue for challenges to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's denial of biofuel waivers to small refiners, the high court on Monday granted summary disposition in another pending case on the same subject.

  • June 30, 2025

    High Court Won't Review Kentucky's Smog Plan Challenge

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to review the Sixth Circuit's refusal to transfer Kentucky's challenge to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's disapproval of its ozone control plan to the D.C. Circuit, after ruling such cases belong in regional circuit courts. 

  • June 30, 2025

    Justices Seek SG's View In $1.2M Roundup Verdict

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday asked the U.S. solicitor general to weigh in on Monsanto's petition challenging a $1.2 million jury award given to a man who claimed that the company's Roundup weed killer caused his cancer.

  • June 30, 2025

    Justices Pass On Exxon Mobil $14M Clean Air Act Dispute

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to review an en banc Fifth Circuit opinion that upheld $14.25 million in air pollution fines against Exxon Mobil Corp.

  • June 30, 2025

    Supreme Court Won't Take On CWA Suit Over Wash. Port Regs

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to wade into a dispute between a Washington state port and an environmental group over whether citizen suits seeking to enforce state permitting conditions that go beyond the Clean Water Act can proceed in federal court.

  • June 30, 2025

    Justices Take On Enbridge Pipeline Remand Fight

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday agreed to review a Sixth Circuit decision that found Enbridge Energy LP missed a statutory deadline to transfer to federal court a lawsuit from Michigan's attorney general seeking to shut down one of the company's pipelines.

  • June 27, 2025

    Hershey Says Wrapper PFAS Suit 'Built On A House Of Cards'

    The Hershey Co. on Friday urged a Pennsylvania federal court to dismiss a putative class action that alleges its packaging for its chocolate bars and candies contains dangerous levels of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, saying consumers' testing allegations failed to back a viable claim that its products contain the forever chemicals known as PFAS.

  • June 27, 2025

    Insurer Fights Cosmetic Co. Over Coverage For Pollution Row

    A Markel unit had no duty to defend a cosmetics company against prior water pollution claims simply because it agreed to defend a subsequent suit brought by the California attorney general, the insurer told a California federal court Friday.

  • June 27, 2025

    Hawaii Groups Look To Block Monument Fishing Permits

    Three conservation groups are looking to set aside an April decision by the Trump administration that gave the go-ahead for permit holders to commercially fish in the waters of a Pacific Coast national monument, telling a Hawaii federal court that destructive fishing has already started in the 400,000-square-mile site.

  • June 27, 2025

    Groups Sue To Protect Everglades From 'Alligator Alcatraz'

    Environmental groups sued Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and Florida officials Friday in Miami federal court in a bid to halt the construction of a migrant detention center known as "Alligator Alcatraz" in the Everglades, alleging it wasn't properly vetted for how it will impact the protected wetlands.

  • June 27, 2025

    Texas Justices Give Uri MDL Plaintiffs Chance To Replead

    The Texas Supreme Court on Friday said that thousands of plaintiffs in a multidistrict litigation stemming from winter storm Uri in 2021 could replead their gross negligence claims against transmission and distribution utility providers, giving them a chance to revive their long-running dispute over the crippling winter storm.

  • June 27, 2025

    Philly District Inks DPA With Feds Over Asbestos In Schools

    The School District of Philadelphia has agreed to federal oversight of its asbestos remediation efforts in its facilities after a five-year investigation revealed that it had fallen behind in dealing with airborne toxins from classrooms, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania said Friday.

  • June 27, 2025

    Insurer Asks Court To Sort Out Paying Of $4.1M Settlement

    An insurer asked a California federal court to decide who should receive a $4.1 million settlement of a homeowner's fire claims, saying it could not determine who was entitled to the payment because of a number of lien notices filed as the settlement was finalized.

  • June 27, 2025

    3 DOL Policy Shifts On Benefits Attys' Radar

    Since President Donald Trump's administration took over in January, the U.S. Department of Labor has changed its tack on several issues related to employee benefits. Here, Law360 looks at three moves that caught lawyers' attention.

  • June 27, 2025

    NC Biz Court Bulletin: Last-Minute Settlements Head Off Trials

    Untouched by the summer slump, the North Carolina Business Court kicked off June with a sanctions order against a biogas company caught spurning court orders and a new complaint by a former NFL player accusing his longtime financial adviser of defrauding him for decades.

  • June 26, 2025

    Bayer Investors' $38M Settlement Over Monsanto Deal OK'd

    A California federal judge on Thursday preliminarily approved Bayer AG's $38 million settlement with investors who accused the German multinational of downplaying litigation risks related to the weedkiller Roundup when it acquired Monsanto in 2018, saying the deal appeared to be "fair, reasonable and adequate."

  • June 26, 2025

    Calif. FAIR Plan Fire Policy Is Unlawful, Court Rules

    Fire insurance offered by California's insurer of last resort does not meet the minimum coverage standards laid out in the state insurance code, a California state court ruled, finding the policy's definition of "direct physical loss" and its smoke damage provision to be unlawfully restrictive.

  • June 26, 2025

    EPA Illegally Ended Environmental Justice Grants, Groups Say

    Environmental groups, a Native American village and other local governments have alleged in a proposed class action in D.C. federal court that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency unlawfully stopped a $3 billion climate grant program created by the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act.

  • June 26, 2025

    Suit Blaming Big Oil For Heat Wave Death Moved To Fed Court

    Chevron removed to Seattle federal court a first-of-its kind wrongful death suit brought by the daughter of a woman who died during a 2021 heat wave alleging oil and gas giants — including BP PLC, ConocoPhillips and Shell PLC — knew for decades their fossil fuel products would one day "claim lives."

  • June 26, 2025

    Solar Co. Meyer Burger Can Tap $10M DIP To Fund Ch. 11 Sale

    Swiss solar panel maker Meyer Burger's U.S. unit secured a Delaware bankruptcy judge's interim approval Thursday for a $10 million debtor-in-possession loan as it looks to sell two manufacturing sites in Chapter 11.

  • June 26, 2025

    FERC Chair Aims To Stay Beyond His Term's End

    As his potential replacement awaits a U.S. Senate confirmation hearing, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Chairman Mark Christie said Thursday that he plans to oversee the agency's next monthly open meeting in July, but otherwise remained tight-lipped about his impending departure.

  • June 26, 2025

    Gordon Rees Adds Glazier Yee Toxic Tort Ace In LA, St. Louis

    Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani LLP is expanding its litigation team, bringing in an environmental and toxic tort specialist from boutique firm Glazier Yee LLP as a partner in its St. Louis and Los Angeles offices.

  • June 26, 2025

    EPA Seeks To Appeal Flint Water Crisis Immunity Ruling

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has asked a Michigan federal court for permission to appeal an immunity ruling in the Flint water crisis litigation to the Sixth Circuit, saying a trip to the federal appellate court could bring the case to a more efficient resolution.

  • June 26, 2025

    Akerman Adds Steptoe Energy Transactional Atty In DC

    Akerman LLP has hired a former Steptoe LLP partner who works on the regulatory, corporate and transactional aspects of energy deals and with related project development matters, the firm announced Wednesday.

  • June 26, 2025

    Lime Revs Up IPO, Crypto's Prospects Rise, And More Rumors

    Uber Technologies Inc.-backed electric bike startup Lime is moving forward on a U.S. initial public offering, while more crypto ventures are seeking public listings and insurance giant BrightHouse inches closer to a sale.

Expert Analysis

  • Series

    Adapting To Private Practice: From DOJ Leadership To BigLaw

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    The move from government service to private practice can feel like changing one’s identity, but as someone who has left the U.S. Department of Justice twice, I’ve learned that a successful transition requires patience, effort and the realization that the rewards of practicing law don’t come from one particular position, says Richard Donoghue at Pillsbury.

  • In-House Expert Testimony Is Tricky, But Worth Considering

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    Litigation counsel often reject the notion of designating in-house personnel to provide expert opinion testimony at trial, but dismissing them outright can result in a significant missed opportunity, say David Ben-Meir at Ben-Meir Law and Martin Pitha at Lillis Pitha.

  • Issues To Watch At ABA's Antitrust Spring Meeting

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    Attorneys at Freshfields consider the future of antitrust law and competition enforcement amid agency leadership changes and other emerging developments likely to dominate discussion at the American Bar Association's Antitrust Spring Meeting this week.

  • Tracking Changes To AI Evidence Under Federal Rules

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    As the first quarter of 2025 draws to a close, important changes to the Federal Rules of Evidence regarding the use of artificial intelligence in the courtroom are on the horizon, including how to handle evidence that is a product of machine learning, say attorneys at Debevoise.

  • State Extended Producer Responsibility Laws: Tips For Cos.

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    As states increasingly shift the onus of end-of-life product management from consumers and local governments to the businesses that produce, distribute or sell certain items, companies must track the changing landscape and evaluate the applicability of these new laws and regulations to their operations, say attorneys at Alston & Bird.

  • Law Firm Executive Orders Create A Legal Ethics Minefield

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    Recent executive orders targeting BigLaw firms create ethical dilemmas — and raise the specter of civil or criminal liability — for the government attorneys tasked with implementing them and for the law firms that choose to make agreements with the administration, say attorneys at Buchalter.

  • 5 Steps To Promote Durable, Pro-Industry Environmental Regs

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    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's planned wave of deregulation will require lengthy reviews, and could be undone by legal challenges and future changes of administration — but industry involvement in rulemaking, litigation, trade associations, and state and federal legislation can help ensure favorable and long-lasting regulatory policies, say attorneys at Balch & Bingham.

  • Firms Must Embrace Alternative Billing Models Or Fall Behind

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    As artificial intelligence tools eliminate inefficiencies and the Big Four accounting firms enter the legal market, law firms that pivot from the entrenched billable hour model to outcomes-based pricing will see a distinct competitive advantage, says attorney William Brewer.

  • Key Insurance Issues Likely To Arise From NY Superfund Law

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    The recently enacted New York Climate Change Superfund Act imposes a massive $75 billion in liabilities on energy companies in the fossil fuel industry, which can be expected to look to their insurers for coverage, raising a slew of coverage issues both old and new, say attorneys at Wiley.

  • How Trump Policies Are Affecting The Right To Repair

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    Recent policy changes by the second Trump administration — ranging from deregulatory initiatives to tariff increases — are likely to have both positive and negative effects on the ability of independent repair shops and individual consumers to exercise their right to repair electronic devices, say attorneys at Carter Ledyard.

  • How Attorneys Can Master The Art Of On-Camera Presence

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    As attorneys are increasingly presented with on-camera opportunities, they can adapt their traditional legal skills for video contexts — such as virtual client meetings, marketing content or media interviews — by understanding the medium and making intentional adjustments, says Kerry Barrett.

  • Series

    Baseball Fantasy Camp Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    With six baseball fantasy experiences under my belt, I've learned time and again that I didn't make the wrong career choice, but I've also learned that baseball lessons are life lessons, and I'm a better lawyer for my time at St. Louis Cardinals fantasy camp, says Scott Felder at Wiley.

  • DOJ Immigration Playbook May Take Cues From A 2017 Case

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    A record criminal resolution with a tree trimming company accused of knowingly employing unauthorized workers in 2017 may provide clues as to how the U.S. Department of Justice’s immigration crackdown will touch American companies, which should prepare now for potential enforcement actions, says Jonathan Porter at Husch Blackwell.

  • NM Case Shows Power Of Environmental Public Nuisance Law

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    A recent ruling from a New Mexico appeals court finding that a pattern of environmental violations, even without any substantial impact on a nearby community, can trigger nuisance liability — including potential damages and injunctive relief — has important implications for regulated entities in the state, says Kaleb Brooks at Spencer Fane.

  • Series

    Adapting To Private Practice: From Fed. Prosecutor To BigLaw

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    Making the jump from government to private practice is no small feat, but, based on my experience transitioning to a business-driven environment after 15 years as an assistant U.S. attorney, it can be incredibly rewarding and help you become a more versatile lawyer, says Michael Beckwith at Dickinson Wright.

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