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Environmental

  • September 10, 2025

    Unions' Challenge To Fed. Layoffs, Reorganizations Proceeds

    The Trump administration must continue facing a union-backed challenge to its federal worker layoffs and agency reorganizations, a California federal judge ruled, tossing the administration's argument that the U.S. Supreme Court cast enough doubt on the suit's legitimacy by pausing an injunction to justify dismissing the case.

  • September 10, 2025

    FERC Urged To Drop 'Ill-Conceived' Pipeline Review Updates

    Gas industry groups urged the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to accept Secretary of Energy Chris Wright's request to scrap plans for greater environmental reviews for pipeline approvals, agreeing that they exceed FERC's authority and undermine regulatory certainty.

  • September 10, 2025

    BLM Says It Will Rescind Biden-Era Land Conservation Rule

    The U.S. Bureau of Land Management on Wednesday said it will roll back the Biden administration's Public Lands Rule, which the agency says improperly prioritizes land conservation over uses like energy development and livestock grazing.

  • September 10, 2025

    SC Residents Ask 4th Circ. To Revive Marsh Development Suit

    A group of South Carolina residents urged the Fourth Circuit to reverse the dismissal of their suit challenging a federal plan to develop tidal marshland that's allegedly already part of a state public trust that bars development.

  • September 10, 2025

    $7M Ida Damage Case Settles Amid 5th Circ. Arbitration Fight

    A New Orleans property owner and its insurers have resolved a dispute over coverage for a $7 million Hurricane Ida damage claim, amid a fight over whether the matter belonged in arbitration, the parties told the Fifth Circuit.

  • September 09, 2025

    PacifiCorp Fire Property Wasn't 'Lost' But 'Taken,' Jury Told

    The latest wildfire damage trial against PacifiCorp began Tuesday with the stories of 10 Oregon property owners who, a jury was told, didn't "lose" their property but had it "taken" by an irresponsible utility.

  • September 09, 2025

    7 Enviro Cases To Watch At The Supreme Court

    The U.S. Supreme Court is considering a slew of environmental cases for the coming term, including jurisdiction disputes in pipeline and pollution cases, a challenge to a Washington state climate change law and Monsanto's bid to undo a $1.2 million weed killer cancer award.

  • September 09, 2025

    NY Climate Law Challenge Moved To Join Similar Case

    A federal judge has denied business groups' bid to keep a suit challenging New York's climate Superfund law in the Southern District of New York, saying they must pursue the case in the Northern District where Republican-led states brought similar litigation first.

  • September 09, 2025

    States, Oil Groups Push For Wins In Drilling Ban Fight

    Republican-led states and oil and gas industry groups pushed for a victory in their lawsuits challenging now-rescinded Biden-era memos that closed off federal waters to offshore drilling, telling a Louisiana federal judge that the memos were clearly unconstitutional.

  • September 09, 2025

    Calif. Bashes EPA's Effort To Toss Truck Emissions Petitions

    California, along with a group of states and cities, urged the Ninth Circuit on Monday to reject the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's motion to dismiss petitions challenging Clean Air Act waivers allowing the Golden State to make its own truck emissions standards, saying separate litigation should first play out.

  • September 09, 2025

    Mitsubishi Accused Of Dodging Pollution Regs With Deception

    Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. was hit with a proposed class action in Washington federal court Monday by a commercial fisher accusing the company of deploying a deceptive sales tactic to circumvent federal emissions regulations for marine engines and replacing engines with cheaper, dirtier alternatives that don't comply with U.S. laws. 

  • 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.

Expert Analysis

  • Managing Risks As State AGs Seek To Fill Enforcement Gap

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    Given an unprecedented surge in state attorney general activity resulting from significant shifts in federal enforcement priorities, companies must consider tailored strategies for navigating the ever-evolving risk landscape, say attorneys at Cozen O'Connor.

  • 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.

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