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Environmental

  • May 23, 2025

    SoCal Edison To Pay $82.5M Over 2020 Bobcat Fire Costs

    Southern California Edison agreed Friday to pay $82.5 million to the federal government to resolve a lawsuit that seeks to recoup costs incurred by the U.S. Forest Service as a result of the devastating 2020 Bobcat Fire, which burned over 100,000 acres, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Central District of California announced.

  • May 23, 2025

    Judge Skeptical Of Harm In Recall Of Tribe's Gambling Eligibility

    A D.C. federal judge on Friday signaled concerns with the Interior Department's decision to revoke a California tribe's gambling eligibility for a casino-resort project in the Bay Area, but said that the tribe faces an uphill battle in establishing the irreparable harm needed to secure a preliminary injunction.

  • May 23, 2025

    Battery Co. Li-Cycle Gets Ch. 15 Nod Amid Glencore Sale Bid

    A New York bankruptcy judge on Friday granted Chapter 15 recognition to lithium battery recycler Li-Cycle and affiliates after overruling an objection from the U.S. Trustee's Office, as the Toronto-based debtor looks to sell its business and secure new funding.

  • May 23, 2025

    Guggenheim-Backed Housing Proposal Upheld In SC

    A South Carolina federal judge upheld a 9,000-unit housing plan brought in part by heirs of the Guggenheim family on the Cainhoy Peninsula near Charleston, finding federal authorities properly considered environmental effects of the development.

  • May 23, 2025

    House Budget Would Sap Emerging Energy Tax Credit Market

    The House's sweeping tax and budget legislation would scrap a relatively new financing option that lets project development owners sell valuable green energy tax credits for cash, which would likely doom or severely hamper the burgeoning market for the credits.

  • May 23, 2025

    La. Sued For Blocking Community Air Monitoring Sensors

    Louisiana is hindering its citizens' ability to monitor air pollution in their communities by threatening to dish out "crippling" fines to those who share data collected from certain affordable sensors, according to a lawsuit filed by environmental groups accusing the state of violating the First and 14th amendments.

  • May 22, 2025

    Critics Decry Budget Bill As Clean Energy 'Attempted Murder'

    The budget reconciliation bill that House Republicans passed Thursday replaced an earlier plan to phase out renewable energy tax credits with a 60-day qualification period, leaving project developers struggling to meet a deadline experts say is unrealistic and effectively guts the benefit.

  • May 22, 2025

    EV Carmaker Lucid Gets Inflated Biz Suit Trimmed, Again

    A California federal judge on Thursday again trimmed a proposed investor class action that alleges electric carmaker Lucid made misleading production forecasts, finding that the latest complaint still doesn't adequately allege the defendants knew some of the challenged statements were false when they were issued.

  • May 22, 2025

    Proxy Proposal Omissions Rose Post-SEC Bulletin, Study Finds

    There was a sharp drop in the total number of shareholder proxy proposals submitted this year and a rise in the number of submitted proposals that were omitted from corporate ballots following the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's rescission of past guidance, ISS Corporate Solutions Inc. said Thursday.

  • May 22, 2025

    7th Circ. Wary Of Crypto Fund Owner's Appeal Of $231M Fine

    A Seventh Circuit panel on Thursday pressed counsel for a cryptocurrency fund operator challenging a $231 million judgment for running a Ponzi scheme to address whether he'd waived his argument that the digital tokens his funds invested in aren't "commodities" subject to regulation by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission by not raising it in the lower court.

  • May 22, 2025

    EPA Warns States, Tribes On Clean Water Act Authority

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday warned states and tribes that their authority under the Clean Water Act to veto certain water quality certifications shouldn't be used to "shut down projects" for concerns outside the law's scope.

  • May 22, 2025

    Calif. Judge Likely To Extend Block On Gov't Reorg, Job Cuts

    A California federal judge indicated Thursday she'll likely convert her temporary restraining order into a preliminary injunction against President Donald Trump's executive order to reduce the federal workforce, saying the law "seems clear" that presidents cannot issue large-scale agency reductions without congressional approval and "to hold otherwise" would contradict nine previous presidents and 21 congresses.

  • May 22, 2025

    Ill. AG, Trump Tower Strike $4.8M Deal To End Wastewater Row

    Illinois' attorney general announced Thursday that the state has struck a deal with the owners of Trump International Hotel and Tower in Chicago to resolve litigation over the hotel's continual underreporting of the amount of wastewater it discharges into the Chicago River, in violation of environmental laws.

  • May 22, 2025

    Federal Gov't Backs States' BlackRock Coal Investments Suit

    The federal government on Thursday threw its support behind a case from Texas and several other states that accuses investment groups including BlackRock Inc. of using their energy holdings to drive up coal prices under the guise of environmental concerns.

  • May 22, 2025

    Congress Kills Calif. EV Program Waiver, Other Climate Rules

    Congress on Thursday sent President Donald Trump four resolutions undoing U.S. Environmental Protection Agency actions, including the Biden-era approval of California's effort to ban the sale of gas-powered vehicles in the state, drawing a promise of litigation from the state.

  • May 22, 2025

    Coalition Backs Calif. Tribe's Fight Over $700M Casino Project

    A coalition of tribes weighed in on a dispute over the federal government's decision to rescind gambling eligibility for the Scotts Valley Band of Pomo Indians' $700 million casino project, questioning the federal government's perceived acquiescence to pushback from other tribes.

  • May 22, 2025

    Michigan Seeks 6th Circ. Rehearing In Enbridge Pipeline Row

    Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has asked the full Sixth Circuit to find she is protected by sovereign immunity from an Enbridge Energy lawsuit to halt her efforts to shut down an oil and natural gas pipeline.

  • May 22, 2025

    5th Circ. Denies Challenge To La. Oversight Of Carbon Wells

    A Fifth Circuit panel said several environmental groups failed to show any imminent injuries stemming from a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency decision to approve Louisiana's plan to oversee carbon sequestration wells, and dismissed their challenge for lack of standing.

  • May 21, 2025

    Ore. Fire Verdict Brings PacifiCorp Damages To $385M

    An Oregon jury held Wednesday that PacifiCorp must pay roughly $50 million to 10 victims of the state's 2020 Labor Day wildfires, bringing the total damages verdicts in the class action against the Berkshire Hathaway-owned utility to $385 million as more bellwether trials are expected to play out throughout 2025.

  • May 21, 2025

    SC Judge Restores Frozen Federal Grant Funding

    A South Carolina federal judge ordered the Trump administration to restore 32 grants funded by the Inflation Reduction Act and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act after the government said it wasn't contesting the merits of the grant recipients' claims.

  • May 21, 2025

    Gold Mine Risks Alaska Preserve And Whales, Tribe Claims

    An Alaskan tribe and environmental groups have filed suit against the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers seeking to stop a mining company from expanding gold operations, activity that would contaminate the waterways near a national park and harm the endangered beluga whale population.

  • May 21, 2025

    Offshore Wind Farm Foes Back Trump Permitting Pause

    Opponents of a New Jersey offshore wind farm on Wednesday backed the Trump administration's freeze on wind project permitting, telling a Massachusetts federal judge the moratorium is both legal and constitutional.

  • May 21, 2025

    EPA Chief Defends Trump Plan To Halve Agency Budget

    U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin on Wednesday told senators that despite President Donald Trump's proposal to cut the EPA's budget by 55% and an internal reorganization, agency scientists can handle the current workload.

  • May 21, 2025

    Solvay Wants Sanctions For 3 Firms Over Confidential Info

    Lawyers at three plaintiffs law firms were hit Wednesday with a bid for sanctions by a polymer company that claims the attorneys used confidential discovery in federal multidistrict litigation in New Jersey to file a new action.

  • May 21, 2025

    Ky. Judge Nixes Treasury's Bid To End Labor Contracts

    The U.S. Department of the Treasury lacks standing to seek an order allowing it to lawfully terminate its labor contracts with a federal employee union, a Kentucky federal judge ruled, finding the agency's alleged harm is based on speculation about the potential consequences of enforcing an executive order.

Expert Analysis

  • Series

    Improv Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Improv keeps me grounded and connected to what matters most, including in my legal career where it has helped me to maintain a balance between being analytical, precise and professional, and creative, authentic and open-minded, says Justine Gottshall at InfoLawGroup.

  • How BigLaw Executive Orders May Affect Smaller Firms

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    Because of the types of cases they take on, solo practitioners, small law firms and public interest attorneys may find themselves more dramatically affected by the collective impact of recent government action involving the legal industry than even the BigLaw firms named in the executive orders, says Reuben Guttman at Guttman Buschner.

  • Opinion

    Lawsuits Shouldn't Be Shadow Assets For Foreign Capital

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    Third-party litigation financing amplifies inefficiencies from litigation and facilitates national exposure to foreign influence in the U.S. justice system, so full disclosure of financing arrangements should be required as a matter of institutional integrity, says Roland Eisenhuth at the American Property Casualty Insurance Association.

  • How To Accelerate Your Post-Attorney Career Transition

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    Professionals seeking to transition to nonattorney careers may encounter skepticism as nontraditional candidates, but there are opportunities for thought leadership and to leverage speaking and writing to accelerate a post-attorney career transition, say Janet Falk at Falk Communications and Evgeny Efremkin at Toronto Metropolitan University.

  • Key Takeaways From The 2025 Spring Antitrust Meeting

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    Leadership changes, shifting priorities and evolving enforcement tools dominated the conversation at the recent American Bar Association Spring Antitrust Meeting, as panelists explored competition policy under a second Trump administration, agency discretion under the 2023 merger guidelines and new frontiers in conduct enforcement, say attorneys at Freshfields.

  • What PFAS-Treated Clothing Tariff Bill Would Mean For Cos.

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    In keeping with a nationwide trend of greater restrictions on per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, legislation pending in the U.S. House of Representatives would remove tariff advantages for PFAS-treated clothing — so businesses would be wise to proactively adapt their supply chains and review contracts to mitigate liability, say attorneys at Alston & Bird.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: Be An Indispensable Associate

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    While law school teaches you to research, write and think critically, it often overlooks the professional skills you will need to make yourself an essential team player when transitioning from a summer to full-time associate, say attorneys at Stinson.

  • What 2nd Trump Admin Means For Ship Pollution Compliance

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    As the second Trump administration's civil and criminal enforcement policies take shape, the maritime industry must ensure it complies with both national and international obligations to prevent oil pollution from seagoing vessels — with preventive efforts and voluntary disclosures being some of the best options for mitigating risk, say attorneys at Holland & Knight.

  • Mass. AG Emerges As Key Player In Consumer Protection

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    Through enforcement actions and collaborations with other states — including joining a recent amicus brief decrying the defunding of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau — Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell has established herself as a thought leader for consumer protection and corporate accountability, say attorneys at Troutman Pepper.

  • Series

    Birding Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Observing and documenting birds in their natural habitats fosters patience, sharpens observational skills and provides moments of pure wonder — qualities that foster personal growth and enrich my legal career, says Allison Raley at Arnall Golden.

  • What Cos. Should Know About U.S. Minerals Executive Order

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    President Donald Trump's new executive order aimed at boosting U.S. mineral production faces challenges including land use and environmental regulations, a lack of new funding, and the need for coordination among federal agencies, but it provides industry stakeholders with multiple opportunities to influence policy and funding, say advisers at Holland & Knight.

  • Series

    Calif. Banking Brief: All The Notable Legal Updates In Q1

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    Among the most notable developments in California banking in the first quarter of the year, regulators and legislators issued regulations interpreting debt collection laws, stepped up enforcement actions, and expanded consumer protections for those affected by wildfires, says Stephen Britt at Severson & Werson.

  • How The ESG Investing Rule Survived Loper Bright, For Now

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    A Texas federal court's recent decision in Utah v. Micone upholding the U.S. Department of Labor's 2022 ESG investing rule highlights how regulations can withstand the post-Loper Bright landscape when an agency's interpretation of its statutorily determined boundaries is not granted deference, say attorneys at Miller & Chevalier.

  • 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.

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