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Environmental

  • May 19, 2025

    5th Circ. Says EPA Flubbed Texas Air Finding, Must Redo

    A Fifth Circuit panel on Friday said the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency erred in determining that two Texas counties had failed to meet air quality standards for sulfur dioxide, handing a victory to the state and Vistra Corp.

  • May 19, 2025

    NC Gov. Tacks On $891M To Hurricane Recovery Plan

    North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein on Monday recommended adding $891 million to the funds earmarked for Hurricane Helene recovery efforts in the western region of the state, the largest chunk of which would go toward rebuilding the economy with small business loans and tourism promotion.

  • May 19, 2025

    Energy Cos. Escape Pa. County's Climate Change Suit

    A Pennsylvania state judge threw out Bucks County's Big-Tobacco style lawsuit against 14 oil companies, concluding that neither Pennsylvania law nor any state law can address the greenhouse gas emissions-related claims raised in the county's complaint.

  • May 19, 2025

    Squire Patton Adds Miami Litigator With In-House Experience

    A former in-house attorney at NextEra Energy Resources who was most recently with Heise Suarez Melville PA moved his practice to Squire Patton Boggs LLP in Miami, the firm announced Monday.

  • May 16, 2025

    9th Circ. Mulls DOJ Shield Of Jones Day VW Documents

    A Ninth Circuit panel on Friday questioned whether it could force the U.S. Department of Justice to hand over confidential Volkswagen documents it obtained through a grand jury subpoena that were part of Jones Day's internal investigation into the automaker's 2015 emissions-cheating scandal.

  • May 16, 2025

    Wash. Tribe Can't Ax Wildlife Refuge Protection Suit

    The Jamestown S'Klallam Tribe of Washington state is not a necessary party to an environmental lawsuit aimed at ensuring the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service complies with rules governing the tribe's proposed aquaculture operation along the Dungeness National Wildlife Refuge boundary, a federal judge has ruled.

  • May 16, 2025

    Tesla Tells Justices Challenge To La. Sale Ban Should Stand

    Tesla Inc. has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to reject a petition from Louisiana regulators seeking review of its case targeting the state's ban on direct sales by automakers, saying the regulators are in fact competitors who view Tesla's business model as an existential threat.

  • May 16, 2025

    Green Group Says Trump Admin Stalling On Logging Records

    Federal agencies are dragging their feet in response to requests for information related to how they are implementing President Donald Trump's executive order to expand logging projects in the U.S., a lawsuit filed Friday in D.C. federal court says.

  • May 16, 2025

    Trump Calls On Justices To Stay Block Of Gov't Restructuring

    President Donald Trump asked the U.S. Supreme Court on Friday to pause a California federal judge's order temporarily halting agencies from implementing an executive order to plan reorganizations and reductions in force, claiming the lower court's decision has caused confusion and wasted taxpayer dollars.

  • May 16, 2025

    Pot Farm Can't Challenge Colo. Regulators' Alleged Inaction

    A Colorado state judge has dismissed a cannabis farm's suit alleging that state regulators haven't sufficiently cracked down on illegal operators, saying the farm isn't challenging a final agency action that is subject to judicial review.

  • May 16, 2025

    Disaster Relief Biz Partner Won't Split Duke Payout, Suit Says

    A North Carolina man who runs a company that provides support services for disaster relief has accused his business partner of pilfering his payout from a contract to provide meals for Duke Energy workers assisting in recovery efforts after Hurricane Helene.

  • May 16, 2025

    NJ, DuPont To Face Off In Landmark PFAS Trial Series

    New Jersey and chemical manufacturing giant E.I. DuPont de Nemours will square off Monday over the contamination at a former Salem County manufacturing facility in a first-of-a-kind series of trials that environmental attorneys expect will impact "forever chemicals" litigation across the country.

  • May 16, 2025

    Holland & Hart Hires DOJ Environmental Appellate Chief In DC

    Holland & Hart LLP has added the former chief of the U.S. Department of Justice's Environmental and Natural Resources Division, who joins the firm's Washington, D.C., office alongside her longtime DOJ colleague.

  • May 16, 2025

    DC Circ. Says Vt. Didn't Waive Hydro Dam Review Authority

    The D.C. Circuit on Friday nixed a Vermont village's lawsuit claiming the state waived its role in the federal relicensing of the village's hydroelectric project, saying it was the village's own actions that caused the state to miss a statutory deadline to act.

  • May 16, 2025

    5th Circ. Reverses Intervention Denial For Border Wall Cos.

    A Texas federal judge erred when he refused to let several government contractors and the Sierra Club intervene in a lawsuit that blocked the use of border wall funding for anything other than new barrier construction, the Fifth Circuit ruled Thursday.

  • May 16, 2025

    Taxation With Representation: Blakes, Davies, Goodmans

    In this week's Taxation With Representation, Charter Communications Inc. merges with Cox Communications, Hub International Ltd. boosts its valuation after securing an investment, Pan American Silver Corp. acquires Mag Silver Corp. and Robinhood buys WonderFi.

  • May 15, 2025

    $666M Pipeline Verdict 'Poster Child' For Reduction, Judge Told

    Lawyers for Greenpeace urged a North Dakota state judge Thursday to significantly reduce a $666 million verdict over claims that it falsely disparaged the Dakota Access pipeline amid environmental protests, with the jury having awarded ten times more on certain claims than even the pipeline's builder wanted.

  • May 15, 2025

    Wis. Tribe Urges Army Corps To Reject Enbridge Line 5 Permit

    Members of a Wisconsin tribe are urging the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to deny Enbridge Energy Inc. a permit that will allow it to reroute its Line 5 pipeline around and upstream its reservation, arguing that, if allowed, hundreds of downstream wetlands and streams would be polluted by the project.

  • May 15, 2025

    Ore. Tribe Looks To Redefine Columbia Basin Fishing Rights

    An Oregon tribe is asking a federal court to open up a decades-old case that reserved fishing rights for the state's Indigenous nations, arguing that it must redefine the nature and scope of its off-reservation rights in order to obtain a fair share of the Columbia Basin's resources.

  • May 15, 2025

    Unions, Groups Seek Injunction To Block Gov't Restructuring

    A California federal judge must greenlight a nationwide injunction to stop multiple federal agencies from moving ahead with implementing reorganization and mass termination plans linked to an executive order, a coalition of unions and groups argued, making their request on the heels of a temporary restraining order.

  • May 15, 2025

    Regulatory Rollback Orders Legally Risky, FERC Chair Says

    The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission is attempting to comply with executive orders that aim to roll back federal regulations, but Chairman Mark Christie said Thursday that implementing the orders could open FERC up to lawsuits and potentially courtroom defeats.

  • May 15, 2025

    Toshiba Unit Can't Get Bench Trial In Hydro Plant Dispute

    A Toshiba subsidiary lost a bid to have a breach-of-contract case related to an upgrade of a Michigan hydroelectric power plant tried by a judge instead of a jury, the court rejecting an attempt to invoke a parent company's waiver of its right to a jury trial.

  • May 15, 2025

    Energy Dept. Expands Review Of $15B Worth Of Grants

    The U.S. Department of Energy said on Thursday that it's scrutinizing 179 grant awards worth $15 billion that it said were issued under the Biden administration.

  • May 15, 2025

    House Tax Bill's Foreign Rules May Finish Off Energy Perks

    House Republicans' mammoth tax bill proposes phasing out two popular clean electricity business tax credits, but additional restrictions on eligible development projects' foreign business ties could have the same effect as immediately repealing them.

  • May 15, 2025

    Battery Recycler Cites 'Green' Funding Uncertainties In Ch. 15

    Lithium battery recycler Li-Cycle asked a New York bankruptcy judge to recognize its Canadian insolvency, saying the current political climate has made investors wary of infusing money needed to tap a $475 million U.S. federal loan.

Expert Analysis

  • Opinion

    California Climate Lawsuit Bill Is Constitutionally Flawed

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    A bill in the California Legislature that would let victims of climate-related disasters like the Los Angeles wildfires sue oil and gas producers for spreading misinformation about climate change is too vague, retroactive and focused on one industry to survive constitutional scrutiny, says Kyla Christoffersen Powell at the Civil Justice Association of California.

  • How Law Firms Can Counteract The Loneliness Epidemic

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    The legal industry is facing an urgent epidemic of loneliness, affecting lawyer well-being, productivity, retention and profitability, and law firm leaders should take concrete steps to encourage the development of genuine workplace connections, says Michelle Gomez at Littler and Gwen Mellor Romans at Herald Talent.

  • 5 Keys To Building Stronger Attorney-Client Relationships

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    Attorneys are often focused on being seen as the expert, but bonding with clients and prospects by sharing a few key personal details provides the basis for a caring, trusted and profoundly deeper business relationship, says Deb Feder at Feder Development.

  • BlackRock Suit Highlights Antitrust Risks Of ESG

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    In Texas v. BlackRock, pending in Texas federal court, 13 state attorneys general are suing large institutional investors in the coal business, underscoring key reasons companies may want to alter their approach to developing and implementing policies related to environmental, social, and governance factors, especially if coordination with competitors is involved, say attorneys at Manatt.

  • Evidence Rule May Expand Use Of Out-Of-Court Statements

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    A proposed amendment to Federal Rule of Evidence 801(d)(1)(A) would broaden the definition of nonhearsay, reflects a more pragmatic approach to regulating the admissibility of out-of-court statements by declarant-witnesses, and could help level the playing field between prosecutors and criminal defendants, say attorneys at Hangley Aronchick.

  • How Courts Can Filter Nonmeritorious Claims In Mass Torts

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    Nonmeritorious claims have been a key obstacle to settlement in many recent high-profile mass torts, but courts may be able to use tools they already have to solve this problem, says Samir Parikh at Wake Forest University.

  • Series

    Racing Corvettes Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    The skills I use when racing Corvettes have enhanced my legal practice in several ways, because driving, like practicing law, requires precision, awareness and a good set of brakes — complete with the wisdom to know how and when to use them, says Kat Mateo at Olshan Frome.

  • Opinion

    Attorneys Must Act Now To Protect Judicial Independence

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    Given the Trump administration's recent moves threatening the independence of the judiciary, including efforts to impeach judges who ruled against executive actions, lawyers must protect the rule of law and resist attempts to dilute the judicial branch’s authority, says attorney Bhavleen Sabharwal.

  • The Math Of Cross-Examination: Less Is More, More Is Less

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    When conducting cross-examination at trial, attorneys should remember that “less is more, and more is less” — limiting both the scope of questioning and the length of each query in order to control the witness’s testimony and keep the factfinders’ attention, says Thomas Innes at the Defender Association of Philadelphia.

  • Rethinking 'No Comment' For Clients Facing Public Crises

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    “No comment” is no longer a cost-free or even a viable public communications strategy for companies in crisis, and counsel must tailor their guidance based on a variety of competing factors to help clients emerge successfully, says Robert Bowers at Moore & Van Allen.

  • Fund Names Rule FAQs Leave Some Interpretative Uncertainty

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    Although recently released FAQs clarify many specific points of the 2023 expansion to the Investment Company Act's fund names rule, important questions remain about how U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission staff will interpret other key terms when the end-of-year compliance date arrives, say attorneys at Dechert.

  • How Design Thinking Can Help Lawyers Find Purpose In Work

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    Lawyers everywhere are feeling overwhelmed amid mass government layoffs, increasing political instability and a justice system stretched to its limits — but a design-thinking framework can help attorneys navigate this uncertainty and find meaning in their work, say law professors at the University of Michigan.

  • Tools For Witness Control That Go Beyond Leading Questions

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    Though leading questions can be efficient and effective for constraining a witness’s testimony, this strategy isn’t appropriate for every trial and pretrial scenario, so techniques like headlining and looping can be deployed during direct examination, depositions and even witness interviews, says Allison Rocker at Baker McKenzie.

  • Opinion

    US Steel-Nippon Merger Should Not Have Been Blocked

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    The Biden administration's block of the U.S. Steel and Nippon Steel merger on national security grounds was unconstitutional overreach and needs to be overturned, with the harms remedied in federal court, says attorney Chuck Meyer. 

  • 10 Issues To Watch In Aerospace And Defense Contracting

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    This year, in addition to evergreen developments driven by national security priorities, disruptive new technologies and competition with rival powers, federal contractors will see significant disruptions driven by the new administration’s efforts to reduce government spending, regulation and the size of the federal workforce, say attorneys at Thompson Hine.

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