Try our Advanced Search for more refined results
Environmental
-
September 03, 2025
4th Circ. Says Md. Immunity Doesn't Apply In Tugboat Case
The Fourth Circuit said Wednesday that a tugboat owner's petition seeking to limit its liability over a 2015 accident involving Maryland's Nanticoke River Memorial Bridge does not infringe on the state's sovereign immunity, so it can proceed in the district court.
-
September 03, 2025
Feds Seek $140M Fine For Mich. Energy Co. Over Air Pollution
The federal government on Tuesday advocated for $140 million in penalties for a Michigan energy company the government alleges shares responsibility for air pollution resulting from coke production, while the energy company maintained it tried to comply with the state-issued permit, in briefs filed this week ahead of a bench trial later this month.
-
September 03, 2025
9th Circ. Saves Tribes' Cultural Superfund Claims Against Teck
The Ninth Circuit on Wednesday revived the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation's natural resource damages claims against Teck Cominco Metals Ltd. for the company's alleged pollution of the Columbia River.
-
September 03, 2025
Wash. Court Pressed To Immediately End EV Funding Freeze
Clean energy advocates have urged a Washington federal judge to wipe out the Trump administration's decision to freeze funding for new electric-vehicle charging infrastructure, saying the government can't be allowed to drag its feet on a pledge to restore funding.
-
September 03, 2025
EPA Withdraws Slaughterhouse Water Pollution Rule
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Wednesday withdrew a Biden-era proposal that would have imposed stricter water discharge regulations on meat and poultry slaughtering, processing and rendering facilities across the country.
-
September 03, 2025
Calif. Senate Panel OKs Property Tax Break For Tribes
Native American tribes in California would be eligible for open space exemptions to property taxes under legislation approved by a state Senate panel that's heading for a final vote.
-
September 02, 2025
DC Circ. Says EPA Can Freeze Climate Grant Funds
A D.C. Circuit panel vacated an injunction on Tuesday ordering Citibank to relinquish grant funding frozen by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, finding green groups are not likely to succeed on the merits of their "essentially contractual" claims.
-
September 02, 2025
Two Unions Fight Trump Order Ending Labor Rights
Unions representing thousands of employees of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and the National Weather Service challenged in a lawsuit Tuesday in D.C. federal court an executive order by President Donald Trump ending their collective bargaining agreements.Â
-
September 02, 2025
11th Circ. Affirms Slashing Ex-Braves' $47M Easement Break
A $47 million conservation easement deduction for a partnership founded by two former Atlanta Braves players was overvalued, the Eleventh Circuit affirmed Tuesday, saying none of the partnership's arguments undermined the U.S. Tax Court's finding that the easement property was worth far less than it claimed.
-
September 02, 2025
Dow Faces Investor Suit Over Tariff-Related Disclosures
Raw materials supplier Dow Chemical Co. has been hit with a proposed shareholder class action alleging its decision to reduce shareholder payouts earlier this year contradicted its earlier claims of its ability to withstand economic uncertainty, including tariffs.
-
September 02, 2025
Judge Dumps Challenge To Portland Fuel Terminal Ban
An Oregon federal judge on Tuesday tossed a lawsuit challenging a ban on new oil and gas terminals in Portland, Oregon, agreeing that the state of Montana and fuel industry groups failed to show that the ordinance is unconstitutional.
-
September 02, 2025
FERC Faces 4th Circ. Heat Over Grid Policy Revamp
A coalition of utilities and Republican-led states have told the Fourth Circuit that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's recent overhaul of its regional transmission policy exceeds its authority, while consumer and clean energy advocates said that the agency didn't go far enough.
-
September 02, 2025
Md. Says Liability Shield Doesn't Apply To Dali Ship Manager
The state of Maryland, injured plaintiffs and other claimants have told a federal judge that the manager of the container ship that slammed into Baltimore's Francis Scott Key Bridge last year cannot invoke a nearly two centuries old maritime law to limit its liability for the wreck.
-
September 02, 2025
Plains Takes Majority Stake In EPIC Crude In $1.57B Deal
Plains All American Pipeline said Tuesday that a subsidiary has agreed to acquire a 55% non-operated stake in EPIC Crude Holdings LP, owner of the EPIC Crude Oil Pipeline, from subsidiaries of Diamondback Energy and Kinetik Holdings in a deal valued at about $1.57 billion, including roughly $600 million of debt.
-
September 02, 2025
Texas Mall Settles $7.3M Hailstorm Coverage Dispute
A Texas shopping center owner told a federal court Tuesday that it has "amicably" settled its dispute with insurers for roughly $7.3 million in hail damage it incurred, roughly three months after it took them to court.
-
September 02, 2025
Colorado Pipeline Co. Challenges $314M Property Valuation
Colorado assets of a petroleum pipeline company were wrongly valued by the state for property tax purposes at $314 million, the company said, challenging its valuation for at least the third straight year.
-
August 29, 2025
Nuke Plant Restarts: Chances Exist, But Challenges Await
Growing U.S. electricity demand has sparked moves to restart shuttered nuclear power plants in order to help feed that appetite for power, but the recommissioning process is far from simple. Here, attorneys who work on nuclear matters outline to Law360 several considerations that go into bringing a plant out of mothballs.
-
August 29, 2025
Amazon Can't Scrap Toilet Paper Suit, Consumers Say
Plaintiffs suing Amazon in a proposed class action that accuses the retail juggernaut of lying to consumers about the environmental impacts of its toilet paper and other paper products said the company's effort to hide behind third-party forestry certifications doesn't justify the suit's dismissal.
-
August 29, 2025
Real Estate Recap: School Housing, Texas Land, Miami Transit
Momentum in the student housing sector, limits to foreign ownership of Texas land and incentives in Miami transit zones were among the key developments covered this week in Law360 Real Estate Authority.
-
August 29, 2025
DC Circ. Backs Biden Gulf Drilling Plan Amid Trump Revamp
The D.C. Circuit rejected environmental groups' bid to scale back the U.S. Department of the Interior's 2024-2029 offshore oil and gas leasing program, finding the plan satisfied all legal requirements.
-
August 29, 2025
Norwegian Shipping Co. Pleads Guilty To Pollution Charge
Shipping company V.Ships Norway admitted to illegally dumping oil-contaminated waste in the Atlantic Ocean and was sentenced to pay a $2 million fine, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
-
August 29, 2025
Trump Admin Yanks $679M In Offshore Wind Projects
The U.S. Department of Transportation announced Friday that it is canceling $679 million in federal funding for a dozen offshore wind projects, the latest salvo in the Trump administration's attack on wind power.Â
-
August 29, 2025
Hurricane Maria Fraud Suit Against Adjuster Thrown Out
A Puerto Rico federal court tossed an insurer's lawsuit against a public adjuster alleging it inflated its calculation of damage that a Puerto Rico town suffered from Hurricane Maria in 2017, finding the lawsuit amounts to "overly broad claims of dissatisfaction with the opposing party's conduct during the insurance claim process."
-
August 29, 2025
NLRB Atty Joins Blank Rome's Labor Group In Philadelphia
An attorney who spent the first 15 years of his legal career working with National Labor Relations Board has recently moved into private practice and joined Blank Rome LLP's growing labor team.
-
August 29, 2025
States Say White House Caved In AmeriCorps Cut Fight
A coalition consisting of Maryland, two dozen other states and D.C. that is challenging the Trump administration's attempts to slash AmeriCorps programs and withhold funds announced Friday the White House has chosen to release nearly $185 million as it faced "a blistering legal defeat."
Expert Analysis
-
Justices' NRC Ruling Raises New Regulatory Questions
In Nuclear Regulatory Commission v. Texas, the U.S. Supreme Court avoided ruling on the NRC's authority to license private, temporary nuclear waste storage facilities — and this failure to reach the merits question creates new regulatory uncertainty where none had existed for decades, say attorneys at Holland & Knight.
-
3 Judicial Approaches To Applying Loper Bright, 1 Year Later
In the year since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Chevron deference in its Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo decision, a few patterns have emerged in lower courts’ application of the precedent to determine whether agency actions are lawful, say attorneys at Husch Blackwell.
-
Bill Leaves Renewable Cos. In Dark On Farmland Reporting
A U.S. Senate bill to update disclosure requirements for foreign control of U.S. farmland does not provide much-needed guidance on how to report renewable energy development on agricultural property, leaving significant compliance risks for project developers, say attorneys at Hodgson Russ.
-
Series
Adapting To Private Practice: From US Rep. To Boutique Firm
My transition from serving as a member of Congress to becoming a partner at a boutique firm has been remarkably smooth, in part because I never stopped exercising my legal muscles, maintained relationships with my former colleagues and set the right tone at the outset, says Mondaire Jones at Friedman Kaplan.
-
Opinion
Senate's 41% Litigation Finance Tax Would Hurt Legal System
The Senate’s latest version of the Big Beautiful Bill Act would impose a 41% tax on the litigation finance industry, but the tax is totally disconnected from the concerns it purports to address, and it would set the country back to a time when small plaintiffs had little recourse against big defendants, says Anthony Sebok at Cardozo School of Law.
-
3 Juror Psychology Principles For Expert Witness Testimony
Expert witnesses can sometimes fall into traps when trying to teach juries complex topics by failing to consider the psychology of juror comprehension, but attorneys can help witnesses avoid these pitfalls with a deeper understanding of cognitive lag, chunking and learning styles, says Steve Wood at Courtroom Sciences.
-
In NRC Ruling, Justices Affirm Hearing Process Still Matters
The U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Nuclear Regulatory Commission v. Texas safeguards the fairness, clarity and predictability of the regulatory system by affirming that to challenge an agency's decision in court, litigants must first meaningfully participate in the hearing process that Congress and the agency have established, says Jonathan Rund at the Nuclear Energy Institute.
-
Series
Performing As A Clown Makes Me A Better Lawyer
To say that being a clown in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade has changed my legal career would truly be an understatement — by creating an opening to converse on a unique topic, it has allowed me to connect with clients, counsel and even judges on a deeper level, says Charles Tatelbaum at Tripp Scott.
-
How Energy Cos. Can Prepare For Potential Tax Credit Cuts
The Senate Finance Committee's version of the One Big Beautiful Bill act would create a steep phaseout of renewable energy tax credits, which should prompt companies to take several actions, including conduct a project review to discern which could begin construction before the end of the year, say attorneys at Husch Blackwell.
-
Series
Law School's Missed Lessons: Rejecting Biz Dev Myths
Law schools don’t spend sufficient time dispelling certain myths that prevent young lawyers from exploring new business opportunities, but by dismissing these misguided beliefs, even an introverted first-year associate with a small network of contacts can find long-term success, says Ronald Levine at Herrick Feinstein.
-
Move Beyond Surface-Level Edits To Master Legal Writing
Recent instances in which attorneys filed briefs containing artificial intelligence hallucinations offer a stark reminder that effective revision isn’t just about superficial details like grammar — it requires attorneys to critically engage with their writing and analyze their rhetorical choices, says Ivy Grey at WordRake.
-
9th Circ. Has Muddied Waters Of Article III Pleading Standard
District courts in the Ninth Circuit continue to apply a defunct and especially forgiving pleading standard to questions of Article III standing, and the circuit court itself has only perpetuated this confusion — making it an attractive forum for disputes that have no rightful place in federal court, say attorneys at Gibson Dunn.
-
Future Of Enviro Crimes Under Trump's Federal Regs Order
President Donald Trump's recent executive order about fighting overcriminalization in federal regulations creates new advocacy opportunities for defense counsel to argue that particular environmental crime investigations and matters ought to be limited or declined based on the policy priorities reflected in the order, say attorneys at Sidley.
-
Series
Competing In Modern Pentathlon Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Opening myself up to new experiences through competing in modern Olympic pentathlon has shrunk the appearance of my daily work annoyances and helps me improve my patience, manage crises better and remember that acquiring new skills requires working through your early mistakes, says attorney Mary Zoldak.
-
Series
Law School's Missed Lessons: Teaching Yourself Legal Tech
New graduates often enter practice unfamiliar with even basic professional software, but budding lawyers can use on-the-job opportunities to both catch up on technological skills and explore the advanced legal and artificial intelligence tools that will open doors, says Alyssa Sones at Sheppard Mullin.