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Environmental

  • May 27, 2025

    Ex-Solar CEO Can't Arbitrate Fraud Suit Now, Judge Says

    The former CEO of a defunct solar company and its financial backers waived their rights to force Michigan residents into arbitration by extensively litigating a proposed class action that accused them of deceptive sales practices and racketeering, a federal judge ruled.

  • May 27, 2025

    LA County, Pasadena Shirking Eaton Fire Inspections, Suits Say

    Two groups of California renters took to state court to sue Los Angeles County and the city of Pasadena for failing to properly inspect their homes after the Eaton Fire and for not making property owners decontaminate them.

  • May 27, 2025

    Feds Can't Turn Off NY Funding In Congestion Pricing Fight

    A Manhattan federal judge on Tuesday temporarily blocked as "arbitrary and capricious" a Trump administration threat to withhold federal transportation funds from New York as part of a White House effort to undo New York City's congestion pricing program.

  • May 27, 2025

    High Court Won't Hear Apache's Bid To Undo Mining Decision

    The U.S. Supreme Court will not take up a challenge by an Apache nonprofit that seeks to undo the federal government's transfer of nearly 2,500 acres of land to an Arizona copper mining company, a decision that could ultimately decide the fate of a centuries-old Indigenous worship site.

  • May 23, 2025

    Law360 Reveals Titans Of The Plaintiffs Bar

    This past year, a handful of attorneys secured billions of dollars in settlements and judgments for both classes and individual plaintiffs against massive companies and organizations like Facebook, Dell, the National Association of Realtors, Johnson & Johnson, UFC and Credit Suisse, earning them recognition as Law360's Titans of the Plaintiffs Bar for 2025.

  • May 23, 2025

    Trump Says 'It's Time For Nuclear' And Orders New Reactors

    President Donald Trump said Friday that he wants to revive the nation's nuclear power industry to serve defense and artificial intelligence needs, and ordered the U.S. Department of Energy to "eliminate or expedite" environmental reviews so new reactors can come online more quickly.

  • May 23, 2025

    Nonprofit Orgs. Want In On States' Wash. EV Funding Fight

    A group of environmental, energy and consumer interest organizations are asking a Seattle federal judge to let them enter a lawsuit that 16 states and the District of Columbia brought seeking continued funding for new electric vehicle infrastructure so they can protect their interests in the suspended federal program without having to file a separate suit.

  • May 23, 2025

    Judge Extends Block On Trump's Government Layoffs

    A California federal judge has extended her block of President Donald Trump's executive order directing layoffs at federal agencies, saying a coalition of unions, nonprofits and cities has shown it is likely to succeed in showing the order exceeded the president's authority.

  • May 23, 2025

    Groups Look To Block Trump's Monument Fishing Order

    Three conservation groups are challenging a Trump administration proclamation that will open up a 400,000-square-mile Hawaiian national marine monument to commercial fishing, saying the president exceeded his Antiquities Act and constitutional authority in doing so.

  • 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.

Expert Analysis

  • The Risks Of Trump's Plan To Fast-Track Deregulation

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    A recent memorandum issued by President Donald Trump directing the repeal of so-called unlawful regulations, and instructing that agencies invoke the good cause exception under the Administrative Procedure Act, signals a potentially far-reaching deregulatory strategy under the guise of legal compliance, say attorneys at GableGotwals.

  • Deregulation Memo Presents Risks, Opportunities For Cos.

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    A recent Trump administration memo providing direction to agencies tasked with rescinding regulations under an earlier executive order — without undergoing the typical notice-and-review process — will likely create much uncertainty for businesses, though they may be able to engage with agencies to shape the regulatory agenda, say attorneys at Blank Rome.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: Mastering Discovery

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    The discovery process and the rules that govern it are often absent from law school curricula, but developing a solid grasp of the particulars can give any new attorney a leg up in their practice, says Jordan Davies at Knowles Gallant.

  • What New Study Means For Recycling Compliance In Calif.

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    Companies must review the California recycling agency's new study to understand its criteria for assessing claims of product and packaging recyclability under a law that takes effect next year, and then decide whether the risks of making such claims in the state outweigh the benefits, say attorneys at Keller & Heckman.

  • Opinion

    Proposals Against Phillips 66 Threaten Corporate Law

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    Activist investor Elliott Investment Management's latest attempted tactic — initiating a high-stakes proxy contest against Phillips 66 — goes too far and would cause the company to both violate Delaware law and avoid the legal exception to the shareholder proposal process, says J.W. Verret at George Mason University.

  • Balancing Deep-Sea Mining Executive Order, Int'l Agreements

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    President Donald Trump's recent executive order directing exploration and exploitation of deep-sea mineral resources appears to conflict with the evolving international framework regulating such activities, so companies and investors should proceed with care and keep possible future legal challenges in mind, say attorneys at Dentons.

  • Mitigating Import Risks Around Southeast Asian Solar Cells

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    The U.S. Department of Commerce's recent final determinations in its antidumping and countervailing duty investigations into solar cells produced in certain Southeast Asian countries make it important for U.S. purchasers to consider risk mitigation strategies, including modifying supply chains and contractually assigning import responsibilities, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • Arbitral Ruling In EU Fisheries Clash Clarifies Post-Brexit Pact

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    The Permanent Court of Arbitration's recent ruling marks a pivotal moment in the evolving jurisprudence surrounding the Trade and Cooperation Agreement, concluded between the U.K. and the EU after Brexit, and sets an important precedent for interpretation and enforcement of trade and environment clauses in cross-border disputes, says Josep Galvez at 4-5 Gray's Inn.

  • Series

    Playing Guitar Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Being a lawyer not only requires logic and hard work, but also belief, emotion, situational awareness and lots of natural energy — playing guitar enhances all of these qualities, increasing my capacity to do my best work, says Kosta Stojilkovic at Wilkinson Stekloff.

  • Crisis Management Lessons From The Parenting Playbook

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    The parenting skills we use to help our kids through challenges — like rehearsing for stressful situations, modeling confidence and taking time to reset our emotions — can also teach us the fundamentals of leading clients through a corporate crisis, say Deborah Solmor at the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation and Cara Peterman at Alston & Bird.

  • 4 Ways To Leverage A Jury's Underdog Perceptions

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    Counsel should consider how common factors that speak to their client's size, power, past challenges and alignment with jurors can be presented to try and paint their client as a sympathetic underdog, says Ken Broda-Bahm at Persuasion Strategies.

  • Why Hiring Former Jurors As Consultants Can Be Risky

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    The defense team's decision to hire former juror Victoria George in the high-profile retrial of Karen Read shines a spotlight on this controversial strategy, which raises important legal, ethical and tactical questions despite not being explicitly prohibited, says Nikoleta Despodova at ND Litigation.

  • What To Watch For As High Court Mulls NRC's Powers

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    If successful, Texas’ challenges to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s authority — recently heard by the U.S. Supreme Court and currently pending before a Texas federal court — may have serious adverse consequences for aspiring NRC licensees, including potential nuclear power plant operators, say attorneys at Haynes Boone.

  • Series

    Adapting To Private Practice: From NY Fed To BigLaw

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    While the move to private practice brings a learning curve, it also brings chances to learn new skills and grow your network, requiring a clear understanding of how your skills can complement and contribute to a firm's existing practice, and where you can add new value, says Meghann Donahue at Covington.

  • Cos. Face Enviro Justice Tug-Of-War Between States, Feds

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    The second Trump administration's sweeping elimination of environmental justice policies, programs and funding, and targeting of state-level EJ initiatives, creates difficult questions for companies on how best to avoid friction with federal policy, navigate state compliance obligations and maintain important stakeholder relationships with communities, say attorneys at Arnold & Porter.

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