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Environmental

  • August 18, 2025

    Tribe, Groups Appeal Oak Flat Land Exchange To 9th Circ.

    The San Carlos Apache Tribe and environmental groups have filed a Ninth Circuit appeal looking to overturn an Arizona federal court judge's decision that denied their bid to block the transfer of 2,500 acres to a copper mining company that they say will crater an ancient Indigenous worship site.

  • August 18, 2025

    GrafTech Investors' Plant Contamination Suit Gets Tossed

    An Ohio federal judge threw out a shareholder lawsuit against GrafTech International Ltd. on Monday, ruling that allegations the company hid environmental contamination problems at a Mexican plant amounted to "fraud by hindsight."

  • August 18, 2025

    $28M ND Pipeline Protest Case Paused Amid Settlement Talks

    A federal district court and the Eighth Circuit have paused a $28 million dispute between North Dakota and the United States over failure to control Dakota Access Pipeline protesters after the parties said they were negotiating to settle the case.

  • August 18, 2025

    Judge Rejects Energy Co.'s Bid To Toss $200M Hemp Suit

    AES Clean Energy Development LLC's argument that it was not the party responsible for breaking irrigation lines leading to an alleged $200 million in damages to two hemp growers is a problem to still resolve in a lawsuit against the company, a Colorado federal judge found in denying a motion to dismiss on Monday.

  • August 18, 2025

    Vt. Says It Has The Authority To Enact Climate Superfund Law

    Vermont has urged a federal judge to dismiss lawsuits challenging its recently enacted climate change Superfund law, saying it's a valid exercise of the state's authority to raise revenue and protect its citizens against environmental harms.

  • August 18, 2025

    AmeriCorps Restores $400M In Slashed Grants, Judge Told

    AmeriCorps told a Maryland federal judge Monday that the agency restored around $400 million in funding to nonprofits canceled under the Trump administration in April, saying the government doesn't plan to ax grants before they end.

  • August 18, 2025

    Texas Specialty Recycling Facility Files For Ch. 11

    A Texas company that recycles chemicals used in petroleum refining has filed for Chapter 11 in Texas, blaming equipment failures and unstable prices for the metals it recovers and seeking a sale by October to deal more than $403 million in debt.

  • August 15, 2025

    18 AGs, Governors Sue To Block DOE Funding Cap

    A coalition of 19 states and Washington, D.C., on Friday hauled the U.S. Department of Energy into Oregon federal court, challenging a policy they say places a new cap on reimbursements for administrative and staffing costs, and thus slashes funds needed for state-run energy programs.

  • August 15, 2025

    DOJ Ramps Up Assault On Calif. Truck Emissions Standards

    The Trump administration increased its assault on California's stringent emissions standards for heavy-duty trucks, saying Friday that it has intervened in lawsuits to strike down the Golden State's attempts to still enforce its standards in defiance of federal law.

  • August 15, 2025

    Interior Dept.'s Clean Energy Rules Could Snag Grid Hookups

    Recent U.S. Department of the Interior moves to place additional regulatory and permitting burdens on renewable energy facilities may also cover projects those facilities need to get on the grid, the agency has told Law360.

  • August 15, 2025

    Texas AG Opens Investigation Into Xcel Over Panhandle Fires

    Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said he's investigating whether Xcel Energy and a contractor broke any laws in connection with devastating fires in the Texas Panhandle last year, questioning whether they put environmental or diversity goals ahead of safety.

  • August 15, 2025

    5th Circ. Backs San Antonio's Park Plan Over Tribal Protests

    The Fifth Circuit has upheld a lower court order saying a San Antonio park has legitimate public safety issues that allow the city to implement a tree removal plan and rookery management measures while also giving tribal members access to a disputed area for religious ceremonies.

  • August 15, 2025

    IRS Strips 5% Safe Harbor In Solar, Wind Tax Credit Guidance

    Large-scale clean energy projects seeking to claim solar and wind tax credits before they expire under a new accelerated sunset schedule can no longer rely on a safe harbor to incur 5% of the building costs to establish eligible construction start dates under Internal Revenue Service guidance released Friday.

  • August 15, 2025

    Monsanto Asks Pa. Justices To Toss $175M Roundup Verdict

    Bayer AG unit Monsanto has asked the Pennsylvania Supreme Court to undo a $175 million verdict awarded to a man in a Roundup weedkiller cancer lawsuit, arguing federal law preempts state failure-to-warn claims in products liability cases.

  • August 15, 2025

    US Eyeing Tariffs, Port Levies Over Shipping Emissions Plan

    The U.S. government is considering tariffs, visa restrictions or port levies — and potentially a combination of those measures — in response to an intergovernmental plan to push the global shipping industry toward achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions, a U.S. Department of State spokesperson told Law360.

  • August 15, 2025

    'Creative' $2.5B DuPont Deal In NJ Is PFAS Road Map For AGs

    After six years of litigation between New Jersey and E.I. du Pont de Nemours, including a series of bench trials, the chemical manufacturer agreed to a deal that committed more than $2 billion to cleaning up the Garden State from "forever chemical" contamination at four of its facilities, in the largest environmental settlement ever achieved by a single state.

  • August 15, 2025

    Canada Says US Treaty Bars Mich. Closure Of Pipeline

    The Canadian government told a federal judge that Michigan's push to close an Enbridge pipeline segment crossing the Great Lakes is not allowed under an international treaty between the U.S. and Canada, and threatens grave harm to a vital energy partnership.

  • August 14, 2025

    DC Judge Halts Some USDA Climate Grant Terminations

    A D.C. federal judge on Thursday halted the U.S. Department of Agriculture's termination of certain climate-focused grants awarded to five nonprofits, saying the terminations were likely arbitrary and capricious but stopping short of blocking the administration's broader grant termination policy.

  • August 14, 2025

    Red States Back Feds' Push To End Trump Energy Orders Suit

    Republican-led states on Thursday threw their support behind the federal government's bid to dismiss a lawsuit by youths alleging that President Donald Trump's energy policy directives harm their future by exacerbating climate change, saying there are no grounds to sustain the suit.

  • August 14, 2025

    5th Circ. Tosses Challenge To Texas Gas Terminal Permit

    The Fifth Circuit has dismissed an environmental group's petition challenging a permit issued by Texas regulators for a proposed liquefied natural gas terminal, finding that a previous permit for another project, which stipulated a lower emissions rate, has no bearing on the permit at issue here.

  • August 14, 2025

    Fla. Condo, Insurer Settle Hurricane Damage Coverage Suit

    An insurer and a Florida condominium association have settled a dispute over coverage for property damage caused by a September 2020 hurricane, according to a New York federal court filing.

  • August 14, 2025

    FCC Urged To Tackle Health, Enviro Impacts From Cellphones

    An environmental group called on the Federal Communications Commission to address what it sees as the agency's failure to meet a D.C. Circuit order from four years ago to back up the reasoning for its radiofrequency exposure limits.

  • August 14, 2025

    Shell Faces Retooled Clean Water Act Suit In Connecticut

    Conservation Law Foundation Inc. has retooled a Connecticut federal court lawsuit against Shell and several other petroleum companies that operate terminals in New Haven harbor on Long Island Sound, adding Connecticut Environmental Policy Act and Coastal Management Act claims to a Clean Water Act case filed in July 2021.

  • August 14, 2025

    US Says It Can't Be Sued Over NM Burns Linked To Wildfire

    The U.S. government is looking to dismiss a challenge to a prescribed burn plan that a tribe, electric cooperatives and several property owners claim led to the destruction of nearly 46,000 acres in New Mexico's Jemez Mountains, saying the decision is barred under the Federal Tort Claims Act.

  • August 14, 2025

    Rising Star: Troutman's Elizabeth Phillips Corey

    Elizabeth Phillips Corey's scientific aptitude, legal chops and client relations have made her an asset at Troutman Pepper Locke LLP, where she's helped save an oil field that was in danger of being shut down and worked with a company hoping to usher in new nanotechnology, earning her a spot among the environmental law practitioners under age 40 honored by Law360 as Rising Stars.

Expert Analysis

  • 3 Juror Psychology Principles For Expert Witness Testimony

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    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

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    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

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    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

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    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

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    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

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    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

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    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

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    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

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    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

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    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.

  • State Farm Rate Hike Portends Intensifying Insurance Crisis

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    The California Department of Insurance's unprecedented emergency approval of a 17% rate increase for State Farm General Insurance, the first interim rate relief granted before completing full actuarial justification, represents a regulatory watershed and establishes precedent that could fundamentally reshape insurers' response to climate-driven market instability, says Daniel Veroff at Merlin Law Group.

  • Texas Targets Del. Primacy With Trio Of New Corporate Laws

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    Delaware has long positioned itself as the leader in attracting business formation, but a flurry of new legislation in Texas aimed at attracting businesses to the Lone Star State is aggressively trying to change that, says Andrew Oringer at the Wagner Law Group.

  • How AI May Reshape The Future Of Adjudication

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    As discussed at a recent panel at Texas A&M, artificial intelligence will not erase the human element of adjudication in the next 10 to 20 years, but it will drive efficiencies that spur private arbiters to experiment, lead public courts to evolve and force attorneys to adapt, says Christopher Seck at Squire Patton.

  • When Legal Advocacy Crosses The Line Into Incivility

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    As judges issue sanctions for courtroom incivility, and state bars advance formal discipline rules, trial lawyers must understand that the difference between zealous advocacy and unprofessionalism is not just a matter of tone; it's a marker of skill, credibility and potentially disciplinary exposure, says Nate Sabri at Perkins Coie.

  • 3 Corporate Deposition Prep Tips To Counter 'Reptile' Tactics

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    With plaintiffs counsel’s rising use of reptile strategies that seek to activate jurors' survival instincts, corporate deponents face an increased risk of being lulled into providing testimony that undercuts a key defense or sets up the plaintiff's case strategy at trial, making it important to consider factors like cross-examination and timing, say attorneys at Dentons.

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