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Two Republican U.S. House members have asked the First Circuit to investigate a Rhode Island federal judge who blocked a Trump administration spending freeze, claiming the judge's link to a funding recipient constitutes a conflict of interest, one of those congressmen's office confirmed to Law360 Pulse on Wednesday.
Law360
Environmental
THURSDAY, JULY 3, 2025

TOP NEWS

GOP Reps. Want Probe Of RI Judge Blocking Funding Freeze

By Jack Karp

Two Republican U.S. House members have asked the First Circuit to investigate a Rhode Island federal judge who blocked a Trump administration spending freeze, claiming the judge's link to a funding recipient constitutes a conflict of interest, one of those congressmen's office confirmed to Law360 Pulse on Wednesday.

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Judge Backs Forest Service In Idaho Logging Project Dispute

By Juan-Carlos Rodriguez

An Idaho federal judge has tossed Rocky Mountain conservation advocates' lawsuit alleging the U.S. Forest Service failed to properly analyze impacts on animal species when it approved a logging and construction project in the Idaho panhandle.

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DC Circ. Stands By Decision Nixing $7B Power Line Fight

By Jared Foretek

The D.C. Circuit has rejected an en banc rehearing petition from Illinois landowners and farmers challenging the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's decision to issue a license for the $7 billion Grain Belt Express transmission project, affirming an appellate panel and a district court's findings that the plaintiffs lack standing.

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EQV Ventures' Upsized IPO Tops 4 Listings Totaling $830M

By Tom Zanki

Energy-focused special purpose acquisition company EQV Ventures Acquisition Corp. II began trading Wednesday after pricing an upsized $420 million initial public offering, in the largest of four SPAC IPOs totaling $830 million.

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SUPREME COURT

Feature

The Funniest Moments Of The Supreme Court's Term

By Jeff Overley

After justices and oral advocates spent much of an argument pummeling a lower court's writing talents, one attorney suggested it might be time to move on — only to be told the drubbing had barely begun. Here, Law360 showcases the standout jests and wisecracks from the 2024-25 U.S. Supreme Court term.

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POLICY & REGULATION

FCC Floats Pole Attachment Reform In 'Build' Agenda Kickoff

By Christopher Cole

Changes to utility pole attachment rules to expedite broadband deployment could be among the first actions under a much wider "Build America" agenda unveiled Wednesday by the Federal Communications Commission chief.

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FOSSIL FUELS

Demolition Contractor Sues Over Alleged Project Lockout

By Matthew Santoni

A contractor dismantling a former coal-fired power plant in western Pennsylvania is seeking a court order preventing its replacement from removing scrap material and equipment during a dispute with the developer who wants to turn the site into a data center.

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RENEWABLES

Solar Farm Halt Can't Rest On Federal Tax Credits, Judge Says

By Keith Goldberg

A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit seeking to block a NextEra Energy solar farm in Kansas, saying arguments that the project can't receive federal clean energy tax credits until it undergoes an environmental review aren't supported by law.

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Energy Firm Says Tribal Nonprofit Trade Secret Suit Too Vague

By Madeline Lyskawa

An energy infrastructure consulting firm called on an Oregon federal judge to throw out a Native American nonprofit's lawsuit alleging the firm's founder and tribal liaison misappropriated its trade secrets, saying the nonprofit has failed to identify the trade secrets with any particularity.

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EXPERT ANALYSIS

Despite Dark Clouds, Outlook For US Solar Has Bright Spots

While tariff, tax policy and bankruptcy news seemingly portends unending challenges for the U.S. solar energy industry, signs of continued growth in solar generating capacity and domestic solar manufacturing suggest that there is a path forward, say attorneys at Beveridge & Diamond.

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8 Ways Lawyers Can Protect The Rule Of Law In Their Work

Whether they are concerned with judicial independence, regulatory predictability or client confidence, lawyers can take specific meaningful actions on their own when traditional structures are too slow or too compromised to respond, says Angeli Patel at the Berkeley Center of Law and Business.

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LEGAL INDUSTRY

Legal Sector Jobs Continue To Climb, Nearing All-Time High

By Aebra Coe

The U.S. legal industry added 2,800 jobs in June, marking four months in a row of job growth in the sector, according to preliminary data released Thursday by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

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Analysis

Breaking Down The Vote: The High Court Term In Review

By Jack Karp

The U.S. Supreme Court once again waited until the term's closing weeks — and even hours — to issue some of its most anticipated and divided decisions.

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GC Cheat Sheet: The Hottest Corporate News Of The Week

By Michele Gorman

Target's board faces a shareholder derivative suit that accuses the retail giant of damaging the company by implementing an LGBTQ+ Pride-themed marketing campaign, despite knowing the risk of "public backlash." Meanwhile, SolarWinds and the SEC are close to resolving a novel case that alleges the software developer hid faulty cybersecurity practices before a major breach. These are some of the stories in corporate legal news you may have missed in the past week.

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Analysis

The Firms That Won Big At The Supreme Court

By Jack Karp

The number of law firms juggling three or more arguments before the U.S. Supreme Court this past term nearly doubled from the number of firms that could make that claim last term.

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Analysis

What Judges Might Ponder In Judicial Safety Law Challenge

By Carla Baranauckas

A Third Circuit panel set to examine the constitutionality of a judicial safety law born out of the murder of a New Jersey federal judge's son is tasked with what experts are viewing as a lesser-of-two-evils choice: chilling free speech or chilling public service.

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Ex-Treasury Official Joins Covington's Nat'l Security Practice

By Madeline Lyskawa

Covington & Burling LLP has boosted its national security practice with the hire of the former head of the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Terrorism and Financial Intelligence under former President Barack Obama's administration as of counsel.

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Law360's Legal Lions Of The Week

By Kevin Penton

The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty leads this week's edition of Law360 Legal Lions, after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that a Maryland school district burdened parents' religious rights when it declined to provide opt-outs from a policy that introduced LGBTQ-themed storybooks into its K-12 English curriculum.

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Spectrum, Border, Injunction Changes Included In Mega Bill

By Courtney Bublé

The House voted 218-214, almost along party lines, on Thursday on the reconciliation budget package, which includes a range of policy provisions on nationwide injunctions, spectrum and immigration and now goes to President Donald Trump's desk ahead of the decided Fourth of July deadline.

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Orrick Adds Nixon Peabody Public Finance Atty In LA

By James Mills

Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP is boosting its finance team, bringing in a Nixon Peabody LLP public finance pro as a partner in its Los Angeles office.

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Analysis

The Moments That Shaped The Universal Injunction Case

By Cara Bayles and Steven Trader

The U.S. Supreme Court voted along ideological lines when it hindered the ability of federal district court judges to issue nationwide pauses on presidential policies, but that outcome didn't seem like a foregone conclusion during oral arguments earlier this year. What do the colloquies suggest about the justices' thinking? Here are some moments that may have swayed them.

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BREAKING: Justices Extend Due Process Pause To South Sudan Removals

By Katie Buehler

The U.S. Supreme Court clarified Thursday that its recent order allowing the Trump administration to send noncitizens to countries they have no connection to with little notice or chance to object extends to a group of men the government plans to send to South Sudan.

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Analysis

Circuit-By-Circuit Recap: Justices Send Message To Outliers

By Jeff Overley

It was a tough term at the U.S. Supreme Court for two very different circuits — one solidly liberal, one solidly conservative — that had their rulings overturned in eye-popping numbers. But it was another impressive year for a relatively moderate circuit that appears increasingly simpatico with the high court.

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LAW FIRMS IN TODAY'S NEWS

AFN Law PLLC

Agnifilo Intrater

Arnold & Porter

Baker Botts

Ballard Spahr

Bartlit Beck

Beveridge & Diamond

Blank Rome

Boies Schiller

Brown Hay

Buchanan Ingersoll

Bucher Law PLLC

Bunsow De Mory

Byron Carlson

Clement & Murphy

Constangy Brooks

Covington & Burling

DLA Piper

Dechert LLP

Ellenoff Grossman

Eversheds Sutherland

Farnan LLP

Fisher Patterson

FisherBroyles

Galanda Broadman

Gibbons PC

Gibson Dunn

Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani

Graves Garrett

Greenberg Traurig

Greenspoon Marder

Gupta Wessler

Hart Wagner

Haun Mena

Hausfeld LLP

Hogan Lovells

Holland & Knight

Jones Day

King & Spalding

Kirkland & Ellis

Klein Thomas

Korein Tillery

Latham & Watkins

Law Offices of Paul G. Neilan

Lewis Brisbois

Loeb & Loeb

Lomurro Munson

Lowenstein Sandler

Manatt Phelps

Marcus & Shapira

McDermott Will & Emery

McElroy Deutsch

McManis Faulkner

Milbank LLP

Morgan & Morgan

Newman LLP

Nixon Peabody

Orrick Herrington

Paul Hastings

Pierson Ferdinand LLP

Quinn Emanuel

RKW LLC

Raj Ferber

Riker Danzig

Seyfarth Shaw

Shapiro Arato

Sheppard Mullin

Sidley Austin

Simon Paschal

Stinson LLP

Stoel Rives

Sullivan & Cromwell

Taylor Law Offices PC

Thompson Hine

Troutman

Venable LLP

Williams & Connolly

Willkie Farr

WilmerHale

Wood Smith

Wright Close & Barger

COMPANIES IN TODAY'S NEWS

American Bankers Association

Apple Inc.

Association of Corporate Counsel

BTIG LLC

CTIA

Cantor Fitzgerald LP

Competitive Carriers Association

Drummond

Equifax Inc.

Google LLC

Harvard University

Human Rights First

Illinois Farm Bureau

Institutional Shareholder Services Inc.

Invenergy LLC

LexisNexis Legal & Professional

LinkedIn Corp.

Major Lindsey & Africa LLC

Maples Group

Medtronic PLC

NVIDIA Corp.

NextEra Energy Inc.

NextEra Energy Resources LLC

Oracle Corp.

Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development

PacifiCorp

Planned Parenthood Federation

Pro Bono Institute

RELX PLC

Smith & Wesson Brands Inc.

SolarWinds Corp.

Stanford University

Sunnova Energy Corp.

Supervalu Inc.

The Wireless Infrastructure Association

ThinkEquity LLC

Thomson Reuters Corp.

TikTok Inc.

United States Telecom Association

University of California Davis

University of the Pacific

Valve Corp.

Werner Enterprises Inc.

GOVERNMENT AGENCIES IN TODAY'S NEWS

Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives

Bureau of Labor Statistics

Bureau of Land Management

California State Treasurer's Office

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Energy Information Administration

Executive Office of the President

Federal Communications Commission

Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

Federal Reserve System

Food and Drug Administration

Government of Mexico

Internal Revenue Service

International Trade Commission

New Jersey Legislature

Nuclear Regulatory Commission

Office of Foreign Assets Control

Office of the Comptroller of the Currency

Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals

Texas Supreme Court

U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit

U.S. Department of Commerce

U.S. Department of Defense

U.S. Department of Education

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

U.S. Department of Homeland Security

U.S. Department of Justice

U.S. Department of Labor

U.S. Department of State

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs

U.S. Department of the Treasury

U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia

U.S. District Court for the District of Idaho

U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon

U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

U.S. House of Representatives

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission

U.S. Senate

U.S. Supreme Court

U.S. Tax Court

US Office of Management and Budget

United States District Court for the District of Kansas