Try our Advanced Search for more refined results
Energy
-
August 26, 2024
Energy Cases To Watch In The 2nd Half Of 2024
Even after an action-packed first half of 2024, plenty of high-stakes energy litigation remains, including a new twist in the prolonged battle over climate change lawsuits against fossil fuel companies, as well as cases that could influence federal climate change policy. Here are several cases energy attorneys will be watching in the second half of the year.
-
August 23, 2024
The Biggest Energy Decisions In The First Half Of 2024
From a D.C. Circuit decision upholding California's ability to set its own greenhouse gas standards for vehicles to the U.S. Supreme Court's freeze of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's plan to reduce cross-state pollution, consequential decisions in the energy space ripped through the courts in the first half of 2024.
-
August 23, 2024
Cantor, Lutnick OK $12M Deal To End View Inc. Suit In Del.
Cantor Fitzgerald LP and its billionaire Chair and CEO Howard Lutnick on Thursday agreed to a $12 million settlement to resolve stockholder challenges to a special purpose acquisition company transaction that took window company View Inc. public, with a Delaware Court of Chancery hearing set for Dec. 6.
-
August 23, 2024
La. Judge Smashes EPA Civil Rights Regulations In State
A Louisiana federal judge has granted the state's request for a permanent injunction blocking the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency from enforcing civil rights regulations in the state that involve disparate impact components.
-
August 23, 2024
Public Needs Full Record In Pebble Mine Row, Alaska Argues
Alaska is fighting the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's push for a protective order for hundreds of publications and reports in the state's lawsuit challenging a Clean Water Act veto that essentially blocked development of the controversial Pebble Mine.
-
August 23, 2024
Canada Mining Biz Seeks US Listing Via $589M SPAC Merger
Canadian rare-earth miner Tactical Resources Corp. plans to go public in the U.S. by merging with special purpose acquisition company Plum Acquisition III Corp. at an estimated value of $589 million, both parties announced on Friday, through a deal guided by four law firms.
-
August 23, 2024
Creditors Can't Dig Up Eletson's Ch. 11 Plan Negotiation Info
Bankrupt Greek fuel shipping group Eletson doesn't have to turn over communications with a group of shareholders who are supporting its Chapter 11 plan, a New York bankruptcy judge ruled Friday, finding the common interest doctrine shielded their negotiation talks from the official committee of unsecured creditors' discovery request.
-
August 23, 2024
SPAC Investors Ask Full 9th Circ. To Rethink Lucid Merger
Investors have urged the full Ninth Circuit to rethink a panel's refusal to revive their proposed class action alleging that Lucid duped them into buying stock in a special purpose acquisition company ahead of the electric vehicle maker's $11.75 billion merger, arguing that the panel's holding misconstrues U.S. Supreme Court precedent, among other issues.
-
August 23, 2024
The Biggest Enviro Policy Moves Of 2024: Midyear Report
As the Biden administration hurtles toward the end of its term, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has been hustling important final rules out its doors, including regulations for power plant greenhouse gas emissions, chemicals and automobiles.
-
August 22, 2024
Calif. Justices Revive PwC's $2.5M Sanction Against LA
The California Supreme Court on Thursday unanimously restored a $2.5 million sanction sought by PwC against the city of Los Angeles for pervasive discovery misconduct in an underlying utility billing fight, finding that the trial court had the authority to impose monetary sanctions under the state's Code of Civil Procedure.
-
August 22, 2024
Texas Asks Justices To Uphold Bar On Nuclear Waste Site
The state of Texas called on the U.S. Supreme Court to reject the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission's attempt to upend a Fifth Circuit decision barring the agency from licensing a temporary nuclear waste storage facility in the state.
-
August 22, 2024
2 AGs Push Justices To Stay EPA Power Plant Emission Rule
Ohio and Kansas are urging the U.S. Supreme Court to pause a challenged U.S. Environmental Protection Agency rule that aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from power plants, arguing the unlawful rule forces plants to risk billions of dollars on unproven control technologies or shut down.
-
August 22, 2024
Local Property Tax Exemptions A Must For Solar, Va. AG Says
Localities are required under state statute to provide an exemption for the taxation of property used for solar photovoltaic systems, or systems that use solar panels to create energy, the Virginia attorney general said in an opinion.
-
August 22, 2024
Kenya's Justices May Ax Part Of Tax Act That Set Off Unrest
The Supreme Court of Kenya agreed to stay a lower court's ruling declaring unconstitutional the government's entire 2023 tax package, which sparked deadly nationwide protests, but it looks likely to scrap at least part of the law next month, attorneys told Law360 on Thursday.
-
August 22, 2024
California Fires Back At Red State Attacks On Climate Torts
California and a contingent of blue states told the U.S. Supreme Court that their climate change torts against fossil fuel companies are on solid legal ground and that an effort by Alabama and other red states to undercut them must be rejected.
-
August 22, 2024
Apache Carry Petition To High Court With A Prayer Journey
Members of an Apache nonprofit fighting to save an Indigenous worship site from destruction are making stops to visit other tribes throughout the country for prayers and support as they deliver a petition to the Supreme Court that seeks to undo a Ninth Circuit ruling and block a mining project.
-
August 22, 2024
King & Spalding Grows New York Real Estate Group
An attorney specializing in transactional work and fund formation moved his practice this week to King & Spalding LLP's New York office after four and a half years with Schulte Roth & Zabel LLP.
-
August 22, 2024
Fisher Phillips Brings Smith Gambrell Atty To DC Gov't Team
Fisher Phillips' new D.C.-based agriculture employment partner has practiced several types of law throughout his career, and told Law360 Pulse Thursday that his employment law career started unexpectedly after a managing partner at one of his first firms called out sick before an interview.
-
August 22, 2024
Sheppard Mullin's Latest Energy Duo Joins From Locke Lord
Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP is continuing to grow its talent in the energy space, announcing Wednesday that it has hired two Locke Lord LLP attorneys.
-
August 22, 2024
Ga. Mineral Co., Insurer Strike Deal In Talc Coverage Suit
Phoenix Insurance Co. reached a contingent settlement with a Georgia-based mineral products company in litigation seeking to force the insurer to defend the company against an underlying suit claiming it supplied asbestos-containing talc products.
-
August 22, 2024
Mining Firm USA Rare Earth Inks $870M SPAC Merger
Mining and magnet firm USA Rare Earth LLC, advised by King & Spalding LLP, on Thursday announced plans to go public at a pro forma enterprise value of $870 million by merging with White & Case LLP-led special purpose acquisition company Inflection Point Acquisition Corp. II.
-
August 22, 2024
Pa. Welders, Attys Get Final OK On $970K Drive Time Deal
A Pennsylvania state court gave final approval Thursday to a $970,000 settlement, including $355,000 in attorney fees, to resolve workers' claims that Great American Welding Co. owed them pay for the time they spent shuttling between satellite parking lots and Shell's petrochemical cracker plant in southwestern Pennsylvania.
-
August 21, 2024
Ex-Vitol Oil Trader Pleads Out To Texas FCPA Case In NY
A former Vitol oil trader on Wednesday admitted in New York federal court to charges brought in Texas accusing him of bribing Mexican officials to obtain business for the energy and commodities company, months after he was convicted in New York over similar conduct with Ecuadorian officials.
-
August 21, 2024
Signal Peak Can't Hasten DOI's Coal Mine Review, Judge Says
A D.C. federal judge ruled Wednesday that it would be premature to order federal regulators to speed up their environmental review of Signal Peak Energy LLC's planned expansion of a Montana coal mine, saying the federal government still has time to make good on its deadlines.
-
August 21, 2024
EPA Urges 8th Circ. Not To Delay Power Plant Effluent Rule
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and green groups on Tuesday asked the Eighth Circuit not to block the implementation of a rule that set new wastewater standards for coal-fired power plants, as utility companies, trade groups and nearly two dozen states that oppose the rule have urged.
Expert Analysis
-
Class Actions At The Circuit Courts: August Lessons
In this month's review of class action appeals, Mitchell Engel at Shook Hardy considers certification cases touching on classwide evidence of injury from debt collection practices, defining coupon settlements under the Class Action Fairness Act, proper approaches for evaluating attorney fee awards in class action settlements, and more.
-
Planning Law Firm Content Calendars: What, When, Where
During the slower month of August, law firms should begin working on their 2025 content calendars, planning out a content creation and distribution framework that aligns with the firm’s objectives and maintains audience engagement throughout the year, says Jessica Kaplan at Legally Penned.
-
Series
Playing Golf Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Golf can positively affect your personal and professional life well beyond the final putt, and it’s helped enrich my legal practice by improving my ability to build lasting relationships, study and apply the rules, face adversity with grace, and maintain my mental and physical well-being, says Adam Kelly at Venable.
-
Brownfield Questions Surround IRS Tax Credit Bonus
Though the IRS has published guidance regarding the Inflation Reduction Act's 10% adder for tax credits generated by renewable energy projects constructed on brownfield sites, considerable guesswork remains as potential implications seem contrary to IRS intentions, say Megan Caldwell and Jon Micah Goeller at Husch Blackwell.
-
Law Firms Should Move From Reactive To Proactive Marketing
Most law firm marketing and business development teams operate in silos, leading to an ad hoc, reactive approach, but shifting to a culture of proactive planning — beginning with comprehensive campaigns — can help firms effectively execute their broader business strategy, says Paul Manuele at PR Manuele Consulting.
-
Energy And AI: Key Issues And Future Challenges
Artificial intelligence promises new technical advantages for the energy industry, but it is also responsible for vast, and growing, energy consumption — so the future of AI and energy will require balancing technological advancement with regulatory oversight, environmental responsibility and infrastructure development, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.
-
Opinion
The Big Issues A BigLaw Associates' Union Could Address
A BigLaw associates’ union could address a number of issues that have the potential to meaningfully improve working conditions, diversity and attorney well-being — from restructured billable hour requirements to origination credit allocation, return-to-office mandates and more, says Tara Rhoades at The Sanity Plea.
-
Opinion
It's Time For A BigLaw Associates' Union
As BigLaw faces a steady stream of criticism about its employment policies and practices, an associates union could effect real change — and it could start with law students organizing around opposition to recent recruiting trends, says Tara Rhoades at The Sanity Plea.
-
How Justices Upended The Administrative Procedure Act
In its recent Loper Bright, Corner Post and Jarkesy decisions, the U.S. Supreme Court fundamentally changed the Administrative Procedure Act in ways that undermine Congress and the executive branch, shift power to the judiciary, curtail public and business input, and create great uncertainty, say Alene Taber and Beth Hummer at Hanson Bridgett.
-
Vendor Rights Lessons From 2 Chapter 11 Cases
A Texas federal court’s recent critical vendor order in the Zachry Holdings Chapter 11 filing, as well as a settlement between Rite Aid and McKesson in New Jersey federal court last year, shows why suppliers must object to critical vendor motions that do not recognize creditors' legal rights, says David Conaway at Shumaker.
-
2 Vital Trial Principles Endure Amid Tech Advances
Progress in trial technologies in the last 10 years has been transformative for courtroom presentations, but two core communication axioms are still relevant in today's world of drone footage evidence and 3D animations, say Adam Bloomberg and Lisa Walters at IMS Legal Strategies.
-
Mirror, Mirror On The Wall, Is My Counterclaim Bound To Fall?
A Pennsylvania federal court’s recent dismissal of the defendants’ counterclaims in Morgan v. Noss should remind attorneys to avoid the temptation to repackage a claim’s facts and law into a mirror-image counterclaim, as this approach will often result in a waste of time and resources, says Matthew Selmasska at Kaufman Dolowich.
-
Nuclear Power Can Help Industrial Plants Get To Net-Zero
In the race to fight climate change and achieve net-zero emissions, the industrial sector currently faces immense challenges — but the integration of nuclear energy is a promising solution, so companies should consider the financial and regulatory issues, opportunities, and risk-mitigating factors, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.
-
Series
Playing Dungeons & Dragons Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Playing Dungeons & Dragons – a tabletop role-playing game – helped pave the way for my legal career by providing me with foundational skills such as persuasion and team building, says Derrick Carman at Robins Kaplan.
-
3 Leadership Practices For A More Supportive Firm Culture
Traditional leadership styles frequently amplify the inherent pressures of legal work, but a few simple, time-neutral strategies can strengthen the skills and confidence of employees and foster a more collaborative culture, while supporting individual growth and contribution to organizational goals, says Benjamin Grimes at BKG Leadership.