Try our Advanced Search for more refined results
Environmental
-
January 20, 2025
Trump Announces 2nd Exit From Paris Climate Agreement
President Donald Trump announced upon being sworn in Monday that for a second time, he will pull the United States out of the Paris climate accord.
-
January 17, 2025
Red States Challenge DOE Rule On Gas Heater Efficiency
Several red states and industry groups are challenging the Biden administration in its waning days over a final rule the U.S. Department of Energy has issued on making certain natural gas water heaters more energy efficient, asking the Eleventh Circuit to toss the rule in a petition for review filed Friday.
-
January 17, 2025
NHTSA Defends Fuel-Economy Regulations In 6th Circ.
The U.S. Department of Transportation told the Sixth Circuit on Friday that its new fuel-economy standards are technologically feasible and properly account for a variety of alternative-fuel vehicles, rejecting claims from Republican-led states and fuel industry groups that the stringent standards amount to an unlawful electric vehicles mandate.
-
January 17, 2025
9th Circ. Backs Vacating Some Trump-Era Oil And Gas Leases
A split Ninth Circuit ruled Friday that an Idaho federal court, but not a Montana federal court, abused its discretion in striking down oil and gas leases sold during the Trump administration, but halted "surface-disturbing activity" while the federal government reconsiders the leasing decisions.
-
January 17, 2025
NM Justices Reject Utility Challenges To Solar Rule
New Mexico's top court issued a slip opinion explaining its decision to back a community solar rule enacted by state regulators and to reject arguments by an Xcel Energy unit and other utilities claiming the rule ran afoul of a Community Solar Act passed by lawmakers.
-
January 17, 2025
Red States And Oil Groups Attack Biden's Coastal Drilling Ban
Louisiana-led states and fossil fuel groups are asking a federal judge in the Pelican State to scrap a pair of Biden administration memos that recently banned new oil and gas leasing across more than 625 million acres of federal waters.
-
January 17, 2025
DC Circ. Seems Of Split Mind On EPA Air Compliance Suit
The D.C. Circuit seemed split Friday on what to do about a Republican state-led appeal accusing the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency of stepping on their toes when issuing a rule that changed the deadline for submitting Clean Air Act compliance plans for power plants.
-
January 17, 2025
Green Groups Defend EPA's Drinking Water PFAS Rule
Green groups on Friday asked the D.C. Circuit to uphold the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's rule setting the first-ever limits for forever chemicals in the nation's drinking water, which is being challenged by water utility associations and chemical industry players.
-
January 17, 2025
Texas-Led States Join Challenge To EPA Methane Tax
A coalition of Texas-led states has joined a slew of industry groups challenging a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency rule that imposes fees oil and gas companies must pay if their methane emissions exceed certain thresholds.
-
January 17, 2025
Tennessee, BlackRock Settle Suit Over ESG Goals
Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti announced Friday that his office has dismissed its lawsuit accusing BlackRock of misleading customers about its environmental, social and corporate governance investment strategies, with the asset manager committing to certain transparency and compliance measures.
-
January 17, 2025
Muscogee Look To Renew Alabama Burial Grounds Dispute
The Muscogee (Creek) Nation is asking a federal district court for permission to file a new complaint in a dispute over a sacred Alabama burial ground site after the Eleventh Circuit last year allowed the tribe to reinstate its allegations.
-
January 17, 2025
P&G Accused Of 'Greenwashing' And Making 'Frankenforests'
Procter & Gamble is greenwashing its Charmin toilet paper by misleading consumers into believing it is ethically sourced and that the multinational consumer goods company is following through with sustainable reforestation promises, a 48-count proposed class action alleges.
-
January 17, 2025
Sidley-Led Hennessy Capital's 7th SPAC Raises $175M
Blank-check company Hennessy Capital Investment Corp. VII began trading publicly on Friday after raising $175 million in its initial public offering, which will be used to merge with a company in the industrial technology or energy transition sectors.
-
January 17, 2025
GOP Reps. Look To End President's National Monument Power
Two Republican members of Congress have launched a bill seeking to strip the president's power to declare national monuments, saying the Antiquities Act of 1906 is in dire need of reform that would hand over that authority to Congress.
-
January 17, 2025
Fla. HOA Says Insurer Failed To Pay Or Appraise $9.5M Claim
A Sunshine State condo association told a Florida federal court Friday that its insurer failed to pay its $9.5 million claim for damages sustained as a result of Hurricane Ian, alleging the insurer didn't meet its policy's terms regarding assigning an appraiser.
-
January 17, 2025
Feds Urge 9th Circ. To Restore Threatened Seals' Habitat
The federal government has asked the Ninth Circuit to overturn an Alaska federal district court judge who vacated the National Marine Fisheries Service's designation of critical habitat for Pacific bearded seals and Arctic ringed seals.
-
January 17, 2025
DC Circ. Sends LNG-By-Rail Rule Back To Drawing Board
The D.C. Circuit on Friday wiped out a Trump-era rule allowing liquefied natural gas to be transported by rail and said any replacement rule must contain an extensive environmental review given the catastrophic risks of an accident or spill.
-
January 17, 2025
Mich. Local Power Rule Needs Stricter Scrutiny, 6th Circ. Says
A split Sixth Circuit panel said a requirement for Michigan electricity suppliers to source some of their power locally may be unconstitutional and must be reviewed again by a lower court because it disadvantages out-of-state energy producers.
-
January 17, 2025
Property Owner Says Nationwide Lowballed On $3.8M Losses
A Georgia property owner accused its insurer, a Nationwide unit, of "grossly underestimating" damages from separate hail and water events, alleging it was offered a combined total of less than $8,000 for losses exceeding $3.8 million, in a case removed to Georgia federal court.
-
January 17, 2025
PE-Backed M&A Values, Megadeals Surged In 2024
Private equity-backed merger and acquisition values jumped nearly 25% year-over-year in 2024, while PE-backed megadeals valued above $5 billion more than doubled, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence.
-
January 17, 2025
Co. Suggests 4 Chemicals For Taxable Substances List
The Internal Revenue Service is seeking comments on proposals from Occidental Chemical Corp. to add four chemicals to the Internal Revenue Code's list of taxable substances, the agency said Friday.
-
January 16, 2025
US Could Soon Find Itself On Wrong End Of Energy Disputes
America's energy landscape has been marked in recent years by the Biden administration's enthusiastic support of renewable energy projects, but international disputes experts are predicting that the incoming Trump administration's promise to derail such projects could land the U.S. in legal hot water.
-
January 16, 2025
Trump's DOT Pick Says Air Safety, New Tech Big Priorities
President-elect Donald Trump's would-be transportation secretary pledged to oversee a leaner and more efficient U.S. Department of Transportation focused on expediting project permitting, prioritizing mega infrastructure projects, and ensuring that Boeing and aviation safety gets "back on track."
-
January 16, 2025
3M Hit With PFAS Suit Over Wash. Resident's Cancer Diagnosis
A woman who lives near the Spokane International Airport filed suit Thursday against 3M, DuPont and various other companies over alleged "forever chemical" contamination of her drinking water, claiming her adult son has developed cancer after decades of exposure.
-
January 16, 2025
Mining Co. Can Intervene In Nevada Lithium Project Suit
A Nevada federal judge is allowing the owner and developer behind the Rhyolite Ridge Lithium-Boron Mine to intervene in a dispute over the U.S. Department of the Interior's authorization of the project, saying the company satisfies all intervention requirements.
Expert Analysis
-
Final Hydrogen Tax Credit Regs Add Flexibility For Producers
The recently released final regulations implementing the Inflation Reduction Act's clean hydrogen production tax credit offer taxpayers greater flexibility, reducing risk and creating more certainty for investments in the industry, thus diminishing — but not eliminating — the risk of legal challenges to the regulations, say attorneys at Steptoe.
-
How Decline Of Deference Will Affect Trump Policymaking
An administrative law regime without Chevron deference may limit the Trump administration’s ability to implement new policies in the short term, but ultimately help it in the long term, and all parties with an interest in regulatory changes will have to take a fresh approach to litigation, say attorneys at Covington.
-
Anticipating The Maritime Sector's Future Under Trump 2.0
With the Republicans taking control of a governance trifecta, the maritime sector should brace for both familiar leadership and new change that could significantly shift shipping and defense priorities, say attorneys at Holland & Knight.
-
Defense Strategies For Addressing Conspiracy-Minded Jurors
As conspiracy theories continue to proliferate and gain traction in the U.S., defense attorneys will need to consider ways to keep conspiracy-minded jurors from sitting on the jury, and to persuade them when this isn’t possible, say consultants at IMS Legal Strategies.
-
7 Ways 2nd Trump Administration May Affect Partner Hiring
President-elect Donald Trump's return to the White House will likely have a number of downstream effects on partner hiring in the legal industry, from accelerated hiring timelines to increased vetting of prospective employees, say recruiters at Macrae.
-
E-Discovery Quarterly: Rulings On Custodian Selection
Several recent rulings make clear that the proportionality of additional proposed custodians will depend on whether the custodians have unique relevant documents, and producing parties should consider whether information already in the record will show that they have relevant documents that otherwise might not be produced, say attorneys at Sidley.
-
Impact Of Successful Challenges To SEC's Rulemaking Ability
In 2024, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission faced significant legal challenges to its aggressive rulemaking agenda as several of its rules were vacated by the Fifth Circuit, which could hinder the SEC's ability to enact rules extending beyond express statutory authority in the future, say attorneys at Debevoise.
-
Justices Seem Focused On NEPA's Limits In Utah Rail Case
After last month's oral argument at the U.S. Supreme Court in Seven County Infrastructure Coalition v. Eagle County, Colorado, the court appears poised to forcefully reiterate that the National Environmental Policy Act requires federal agencies to review only those environmental impacts within their control, say attorneys at Perkins Coie.
-
How Trial Attys Can Wield Amended Federal Evidence Rules
Trial lawyers should assess recent amendments to four Federal Rules of Evidence and a newly enacted rule on illustrative aids to determine how to best use the rules to enhance pretrial discovery and trial strategy, says Stewart Edelstein, former litigation chair at Cohen & Wolf.
-
Series
Exercising On My Peloton Bike Makes Me A Better Lawyer
While I originally came to the Peloton bike for exercise, one cycling instructor’s teachings have come to serve as a road map for practicing law thoughtfully and mindfully, which has opened opportunities for growth and change in my career, says Andrea Kirshenbaum at Littler.
-
Top 10 Legal Issues This Year For Transportation Industry GCs
General counsel must carefully consider numerous legal and policy challenges facing the automotive and transportation industry in the year to come, especially while navigating new technologies, regulations and global markets, says Francesco Liberatore at Squire Patton.
-
Exploring Venue Strategy For Trump-Era Regulatory Litigation
Litigation will likely play a prominent role in shaping policy outcomes during the second Trump administration, and stakeholders have several tools at their disposal to steer regulatory litigation toward more favorable venues, say attorneys at Covington.
-
Series
Playing Esports Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Competing in a global esports tournament at Wimbledon last year not only fulfilled my childhood dream, but also sharpened skills that are essential to my day job, including strategic thinking, confidence and networking, says AJ Schuyler at Jackson Lewis.
-
Identifying Deepfakes During Evidence Collection, Discovery
Excerpt from Practical Guidance
Attorneys must familiarize themselves with the tools used to create and detect deepfakes — media manipulated by artificial intelligence to convincingly mimic real people and events — as well as best practices for keeping this fabricated evidence out of court, says Bijan Ghom at Saxton & Stump.
-
Expect Continued Momentum For Nuclear Power In 2025
With increasing electricity demand, growing interest in carbon-free energy and recent policy initiatives favoring atomic power, the future is looking bright for the U.S. nuclear energy industry — and the imminent switch of administrations in Washington is unlikely to change that, say attorneys at Venable.