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April 11, 2024
EPA Says Colo. Air Pollution Plan Approval Was Proper
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Wednesday urged the Tenth Circuit to uphold its approval of a Colorado air emissions permitting program, and said a green group's argument that the scheme contains too many exemptions for the oil and gas industry pollution is mistaken.
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April 11, 2024
US Sends Mixed Messages In Enbridge Line 5 Pipeline Dispute
The U.S. government sent mixed messages to the Seventh Circuit in weighing in on Enbridge's controversial Line 5 oil pipeline, saying a lower court was right to determine that the company is trespassing on tribal lands, but recommended that the case be remanded and that a tribe's public nuisance claim be dismissed.
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April 10, 2024
Texas Panel Seeks Evidence In $1M Real Estate Quagmire
A Texas appellate panel suggested Wednesday that both sides fighting about a soured real estate financing deal need to do more to make their cases, asking attorneys during oral arguments to point to evidence that either confirms or refutes the existence of a contract.
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April 10, 2024
Wash. Tribe Says $1M Fine Not Enough To Settle CWA Claims
A Washington tribe is opposing a proposed consent decree that would settle Clean Water Act claims against a hydroelectric dam operator, arguing that a $1 million penalty is vastly too low for violations of the law when the damage continues.
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April 10, 2024
Spain To Face Claim Over Nixed Uranium Processing Plant
Clean energy company Berkeley Energia Ltd. on Wednesday said it has retained Herbert Smith Freehills and the Spanish firm LCS Abogados to file an investor-state claim on its behalf against Spain after the country shut down its bid to construct a uranium processing plant in 2021.
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April 10, 2024
Spain Can't Nix €28 Million Renewables Award
Spain lost its bid to annul a €28 million ($30 million) arbitral award issued to German energy giant RWE after an international committee rejected Madrid's argument that the tribunal exceeded its powers by opting not to apply European Union law, according to a now-public decision.
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April 10, 2024
FCC Urged To Wait For BEAD Fund Awards Before 5G Auction
Small, independent cable providers want the Federal Communications Commission to hold off on a rural 5G development auction until the U.S. Department of Commerce completes its massive award of high-speed internet build-out funds.
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April 10, 2024
Rural Project Winners Say 'Harsh' Realities Justify Amnesty
Internet service providers that faced skyrocketing costs as they sought to complete federally backed broadband projects are again calling for limited relief from Federal Communications Commission penalties and a shot at future funding.
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April 10, 2024
Class Attys Seek Big Payday For $100M Pattern Energy Deal
Class attorneys are urging the Delaware Chancery Court to approve a $100 million settlement to end state and federal court litigation over Pattern Energy Group Inc.'s $6.1 billion go-private sale in 2020 and award them $26 million in fees for a deal they say is the largest of its kind in the Chancery's history.
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April 09, 2024
Crypto Booster Says $1B SEC Fraud Suit Offends Free Speech
The crypto founder known as Richard Heart told a federal judge in Brooklyn on Tuesday that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission violated his and others' free speech rights when it brought a case accusing him of selling $1 billion worth of unregistered digital asset securities across his projects and misappropriating customer assets.
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April 09, 2024
Ex-Ohio Utility Chair Dies As Criminal Charges Mount
The onetime chair of Ohio's utility regulator, who was accused of stealing money from FirstEnergy Corp. as part of a bribery scheme behind a controversial $1.3 billion bailout for two nuclear energy plants, died Tuesday in an apparent suicide, the Franklin County Coroner's Office confirmed.
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April 09, 2024
What's In The Norfolk Southern $600M Derailment Deal
Last year's fiery Norfolk Southern train derailment and toxic chemical spill in East Palestine, Ohio, reached a litigation milestone Tuesday with the disaster's first major settlement, a proposed $600 million deal with nearby residents and businesses, but the rail giant must still contend with a federal investigation and other lawsuits.
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April 09, 2024
Nikola Investors' SPAC Fraud Suit Moves Ahead
Board directors of electric truck maker Nikola Corp. and the blank-check company that took it public for $3.3 billion in 2020 must face shareholders' derivative claims of insider trading, securities fraud and merger-related breaches after Delaware's Court of Chancery on Tuesday denied more than half of the defense's motions to dismiss.
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April 09, 2024
FCC Decision On Subsidy Fund Likely Tough To Unravel
Public advocates are scrambling to reverse a Federal Communications Commission decision sparing broadband providers from helping pay for telecommunications subsidies even after the commission resurrects net neutrality rules that classify them as telecom providers.
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April 08, 2024
7th Circ. Won't Demolish Obama Center Approval
Federal agencies properly reviewed the environmental impacts of building the Obama Presidential Center in Chicago's Jackson Park, the Seventh Circuit ruled Monday, once again rejecting opponents' attempts to stop construction of the campus set to open in 2026.
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April 08, 2024
Mich. Regulators' Fraud Fears Are 'Nonsense,' Developer Says
A real estate developer has told Michigan's high court that the state is raising unfounded concerns that Michigan will become a haven for fraudsters if the top court does not adopt a federal judicially created test to determine when an investment is a security, telling the justices Michigan's own securities law is controlling.
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April 08, 2024
Tribes Say Army Corps Mistakes Their Claims In 5th Circ. Row
Two Native American tribes and a conservation group have told the Fifth Circuit that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and an Enbridge Inc. unit have intentionally mischaracterized their claims in litigation seeking to challenge the agency's permit authorization for a major oil terminal on Texas' Gulf Coast.
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April 08, 2024
Simpson Thacher Adds Milbank Energy Atty In LA
Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP is expanding its West Coast team, announcing Monday it is bringing in a Milbank LLP energy expert as a partner in its Los Angeles office.
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April 05, 2024
DC Circ. Says Gov't Changing Its Defense In Chinese Visa Row
A D.C. Circuit judge said Friday the federal government seemed to be changing its tune late in its defense of a district court judge's dismissal of a suit filed by three Chinese investors who'd tried to move ahead in the queue for EB-5 visas reserved for investors in infrastructure projects.
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April 05, 2024
Baltimore Bridge: Biden's Visit, Recovery, Supply Chain
Nearly two weeks after the Francis Scott Key Bridge's collapse, government and legal maneuvers are taking shape as the Biden administration pledged to fully reopen the Port of Baltimore before June, while the owner and operator of the ship that caused the collapse sought to limit its financial liability.
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April 05, 2024
Top 3 Groups Lobbying The FCC
The Federal Communications Commission heard from policy advocates more than 200 times in March, as the agency fielded concerns on net neutrality rules, bulk billing for internet service, broadband deployment, school connectivity and more.
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April 05, 2024
Miner Faces Mounting Financial Woes After Failed Arbitration
Nearly a month after losing its $4.4 billion arbitration against Romania over a blocked gold and silver mining project, Canadian mining company Gabriel Resources said Thursday that it's facing a major cash crunch as it continues to weigh its options to try to revive its claims.
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April 05, 2024
Nixon Peabody Adds 2 Attys From Hinckley Allen In Boston
A pair of attorneys have jumped to Nixon Peabody LLP in Boston after spending more than a decade working at Hinckley Allen & Snyder LLP.
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April 05, 2024
Ex-Cognizant Execs' Trial Moved Over Atty Schedule Woes
A New Jersey federal judge has agreed to reschedule the trial of two former Cognizant Technology Solutions executives accused of authorizing a bribe to an Indian official, answering the call by a Gibbons PC counsel who has another high-profile white-collar trial on his schedule the same day his Cognizant case client was also set to go before a jury.
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April 05, 2024
5th Circ. Won't Touch Texas Oil Export Terminal License
The Fifth Circuit has rejected environmentalists' attempt to undo federal approval for a deepwater oil export terminal off Texas' Gulf Coast, finding the U.S. Coast Guard adequately considered the environmental consequences of the facility in its environmental assessment.
Expert Analysis
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How And Why Your Firm Should Implement Fixed-Fee Billing
Amid rising burnout in the legal industry and client efforts to curtail spending, pivoting to a fixed-fee billing model may improve client-attorney relationships and offer lawyers financial, logistical and stress relief — while still maintaining profit margins, say Kevin Henderson and Eric Pacifici at SMB Law Group.
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A Case For The Green Investment Regime Under The ECT
The EU and U.K.'s potential plans to exit the Energy Charter Treaty, which has been criticized as protecting fossil fuel investments to the detriment of energy transition, ignore the significant strides taken to modernize the treaty and its ability to promote investment in cleaner energy forms, say Amy Frey and Simon Maynard at King & Spalding.
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Opinion
Judicial Independence Needs Defense Amid Political Threats
Amid recent and historic challenges to the judiciary from political forces, safeguarding judicial independence and maintaining the integrity of the legal system is increasingly urgent, says Robert Peck at the Center for Constitutional Litigation.
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How Law Firms Can Use Account-Based Marketing Strategies
Amid several evolving legal industry trends, account-based marketing can help law firms uncover additional revenue-generating opportunities with existing clients, with key considerations ranging from data analytics to relationship building, say Jennifer Ramsey at stage LLC and consultant Gina Sponzilli.
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Leveraging Municipal Bonds For Green Energy Finance
The U.S.'s transition to renewable energy will require collaboration between public and private capital sources — and that means that lawyers used to working in corporate finance must understand how the municipal bond market functions differently, due to its grounding in the U.S. Constitution, says Ann Fillingham at Dykema.
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Mitigating Costs And Delays In The Energy Transition
Achieving net-zero will require constructing a massive amount of new wind, solar and energy storage infrastructure — and while cost overruns and delays are to be expected, contractors and owners can proactively address these problems in their project documents, say Christopher Ryan and Jesse Sherrett at Shearman.
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Strategic Succession Planning At Law Firms Is Crucial
Senior partners' reluctance to retire, the rise of the nonequity partner tier and generational differences in expectations are all contributing to an increasing number of departures from BigLaw, making it imperative for firms to encourage retirement among senior ranks and provide clearer leadership pathways to junior attorneys, says Laura Leopard at Leopard Solutions.
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Why All Cos. Should Take Note Of Calif. GHG Disclosure Laws
Two recent California laws involving the disclosure of greenhouse gas emissions, as well as the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's upcoming final rule, focus on financial services firms' so-called financed emissions, meaning vastly more companies than those directly subject to today's reporting mandates will be required to supply climate-related risk disclosures, says David Smith at Manatt.
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Calif. Climate Disclosure Bills Promise Challenges For Cos.
Two novel climate disclosure bills recently passed by the California Legislature will pose challenges for many businesses — especially private companies that are less familiar with climate-related reporting obligations — and will require investments of significant time and effort in processes, procedures and personnel, say John Rousakis and Chris Bowman at O'Melveny.
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Maximizing Law Firm Profitability In Uncertain Times
As threats of an economic downturn loom, firms can boost profits by embracing the power of bottom-line management and creating an ecosystem where strategic financial oversight and robust timekeeping practices meet evolved client relations, says Shireen Hilal at Maior Strategic Consulting.
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5th Circ. Ruling Reminds Attys That CBP Can Search Devices
The Fifth Circuit’s recent Malik v. Department of Homeland Security decision adds to the chorus of federal courts holding that border agents don’t need a warrant to search travelers’ electronic devices, so attorneys should consider certain special precautions to secure privileged information when reentering the U.S., says Jennifer Freel at Jackson Walker.
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Avoiding The Ethical Pitfalls Of Crowdfunded Legal Fees
The crowdfunding of legal fees has become increasingly common, providing a new way for people to afford legal services, but attorneys who accept crowdsourced funds must remember several key ethical obligations to mitigate their risks, say Hilary Gerzhoy and Julienne Pasichow at HWG.
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Energy Trading Cos. Must Review Electronic Comms Policies
After recent enforcement actions by U.S. and U.K. regulators against energy trading firms — and with the possibility of action by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission looming — companies involved in energy markets must take steps to review and strengthen electronic communications protocols, say Tanya Bodell and Christopher Hoyle at StoneTurn.
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What Large Language Models Mean For Document Review
Courts often subject parties using technology assisted review to greater scrutiny than parties conducting linear, manual document review, so parties using large language models for document review should expect even more attention, along with a corresponding need for quality control and validation, say attorneys at Sidley.
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Series
Participating In Living History Makes Me A Better Lawyer
My role as a baron in a living history group, and my work as volunteer corporate counsel for a book series fan association, has provided me several opportunities to practice in unexpected areas of law — opening doors to experiences that have nurtured invaluable personal and professional skills, says Matthew Parker at the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services.