Energy

Expert Analysis

• Opinion

  IRS Should Level The Field For R&D Tax Credits

  

  A recent increase in denials of research and development tax credits to small businesses in the architectural, engineering and construction community shows the Internal Revenue Service should issue new guidance to ensure a fair playing field and an opportunity to continue innovating in the U.S., says Julio Gonzalez at Engineered Tax Services.

• Texas Tax Talk: Development Bill Needs Bilateral Buy-In

  

  If a pending bill to overhaul the Texas Economic Development Act can resolve the concerns of both project developers and school districts, it will make the popular tax break an even more useful tool for attracting investment, say Matt Larsen and Bucky Brannen at Baker Botts.

• Musk's Crypto Tweets Likely Didn't Violate SEC, CFTC Rules

  

  The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission will be hard-pressed to argue Tesla CEO Elon Musk's recent tweets about cryptocurrencies amounted to illegal communication of material information to investors, or constituted market manipulation, say Kenneth Breen and Phara Guberman at Paul Hastings.

• Ethics Tips For Attorneys Telecommuting Across State Lines

  

  Attorneys working remotely from jurisdictions in which they are not admitted should take precautionary steps to avoid engaging in unauthorized practice of law, say John Schmidt and Michael Seaman at Phillips Lytle.

• 6 Ways Legal Employers Can Help Pandemic-Weary Parents

  

  Parenting during the pandemic has introduced a series of competing personal and professional obligations for attorneys and professional staff, and even organizations that are supportive of their parent employees can take steps to do better, says Meredith Kahan at Saul Ewing.

• Pandemic Force Majeure Interpretations May Be Shifting

  

  A New York federal court's ruling in JN Contemporary Art v. Phillips Auctioneers, deeming COVID-19 to be a natural disaster that triggers a force majeure clause, appears to loosen previously strict contours of contractual interpretation and could create a legal quandary for obligees, say Kimberly Daily and Matthew Rawlinson at Eversheds Sutherland.

• Republican AGs Likely To Challenge Biden On Multiple Fronts

  

  During recent presidential administrations, state attorneys general have challenged federal regulations and obtained nationwide injunctions against executive orders — and there is every reason to believe that Republican attorneys general will continue this trend, resisting Biden administration efforts on climate change, health care, immigration and more, say attorneys at Troutman Pepper.

• Renewable Energy Cos. Need New Risk Management Tools

  

  As President Joe Biden seeks to ramp up renewable energy development, the industry's risk managers must not only rely on traditional insurance and contractual warranties, but also explore new risk management products like proxy revenue swaps, say Leslie Thorne and Andrew Van Osselaer at Haynes and Boone.

• Remote Working Tips For Lawyer Trainees And Their Firms

  

  The prospect of joining a law firm during the pandemic can cause added pressure, but with a few good practices — and a little help from their firms and supervising attorneys — lawyer trainees can get ahead of the curve while working remotely, say William Morris and Ted Landray at King & Spalding.

• Clean Water Act Ruling Could Obstruct Future Permitting

  

  A Minnesota federal court's recent ruling that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency must review applications for federally licensed discharges issued under the Clean Water Act to determine water quality effects in other states could complicate the permitting process, says David Fotouhi at Gibson Dunn.

• Review Force Majeure Clauses Before Storms Hit

  

  Recent storm-related disruptions to electric power in Texas are a reminder that companies should carefully assess force majeure clauses in their contracts in advance of disasters, given that such clauses hinge on whether nonperformance is avoidable given proper preparation, say Adam Schramek and Tom McCormack at Norton Rose.

• Keys To Carbon Neutral Oil And LNG Transactions: Part 2

  

  The parties to a carbon neutral oil or liquefied natural gas transaction must agree upon the source and quality of the carbon offset units used in the deal, as well as on any transaction-specific verification protocols and carbon footprint methodologies, say Gabriel Procaccini and Kenneth Markowitz at Akin Gump.

• What Biden's Ethics Pledge Means For Gov't Revolving Door

  

  Attorneys at Nossaman look at how President Joe Biden’s ethics pledge goes beyond those of his predecessors by imposing post-employment shadow lobbying and golden parachute restrictions on his administration’s appointees — and how a House bill proposing expansion of federal ethics law could affect enforcement.

• Patent Numbers May Be Declining, But Innovation Isn't

  

  The 2020 decline in patents issued to eight out of 10 top filers at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office suggests that we may see further weakness in filing activity in the following years, but we should expect growth in the number of patents filed by emerging technology companies, says Pedram Sameni at Patexia.

• Keys To Carbon Neutral Oil And LNG Transactions: Part 1

  

  Carbon neutral oil and liquefied natural gas transactions can make oil and LNG more environmentally competitive with renewable energy, but participants must pay close attention to the cost of carbon offsets involved, and applicable regulations around carbon trading and marketing claims, say Gabriel Procaccini and Kenneth Markowitz at Akin Gump.