Energy

  • March 27, 2025

    9th Circ. Won't Stay Injunction Compelling Fed. Worker Rehire

    A split Ninth Circuit panel has refused to block an injunction compelling the Trump administration to reinstate about 16,000 probationary employees to six federal agencies, saying the administration will likely lose its argument that the agencies weren't acting on an order from above when they fired the workers.

  • March 27, 2025

    FCPA 'Purgatory' Frustrates White Collar Bar, Anxious Clients

    An abrupt pause in Foreign Corrupt Practices Act enforcement has created tension between clients eager to resolve investigations and their attorneys, who are having trouble reaching decision-makers at the U.S. Department of Justice and are more inclined to await further guidance from the government.

  • March 27, 2025

    1st Circ. Denies Gov't Bid To Enforce Funding Freeze

    The First Circuit has declined to interfere with a Rhode Island federal judge's order that the government continue releasing federal funds while the Trump administration appeals a ruling blocking its efforts to enforce the freeze.

  • March 26, 2025

    Sotomayor Urges Caution On Nondelegation Doctrine Revamp

    U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor cautioned her colleagues during oral arguments Wednesday against using a challenge to the Federal Communications Commission's administration of a broadband subsidy program as a way to resurrect the long-dormant nondelegation doctrine. Several conservative justices, however, seemed willing to disregard that admonition.

  • March 26, 2025

    5th Circ. Backs EPA Ozone Plan Rejections, Except In Miss.

    The Fifth Circuit upheld the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's disapproval of Texas and Louisiana's plans to comply with federal ozone standards, but it said the EPA's disapproval of Mississippi's plan was arbitrary because it relied on information that wasn't available when the state submitted its plan.

  • March 26, 2025

    3 Firms Guide Nuclear Power Startup's $925M SPAC Merger

    Nuclear power developer Terrestrial Energy Inc. plans to go public by merging with special purpose acquisition company HCM II Acquisition Corp. at a $925 million equity value under guidance from three law firms, both parties announced Wednesday.

  • March 26, 2025

    Coalition Says Trump Admin Flouted Federal Rehiring Order

    The Trump administration responded to an injunction compelling it to rehire over 15,000 fired probationary employees by placing them on leave, not bringing them back to work, a coalition of advocates for the workers told a California federal judge Wednesday, saying the administration hasn't complied with the injunction.

  • March 26, 2025

    DOI Lacked Authority To Cancel Arctic Leases, Judge Says

    The U.S. Department of the Interior lacked authority to cancel seven oil and gas leases issued to the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, a federal judge has ruled, saying the federal agency was required to get a court order before doing so.

  • March 26, 2025

    Trump Pick To Lead EPA Attys Grilled In Senate On Experience

    President Donald Trump's pick to lead the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's legal division came under intense scrutiny Wednesday as Senate Democrats questioned his legal experience and his relationship with a senior member of Trump's personnel team.

  • March 26, 2025

    Duke Energy Wins $20M In SC Investment Credits On Appeal

    Duke Energy can have about $20 million in tax credits that were disallowed by South Carolina's tax agency because the law governing the credits grants a $5 million annual limit, not a $5 million lifetime limit, an appeals court ruled Wednesday, overturning an administrative law judge.

  • March 26, 2025

    Big Oil Cos. Must Face Tribal Climate Suits In State Court

    A pair of lawsuits by Washington tribes alleging Exxon Mobil, BP, Shell, Chevron, ConocoPhillips and Phillips 66 deceived consumers about the climate impacts of burning fossil fuels belong in state court, a federal judge said Wednesday, handing the tribes a win in their venue dispute with the Big Oil companies.

  • March 26, 2025

    FERC Pressed To Reject $26.6B Constellation-Calpine Merger

    Consumer and environmental groups have urged the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to block Constellation's $26.6 billion purchase of Calpine, saying a tie-up of two of North America's largest independent power producers would reduce competition in the nation's largest regional electricity market.

  • March 26, 2025

    French Co. Fails To Win Arbitration Bid In Payment Dispute

    French engineering company Saipem SA has lost its bid for a stay in a London court as it looks to arbitrate claims asserted by Panamanian logistics provider Destin Trading Inc. related to an alleged $7 million shortfall in payment for a Congo River project.

  • March 26, 2025

    Ex-GE Exec Gets 7 Years For Fraud In $1B Angola Energy Deal

    A Manhattan federal judge hit a former GE Power executive with seven years in prison Wednesday, after a jury convicted him of forgery and taking a $5 million kickback while working on a $1.1 billion deal in his native Angola.

  • March 25, 2025

    Elliott Says Phillips 66 Aims To Thwart Its Proxy Contest

    Elliott Investment Management on Tuesday accused Phillips 66 and its board of directors in Delaware Chancery Court of reducing the number of board seats up for election at the energy conglomerate's next annual shareholder meeting in order to thwart the hedge fund's impending proxy contest.

  • March 25, 2025

    Barretts Says Talc Injury Claims Belong To Ch. 11 Estate

    Talc miner Barretts Minerals Inc. sought a Texas bankruptcy court's determination that talc injury claims based on inadequate asbestos testing are property of the estate in its Chapter 11 case, saying the question is a crucial hurdle as the company mediates a potential settlement with its affiliates, unsecured creditors and the future claims representative.

  • March 25, 2025

    Baltimore Bridge Collapse: One Year Later

    Federal accident investigators' recent determination that Maryland could've done more to protect Baltimore's Francis Scott Key Bridge from a devastating collapse may complicate the sprawling legal battle over liability and damages in the year since a cargo ship struck the bridge and crippled a major East Coast transportation hub.

  • March 25, 2025

    Venezuelan Law Invalidates $2B Bonds, PDVSA Argues

    Venezuela's state-owned oil company is fighting back against efforts by creditors to enforce some $2 billion in defaulted bonds, dismissing as "illogical" the creditors' argument that the underlying bond documents were exempt from a requirement for National Assembly approval.

  • March 25, 2025

    Canadian Miner Faces Deadline Over $10M Romania Award

    A cash-strapped Canadian mining company is nearing a deadline to put up security for an approximately $10 million costs award issued to Romania after the country prevailed in the company's $4.4 billion arbitration over a blocked gold and silver mining project.

  • March 25, 2025

    North Carolina OSHA 'Incentive' Suit Dismissed Again

    North Carolina labor officials have once again dodged a corrosion control company's lawsuit claiming the state agency wrongfully incentivized workplace safety inspectors to find violations, after a federal judge accepted a magistrate judge's analysis that the latest suit largely copied one that had already been tossed.

  • March 25, 2025

    Industry Backs BlackRock Over States' 'Crippling' Coal Suit

    Two leading financial industry groups are throwing their support behind BlackRock Inc. and two other asset managers fighting a state-backed antitrust suit over their coal company investments, with one group arguing that forcing the firms to divest would have "crippling effects" for tens of millions of American investors.

  • March 25, 2025

    Insurers Claim 4th Circ. Must Revisit Ruling For Aluminum Co.

    Insurers in a coverage cap dispute with an aluminum company have asked the Fourth Circuit to reconsider an opinion holding that an ambiguous policy provision must be construed in the company's favor, calling it contrary to South Carolina law.

  • March 25, 2025

    Edison Shareholder Latest To Sue Utility Brass Over Eaton Fire

    Southern California's Eaton Fire could have been prevented had directors and officers of Southern California Edison's parent company not breached their duty to mitigate fire risks, especially in light of the public utility's "unfortunate long history" of improperly maintaining equipment, according to a new derivative shareholder filed in California state court.

  • March 25, 2025

    Utah Tribe 'Doubled-Down' In Bidding Scheme Row, Court Told

    Utah Gov. Spencer Cox and other state officials are asking a federal court to dismiss a challenge by the Ute Indian Tribe that accuses them of a racist bidding scheme to prevent a land purchase just outside its reservation, arguing that its claims are precluded by federal law.

  • March 25, 2025

    Ship Co. Targets Vessel Seizure In $12M Arbitration Dispute

    A U.S. shipping charter firm that specializes in the offshore wind market has urged a Mississippi federal court to let it seize a deep-sea motor vessel as it looks to enforce more than $12 million of arbitral awards against a Mexican maritime company.

Expert Analysis

  • Review Shipping Terms In Light Of These 3 Global Challenges

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    Given tensions in the Middle East, labor unrest at U.S. ports and the ongoing consequences of climate change, parties involved in maritime shipping must understand the relevant contract provisions and laws that may be implicated during supply chain disruptions in order to mitigate risks, say attorneys at Crowell & Moring.

  • Cos. Face Increasing Risk From Environmental Citizen Suits

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    Environmental citizen suits stepping in to fill the regulatory vacuum concerning consumer goods waste may soon become more common, and the evolving procedural landscape and changes to environmental law may contribute to companies' increased exposure, say J. Michael Showalter and Bradley Rochlen at ArentFox Schiff.

  • 8 Childhood Lessons That Can Help You Be A Better Attorney

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    A new school year is underway, marking a fitting time for attorneys to reflect on some fundamental life lessons from early childhood that offer a framework for problems that no legal textbook can solve, say Chris Gismondi and Chris Campbell at DLA Piper.

  • Navigating Complex Regulatory Terrain Amid State AG Races

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    This year's 10 attorney general elections could usher in a wave of new enforcement priorities and regulatory uncertainty, but companies can stay ahead of the shifts by building strong relationships with AG offices, participating in industry coalitions and more, say Ketan Bhirud and Dustin McDaniel at Cozen O’Connor.

  • How The 2025 Tax Policy Debate Will Affect The Energy Sector

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    Regardless of the outcome of the upcoming U.S. election, 2025 will bring a major tax policy debate that could affect the energy sector more than any other part of the economy — so stakeholders who could be affected should be engaging now to make sure they understand the stakes, say attorneys at Mayer Brown.

  • 3rd Circ. Hertz Ruling Highlights Flawed Bankruptcy Theory

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    The Third Circuit, in its recent Hertz bankruptcy decision, became the latest appeals court to hold that noteholders were entitled to interest before shareholders under the absolute priority rule, but risked going astray by invoking the flawed theory of code impairment, say Matthew McGill and David Casazza at Gibson Dunn.

  • Opinion

    This Election, We Need To Talk About Court Process

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    In recent decades, the U.S. Supreme Court has markedly transformed judicial processes — from summary judgment standards to notice pleadings — which has, in turn, affected individuals’ substantive rights, and we need to consider how the upcoming presidential election may continue this pattern, says Reuben Guttman at Guttman Buschner.

  • Int'l Agreements Are Key For Safe Nuclear Waste Disposal

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    By replacing fossil fuels, nuclear energy has the potential to offer a major contribution to the global fight against climate change — but ensuring that nuclear power is safe and sustainable will require binding, multinational agreements for safe nuclear waste disposal, say Ryan Schermerhorn and Christopher Zahn at Marshall Gerstein.

  • Series

    Playing Diplomacy Makes Us Better Lawyers

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    Similar to the practice of law, the rules of Diplomacy — a strategic board game set in pre-World War I Europe — are neither concise nor without ambiguity, and weekly gameplay with our colleagues has revealed the game's practical applications to our work as attorneys, say Jason Osborn and Ben Bevilacqua at Winston & Strawn.

  • Applying High Court's Domestic Corruption Rulings To FCPA

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    After the U.S. Supreme Court narrowed the domestic corruption statutes in three decisions over the past year and a half, it’s worth evaluating whether these rulings may have an impact on Foreign Corrupt Practices Act enforcement, and if attorneys can use the court’s reasoning in international bribery cases, says James Koukios at MoFo.

  • How Multifamily Property Owners Can Plan For The EV Future

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    As the electric vehicle market expands, and federal and state incentives and mandates intended to promote EV use come into effect, owners and operators of multifamily residential properties should be prepared to meet the growing demand for onsite EV charging infrastructure, say Sydney Tucker and Andreas Wokutch at Frost Brown.

  • Conn. Court Split May Lead To Vertical Forum Shopping

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    As shown by a recent ruling in State v. Exxon Mobil, Connecticut state and federal courts are split on personal jurisdiction, and until the Connecticut Supreme Court steps in, parties may be incentivized to forum shop, causing foreign entities to endure costly litigation and uncertain liability, says Matthew Gibbons at Shipman & Goodwin.

  • Mental Health First Aid: A Brief Primer For Attorneys

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    Amid a growing body of research finding that attorneys face higher rates of mental illness than the general population, firms should consider setting up mental health first aid training programs to help lawyers assess mental health challenges in their colleagues and intervene with compassion, say psychologists Shawn Healy and Tracey Meyers.

  • Enviro Policy Trends That Will Continue Beyond The Election

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    Come October in a presidential election year, the policy world feels like a winner-take-all scenario, with the outcome of the vote determining how or even whether we are regulated — but there are several key ongoing trends that will continue to drive environmental regulation regardless of the election results, say J. Michael Showalter and Samuel Rasche at ArentFox Schiff.

  • Series

    Collecting Art Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    The therapeutic aspects of appreciating and collecting art improve my legal practice by enhancing my observation skills, empathy, creativity and cultural awareness, says attorney Michael McCready.

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