Energy

  • July 11, 2025

    Courts Face Early Push To Expand Justices' Injunction Ruling

    In the two weeks since the U.S. Supreme Court curtailed federal judges' ability to issue universal injunctions, Trump administration attorneys have begun pushing to expand the decision's limits to other forms of relief used in regulatory challenges and class actions. So far, judges don't appear receptive to those efforts. 

  • July 11, 2025

    9th Circ. Upholds Feds' Arctic Ringed Seal ESA Protections

    The Ninth Circuit on Friday upheld the federal government's Endangered Species Act protections for Arctic ringed seals and rejected Alaska's effort to roll them back.

  • July 11, 2025

    Feds Flag Possible Atty Conflict In Cuellar Bribery Case

    Federal prosecutors on Friday asked for a hearing in the bribery case of U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar of Texas to determine if one of his lawyers should bow out because he previously represented a witness whom he helped set up a consulting firm allegedly used to funnel money to the congressman.

  • July 11, 2025

    Hess Faces Investor Suit Over $53B Chevron Deal

    As the parties await the result of a critical arbitration proceeding that could sink a planned $53 billion sale of Hess to Chevron, a shareholder is arguing that the deal disproportionately benefits CEO John Hess at the expense of the company's investors.

  • July 11, 2025

    Transportation Policies To Watch In 2025: A Midyear Report

    Sweeping new tariffs, revised vehicle emission and fuel-economy standards, and aviation safety reforms are some of the transportation industry's top regulatory priorities to watch in the second half of 2025.

  • July 11, 2025

    Taxation With Representation: Davis Polk, Kirkland, Cassels

    In this week's Taxation With Representation, Merck buys U.K. drugmaker Verona Pharma, CoreWeave acquires fellow data center company Core Scientific, Royal Gold acquires Sandstorm Gold and Horizon Copper, and Italian food company Ferrero buys WK Kellogg.

  • July 10, 2025

    Black Worker Claims Bias At Nuclear Safety Organization

    A nuclear power safety organization repeatedly promoted white men rather than a more qualified Black woman, the worker told a Georgia federal court Thursday, claiming the group has endeavored for years to keep Black employees out of leadership positions.

  • July 10, 2025

    Sunoco Faces Another Suit Over Jet Fuel Pipeline Leak In Pa.

    Sunoco has been slapped with another lawsuit in Philadelphia County Court alleging that a leaky pipeline resulted in jet fuel and other petroleum products contaminating residential property, groundwater, soil and air.

  • July 10, 2025

    Fed. Circ. Judges Get Tough With Phillips 66 In Retrial Spat

    The Federal Circuit tangled with Phillips 66 on Wednesday over the "talismanic significance" of a lower court judge declaring the oil and gas giant had made prejudicial arguments in an infringement case over oil refinery patents.

  • July 10, 2025

    10th Circ. Affirms Sentence In $1B Energy Tax Credit Scheme

    A leader of a renewable-energy scheme that illicitly sought $1 billion in tax credits failed to persuade the Tenth Circuit to overturn his conviction by arguing that jurors were biased when his lawyer was identified as having helped Michael Jackson beat child molestation charges.

  • July 10, 2025

    Trump Says 50% Copper Tariff Will Begin Aug. 1

    President Donald Trump said his new 50% tariff on copper imports will take effect Aug. 1, citing national security concerns.

  • July 10, 2025

    SpaceX Seeks Record $400B Valuation, Plus More Rumors

    Elon Musk's satellite and rocket maker SpaceX is planning to raise money in a private round that would value the company at a record $400 billion, Starbucks China is seeking bids for a stake sale that could value the chain at $10 billion, plus online fashion giant Shein hopes to salvage its long-awaited IPO by listing in Hong Kong.

  • July 09, 2025

    Sierra Club Says OMB Ignoring Funding Freeze Info Requests

    The Office of Management and Budget's refusal to produce records concerning the Trump administration's freeze of federal funding programs is impeding the Sierra Club's mission to advocate for and educate the public about pressing public health and environmental issues, the environmental organization alleged Tuesday in California federal court.

  • July 09, 2025

    EPA Violated ESA With Nitrogen, Soot Standards, Group Says

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency violated the Endangered Species Act when it approved air quality standards for two pollutants without properly analyzing their effects on animals and plants, the Center for Biological Diversity told the D.C. Circuit Tuesday.

  • July 09, 2025

    Albireo Energy Faces Suit Over Mold In Colo. School

    A Colorado school district hit Albireo Energy with a negligence suit in state court Wednesday that blames the building controls company for nearly $1 million in damage to a middle school from a botched ventilation system upgrade.

  • July 09, 2025

    Trump Admin Beats Injunction Bid Over Deleted Webpages

    A Washington, D.C., federal judge on Wednesday rejected the Sierra Club and other nonprofits' request for a preliminary injunction forcing federal agencies to restore webpages the groups said provided critical environmental information, saying they hadn't shown keeping the status quo while their case is pending would cause irreparable harm.

  • July 09, 2025

    EPA Sued Over Oil Refineries' Hydrogen Fluoride Use

    A group of environmental advocates has hauled the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency into California federal court to stop the use of hydrogen fluoride in domestic oil manufacturing refineries, arguing it's endangering the public and the Toxic Substances Control Act requires that the agency eliminate those risks through regulations.

  • July 09, 2025

    Water Co. Can't Charge Customers $42M, Conn. Justices Say

    State regulators lawfully rejected Eversource subsidiary Aquarion Water Co. of Connecticut's 2022 request to increase rates by $42 million to pay for plant additions, but they wrongly scuttled the utility's $1.5 million bid to recover conservation expenses, the Connecticut Supreme Court ruled Wednesday.

  • July 09, 2025

    Red States Want In On Youths' Suit Over Trump Energy Orders

    A coalition of Republican states led by Montana asked a federal court Tuesday for permission to intervene in a lawsuit brought by youths challenging President Donald Trump's recently enacted fossil fuel policies.

  • July 08, 2025

    5th Circ. Wary To Let Surety Stick Chevron With $11M Bill

    A Fifth Circuit panel seemed skeptical of a surety company's argument that BP and Chevron need to pony up $11 million to pay for decommissioning costs, asking Tuesday what to do with contractual language that seemingly absolved them of having to pay that bill.

  • July 08, 2025

    Bolivia Says Glencore Suit Over $253 Award Must Be Axed

    Bolivia has urged a D.C. federal court to dismiss efforts by a subsidiary of the Swiss commodities giant Glencore to enforce a $253.6 million arbitral award against the country, arguing the company is trying to "short-circuit" service requirements laid out in foreign sovereign immunity law.

  • July 08, 2025

    Trump Declares 50% Copper Tariff, Floats 200% Pharma Tariff

    President Donald Trump announced Tuesday that he will impose a new 50% tariff on copper imported into the U.S., while also raising the possibility of imposing a 200% tariff on pharmaceuticals.

  • July 08, 2025

    Del. Judge Cuts Co-Plaintiff From $57M Refined Coal IP Suit

    A co-plaintiff alongside Midwest Energy Emissions Corp. cannot share in a $57 million award from a jury that found patents on technology for refining coal to reduce mercury emissions from power plants were infringed, with a Delaware federal judge ruling on Tuesday the other company lacks standing.

  • July 08, 2025

    Mich. Judge Certifies Edenville Dam Flood Victim Classes

    A Michigan claims court judge has certified classes of businesses and residents affected by flooding from the collapse of a hydroelectric dam, ahead of a January trial to determine if state agencies are liable for the disaster. 

  • July 08, 2025

    States Back Enviro Orgs. Bid To Block EPA's Halt Of $3B Grant

    A group of Democratic attorneys general on Monday told a D.C. federal district court that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's decision to terminate environmental justice grants deprives vulnerable communities of funding "necessary to achieve a healthy environment."

Expert Analysis

  • Crisis Management Lessons From The Parenting Playbook

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    The parenting skills we use to help our kids through challenges — like rehearsing for stressful situations, modeling confidence and taking time to reset our emotions — can also teach us the fundamentals of leading clients through a corporate crisis, say Deborah Solmor at the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation and Cara Peterman at Alston & Bird.

  • What To Watch For As High Court Mulls NRC's Powers

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    If successful, Texas’ challenges to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s authority — recently heard by the U.S. Supreme Court and currently pending before a Texas federal court — may have serious adverse consequences for aspiring NRC licensees, including potential nuclear power plant operators, say attorneys at Haynes Boone.

  • Series

    Adapting To Private Practice: From NY Fed To BigLaw

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    While the move to private practice brings a learning curve, it also brings chances to learn new skills and grow your network, requiring a clear understanding of how your skills can complement and contribute to a firm's existing practice, and where you can add new value, says Meghann Donahue at Covington.

  • Cos. Face Enviro Justice Tug-Of-War Between States, Feds

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    The second Trump administration's sweeping elimination of environmental justice policies, programs and funding, and targeting of state-level EJ initiatives, creates difficult questions for companies on how best to avoid friction with federal policy, navigate state compliance obligations and maintain important stakeholder relationships with communities, say attorneys at Arnold & Porter.

  • Top 3 Litigation Finance Deal-Killers, And How To Avoid Them

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    Like all transactions, litigation finance deals can sometimes collapse, but understanding the most common reasons for failure, including a lack of trust or a misunderstanding of deal terms, can help both parties avoid problems, say Rebecca Berrebi at Avenue 33 and Boris Ziser at Schulte Roth.

  • NEPA Repeal Could Slow Down Environmental Review

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    As the Trump administration has rescinded the Council on Environmental Quality's long-standing National Environmental Policy Act regulations, projects that require NEPA review may be bogged down by significant regulatory uncertainty and litigation risks, potentially undermining the administration's intent to streamline the permitting process, say attorneys at Mayer Brown.

  • Foreign Countries Have Strong Foundation To Fill FCPA Void

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    Though the U.S. has paused enforcement of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, liberal democracies across the globe are well equipped to reverse any setback in anti-corruption enforcement, potentially heightening prosecution risk for companies headquartered in the U.S., says Stephen Kohn at Kohn Kohn.

  • How Attys Can Use A Therapy Model To Help Triggered Clients

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    Attorneys can lean on key principles from a psychotherapeutic paradigm known as the "Internal Family Systems" model to help manage triggered clients and get settlement negotiations back on track, says Jennifer Gibbs at Zelle.

  • 3 Steps For In-House Counsel To Assess Litigation Claims

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    Before a potential economic downturn, in-house attorneys should investigate whether their company is sitting on hidden litigation claims that could unlock large recoveries to help the business withstand tough times, says Will Burgess at Hilgers Graben.

  • Despite SEC Climate Pause, Cos. Must Still Heed State Regs

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    While businesses may have been given a reprieve from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's rules aimed at standardizing climate-related disclosures, they must still track evolving requirements in states including California, Illinois, New Jersey and New York that will soon require reporting of direct and indirect carbon emissions, say attorneys at Husch Blackwell.

  • Series

    Teaching College Students Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Serving as an adjunct college professor has taught me the importance of building rapport, communicating effectively, and persuading individuals to critically analyze the difference between what they think and what they know — principles that have helped to improve my practice of law, says Sheria Clarke at Nelson Mullins.

  • 5 Areas Contractors Should Watch After 1st 100 Days

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    Federal agencies and contractors face challenges from staff reductions, contract terminations, pending regulatory reform and other actions from the second Trump administration's first 100 days, but other areas stand to become more efficient and cost-effective, say attorneys at Thompson Hine.

  • Series

    Adapting To Private Practice: From DOJ Enviro To Mid-Law

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    Practitioners leaving a longtime government role for private practice — as when I departed the U.S. Department of Justice’s environmental enforcement division — should prioritize finding a firm that shares their principles, values their experience and will invest in their transition, says John Cruden at Beveridge & Diamond.

  • Why Trade Cases May Put Maple Leaf Deference On Review

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    When litigation challenging the president’s trade actions reaches the Federal Circuit, the court will have to reevaluate the Maple Leaf standard in light of the U.S. Supreme Court's 2024 Loper Bright decision limiting Chevron-like deference to cases involving statutory provisions in which Congress delegated discretionary authority to the executive branch, say attorneys at Wiley.

  • Key Questions When Mediating Environmental Disputes

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    As the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency implements dramatic regulatory changes, companies seeking to use mediation to manage increased risks and uncertainties around environmental liabilities should keep certain essential considerations in mind to help reach successful outcomes, says Edward Cohen at Thompson Coburn.

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