Environmental

  • September 08, 2025

    Firefighters Say PFAS Economic And Health Harms Are Real

    Connecticut firefighters and unions hit back Friday at Honeywell, DuPont and other safety gear manufacturers trying to exit their federal proposed class action that alleges the companies sold gear with hazardous forever chemicals, saying they had alleged enough economic and health risks for their suit to proceed.

  • September 08, 2025

    GAO Flags Barriers In Tribal Energy Loan Program

    The U.S. Government Accountability Office said a federal agency program designed to support Indigenous nations in developing energy projects through loans is limiting its accessibility and effectiveness through high, unpredictable costs; unclear guidance; and a lack of tribal expertise.

  • September 08, 2025

    Idaho Developer Looks To Defend $2B Gold Mine Project

    The developer of a proposed $2 billion Idaho gold mine wants to intervene in a tribe's challenge that looks to block the project, saying it has already invested more than $400 million in the endeavor and has an interest in developing and moving the effort forward without delay.

  • September 08, 2025

    Lawmakers Push To Finalize Tribal Water Rights Settlements

    A bipartisan group of lawmakers is urging congressional leaders to make a move on several tribal water rights settlement bills that are pending before the U.S. Senate, saying that doing so will prevent costly litigation and ensure tribes and others have access to water.

  • September 08, 2025

    Steptoe & Johnson Adds Olympus Energy Atty In Pittsburgh

    Steptoe & Johnson PLLC has grown its Pittsburgh office with the addition of a senior counsel from oil and natural gas company Olympus Energy LLC.

  • September 05, 2025

    8th Circ. Vacates Biden-Era, Updated EV Fuel Economy Rules

    The Eighth Circuit Friday vacated the U.S. Department of Energy's updated method of calculating the fuel economy equivalent estimates for electric vehicles, finding that the DOE didn't have the authority to enact the 2024 rule, nor did it comply with the Administrative Procedures Act.

  • September 05, 2025

    Trump Admin Says Enviro Groups Can't Block GHG Report

    The Trump administration has told a Massachusetts federal judge that a lawsuit challenging its formation of a climate change science advisory panel is a misguided ploy to undermine the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's impending reconsideration of the harms of greenhouse gases.

  • September 05, 2025

    Sierra Club Looks To Secure Border Wall Settlement Funds

    The Sierra Club and a nonprofit ally asked a California federal judge to order the Trump administration to preserve at least $50 million of border wall construction funds to pay for environmental projects required by a settlement struck with the Biden administration.

  • September 05, 2025

    Miner Must Show Why Chuckwalla Suit Belongs In Mich.

    A Michigan federal judge has ordered a Michigan resident challenging the Chuckwalla National Monument's protected status to show why the lawsuit should remain in the Great Lakes State, suggesting that the case seems to fit better in California where the vast desert acreage is located.

  • September 05, 2025

    9th Circ. Affirms Irrigation Exemption For Calif. Water Project

    The Ninth Circuit on Friday rejected fishing industry groups' demand that the federal government require a Clean Water Act permit for a California agricultural water runoff project that's been operating without one for decades.

  • September 05, 2025

    8th Circ. Won't Revisit Crop Damage Arbitration Fight

    The Eighth Circuit has ruled that the existence of arbitration agreements for some farmland owners, who are suing over depressed crop yields in the aftermath of an Alliance Pipeline project, does not amount to grounds for the appeals court to review a decision reviving proceedings.

  • September 05, 2025

    How A 'Risky' Move Fueled Kobre & Kim's Win Over Phillips 66

    In the trial over Propel Fuels' claims that Phillips 66 stole trade secrets during due diligence for an acquisition, Kobre & Kim switched up standard witness order and convinced a jury to award $605 million.

  • September 05, 2025

    DC Circ. Revives Emergency Defense Rule For Air Polluters

    The D.C. Circuit on Friday restored air pollution-emitting facilities' right to defend themselves against alleged violations of the Clean Air Act by blaming emergency circumstances, finding that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's attempt to ban the practice was unlawful.

  • September 05, 2025

    Ørsted Investors Back $9.4B Rights Issue After US Order

    Ørsted AS said Friday that its shareholders have thrown their weight behind a 60 billion Danish kroner ($9.4 billion) rights issue, amid a legal battle against an order from the Trump administration to stop work on an offshore wind farm.

  • September 04, 2025

    11th Circ. Says 'Alligator Alcatraz' Can Stay Open For Now

    A split Eleventh Circuit Thursday paused a Florida federal judge's order that preliminarily ordered the federal government to begin winding down the immigration detention center dubbed "Alligator Alcatraz," saying the government likely didn't need to prepare an environmental impact report for the facility built on the Florida Everglades.

  • September 04, 2025

    Chevron, Exxon Kick Off High Court La. Pollution Case

    Chevron and Exxon Mobil Corp. on Thursday asked the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn the Fifth Circuit's ruling that Louisiana state court, not federal court, is the proper venue for claims that their World War II-era oil production activities violated state law.

  • September 04, 2025

    Enbridge Asks High Court To Reverse Pipeline Remand Ruling

    Enbridge Energy has pushed the U.S. Supreme Court to reverse a Sixth Circuit decision saying the company missed a deadline to transfer to federal court a suit by Michigan's attorney general seeking to block a pipeline, arguing the attorney general failed to show the removal process was untimely.

  • September 04, 2025

    EPA Touts 'Ambitious' New Deregulatory Agenda

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday laid out its regulatory agenda for the coming months, and said it intends to revisit or roll back Biden-era initiatives in several areas, including water, climate change and chemical regulations.

  • September 04, 2025

    Wash. PFAS Contamination Suit Sent Back To State Court

    A Washington federal judge has remanded to state court a refinery operator's suit alleging that firefighting foam containing per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, made and sold by The Chemours Co., Tyco Fire Products and others has contaminated the refinery.

  • September 04, 2025

    Atty Can't Duck TCPA Suit Over Camp Lejeune Calls

    A North Carolina federal judge will not trim a proposed class action accusing a plaintiffs firm of making unsolicited calls to a number on the National Do Not Call Registry in an effort to secure a client in the Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune toxic drinking water case, saying it doesn't matter if the lead plaintiff "invited" later calls.

  • September 04, 2025

    Pollution Exclusion Bars Coverage For HOA Stormwater Suit

    An insurer has no duty to defend or indemnify a homeowners association against claims that its stormwater drainage system caused flooding and damage to nearby properties, a Georgia federal court ruled, saying a pollution exclusion bars coverage.

  • September 04, 2025

    Feds Don't Have Immunity In NM Wildfire Row, Court Told

    The U.S. Forest Service's failure to comply with a plan for the Santa Fe National Forest means it cannot avoid liability by invoking an "overarching discretionary enterprise" of prescribed burning that led to the destruction of nearly 43,000 acres, a New Mexico tribe, an electric cooperative and others argue.

  • September 04, 2025

    Solar Co. Meyer Burger Unit Gets OK For $29M Ch. 11 Sale

    The U.S. unit of Swiss solar-panel maker Meyer Burger secured a Delaware bankruptcy judge's approval Thursday to sell its assets for $28.7 million in Chapter 11, defeating an objection to the deal from unsecured creditors who charged that it benefits secured creditors but no one else.

  • September 04, 2025

    Solar Co. Mosaic Gets OK For Debt-For-Equity Ch. 11 Plan

    A Texas bankruptcy judge Thursday approved residential solar panel financing firm Mosaic's plan to reorganize and hand ownership of its loan servicing business to its secured lender, after no buyers came forward at a Chapter 11 auction.

  • September 04, 2025

    Trump's Wind Project Halt Faces Suits From Conn., RI, Ørsted

    The decision by President Donald Trump's administration to stop a nearly completed wind project slated to power the New England region was met with two lawsuits on Thursday, with the attorneys general of Connecticut and Rhode Island and developer Ørsted seeking to resume construction.

Expert Analysis

  • How Cos. Can Mitigate Increasing Microplastics Liability Risk

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    Amid rising scrutiny in the U.S. and Europe of microplastics' impact on health and the growing threat of litigation against consumer product and food and beverage manufacturers, companies can limit liability through compliance with labeling laws, careful contract management and other practices, say attorneys at Rogers Joseph.

  • Strategizing For Renewable Energy Project Success In Texas

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    The Electric Reliability Council of Texas has long been a key market for renewable energy projects, but rising financial and regulatory uncertainty means that developers and investors must prepare for inflation and policy risks, secure robust insurance coverage, and leverage tax equity transferability to ensure success, say attorneys at McDermott.

  • A Cold War-Era History Lesson On Due Process

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    The landmark Harry Bridges case from the mid-20th century Red Scare offers important insights on why lawyers must be free of government reprisal, no matter who their client is, says Peter Afrasiabi at One LLP.

  • How Latin American Finance Markets May Shift Under Trump

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    Changes in the federal government are bringing profound implications for Latin American financial institutions and cross-border financing, including increased competition from U.S. banks, volatility in equity markets and stable green investor demand despite deregulation in the U.S., says David Contreiras Tyler at Womble Bond.

  • Series

    Improv Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Improv keeps me grounded and connected to what matters most, including in my legal career where it has helped me to maintain a balance between being analytical, precise and professional, and creative, authentic and open-minded, says Justine Gottshall at InfoLawGroup.

  • How BigLaw Executive Orders May Affect Smaller Firms

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    Because of the types of cases they take on, solo practitioners, small law firms and public interest attorneys may find themselves more dramatically affected by the collective impact of recent government action involving the legal industry than even the BigLaw firms named in the executive orders, says Reuben Guttman at Guttman Buschner.

  • Opinion

    Lawsuits Shouldn't Be Shadow Assets For Foreign Capital

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    Third-party litigation financing amplifies inefficiencies from litigation and facilitates national exposure to foreign influence in the U.S. justice system, so full disclosure of financing arrangements should be required as a matter of institutional integrity, says Roland Eisenhuth at the American Property Casualty Insurance Association.

  • How To Accelerate Your Post-Attorney Career Transition

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    Professionals seeking to transition to nonattorney careers may encounter skepticism as nontraditional candidates, but there are opportunities for thought leadership and to leverage speaking and writing to accelerate a post-attorney career transition, say Janet Falk at Falk Communications and Evgeny Efremkin at Toronto Metropolitan University.

  • Key Takeaways From The 2025 Spring Antitrust Meeting

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    Leadership changes, shifting priorities and evolving enforcement tools dominated the conversation at the recent American Bar Association Spring Antitrust Meeting, as panelists explored competition policy under a second Trump administration, agency discretion under the 2023 merger guidelines and new frontiers in conduct enforcement, say attorneys at Freshfields.

  • What PFAS-Treated Clothing Tariff Bill Would Mean For Cos.

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    In keeping with a nationwide trend of greater restrictions on per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, legislation pending in the U.S. House of Representatives would remove tariff advantages for PFAS-treated clothing — so businesses would be wise to proactively adapt their supply chains and review contracts to mitigate liability, say attorneys at Alston & Bird.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: Be An Indispensable Associate

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    While law school teaches you to research, write and think critically, it often overlooks the professional skills you will need to make yourself an essential team player when transitioning from a summer to full-time associate, say attorneys at Stinson.

  • What 2nd Trump Admin Means For Ship Pollution Compliance

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    As the second Trump administration's civil and criminal enforcement policies take shape, the maritime industry must ensure it complies with both national and international obligations to prevent oil pollution from seagoing vessels — with preventive efforts and voluntary disclosures being some of the best options for mitigating risk, say attorneys at Holland & Knight.

  • Mass. AG Emerges As Key Player In Consumer Protection

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    Through enforcement actions and collaborations with other states — including joining a recent amicus brief decrying the defunding of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau — Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell has established herself as a thought leader for consumer protection and corporate accountability, say attorneys at Troutman Pepper.

  • Series

    Birding Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Observing and documenting birds in their natural habitats fosters patience, sharpens observational skills and provides moments of pure wonder — qualities that foster personal growth and enrich my legal career, says Allison Raley at Arnall Golden.

  • What Cos. Should Know About U.S. Minerals Executive Order

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    President Donald Trump's new executive order aimed at boosting U.S. mineral production faces challenges including land use and environmental regulations, a lack of new funding, and the need for coordination among federal agencies, but it provides industry stakeholders with multiple opportunities to influence policy and funding, say advisers at Holland & Knight.

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