Environmental

  • June 13, 2025

    Feds Say Enviro Group Doesn't Belong In Texas Mussel Suit

    The U.S. Department of the Interior told a Texas federal judge Friday an environmental group has no right to join a Texas suit challenging the classification of several Central Texas mussel species as endangered or threatened, saying no divergence of interests exists.

  • June 13, 2025

    SEC Scrubs Biden-Era Agenda To Give Atkins A 'Clean Slate'

    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is backing away from promised Biden-era regulations on cybersecurity risk management, environmental disclosures and equity market reform, withdrawing over a dozen rule proposals as newly appointed Chair Paul Atkins seeks to rewrite the agency's agenda.

  • June 13, 2025

    Trump Ends Protections, Funding For Columbia River Basin

    President Donald Trump has pulled the U.S. from a Biden-era agreement with two Pacific Northwest states and three tribal nations to restore salmon populations in the Columbia River Basin and increase clean energy production, saying his administration is committed to protecting the country from "radical green agenda policies."

  • June 13, 2025

    Michigan AG Sues Auto Suppliers Over Toxic Pollution

    The Michigan Attorney General's Office alleged two auto parts suppliers illegally discharged untreated contaminated water that reached multiple bodies of water and emitted an unlawful amount of air pollutants in a new complaint seeking civil penalties and contamination cleanup costs.

  • June 13, 2025

    Enviro Orgs. Challenge Trump's Mercury Rule Pass For Coal Plants

    As the Trump administration moves to undo recently tightened mercury emissions rules for coal-fired power plants, environmental groups have challenged President Donald Trump's decision to exempt dozens of plants from the stricter standards.

  • June 13, 2025

    DC Circ. Sides With FERC In Substation Cost Dispute

    A D.C. Circuit panel ruled Friday that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission got it right when it denied a wind facility operator's petition seeking reimbursement from the Western Area Power Administration for its contribution to a substation expansion.

  • June 13, 2025

    UK Litigation Roundup: Here's What You Missed In London

    This past week in London has seen Tottenham Hotspur FC kick off against Manchester United co-owner Ineos Automotive following a soured sponsorship deal, Acer and Nokia clash over patents for video coding technology, and two investors reignite litigation against the founders of an AI exercise bike business that unlawfully pocketed $1.2 million in investments to fund their own lifestyles. Here, Law360 looks at these and other new claims in the U.K.

  • June 13, 2025

    Cooley, Latham Lead Drone Operator Airo's $60M IPO

    Drone systems developer Airo Group Holdings Inc. began trading Friday after a $60 million initial public offering priced below its targeted range and guided by Cooley LLP and underwriters' counsel Latham & Watkins LLP.

  • June 12, 2025

    Calif. Insurance Chief Probes State Farm's Wildfire Coverage

    California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara announced Thursday that he is launching an investigation into State Farm's handling of thousands of claims from the devastating Los Angeles-area wildfires, as complaints continue to grow.

  • June 12, 2025

    Roundup Plaintiffs' Rip Of Expert Was Off Base, Jury Hears

    A Missouri jury weighing a Roundup cancer case heard expert testimony Thursday that plaintiffs offered a "remarkable mischaracterization" of a defense expert witness on cancer causation when they said in openings that he was "discredited."

  • June 12, 2025

    Green Groups Call Utility's Rate Freeze 'Smoke And Mirrors'

    A coalition of environmental groups on Thursday challenged Georgia's utility commission's planned agreement with Georgia Power to freeze utility rates for the next three years, alleging that the "smoke and mirrors" deal hides rate increases until after the commission's first elections in years.

  • June 12, 2025

    Judge Won't Ax DC Water Fee Suit Against Feds

    A Court of Federal Claims judge on Thursday refused to dismiss the D.C. Water and Sewer Authority's claims that it is owed various fees from the Armed Forces Retirement Home, finding the Clean Water Act includes a waiver of sovereign immunity.

  • June 12, 2025

    Suit Over Biden Mining Rule Paused As Trump Plans Changes

    State and federal litigants in a suit over a Biden-era regulation that imposed more requirements on states to address possible mining law violations were granted a breather Thursday after the Trump administration said it plans to loosen the mandate once again.

  • June 12, 2025

    3rd Circ. Will Reconsider Shipbuilder's Ch. 11 Reopening Bid

    The Third Circuit said Thursday that it will reconsider whether to reopen Congoleum Corp.'s 2003 Chapter 11 bankruptcy so the bankruptcy court, not a district court, can say whether Congoleum affiliate Bath Iron Works should share liability for cleaning up a polluted New Jersey river.

  • June 12, 2025

    Review Ordered For Alaska Gold Mine As Permits Kept Alive

    An Alaska federal judge isn't revoking key permits for a proposed gold mine in the state's Yukon–Kuskokwim region despite finding legal flaws in an environmental review, but she has ordered government agencies to reassess the risks of a catastrophic tailings spill while construction remains paused.

  • June 12, 2025

    Calif. Sues Trump Over 'Wildly Partisan' EV Waiver Repeal

    The California attorney general and 10 other states sued the Trump administration in federal court Thursday, minutes after President Donald Trump signed resolutions repealing California's Clean Air Act waiver that allowed the state to establish its own vehicle emissions standards, slamming the resolutions as unconstitutional, irrational and "wildly partisan."

  • June 12, 2025

    Nutrien Says Ex-Employee Helped NC Rival Steal Office, Staff

    The retail arm of global fertilizer company Nutrien Ltd. has accused a former crop consultant of swiping its trade secrets before decamping for a rival, saying in a federal lawsuit that he colluded with his new employer to hijack a branch office, its staff and its customers.

  • June 12, 2025

    Admin Of $600M Norfolk Southern Derailment Deal Removed

    The company administrating the payouts to plaintiffs in Norfolk Southern's $600 million settlement stemming from the fiery derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, has been replaced, because it purportedly made miscalculations that overpaid some claimants.

  • June 12, 2025

    Philly Suburb Retirees Sue Ch. 9 Receiver Over Asset Sale

    A committee of retired city employees sued the Chapter 9 receiver overseeing the city of Chester, Pennsylvania's municipal bankruptcy, arguing that by requiring water system assets be sold to a publicly owned entity, the receiver is forgoing private bids that could generate an extra $270 million for the city's creditors. 

  • June 12, 2025

    Ex-Interior Secretary Salazar On 'Coming Home' To WilmerHale

    Former U.S. Sen. Ken Salazar of Colorado, who served as secretary of the U.S. Department of the Interior during the Obama administration and most recently as ambassador to Mexico during the Biden administration, returned this month to WilmerHale's Denver office, which he founded in 2014.

  • June 11, 2025

    4th Circ. Urged To Rethink Block On Federal Grant Restoration

    A group of nonprofits and cities asked the Fourth Circuit to reconsider its decision blocking an order that restored 32 congressionally funded grants frozen by the Trump administration, arguing Tuesday that the circuit's approach "would enable the Executive Branch to evade judicial review and unconstitutional actions to go unchecked."

  • June 11, 2025

    Judge Sides With Feds In Suit Over NJ Wind Farm Approvals

    A New Jersey federal judge on Wednesday rejected a revised attempt by an advocacy group to block a set of federal approvals allowing incidental harm to marine life during work on offshore wind projects, finding the group's president failed to show how he was harmed by the approvals.

  • June 11, 2025

    EPA Floats Takedown Of Biden GHG, Mercury Emissions Regs

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Wednesday said that the nation's power sector's greenhouse gas emissions don't significantly endanger people's health, and that therefore, the Clean Air Act doesn't allow regulations aimed at reducing those releases.

  • June 11, 2025

    Chubb Unit Underpaid Hydroelectric Plant Losses, Suit Says

    A Chubb unit underpaid a renewable energy plant operator for losses sustained after several water flow barriers malfunctioned, the assignee of the operator told a New York federal court, saying the insurer paid less than half of the $5.6 million it owed.

  • June 11, 2025

    Trump DOJ Clears Path To Shrink Or Abolish Nat'l Monuments

    National monuments protected by past U.S. presidents can be abolished or made smaller by President Donald Trump, according to an opinion from the Department of Justice's Office of Legal Counsel.

Expert Analysis

  • The Repercussions Of FEMA's Wildfire Cleanup Policy Cuts

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    The Federal Emergency Management Agency recently announced a decision to cease conducting additional soil tests to confirm that the land is safe and free of toxins after wildfires, meaning people could be moving back into houses unfit for human habitation, potentially leading to years of lawsuits, says Vineet Dubey at Custodio & Dubey.

  • What's At Stake As 9th Circ. Eyes Cultural Resource Damages

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    In Pakootas v. Teck Cominco, the Ninth Circuit is faced with the long-unresolved question of whether cultural resource damages are recoverable as part of natural resource damages under the Superfund law — and the answer will have enormous implications for companies, natural resource trustees and Native American tribes, says Sarah Bell at Farella Braun.

  • E-Discovery Quarterly: The Perils Of Digital Data Protocols

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    Though stipulated protocols governing the treatment of electronically stored information in litigation are meant to streamline discovery, recent disputes demonstrate that certain missteps in the process can lead to significant inefficiencies, say attorneys at Sidley.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: Preparing For Corporate Work

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    Law school often doesn't cover the business strategy, financial fluency and negotiation skills needed for a successful corporate or transactional law practice, but there are practical ways to gain relevant experience and achieve the mindset shifts critical to a thriving career in this space, says Dakota Forsyth at Olshan Frome.

  • Strategies To Help Witnesses Manage Deposition Anxiety

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    During and leading up to deposition, witnesses may experience anxiety stemming from numerous sources and manifesting in a variety of ways, but attorneys can help them mitigate their stress using a few key methods, say consultants at Courtroom Sciences.

  • 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.

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