Environmental

  • January 15, 2026

    House OKs Restricting ESG Investment In 401(k) Plans

    The U.S. House of Representatives greenlighted a bill Thursday that would restrict how retirement plan managers can consider environmental, social and governance issues when picking investments, codifying a 2020 U.S. Department of Labor rule requiring a sole focus on financial risk factors.

  • January 14, 2026

    Fla. Tribe Urges 11th Circ. To Uphold Detention Center Block

    A federally recognized Florida tribe has asked the 11th Circuit to uphold a lower court's preliminary injunction halting operations of an immigrant detention center in the Everglades, arguing that environmental safeguards are at stake rather than immigration policy.

  • January 14, 2026

    EPA's Cost Analysis U-Turn May Invite Courtroom Inquiries

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's decision to no longer put a dollar value on health benefits when crafting certain air pollution rules could be scrutinized in lawsuits, which could force the agency to justify departing from its long-standing practice.

  • January 14, 2026

    Feds Sue Calif. Over Ban On Drilling Near Schools, Homes

    The U.S. government sued California on Wednesday over its law banning fossil fuel development activities within 3,200 feet of homes, schools and other sensitive areas, saying the state law is preempted by federal law since it infringes on the U.S. government's authority to manage federal lands and mineral resources.

  • January 14, 2026

    Washington Urges DOE To Reconsider Coal Plant Restart

    Washington state has sought a rehearing over what its attorney general says is a "clumsy" U.S. Department of Energy order to continue operations at a coal plant set to be retired, arguing the plant lacks proper staffing and produces costlier electricity.

  • January 14, 2026

    Enviro Groups Sue Feds Over Montana Fire, Grazing Plans

    Conservation groups are asking a federal district court to block a Bureau of Land Management decision that will allow vegetation management treatments that include widespread prescribed fires and target grazing on 905,000 acres in southwest Montana, arguing the federal agency authorized the project without a specified time frame.

  • January 14, 2026

    Calif. Car Cos. Hit With $200M Chancery Fraud Suit

    Several California-based car companies, as well as their leader and current and former executives, orchestrated a fraudulent acquisition and asset transfer scheme designed to render a lucrative fuel trading contract worthless and shield a defense contractor from more than $200 million in liabilities, a lawsuit brought Wednesday in the Delaware Chancery Court says.

  • January 14, 2026

    Duke Energy Fights To Recover Over $17M In Fuel Costs

    In an effort to secure recovery of over $17 million in fuel costs, counsel for Duke Energy's electric utilities serving the Carolinas told a state appeals court Wednesday that lawmakers have always intended for utilities to recover or return fuel costs "dollar for dollar."

  • January 14, 2026

    Trump Admin Drops Appeal In Transportation Funds Suit

    The Trump administration has dropped its First Circuit appeal of an order blocking it from tying billions of dollars in federal transportation funding to states' cooperation with its immigration crackdown.

  • January 14, 2026

    Ford Wants Out Of EV Battery Plant Wage Suit

    Ford Motor Co. urged a Michigan federal court to toss a proposed class and collective action accusing the company of stiffing workers on their full wages at an electric vehicle battery plant in Kentucky, saying the named plaintiff failed to establish Ford was his employer.

  • January 14, 2026

    Poultry Co. Reaches $5M Deal In Okla. Water Pollution Suit

    A poultry producer found to have polluted waters in Oklahoma reached a settlement with the state Wednesday, agreeing to pay $5 million for remediation and conservation projects, according to Attorney General Gentner Drummond.

  • January 14, 2026

    Idaho Tribes Urge 9th Circ. To Uphold Land Swap Ruling

    The Shoshone-Bannock Tribes are asking the Ninth Circuit to deny a bid by a global agribusiness and the federal government for an en banc panel rehearing on its decision to invalidate an Idaho land transfer, saying the petition doesn't raise any exceptional questions and ignores long-standing Supreme Court precedent.

  • January 13, 2026

    States Lose Bid To Freeze EPA Solar Grant Funds, For Now

    A Seattle federal judge Tuesday denied a coalition of states' bid to preliminarily block the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency from cutting solar power grant programs as they challenge the agency's termination of its $7 billion Biden-era "Solar for All" program.

  • January 13, 2026

    San Antonio Slams Tribal Church Rehearing Bid In 5th Circ.

    San Antonio is fighting an attempt by two Native American church members to win a Fifth Circuit rehearing in a case over plans to restore a municipal park, saying a panel of the appeals court broke no new ground in its December opinion that would merit another look.

  • January 13, 2026

    9th Circ. Says Loggers' Suit Does Not Show A Monopoly

    The Ninth Circuit declined Tuesday to revive a lawsuit by a coalition of logging groups that accused a U.S. Forest Service contractor of monopolizing the industry in the Pacific Northwest, finding the plaintiffs' antitrust claims lacked adequate details.

  • January 13, 2026

    US Patent Applications Plunge After Years Of Growth

    The number of patent applications filed in the U.S. dropped 9% in 2025 to the lowest level since 2019 after seven years of growth, and the number of granted applications also declined slightly, according to a report released Tuesday.

  • January 13, 2026

    Energy Co. Seeks Early Win In ND Lease Cancellation Row

    A Colorado energy company is asking a North Dakota federal district court to vacate a series of Bureau of Indian Affairs decisions that determined it didn't own a legally protected interest in a decades-old 320-acre gas and oil lease on the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation.

  • January 13, 2026

    Youths Urge 9th Circ. To Revive Trump Energy Orders Fight

    A group of young people asked the Ninth Circuit to revive their lawsuit challenging President Donald Trump's energy-related emergency orders, arguing the lower court erred by saying it did not have jurisdiction to rule on the matter.

  • January 13, 2026

    Court Urged To Block Trump Admin's Anti-Wind, Solar Orders

    Clean energy advocates have asked a Massachusetts federal judge to block a suite of Trump administration actions aimed at restricting wind and solar development, claiming there's no justification for the policies aside from the administration being anti-renewable energy.

  • January 13, 2026

    NJ Sues Metal Recycler Over Fires, Cites Public Nuisance

    New Jersey has launched a public nuisance suit against one of the nation's largest scrap metal recyclers, alleging that the company has allowed hazardous conditions at its Camden facilities to persist for years, triggering more than a dozen fires that have repeatedly blanketed nearby neighborhoods in smoke and toxic pollution.

  • January 13, 2026

    Maine Alters Excise Tax Assessment On Camper Trailers

    Maine will change its application and collection of excise tax on camper trailers under a law that took effect without the signature of Democratic Gov. Janet Mills.

  • January 12, 2026

    NY Fights Feds' Stop-Work Orders For Offshore Wind Projects

    New York is challenging a federal order halting construction of two offshore wind projects that are projected to power more than a million homes, saying the Trump administration has not explained why the projects, which both previously passed all safety and environmental reviews, have suddenly presented national security concerns.

  • January 12, 2026

    Dominion Energy Wants $11B Offshore Wind Project Revived

    Dominion Energy has asked a Virginia federal court to block the Trump administration from shutting down work on an $11 billion offshore wind project, arguing that the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management hasn't explained its rationale for the abrupt suspension order, which threatens thousands of jobs and hundreds of millions of dollars.

  • January 12, 2026

    Energy Dept.'s Blue State Grant Cuts Are Unlawful, Court Says

    President Donald Trump's administration unlawfully canceled hundreds of U.S. Department of Energy grants slated for states whose voters leaned toward former Vice President Kamala Harris in the last election, a D.C. federal judge ruled Monday when finding that the government's decision violates the Fifth Amendment's equal protection guarantee.

  • January 12, 2026

    Terumo Plaintiff Settles, Drops Cancer Case Before Trial

    One of the two plaintiffs set to take their case to trial this month against Terumo BCT Inc. accusing the company of causing their cancer reached a stipulation to dismiss his case with prejudice Friday, according to court records.

Expert Analysis

  • 10 Quick Tips To Elevate Your Evidence Presentation At Trial

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    A strong piece of evidence, whether in the form of testimony or exhibit, is wasted if not presented effectively, so attorneys must prepare with precision to help fact-finders both retain the information and internalize its significance, says Allison Rocker at Baker McKenzie.

  • Series

    Practicing Stoicism Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Practicing Stoicism, by applying reason to ignore my emotions and govern my decisions, has enabled me to approach challenging situations in a structured way, ultimately providing advice singularly devoted to a client's interest, says John Baranello at Moses & Singer.

  • Series

    The Biz Court Digest: Texas, One Year In

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    A year after the Texas Business Court's first decision, it's clear that Texas didn't just copy Delaware and instead built something uniquely its own, combining specialization with constitutional accountability and creating a model that looks forward without losing touch with the state's democratic and statutory roots, says Chris Bankler at Jackson Walker.

  • AG Watch: Illinois A Key Player In State-Level Enforcement

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    Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul has systematically strengthened his office to fill federal enforcement gaps, oppose Trump administration mandates and advance state policy objectives, particularly by aggressively pursuing labor-related issues, say attorneys at Troutman.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: Educating Your Community

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    Nearly two decades prosecuting scammers and elder fraud taught me that proactively educating the public about the risks they face and the rights they possess is essential to building trust within our communities, empowering otherwise vulnerable citizens and preventing wrongdoers from gaining a foothold, says Roger Handberg at GrayRobinson.

  • 5 Crisis Lawyering Skills For An Age Of Uncertainty

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    As attorneys increasingly face unprecedented and pervasive situations — from prosecutions of law enforcement officials to executive orders targeting law firms — they must develop several essential competencies of effective crisis lawyering, says Ray Brescia at Albany Law School.

  • Opinion

    It's Time For The Judiciary To Fix Its Cybersecurity Problem

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    After recent reports that hackers have once again infiltrated federal courts’ electronic case management systems, the judiciary should strengthen its cybersecurity practices in line with executive branch standards, outlining clear roles and responsibilities for execution, says Ilona Cohen at HackerOne.

  • Identifying The Sources And Impacts Of Juror Contamination

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    Jury contamination can be pervasive, so it is important that trial teams be able to spot its sources and take specific mitigation steps, says consultant Clint Townson.

  • Why This Popular Class Cert. Approach Doesn't Measure Up

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    In recent class certification decisions, plaintiffs experts have used the in-sample prediction approach to show that challenged conduct harmed all, or almost all, proposed class members — but this approach is unreliable because it fails two fundamental tests of reliable econometric methods, say consultants at Cornerstone Research.

  • State Of Insurance: Q3 Notes From Illinois

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    Matthew Fortin at BatesCarey discusses notable developments in Illinois insurance law from the last quarter including a state appellate court's weighing in on the scope of appraisal, a pending certified question in the Illinois Supreme Court from the Seventh Circuit on the applicability of pollution exclusions to permitted emissions, and more.

  • Key Lessons From Youths' Suit Against Trump Energy Orders

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    A Montana federal court's recent decision in Lighthiser v. Trump, dismissing a challenge by a group of young plaintiffs to President Donald Trump's executive orders promoting fossil fuels, indicates that future climate litigants must anchor their suits in discrete, final agency actions and statutory text, say attorneys at ArentFox Schiff.

  • Series

    Writing Novels Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Writing my debut novel taught me to appreciate the value of critique and to never give up, no matter how long or tedious the journey, providing me with valuable skills that I now emphasize in my practice, says Daniel Buzzetta at BakerHostetler.

  • SDNY OpenAI Order Clarifies Preservation Standards For AI

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    The Southern District of New York’s recent order in the OpenAI copyright infringement litigation, denying discovery of The New York Times' artificial intelligence technology use, clarifies that traditional preservation benchmarks apply to AI content, relieving organizations from using a “keep everything” approach, says Philip Favro at Favro Law.

  • What EPA's Continued Defense Of PFAS Rule Means For Cos.

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    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's recent decision to continue defending a Biden-era rule designating two per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances as Superfund hazards may provide the EPA with significant authority over national PFAS cleanup policy — and spur further litigation by both government and private parties, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • Opinion

    High Court, Not A Single Justice, Should Decide On Recusal

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    As public trust in the U.S. Supreme Court continues to decline, the court should adopt a collegial framework in which all justices decide questions of recusal together — a reform that respects both judicial independence and due process for litigants, say Michael Broyde at Emory University and Hayden Hall at the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware.

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