Environmental

  • August 29, 2025

    Trump Admin Yanks $679M In Offshore Wind Projects

    The U.S. Department of Transportation announced Friday that it is canceling $679 million in federal funding for a dozen offshore wind projects, the latest salvo in the Trump administration's attack on wind power. 

  • August 29, 2025

    Hurricane Maria Fraud Suit Against Adjuster Thrown Out

    A Puerto Rico federal court tossed an insurer's lawsuit against a public adjuster alleging it inflated its calculation of damage that a Puerto Rico town suffered from Hurricane Maria in 2017, finding the lawsuit amounts to "overly broad claims of dissatisfaction with the opposing party's conduct during the insurance claim process."

  • August 29, 2025

    NLRB Atty Joins Blank Rome's Labor Group In Philadelphia

    An attorney who spent the first 15 years of his legal career working with National Labor Relations Board has recently moved into private practice and joined Blank Rome LLP's growing labor team.

  • August 29, 2025

    States Say White House Caved In AmeriCorps Cut Fight

    A coalition consisting of Maryland, two dozen other states and D.C. that is challenging the Trump administration's attempts to slash AmeriCorps programs and withhold funds announced Friday the White House has chosen to release nearly $185 million as it faced "a blistering legal defeat."

  • August 28, 2025

    Trump Ends Bargaining Rights For Workers At More Agencies

    President Donald Trump on Thursday signed an executive order that purports to remove collective bargaining rights from federal workers at several more agencies, including NASA, the National Weather Service and the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, a move that one union slammed as "retaliation."

  • August 28, 2025

    9th Circ. Rules BLM Can Implement Oregon Logging Plan

    Officials at the U.S. Bureau of Land Management sufficiently vetted an Oregon logging project that conservationists claim will harm threatened wildlife, a Ninth Circuit panel has ruled, concluding the project does not violate earlier plans to protect coastal forest habitats.

  • August 28, 2025

    EPA Backs Truck-Makers' Bid To Block Calif. Emissions Regs

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Wednesday joined truck-makers in asking a California federal court to immediately block implementation of the state's emissions standards for heavy-duty trucks.

  • August 28, 2025

    Court Blocks Bid To Keep Everglades Detention Center Open

    A Florida federal judge denied a bid to halt a preliminary injunction requiring the government to cease operations at an Everglades immigration detention center, ruling no new evidence was shown that its detainees are dangerous or why a facility must be placed in that particular location. 

  • August 28, 2025

    Tribal Members Seek 5th Circ. Redo In San Antonio Park Row

    Two members of a Native American church are asking the Fifth Circuit to rehear its appeal, which looks to block the restoration of a San Antonio park, saying that if left uncorrected, the opinion will leave religious believers vulnerable and sow confusion among district courts.

  • August 28, 2025

    Energy Dept. Extends Pa. Plant's Lifespan, Citing Power Risks

    U.S. Department of Energy Secretary Chris Wright on Thursday ordered PJM Interconnection and Constellation Energy to continue operating a Pennsylvania power plant that was supposed to have closed in May.

  • August 28, 2025

    Red States Fight Youths' Effort To Stop Trump Energy Orders

    Blocking implementation of President Donald Trump's energy-related emergency orders would harm the U.S. electric grid and economy in ways that would outweigh any purported climate change benefits, Republican-led states told a Montana federal judge.

  • August 28, 2025

    Hawaii Transient Tax Is Unconstitutional, Cruise Cos. Say

    The extension of Hawaii's 11% transient accommodation tax to cruise ship passengers under a new law violates the U.S. Constitution, a group of cruise companies told a U.S. district court.

  • August 28, 2025

    UK Plastic Packaging Tax Revenue Dips As Exemptions Rise

    The U.K. has collected slightly less revenue from its tax on plastic packaging over the past year as manufacturers have begun using more recycled materials to qualify for exemptions from the levy and imports have declined, HM Revenue & Customs said Thursday.

  • August 28, 2025

    FedArb Hires Ex-RTX Legal Chief As Commercial Mediator

    California-based alternative dispute resolution service Federal Arbitration Inc., or FedArb, announced Wednesday the hiring of a former corporate vice president and chief litigation counsel at aerospace and defense conglomerate RTX Corp. as a Connecticut-based mediator and arbitrator focused on commercial matters.

  • August 28, 2025

    Hotel Group Says Insurer Owes $12.5M For Helene Losses

    A hotel group said it is entitled to recover $12.5 million from a Liberty Mutual unit for business interruption losses stemming from Hurricane Helene, the company said, telling a North Carolina federal court that the insurer has unjustifiably and in bad faith refused to provide coverage.

  • August 28, 2025

    Commonwealth Fusion Systems Wraps $863M Funding Round

    Private fusion company Commonwealth Fusion Systems on Thursday revealed that it clinched an $863 million Series B2 funding round, marking what the company says is the "largest amount raised" among deep tech and energy companies since its 2021 $1.8 billion Series B funding round.

  • August 27, 2025

    Buyers Drop State Claims In Target Deceptive 'Clean' Label Suit

    A proposed class of consumers alleging Target's Clean range of beauty products actually contain chemicals harmful to humans and the environment agreed Wednesday to voluntarily dismiss their specific state law claims without prejudice.

  • August 27, 2025

    Tribe Wins Limited Approval Of Bid To Intervene In Casino Suit

    A California federal judge said the Koi Nation may intervene in the state's lawsuit over a U.S. government plan to put land into trust for the tribe's proposed casino, but she also ruled it hasn't waived its sovereign immunity so it will not be joined to the litigation as an indispensable party.

  • August 27, 2025

    Colorado Sues Mobile Home Park Over Unsafe Drinking Water

    Colorado health officials told a state judge on Wednesday that a local mobile home park's drinking water tested positive for potentially dangerous bacteria, and the mobile home park is violating state law by ignoring mandated further testing and refusing to notify residents of the test results.

  • August 27, 2025

    Solar Co. Failed To Give Proper Layoff Notice, Suit Says

    Solar energy company PosiGen failed to provide proper notice before terminating hundreds of employees as part of a mass layoff affecting workers at sites in Pennsylvania, Louisiana and other states, according to a proposed class action filed in Delaware federal court.

  • August 27, 2025

    Miner, Recreationists Oppose Intervention In Monument Fight

    A California miner and a public recreation nonprofit are opposing bids by nine environmental groups and five tribal nations to intervene "as of right" in a suit challenging the Chuckwalla National Monument's protected status, telling a Michigan federal judge they're not entitled to intervention.

  • August 27, 2025

    Feds, Blue States Clash Over Future Of EV Funding Fight

    The Trump administration says its recent decision to release funding for new electric-vehicle charging infrastructure moots Democratic-led states' litigation challenging the prior revocation of the funding, but the states said they're still being harmed and their lawsuit should proceed.

  • August 27, 2025

    Greenberg Traurig Adds Real Estate Pro From DR Horton

    Greenberg Traurig LLP has added a real estate and construction pro, who joins the firm from an in-house role at homebuilding company D.R. Horton, to its real estate practice.

  • August 26, 2025

    Proposed NIH Class Can Join UC Grant Cuts Suit, Judge Says

    A California federal judge ruled Tuesday that a proposed class action seeking to reinstate grants awarded to University of California researchers that were nixed pursuant to President Donald Trump's executive orders can amend the complaint to add researchers whose National Institutes of Health grants have been recently suspended.

  • August 26, 2025

    Mich. Paper Mill Settles Noxious Odor Suit

    After losing their bid for class certification, property owners who complained about a rotten-egg smell coming from a nearby paper mill have reached a deal with Graphic Packaging International, according to an order by a Michigan federal judge, who dismissed the case on Tuesday.

Expert Analysis

  • In-House Expert Testimony Is Tricky, But Worth Considering

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    Litigation counsel often reject the notion of designating in-house personnel to provide expert opinion testimony at trial, but dismissing them outright can result in a significant missed opportunity, say David Ben-Meir at Ben-Meir Law and Martin Pitha at Lillis Pitha.

  • Issues To Watch At ABA's Antitrust Spring Meeting

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    Attorneys at Freshfields consider the future of antitrust law and competition enforcement amid agency leadership changes and other emerging developments likely to dominate discussion at the American Bar Association's Antitrust Spring Meeting this week.

  • Tracking Changes To AI Evidence Under Federal Rules

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    As the first quarter of 2025 draws to a close, important changes to the Federal Rules of Evidence regarding the use of artificial intelligence in the courtroom are on the horizon, including how to handle evidence that is a product of machine learning, say attorneys at Debevoise.

  • State Extended Producer Responsibility Laws: Tips For Cos.

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    As states increasingly shift the onus of end-of-life product management from consumers and local governments to the businesses that produce, distribute or sell certain items, companies must track the changing landscape and evaluate the applicability of these new laws and regulations to their operations, say attorneys at Alston & Bird.

  • Law Firm Executive Orders Create A Legal Ethics Minefield

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    Recent executive orders targeting BigLaw firms create ethical dilemmas — and raise the specter of civil or criminal liability — for the government attorneys tasked with implementing them and for the law firms that choose to make agreements with the administration, say attorneys at Buchalter.

  • 5 Steps To Promote Durable, Pro-Industry Environmental Regs

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    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's planned wave of deregulation will require lengthy reviews, and could be undone by legal challenges and future changes of administration — but industry involvement in rulemaking, litigation, trade associations, and state and federal legislation can help ensure favorable and long-lasting regulatory policies, say attorneys at Balch & Bingham.

  • Firms Must Embrace Alternative Billing Models Or Fall Behind

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    As artificial intelligence tools eliminate inefficiencies and the Big Four accounting firms enter the legal market, law firms that pivot from the entrenched billable hour model to outcomes-based pricing will see a distinct competitive advantage, says attorney William Brewer.

  • Key Insurance Issues Likely To Arise From NY Superfund Law

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    The recently enacted New York Climate Change Superfund Act imposes a massive $75 billion in liabilities on energy companies in the fossil fuel industry, which can be expected to look to their insurers for coverage, raising a slew of coverage issues both old and new, say attorneys at Wiley.

  • How Trump Policies Are Affecting The Right To Repair

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    Recent policy changes by the second Trump administration — ranging from deregulatory initiatives to tariff increases — are likely to have both positive and negative effects on the ability of independent repair shops and individual consumers to exercise their right to repair electronic devices, say attorneys at Carter Ledyard.

  • How Attorneys Can Master The Art Of On-Camera Presence

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    As attorneys are increasingly presented with on-camera opportunities, they can adapt their traditional legal skills for video contexts — such as virtual client meetings, marketing content or media interviews — by understanding the medium and making intentional adjustments, says Kerry Barrett.

  • Series

    Baseball Fantasy Camp Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    With six baseball fantasy experiences under my belt, I've learned time and again that I didn't make the wrong career choice, but I've also learned that baseball lessons are life lessons, and I'm a better lawyer for my time at St. Louis Cardinals fantasy camp, says Scott Felder at Wiley.

  • DOJ Immigration Playbook May Take Cues From A 2017 Case

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    A record criminal resolution with a tree trimming company accused of knowingly employing unauthorized workers in 2017 may provide clues as to how the U.S. Department of Justice’s immigration crackdown will touch American companies, which should prepare now for potential enforcement actions, says Jonathan Porter at Husch Blackwell.

  • NM Case Shows Power Of Environmental Public Nuisance Law

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    A recent ruling from a New Mexico appeals court finding that a pattern of environmental violations, even without any substantial impact on a nearby community, can trigger nuisance liability — including potential damages and injunctive relief — has important implications for regulated entities in the state, says Kaleb Brooks at Spencer Fane.

  • Series

    Adapting To Private Practice: From Fed. Prosecutor To BigLaw

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    Making the jump from government to private practice is no small feat, but, based on my experience transitioning to a business-driven environment after 15 years as an assistant U.S. attorney, it can be incredibly rewarding and help you become a more versatile lawyer, says Michael Beckwith at Dickinson Wright.

  • Opinion

    After Fires, Calif. Must Streamline Enviro Reviews For Housing

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    Recent waivers to the California Environmental Quality Act and other laws granted by California Gov. Gavin Newsom to expedite reconstruction of residential property damaged in the Los Angeles wildfires are laudable — but given the state's widespread housing shortage, policymakers should extend the same benefits to other communities, say attorneys at Alston & Bird.

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