Environmental

  • April 01, 2026

    Archer Builds Environmental Team With Partner From Wilentz

    Archer & Greiner PC is expanding its environmental practice by adding to its Hackensack, New Jersey, office a partner from Wilentz Goldman & Spitzer PA who is bringing over 20 years of experience in a range of transactional and regulatory matters.

  • March 31, 2026

    'Best Judicial System In The World': Alsup Reflects On Career

    Before taking inactive status late last year, U.S. District Judge William H. Alsup presided over historic litigation in California's Northern District for 26 years, arriving at his San Francisco chambers every weekday before dawn to prepare for the day's work.

  • March 31, 2026

    Chubb Investor Can't Add Climate Proposal In Proxy Material

    A D.C. federal judge declined to grant a preliminary injunction to a shareholder advocacy group suing Chubb for excluding its climate-related proposal from Chubb's yearly proxy materials, ruling Tuesday it hasn't shown the proposal falls outside U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission regulations exempting proposals involving issues related to a company's ordinary business operations.

  • March 31, 2026

    Wash. Creates Electric Transmission Authority With New Law

    Washington passed a law on Monday forming a state electric transmission authority to supercharge efforts to build out the Evergreen State's power grid through public-private partnerships and other initiatives, with a focus on shifting to renewable energy sources to meet the state's decarbonization goals. 

  • March 31, 2026

    Ariz. Judge Keeps Oak Flat Stay Pending 9th Circ. Rehearing

    An Arizona federal judge has agreed with Apache tribal members and environmental groups that a stay should remain in place as they await a Ninth Circuit decision on their legal fight to block the transfer of 2,500 acres to a copper mining company.

  • March 31, 2026

    Verizon Can't Enforce Tower Lease, Judge Says

    Verizon Wireless did not provide the North Carolina landowner it signed a cell tower equipment lease with what it had promised in the bargain, and therefore the lease is not valid, a North Carolina federal court has ruled.

  • March 31, 2026

    'Construction Has To Stop!': Judge Blocks Trump's Ballroom

    A Washington, D.C., federal judge Tuesday granted a historical preservation nonprofit's request for a preliminary injunction halting President Donald Trump's plans to turn the White House's East Wing into an "enormous" 89,000-square-foot ballroom, saying "unless and until Congress blesses this project through statutory authorization, construction has to stop!"

  • March 31, 2026

    Judge Sides With Navy In Hunters Point Cleanup Challenge

    An environmental justice group failed to show that the U.S. Navy's remediation plan for the Hunters Point Naval Shipyard Superfund site is arbitrary and capricious despite an analysis showing cancer risks exceeded the acceptable range, a California federal judge ruled.

  • March 31, 2026

    'God Squad' Exempts Gulf Drillers From Species Protections

    A federal committee with the power to waive Endangered Species Act protections convened for the first time in 34 years on Tuesday and granted an exemption for oil and gas activities in the Gulf of Mexico.

  • March 31, 2026

    Transpo Tracker: Congestion Pricing Survives, EV Rule At Risk

    In our inaugural Law360 Transportation Tracker, a New York district court walloped the Trump administration's effort to cancel Manhattan's congestion pricing, the federal government continued its assault on California's vehicle emissions regulations, and Boeing investors scored class certification in 737 Max-related securities fraud litigation.

  • March 31, 2026

    Colo. Judge OKs $2.5M Damages In Metal Workers' Wage Suit

    The owner of a now-defunct metal fabrication and construction company will have to shell out $2.5 million in damages in a case seeking unpaid wages, a Colorado federal judge has ruled, agreeing with a magistrate judge's recommendation to enter default judgment but disagreeing that theft damages were not necessary.

  • March 31, 2026

    Public Health Groups Challenge EPA's Mercury Limits Repeal

    The American Academy of Pediatrics and more than a dozen environmental and public health groups are calling on the D.C. Circuit to vacate the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's repeal of Biden-era limits on mercury and air toxins, saying the move will jeopardize children's health across the country.

  • March 31, 2026

    11th Circ. Won't Revisit Order Keeping Migrant Facility Open

    The Eleventh Circuit on Tuesday denied a request from environmental nonprofits to allow a lower court's order halting operations of a Florida immigrant detention facility, saying in a split decision that new issues were improperly raised for the first time. 

  • March 31, 2026

    Feds Ask For Early Win In Hookless Cactus FOIA Suit

    The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the U.S. Department of the Interior have asked a federal judge for an early win in a conservation nonprofit's suit over withheld records about a proposed rule to remove the Colorado hookless cactus from the endangered species list.

  • March 30, 2026

    Trump, Biden Changes To Endangered Species Regs Vacated

    A California federal judge on Monday threw out Endangered Species Act regulation changes from the first Trump administration and Biden administration for being unlawful, saying the regulations contradicted the animal and habitat conservation law, including by paring back federal agency duties and narrowing the scope of the law's protection.

  • March 30, 2026

    Forest Service Beats Suit Over Timber Targets

    A D.C. federal judge on Monday ruled against environmental groups challenging the U.S. Forest Service's timber harvesting program, holding that annual timber targets aren't discrete agency actions for purposes of judicial review, and that the government sufficiently assessed the environmental impact of logging projects.

  • March 30, 2026

    Product Liability Q1 Regulatory Roundup

    In the first three months of 2026, executive orders and other regulatory actions by the Trump administration have taken on products with "Made in America" labeling, called for the increased manufacture of the herbicide ingredient glyphosate, and addressed what e-cigarette flavors could receive the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's approval, among others.

  • March 30, 2026

    Kimberly-Clark Slips Conn. Town's 'Speculative' PFAS Claims

    A proposed class action claiming Kimberly-Clark Corp. polluted a Connecticut town's water and soil with toxic "forever chemicals" failed to allege plausible facts tying the contamination or any injuries to the paper goods maker, relying instead on assumptions and guesswork, a federal judge has ruled in dismissing the case.

  • March 30, 2026

    Nearby Polluters Must Face Gowanus Canal Cleanup Suit

    A New York federal judge on Sunday declined to dismiss a lawsuit brought by National Grid seeking to force 40 other parties accused of polluting Brooklyn's Gowanus Canal to pay their share of the Superfund cleanup costs.

  • March 30, 2026

    Fla. Gov. OKs Land Use Bill Despite Miami Beach Resort Fight

    Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill that imposes a variety of preemptions over local governments' land use review powers, potentially teeing up a fight with Miami Beach over a contentious proposal that could pave the way for a resort water park project that faces steep opposition. 

  • March 30, 2026

    BNSF Says 9th Circ. Opinion Nixes Montana Asbestos Case

    BNSF Railway Co. asked a Montana federal court Monday to throw out a lawsuit alleging it let dust from asbestos-containing vermiculite accumulate at its rail yard in Libby, Montana, arguing that a recent Ninth Circuit case showed the claims are preempted by federal law and blocked by the common carrier exception.

  • March 30, 2026

    Catching Up With Delaware's Chancery Court

    The Delaware Chancery Court's docket this past week featured disputes involving globally recognized companies, high-dollar contract fights, revived claims from the state's high court and the resolution of a closely watched de-SPAC case.

  • March 30, 2026

    Judge Tosses ESA Challenge Against Nevada Lithium Mine

    A Nevada federal judge says the federal government didn't violate the Endangered Species Act in approving a more than 7,100-acre lithium mining project that conservation groups argue will drive a rare wildflower into extinction, finding the decision was not arbitrary or capricious under recent Supreme Court precedent.

  • March 30, 2026

    Flex Expands US Power Footprint With $1.1B Purchase

    Flex said Monday it will acquire Electrical Power Products Inc., an Iowa-based maker of electrical power control and protection systems, in an all-cash deal valued at about $1.1 billion.

  • March 30, 2026

    NC County Accused Of Withholding Landfill PFAS Records

    A North Carolina county was accused in state court of violating public records law by either not producing — or producing in an inadequate manner — records related to the presence of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substance (PFAS) pollution in and around the county landfill.

Expert Analysis

  • Opinion

    California Vapor Intrusion Policy Should Focus On Site Risks

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    As California environmental regulators consider whether to change the attenuation factor used in screenings for vapor intrusion, the most prudent path forward is to keep the current value for screening purposes, while using site-specific, risk-based numbers for cleanup and closure targets, says Thierry Montoya at Frost Brown.

  • Series

    Preaching Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Becoming a Gospel preacher has enhanced my success as a trial lawyer by teaching me the importance of credibility, relatability, persuasiveness and thorough preparation for my congregants, the same skills needed with judges and juries in the courtroom, says Reginald Harris at Stinson.

  • The Ohio Supreme Court In 2025: A Focus On Civil Procedure

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    ​​​​​​​If 2025 will be remembered for any particular theme at the Ohio Supreme Court, it might just be the justices' focus on procedural issues, including in three cases concerning, respectively, proper service, response time and pleading standards, says Bradfield Hughes at Porter Wright.

  • State, Federal Incentives Heat Up Geothermal Projects

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    Geothermal energy can now benefit from dramatically accelerated permitting for development on federal land as well as state-level renewable energy portfolio standards — but operating in the complex legal framework surrounding geothermal projects requires successful navigation of complex water rights and environmental regulations, say attorneys at Holland & Hart.

  • How Unchecked AI Exposes Expert Opinions To Exclusion

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    A growing number of cases illustrate the potential for misuse of artificial intelligence tools by experts in litigation, resulting in reports with hallucinated information or unexplainable analysis, so to embrace the efficiencies AI tools introduce without falling victim to the risks, attorneys and experts should implement a few best practices, say attorneys at Willkie Farr.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: Practicing Client-Led Litigation

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    New litigators can better help their corporate clients achieve their overall objectives when they move beyond simply fighting for legal victory to a client-led approach that resolves the legal dispute while balancing the company's competing out-of-court priorities, says Chelsea Ireland at Cohen Ziffer.

  • Series

    The Law Firm Merger Diaries: How To Build On Cultural Fit

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    Law firm mergers should start with people, then move to strategy: A two-level screening that puts finding a cultural fit at the pinnacle of the process can unearth shared values that are instrumental to deciding to move forward with a combination, says Matthew Madsen at Harrison.

  • Rare Tariff Authority May Boost US Battery Manufacturing

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    Finalizing preliminary tariffs on active anode material from China — the result of a rare exercise of statutory authority finding that foreign dumping hampered the development of a nascent U.S. industry — should help domestic battery manufacturing, but potential price increases could discourage related clean-energy use, say attorneys at MoloLamken.

  • Considerations When Invoking The Common-Interest Privilege

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    To successfully leverage the common-interest doctrine in a multiparty transaction or complex litigation, practitioners should be able to demonstrate that the parties intended for it to apply, that an underlying privilege like attorney-client has attached, and guard against disclosures that could waive privilege and defeat its purpose, say attorneys at DLA Piper.

  • What Developers Must Know About PJM Grid Connection Plan

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    As PJM Interconnection, the nation's largest grid operator, reforms its interconnection process in an effort to accelerate capacity expansion amid surging demand, developers interested in PJM's new expedited track should anticipate significant up-front costs, and plan carefully to minimize delays that could jeopardize project completion, say attorneys at King & Spalding.

  • Series

    The Law Firm Merger Diaries: Making The Case To Combine

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    When making the decision to merge, law firm leaders must factor in strategic alignment, cultural compatibility and leadership commitment in order to build a compelling case for combining firms to achieve shared goals and long-term success, says Kevin McLaughlin at UB Greensfelder.

  • Global Net-Zero Shipping Framework Faces Rough Waters

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    The decision of the International Maritime Organization's Marine Environment Protection Committee to delay its proposal for reducing greenhouse gas emissions from ships, in the face of strenuous U.S. objections, highlights the importance of proactive engagement with policymakers and strategic planning for different compliance scenarios, say attorneys at Blank Rome.

  • Takeaways From Landmark UK Ruling On Brazil Dam Collapse

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    The High Court found BHP liable for a Brazilian dam collapse that resulted in a major environmental disaster, showing that England remains open for complex transnational environmental claims and providing a road map for other mass claims that are sure to follow this case, says Josep Galvez at 4-5 Gray's Inn Square.

  • Opinion

    Despite Deputy AG Remarks, DOJ Can't Sideline DC Bar

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    Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche’s recent suggestion that the D.C. Bar would be prevented from reviewing misconduct complaints about U.S. Department of Justice attorneys runs contrary to federal statutes, local rules and decades of case law, and sends the troubling message that federal prosecutors are subject to different rules, say attorneys at HWG.

  • How Trial Attys Can Sidestep Opponents' Negative Frames

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    In litigation, attorneys often must deny whatever language or association the other side levies against them, but doing so can make the associations more salient in the minds of fact-finders, so it’s essential to reframe messages in a few practical ways at trial, says Ken Broda-Bahm at Persuasion Strategies.

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