Environmental

  • August 13, 2025

    Judge Blocks Trump Restrictions For $12B In Federal Grants

    A Washington federal judge temporarily blocked restrictions imposed by the Trump administration, such as an anti-gender ideology restriction, on access to more than $12 billion worth of federal grants, ruling in part that the federal government exceeded its authority.

  • August 13, 2025

    Should Judges Explain En Banc Votes? 6th Circ. Can't Agree

    Two Sixth Circuit judges clashed Tuesday over appellate judges writing opinions to explain their votes on en banc petitions, as one longtime judge called the practice "offensive to our system of panel adjudication."

  • August 13, 2025

    2nd Circ. Asked To Review Bid To Bar NYC Congestion Pricing

    The Second Circuit should review a federal court's decision to grant the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority's bid to dismiss a pair of lawsuits alleging Manhattan's congestion pricing tolls are discriminatory and trample on motorists' right to travel, a New York county argued Tuesday.

  • August 13, 2025

    SPAC Behind EV Maker Nikola, Shareholders Strike Settlement

    Stockholders and board members for the blank-check company that took electric-vehicle maker Nikola public said they reached a $6.3 million deal to end a Delaware Chancery Court lawsuit that accused the SPAC of misleading investors about Nikola's prospects.

  • August 13, 2025

    Rising Star: Beveridge & Diamond's Andrew Silton

    Andrew Silton of Beveridge & Diamond PC led a landmark Clean Water Act victory before the U.S. Supreme Court that reshaped how environmental permits are written nationwide, and he's helping cities, developers and tech firms navigate the next wave of environmental law enforcement — earning him a spot among the environmental law attorneys under 40 honored by Law360 as Rising Stars.

  • August 13, 2025

    US Threatens Retaliation For 'Global Carbon Tax' On Shipping

    The U.S. government has preemptively threatened to retaliate against countries that adopt a multilateral plan to shift the global shipping industry toward achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions, claiming it's "a global carbon tax" that would disfavor liquefied natural gas and biofuels.

  • August 13, 2025

    Wind Blade Maker TPI Gets $7.5M Of New Money In Ch. 11 DIP

    A Texas bankruptcy judge on Wednesday granted an Arizona-based manufacturer of blades for wind turbines interim access to its postpetition financing package, which includes $7.5 million in new money upfront.

  • August 12, 2025

    Judge, Terumo Attorney Spar Over 'Final Judgment' Case

    A Colorado Appeals Court judge and an attorney for Terumo disagreed strongly on the interpretation of a Colorado Supreme Court ruling that could impact a now-dismissed class action against the medical equipment sterilization company in which a man alleges the district court incorrectly forbade him from filing an amended complaint.

  • August 12, 2025

    DOE Used Secret Group To Undermine GHG Finding: Suit

    The Trump administration secretly got together a group of client skeptics to figure out how to misrepresent the data to "manufacture a basis" to knock out the "overwhelming scientific consensus" that greenhouse gases endanger people's health, two environmental groups say in a new lawsuit.

  • August 12, 2025

    Tribes, Enviros Want In On Chuckwalla Monument Fight

    Environmental groups and five Native American tribes are asking a Michigan federal court to intervene in a challenge by a miner and the BlueRibbon Coalition to the establishment of the Chuckwalla National Monument, saying it's unclear if the federal government still shares their interests in its protection.

  • August 12, 2025

    Parker-Hannifin Seeks Toss Of $900M Trade Theft, Antitrust Suit

    Parker-Hannifin Corp. wants a Texas federal judge to dismiss a fiber optics companies' $900 million trade secrets theft and antitrust lawsuit, arguing in a filing made public Monday the case amounts to a contract dispute that should be handled in New York and the claimed trade secrets had been publicly disclosed.

  • August 12, 2025

    Daimler, Volvo Sue Calif. To Block Emission Regulations

    Daimler, Volvo and other heavy-duty truck manufacturers sued California on Monday aiming to block the state from forcing them to comply with emission regulations, following moves by the Trump administration and Congress to revoke the state's authority to impose them.

  • August 12, 2025

    Biden Coastal Drilling Ban Fight Is Moot, Enviro Groups Say

    Environmentalists say President Donald Trump's rescission of Biden-era memos closing off additional waters to oil and gas drilling moots a lawsuit brought by red states and industry groups that includes arguments that presidential withdrawal authority is unconstitutional or otherwise limited.

  • August 12, 2025

    4th Circ. Affirms Toss Of Last Claim In CSX Flooding Suit

    The Fourth Circuit affirmed summary judgment Tuesday to CSX Transportation Inc. on a remaining breach of contract claim in a suit by residents and businesses of Lumberton, North Carolina, who claim CSX wrongly prevented the city from sandbagging its railroad route to prevent flooding during storms in 2016 and 2018.

  • August 12, 2025

    Rising Star: Mayer Brown's Avi Kupfer

    Avi Kupfer of Mayer Brown LLP has used his unique governmental experience as a litigator and administrator to, as a private practitioner, help clients such as the U.S. Postal Service navigate the intricacies of administrative law, earning him a spot among the environmental law practitioners under age 40 honored by Law360 as Rising Stars.

  • August 12, 2025

    Wind Blade Maker TPI Hits Ch. 11 In Texas With Over $1B Debt

    TPI Composites Inc., an Arizona-based manufacturer of blades for wind turbines, has filed for Chapter 11 protection in Texas bankruptcy court, listing between $1 billion and $10 billion in debt, including $600 million in funded debt, and plans to hand the company over to its senior lenders.

  • August 11, 2025

    Utah Gov. Cox Escapes Ute Tribe's Bidding Scheme Suit

    Utah's governor and other state officials won't have to face a challenge by the Ute Indian Tribe accusing them of a racist bidding scheme to prevent a land purchase, a federal judge ruled, finding the tribe failed to provide specific allegations tying them to the supposed conspiracy.

  • August 11, 2025

    GE, UNC Agree To $63M Uranium Mine Cleanup In New Mexico

    The United Nuclear Corp. and General Electric Co. agreed to a consent decree with the federal government, New Mexico and the Navajo Nation to spend $63 million on environmental cleanup at a decades-old uranium mine, the U.S. Department of Justice announced Monday.  

  • August 11, 2025

    Wash. AG Sues Feds For Pulling Climate Resiliency Grants

    Washington launched a lawsuit accusing the Trump administration of abruptly canceling grants awarded to the Evergreen State to address climate change impacts, including about $9.3 million approved last year for a collegiate-tribal partnership to prep more than 2,100 students for sustainability-focused careers.

  • August 11, 2025

    Over 2,000 Shrimpers Sue Hilcorp Over August 2022 Oil Spill

    More than 2,000 shrimpers and seafood business owners hit Hilcorp Energy Co. with a federal lawsuit over an August 2022 oil spill they say spoiled the opening day of shrimping season.

  • August 11, 2025

    Hawaiian Judge Vacates Letter Allowing Monument Fishing

    Commercial fishing cannot legally continue in the waters of the Pacific Islands Heritage Marine National Monument under a National Marine Fisheries Services letter that tribal and environmental groups claim authorized the endeavor, a Hawaii federal court judge said, arguing evidence shows that the directive harmed the plaintiffs in the dispute.

  • August 11, 2025

    Proxy Proposals Shift Away From Politics Under Trump

    Shareholder proposals on environmental, social and political topics faced headwinds in early 2025, with both the number of submissions and investor support falling amid Trump administration policy shifts and "dizzying" legal and regulatory changes, Sullivan & Cromwell LLP said in a Monday report. 

  • August 11, 2025

    EPA Cancels Union Contracts Under Trump Order

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has canceled its collective bargaining agreements in line with President Donald Trump's directive to dozens of agencies to stop recognizing their workers' unions, which he said was to protect national security.

  • August 11, 2025

    Rising Star: Keller Rohrback's Adele Daniel

    Adele Daniel of Keller Rohrback LLP has been helping her firm win big-money cases for clients alleging toxic pollution, facing determined opponents in court, working on every stage of the litigation and earning a spot among the environmental law practitioners under age 40 honored by Law360 as Rising Stars.

  • August 11, 2025

    Feds, Wind Farm Backers Cross Swords Over Permitting Halt

    The U.S. government and opponents of the Trump administration's halt of wind farm project reviews have made their cases to a Massachusetts federal judge as to why they should prevail in litigation challenging the legality of the moratorium.

Expert Analysis

  • ICSID Annulment Proceedings Carry High Stakes For System

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    The annulment proceedings brought by Freeport-McMoRan before the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes, seeking to redress a glaring and prejudicial oversight in its arbitral award against Peru, are significant for delimiting the boundaries of procedural fairness within the ICSID's annulment framework, says Josep Galvez at 4-5 Gray's Inn.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: Communicating With Clients

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    Law school curricula often overlook client communication procedures, and those who actively teach this crucial facet of the practice can create exceptional client satisfaction and success, says Patrick Hanson at Wiggam Law.

  • Justices' NRC Ruling Raises New Regulatory Questions

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    In Nuclear Regulatory Commission v. Texas, the U.S. Supreme Court avoided ruling on the NRC's authority to license private, temporary nuclear waste storage facilities — and this failure to reach the merits question creates new regulatory uncertainty where none had existed for decades, say attorneys at Holland & Knight.

  • 3 Judicial Approaches To Applying Loper Bright, 1 Year Later

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    In the year since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Chevron deference in its Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo decision, a few patterns have emerged in lower courts’ application of the precedent to determine whether agency actions are lawful, say attorneys at Husch Blackwell.

  • Bill Leaves Renewable Cos. In Dark On Farmland Reporting

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    A U.S. Senate bill to update disclosure requirements for foreign control of U.S. farmland does not provide much-needed guidance on how to report renewable energy development on agricultural property, leaving significant compliance risks for project developers, say attorneys at Hodgson Russ.

  • Series

    Adapting To Private Practice: From US Rep. To Boutique Firm

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    My transition from serving as a member of Congress to becoming a partner at a boutique firm has been remarkably smooth, in part because I never stopped exercising my legal muscles, maintained relationships with my former colleagues and set the right tone at the outset, says Mondaire Jones at Friedman Kaplan.

  • Opinion

    Senate's 41% Litigation Finance Tax Would Hurt Legal System

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    The Senate’s latest version of the Big Beautiful Bill Act would impose a 41% tax on the litigation finance industry, but the tax is totally disconnected from the concerns it purports to address, and it would set the country back to a time when small plaintiffs had little recourse against big defendants, says Anthony Sebok at Cardozo School of Law.

  • 3 Juror Psychology Principles For Expert Witness Testimony

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    Expert witnesses can sometimes fall into traps when trying to teach juries complex topics by failing to consider the psychology of juror comprehension, but attorneys can help witnesses avoid these pitfalls with a deeper understanding of cognitive lag, chunking and learning styles, says Steve Wood at Courtroom Sciences.

  • In NRC Ruling, Justices Affirm Hearing Process Still Matters

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Nuclear Regulatory Commission v. Texas safeguards the fairness, clarity and predictability of the regulatory system by affirming that to challenge an agency's decision in court, litigants must first meaningfully participate in the hearing process that Congress and the agency have established, says Jonathan Rund at the Nuclear Energy Institute.

  • Series

    Performing As A Clown Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    To say that being a clown in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade has changed my legal career would truly be an understatement — by creating an opening to converse on a unique topic, it has allowed me to connect with clients, counsel and even judges on a deeper level, says Charles Tatelbaum at Tripp Scott.

  • How Energy Cos. Can Prepare For Potential Tax Credit Cuts

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    The Senate Finance Committee's version of the One Big Beautiful Bill act would create a steep phaseout of renewable energy tax credits, which should prompt companies to take several actions, including conduct a project review to discern which could begin construction before the end of the year, say attorneys at Husch Blackwell.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: Rejecting Biz Dev Myths

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    Law schools don’t spend sufficient time dispelling certain myths that prevent young lawyers from exploring new business opportunities, but by dismissing these misguided beliefs, even an introverted first-year associate with a small network of contacts can find long-term success, says Ronald Levine at Herrick Feinstein.

  • Move Beyond Surface-Level Edits To Master Legal Writing

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    Recent instances in which attorneys filed briefs containing artificial intelligence hallucinations offer a stark reminder that effective revision isn’t just about superficial details like grammar — it requires attorneys to critically engage with their writing and analyze their rhetorical choices, says Ivy Grey at WordRake.

  • 9th Circ. Has Muddied Waters Of Article III Pleading Standard

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    District courts in the Ninth Circuit continue to apply a defunct and especially forgiving pleading standard to questions of Article III standing, and the circuit court itself has only perpetuated this confusion — making it an attractive forum for disputes that have no rightful place in federal court, say attorneys at Gibson Dunn.

  • Future Of Enviro Crimes Under Trump's Federal Regs Order

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    President Donald Trump's recent executive order about fighting overcriminalization in federal regulations creates new advocacy opportunities for defense counsel to argue that particular environmental crime investigations and matters ought to be limited or declined based on the policy priorities reflected in the order, say attorneys at Sidley.

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