Environmental

  • May 02, 2025

    9th Circ. Says USFS Must Reassess Wash. Forest Fire Plan

    A Ninth Circuit panel partly sided with a conservation group Friday in a challenge of a federal forest restoration project, finding the U.S. Forest Service should've considered the potential impacts of a nearby project that took shape after a 2021 wildfire before approving the proposal.

  • May 02, 2025

    DC Circ. To Decide If 14 Miles Of Trains Is Too Many

    The D.C. Circuit is set to decide whether federal regulators used bad data to approve a $31 billion merger between Canadian Pacific and Kansas City Southern that will see 14 miles of trains running through a set of Chicagoland communities each day.

  • May 02, 2025

    Feds Expand Hunting, Fishing Access In 16 Wildlife Refuges

    The federal government is proposing to expand hunting and fishing access on more than 87,000 acres within the 11 states in national wildlife and fish hatchery systems, saying on Friday the move would more than triple the number of opportunities for outdoor recreation.

  • May 02, 2025

    Plaintiffs Seek Redo Over Sterilization Co.'s Trial Tactics

    Four women who claimed a Colorado sterilization company caused their cancers asked a state court to order a new trial, arguing the business won a favorable verdict with prejudicial evidence about law firm ads and by suggesting the women are not "real victims but pawns in a scheme orchestrated by their lawyers."

  • May 02, 2025

    NY Officials Say Feds' Memo In Filing Mishap Is Fair Game

    New York officials told a federal judge on Friday that a mistakenly filed memo from the federal government detailing its weak rationale for trying to cancel Manhattan's congestion pricing program is fair game and cannot be shielded after media outlets widely reported on it.

  • May 02, 2025

    Texas-Led AGs Defend BlackRock Coal Investments Suit

    A coalition of Republican states led by Texas are arguing that BlackRock Inc.'s public commitments to reducing its carbon footprint are evidence that it and two other leading asset managers teamed up to suppress the production of coal in the United States, asking a federal judge not to dismiss their case against the firms.

  • May 02, 2025

    Trump Proposes Billions In Cuts To EPA State Grant Programs

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency would lose more than half of its funding compared with 2025 under the 2026 budget request released Friday by the Trump administration, with proposed cuts to drinking water infrastructure grants for states amounting to $2.4 billion. 

  • May 02, 2025

    Texas City Backs Exxon In Recycling Defamation Suit

    The city of Beaumont, Texas, sided with Exxon in its defamation lawsuit against California's attorney general and a coalition of conservation groups, telling a court the company's advanced recycling program provided needed innovation for coastal communities.

  • May 02, 2025

    NJ Panel Affirms $2.6M Coverage Payout In Cleanup Case

    A New Jersey appeals court on Friday upheld a lower court's decision finding that under Massachusetts law an insurer owed a BASF entity only $2.6 million in coverage for underlying environmental remediation costs after the lower court found a prior, larger coverage calculation it had adopted was "palpably incorrect."

  • May 02, 2025

    Debevoise Guides Ara Partners On $800M Low-Carbon Fund

    Ara Partners has raised more than $800 million for its first infrastructure fund, aimed at cutting carbon emissions from the industrial economy, with legal guidance from Debevoise & Plimpton LLP.

  • May 02, 2025

    CR Bard Owes $20M In Ga. Ethylene Oxide Cancer Trial

    A Georgia jury awarded $20 million in compensatory damages on Friday to a man who said his cancer was caused by exposure to ethylene oxide from C.R. Bard's medical sterilization plant, sending the case to a second phase for punitive damages.

  • May 02, 2025

    Contractors Settle Mass. AG's YMCA Asbestos Claims

    The Massachusetts Attorney General's Office said Friday that two contractors will pay $150,000 each to settle claims that their faulty asbestos removal at a YMCA might have exposed schoolchildren, building residents and staff to carcinogenic particles.

  • May 02, 2025

    Groups Seek Order Halting Trump's Restructuring Of Gov't

    A California district court must stop federal agencies from moving ahead with President Donald Trump's directive to reorganize and terminate government workers, unions and other groups argued, calling for a temporary restraining order based on alleged harms from the administration's "radical restructuring."

  • May 02, 2025

    Miner, Recreationists Look To Dissolve Chuckwalla Monument

    A miner and an advocacy group have asked a Michigan federal court to revoke the protected status of the Chuckwalla National Monument in a suit that takes aim at presidential power to protect vast areas of federal land.

  • May 01, 2025

    VW, Audi Say Recall Fixes Nullify EV Fire-Risk Lawsuit

    Drivers who claimed Audi of America LLC and Volkswagen Group of America Inc. sold them electric vehicles with defective batteries that could short circuit and catch fire while driving have never actually suffered this alleged issue, the automakers said in their bid seeking to dismiss the proposed class action.

  • May 01, 2025

    States, Green Groups Look To Vacate NEPA Ruling

    States that had asked the Eighth Circuit to revive vacated National Environmental Policy Act regulations are now abandoning their appeal because the White House has eliminated the standards — but they're still asking that a lower court's decision striking down the regulations be overturned.

  • May 01, 2025

    CR Bard Owes For Plant Neighbor's Illness, Jury Told

    A Georgia jury heard in closing arguments on Thursday that C.R. Bard's medical sterilization plant wantonly polluted the air with ethylene oxide and caused a man's cancer, while the company said the man's exposure was nowhere near danger levels.

  • May 01, 2025

    Insurance Pros Stress Disaster Mitigation In Senate Hearing

    A panel of insurance experts stressed in front of a U.S. Senate committee Thursday the importance of mitigation efforts, such as strengthening building codes and hardening homes, as the experts discussed how prices in the property insurance market have soared because of recent natural disasters across the country.

  • May 01, 2025

    Senate Votes To Strike EPA 'Once In, Always In' Rule Update

    The U.S. Senate on Thursday voted to eliminate a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency rule aimed at restricting industrial facilities' harmful air emissions after being reclassified as a less severe pollution source.

  • May 01, 2025

    Hawaii Tenant's Tainted Water Eviction Claims Survive Ruling

    A Hawaii federal judge preserved a tenant's claims that he was effectively evicted from his home when a landlord failed to identify or warn of water contamination caused by leaks in 2021 at a U.S. Navy fuel storage facility on Pearl Harbor.

  • May 01, 2025

    Calif. AG Can't Dodge ACC Recycling Subpoena Suit

    The American Chemistry Council can move forward with its challenge to a since-withdrawn subpoena from the California attorney general tied to a plastics pollution probe, a D.C. federal judge ruled Thursday.

  • May 01, 2025

    9th Circ. Asked To Revisit Ruling On Guam Munitions Suit

    A Ninth Circuit decision allowing a Guam group to challenge an Air Force permit renewal application to detonate expired munitions conflicts with precedent and threatens to burden permit applicants, agencies and courts, the U.S. government said in a rehearing petition filed Wednesday.

  • May 01, 2025

    Feds Sue To Block State Climate Suits, Superfund Laws

    The federal government sued to block two states' climate change Superfund laws and stop two other states from launching threatened lawsuits against fossil fuel companies, saying the states' actions jeopardize national energy security.

  • May 01, 2025

    House Votes To Axe Another EPA Emissions Waiver For Calif.

    The U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday passed the third of three Congressional Review Act resolutions that would undo Clean Air Act waivers that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency issued for California's vehicle emissions programs.

  • May 01, 2025

    Sony Eyes $49B Semiconductor Unit Sale, Plus More Rumors

    Sony could sell its semiconductor unit for $49 billion, while proxy advisory firm Glass Lewis is considering ending its practice of advising shareholder votes on politically charged topics, and AI startup Nscale plans to raise $2.7 billion in private capital to support the construction of data centers around the world.

Expert Analysis

  • 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.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: Be An Indispensable Associate

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    While law school teaches you to research, write and think critically, it often overlooks the professional skills you will need to make yourself an essential team player when transitioning from a summer to full-time associate, say attorneys at Stinson.

  • What 2nd Trump Admin Means For Ship Pollution Compliance

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    As the second Trump administration's civil and criminal enforcement policies take shape, the maritime industry must ensure it complies with both national and international obligations to prevent oil pollution from seagoing vessels — with preventive efforts and voluntary disclosures being some of the best options for mitigating risk, say attorneys at Holland & Knight.

  • Mass. AG Emerges As Key Player In Consumer Protection

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    Through enforcement actions and collaborations with other states — including joining a recent amicus brief decrying the defunding of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau — Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell has established herself as a thought leader for consumer protection and corporate accountability, say attorneys at Troutman Pepper.

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