Environmental

  • November 19, 2025

    Nestle Asks 9th Circ. To Nix False Ad Class In Child Labor Suit

    Nestle urged the Ninth Circuit on Wednesday to reverse certification of a class of millions of consumers who purchased chocolate labeled "sustainably sourced," saying claims the chocolate is produced through child labor and deforestation are untrue and the question of whether consumers purchased due to the labeling is highly individualized.

  • November 19, 2025

    Trump Admin Proposes Weakening ESA Protections

    The Trump administration on Wednesday proposed four rules that would significantly weaken Endangered Species Act protections for plants and animals, drawing immediate condemnation from environmental and conservation groups.

  • November 19, 2025

    Green Groups Sue To Block Gulf Oil And Gas Lease Sale

    Environmental groups have asked a federal court to block the first in a series of offshore oil and gas lease sales mandated by July's budget reconciliation bill, claiming the government shirked a required environmental review of the lease sale.

  • November 19, 2025

    Eco Orgs. Ask 2nd Circ. To Undo NY, NJ Pipeline Project Nods

    Environmental groups have sued New York and New Jersey environmental regulators over their issuance of Clean Water Act permits for a controversial Williams Cos. pipeline upgrade after previously denying the permits over pollution concerns.

  • November 19, 2025

    Tribes Challenge Oklahoma Over Hunting, Fishing Rights

    A trio of Oklahoma Indigenous nations are asking a federal district court to declare that they have the right to hunt and fish on their reservation lands, arguing that the state is violating their treaty rights and inherent sovereign authority by prosecuting their members.

  • November 19, 2025

    Air Force Asks Justices To Nix Guam Munitions Disposal Suit

    The U.S. Air Force is urging the Supreme Court to sink a Guam community group's challenge to the branch's request for a renewed permit to explode expired munitions on the island.

  • November 19, 2025

    Pierce Atwood Energy Pro Joins Barnes & Thornburg In DC

    Marking his third career move in the last five years, a Pierce Atwood LLP partner has made the jump to Barnes & Thornburg LLP's office in Washington, D.C., to continue his work on transactional and regulatory matters related to new energy technologies.

  • November 19, 2025

    Trump's New Pick For CFPB Director Is OMB Energy Official

    President Donald Trump has tapped an energy official at the Office of Management and Budget to become permanent director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, a key regulator whose future remains in doubt after months of turmoil and dwindling finances.

  • November 18, 2025

    Broadband Permit Reforms Survive House Subcommittee

    The House Communications and Technology Subcommittee had a productive morning Tuesday, consolidating 28 bills largely related to broadband permitting into seven and passing them along to the full committee for review.

  • November 18, 2025

    9th Circ. Halts 1 Of 2 Calif. Corporate Climate Disclosure Laws

    The Ninth Circuit on Tuesday blocked a new California law requiring large companies to publicly disclose financial risks tied to climate change, barring enforcement as an appeal by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and other business groups challenging the policy unfolds in federal appellate court.

  • November 18, 2025

    NTSB Flags Vessel's Loose Wire In Key Bridge Collapse Probe

    A single loose wire triggered a power failure aboard the container carrier that slammed into Baltimore's Francis Scott Key Bridge last year, and the absence of an effective warning system didn't give construction workers enough time to clear the collapsing bridge, the National Transportation Safety Board determined Tuesday.

  • November 18, 2025

    Trump Admin May Be Overpromising WOTUS Clarity

    The Trump administration says its proposal to shrink the Clean Water Act's reach would reduce regulatory burdens and provide clarity to farmers, homebuilders and other businesses, but it could face court challenges and potential reworking by future administrations.

  • November 18, 2025

    Fla. Condo Says Insurers Handled Storm Claim In Bad Faith

    A group of property insurers acted in bad faith by failing to properly, timely and fairly adjust a claim for damage caused by Hurricane Sally in 2020, the owner of a Pensacola condominium complex told a Florida federal court.

  • November 18, 2025

    1st Circ. May Nix Trump Funding Freeze In 'Weird' Case

    The First Circuit on Tuesday hinted that a federal judge may have been in bounds when blocking the Trump administration from withholding certain funds for states, expressing skepticism that the judge's order was improper or overly broad.

  • November 18, 2025

    Romania Says Mining Co.'s $4.4B Claim Can't Be Revived

    Romania is fighting against Gabriel Resources' bid to revive its $4.4 billion arbitration claim against the country, saying the mining company's attacks on a tribunal member are "opportunistic," and that his work for a non-governmental organization didn't affect the proceedings' outcome.

  • November 18, 2025

    Ill. Justices Mull If Permits Override Pollution Exclusions

    Counsel for a sterilization company and its former parent seeking defense costs for hundreds of lawsuits over ethylene oxide emissions at a suburban Chicago facility urged the Illinois Supreme Court on Tuesday to find a pollution exclusion in their insurance policy doesn't apply to emissions allowed under a state permit, insisting the policyholders are not polluters under Illinois law or "in the general sense of the word."

  • November 18, 2025

    Judge Questions If Trump's Say-So Makes Wind Edict Legal

    A Massachusetts federal judge on Tuesday lamented a lack of clear guidance from higher courts as she considered whether wind farm permits can be put on hold indefinitely based solely on a directive from the president.

  • November 18, 2025

    NJ Township Seeks To Revise $2.5B DuPont PFAS Settlement

    Carneys Point Township, New Jersey, is aiming to intervene in the state's federal suit against E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Co. and others over PFAS contamination, saying a settlement of more than $2.5 billion interferes with its own claims against the company.

  • November 17, 2025

    Tyson Won't Make Carbon Claims Under Greenwashing Deal

    Tyson Foods Inc. has agreed to stop making promises to reach "net-zero" greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 and to sell "climate-smart" beef, according to a settlement filed Monday that resolves greenwashing allegations brought by the Environmental Working Group.

  • November 17, 2025

    Advocacy Groups Push 9th Circ. To Uphold Fluoride Ruling

    Advocacy groups that convinced a California federal judge to rule that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's "optimal" level for fluoride in drinking water is not protective enough for children, told the Ninth Circuit Monday that there's no reason to disturb the decision.

  • November 17, 2025

    AGs Seek To Freeze EPA Solar Grant Funds During Challenge

    A coalition of states asked a Washington federal judge to maintain federal money for Solar for All grants during the pendency of their lawsuit challenging the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's decision to kill the program, arguing that they're likely to prevail on their claims that the agency can't legally claw back funds Congress already obligated.

  • November 17, 2025

    8th Circ. Affirms Ala. Apt. Owner's $27M Fire Coverage Win

    A split Eighth Circuit affirmed Monday an apartment complex owner's $27 million jury award against a Travelers unit in a fire coverage dispute, saying sufficient evidence existed to support the verdict that the presence of microscopic soot constituted "direct physical loss or damage" to property as required by the policy.

  • November 17, 2025

    Decade-Old Mont. Bison Dispute Spurs Call For Legal Clarity

    A neighborhood group is asking a Montana federal district court to declare a 2019 Yellowstone bison management operation plan illegal, arguing that federal agencies are allowing the state to diminish treaty hunting opportunities for Indigenous nations that provide more food for their members.

  • November 17, 2025

    Tribes Urge Mich. Top Court To Block Enbridge Oil Tunnel

    A group of tribes and environmental organizations has urged the Michigan Supreme Court to order a more rigorous environmental review of Enbridge Energy LP's plan for an oil pipeline tunnel beneath the Straits of Mackinac.

  • November 17, 2025

    Trump Hit With Suit Over Plan To Paint Historic Building

    A preservationist law firm filed a lawsuit Friday to stop President Donald Trump from painting over a historic granite office building near the White House, a move it says would permanently alter the structure in violation of government rules.

Expert Analysis

  • Avoiding Unforced Evidentiary Errors At Trial

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    To avoid self-inflicted missteps at trial, lawyers must plan their evidentiary strategy as early as their claims and defenses, with an eye toward some of the more common pitfalls, says Nate Sabri at Perkins Coie.

  • Agentic AI Puts A New Twist On Attorney Ethics Obligations

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    As lawyers increasingly use autonomous artificial intelligence agents, disciplinary authorities must decide whether attorney responsibility for an AI-caused legal ethics violation is personal or supervisory, and firms must enact strong policies regarding agentic AI use and supervision, says Grace Wynn at HWG.

  • Resilience Planning Is New Key To Corporate Sustainability

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    While the current wave of deregulation may reduce government enforcement related to climate issues, businesses still need to evaluate how climate volatility may affect their operations and create new legal risks — making the apolitical concept of resilience increasingly important for companies, says J. Michael Showalter at ArentFox Schiff.

  • Cos. Face EU, US Regulatory Tension On Many Fronts

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    When the European Union sets stringent standards, companies seeking to operate in the international marketplace must conform to them, or else concede opportunities — but with the current U.S. administration pushing hard to roll back regulations, global companies face an increasing tension over which standards to follow, say attorneys at Baker McKenzie.

  • How EU Is Tweaking Enviro Laws After US Trade Deal

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    While a recent joint statement from the European Union and the U.S. in the wake of their trade deal does not mention special treatment for U.S. companies, the EU's ongoing commitment to streamline its sustainability legislation suggests an openness to addressing concerns raised by the U.S., say attorneys at Debevoise.

  • Series

    Being A Professional Wrestler Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Pursuing my childhood dream of being a professional wrestler has taught me important legal career lessons about communication, adaptability, oral advocacy and professionalism, says Christopher Freiberg at Midwest Disability.

  • Restored Charging Project Funds Revive Hope For EV Market

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    While 2025 began with a host of government actions that prompted some to predict the demise of the U.S. electric vehicle market, the Trump administration's recent restoration of federal funding for EV charging infrastructure under new terms presents market participants with reason for optimism, says Levi McAllister at Morgan Lewis.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: Adapting To The Age Of AI

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    Though law school may not have specifically taught us how to use generative artificial intelligence to help with our daily legal tasks, it did provide us the mental building blocks necessary for adapting to this new technology — and the judgment to discern what shouldn’t be automated, says Pamela Dorian at Cozen O'Connor.

  • Ch. 11 Ruling Voiding $2M Litigation Funding Sends A Warning

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    A recent Texas bankruptcy court decision that a postconfirmation litigation trust has no obligations to repay a completely drawn down $2 million litigation funding agreement serves as a warning for estate administrators and funders to properly disclose the intended financing, say attorneys at Kleinberg Kaplan.

  • Demystifying The Civil Procedure Rules Amendment Process

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    Every year, an advisory committee receives dozens of proposals to amend the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, most of which are never adopted — but a few pointers can help maximize the likelihood that an amendment will be adopted, says Josh Gardner at DLA Piper.

  • Parenting Skills That Can Help Lawyers Thrive Professionally

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    As kids head back to school, the time is ripe for lawyers who are parents to consider how they can incorporate their parenting skills to build a deep, meaningful and sustainable legal practice, say attorneys at Alston & Bird.

  • Series

    Teaching Trial Advocacy Makes Us Better Lawyers

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    Teaching trial advocacy skills to other lawyers makes us better litigators because it makes us question our default methods, connect to young attorneys with new perspectives and focus on the needs of the real people at the heart of every trial, say Reuben Guttman, Veronica Finkelstein and Joleen Youngers.

  • Navigating Brazil's Regulations, Incentives For Green Projects

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    Brazil's evolving environmental regulatory framework and ongoing moves to attract international capital for climate-focused projects may appeal to U.S.-based companies and investors interested in sustainable development — but taking advantage of these opportunities requires careful planning and meaningful stakeholder engagement, says Milena Angulo at Guimarães.

  • Federal AI Action Plan Marks A Shift For Health And Bio Fields

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    The Trump administration's recent artificial intelligence action plan significantly expands federal commitments across biomedical agencies, defining a pivotal moment for attorneys and others involved in research collaborations, managing regulatory compliance and AI-related intellectual property, says Mehrin Masud-Elias at Arnold & Porter.

  • Data Center Construction Trends, Challenges In Ill. And Texas

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    Data centers in Illinois and Texas are reshaping the industrial landscape, but this growth brings legal complexity, so developers, contractors and corporate legal departments must have a deep understanding of each state's legal terrain and take a proactive approach to risk management, say attorneys at Hicks Johnson.

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