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Environmental
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June 26, 2025
FERC Chair Aims To Stay Beyond His Term's End
As his potential replacement awaits a U.S. Senate confirmation hearing, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Chairman Mark Christie said Thursday that he plans to oversee the agency's next monthly open meeting in July, but otherwise remained tight-lipped about his impending departure.
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June 26, 2025
Gordon Rees Adds Glazier Yee Toxic Tort Ace In LA, St. Louis
Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani LLP is expanding its litigation team, bringing in an environmental and toxic tort specialist from boutique firm Glazier Yee LLP as a partner in its St. Louis and Los Angeles offices.
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June 26, 2025
EPA Seeks To Appeal Flint Water Crisis Immunity Ruling
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has asked a Michigan federal court for permission to appeal an immunity ruling in the Flint water crisis litigation to the Sixth Circuit, saying a trip to the federal appellate court could bring the case to a more efficient resolution.
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June 26, 2025
Akerman Adds Steptoe Energy Transactional Atty In DC
Akerman LLP has hired a former Steptoe LLP partner who works on the regulatory, corporate and transactional aspects of energy deals and with related project development matters, the firm announced Wednesday.
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June 26, 2025
Lime Revs Up IPO, Crypto's Prospects Rise, And More Rumors
Uber Technologies Inc.-backed electric bike startup Lime is moving forward on a U.S. initial public offering, while more crypto ventures are seeking public listings and insurance giant BrightHouse inches closer to a sale.
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June 25, 2025
Texas Clinic Says Insurer Owes $2M For Hurricane Damage
A hospital clinic accused its insurer in Texas federal court Wednesday of severely underpaying its hurricane claim following a "substandard, cursory inspection" ignoring "obvious" damages, saying it only offered to cover roughly $3,500 worth of damage to a ventilation unit while the other damage totaled nearly $2.3 million.
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June 25, 2025
Fed. Circ. Backs EPA's Firing Of 'Disruptive' Whistleblower
The Federal Circuit upheld a decision finding the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency would've fired a federal employee even if she wasn't whistleblowing on its failure to submit affirmative employment plans, ruling Wednesday that while there was significant motive to retaliate, there's also evidence the employee was "disrespectful, disruptive and discourteous" toward colleagues.
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June 25, 2025
Michigan Builders Sue State Over Energy Code Mandates
Michigan homebuilders have sued to challenge the state's adoption of new construction codes, saying the energy efficiency demands will make new homes more expensive.
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June 25, 2025
Insurer Seeks Exit From $1.7M Oil Pipeline Explosion Verdict
An insurer for a company specializing in providing nitrogen services for oil pipelines told a Texas federal court it should owe no coverage for a more than $1.7 million jury verdict against the company stemming from a pipeline explosion, pointing to exclusions for breach of contract and faulty work.
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June 25, 2025
Hodgson Russ Adds Ex-GC Of NY Enviro Agency
Hodgson Russ LLP has hired the former longtime deputy commissioner and general counsel of the New York Department of Environmental Conservation to bolster its environmental and energy practices and expand the reach of its Albany, New York, office.
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June 25, 2025
FCC To Consult Tribes On Wireless Cos.' NEPA Petition
The Federal Communications Commission plans to consult with tribal governments on a wireless industry proposal to cut red tape associated with the National Environmental Policy Act for cell towers, following comments from Native American organizations blasting the plan and saying it would threaten sacred lands.
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June 25, 2025
Hanford Contractor To Pay $6.5M To Settle Fraud Allegations
A contractor tapped to manage and operate a tank farm holding millions of gallons of hazardous and radioactive waste at the Hanford nuclear site in Washington will pay $6.5 million to settle claims it overcharged the U.S. Department of Energy for labor hours, according to federal prosecutors.
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June 25, 2025
Paper Products Co. Settles Mich. AG's PFAS Lawsuit
A manufacturer of paper products has agreed to clean up a composting site to resolve allegations the company dumped paper sludge containing hazardous PFAS chemicals, Michigan's attorney general announced on Wednesday.
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June 24, 2025
Wash. Judge Blocks Trump Admin's EV Charging Funds Freeze
A Seattle federal judge Tuesday issued a preliminary injunction blocking the Trump administration from withholding funds for electric vehicle charging infrastructure projects in 14 states, but stopped short of applying it to two other states and Washington, D.C., and stayed the order to give the administration time to appeal.
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June 24, 2025
State AGs Sue Trump Admin To Stop Billions In Grant Cuts
A coalition of 21 states and the District of Columbia filed suit Tuesday in Massachusetts federal court, accusing the Trump administration of unlawfully using a single clause "buried in federal regulations" to nix billions of dollars in federal grant funding to the states.
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June 24, 2025
5th Circ. Says EPA Ignored Cos. To Push Efficiency Testing Rule
The Fifth Circuit has thrown out part of a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency rule for determining measures for fuel efficiency, finding Tuesday that the agency used a faulty methodology to justify tightening standards and outright ignored comments when creating the rule.
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June 24, 2025
NC Senate Backs $700M Boost For Hurricane Helene Recovery
The North Carolina Senate has signed off on a proposal to allocate another $700 million to the state's Hurricane Helene Disaster Recovery Fund, including $75 million for road and bridge repairs and $70 million to meet Federal Emergency Management Agency's state matching requirements.
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June 24, 2025
Ohio Derailment Deal Admin Wants Explanation For Ouster
The ex-administrator of Norfolk Southern's $600 million settlement with the people and businesses of East Palestine, Ohio, is asking a federal court to share why it was terminated, saying in filings Monday that the company had no idea the plaintiffs' counsel were going to ask for a new administrator.
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June 24, 2025
Green Group Sues Forest Service Over NH Logging Project
A green group on Monday asked a New Hampshire federal court to strike down the U.S. Forest Service's approval of a White Mountain National Forest logging project that the group said didn't get the proper environmental review.
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June 24, 2025
Alaska Must Challenge Tribe's Gaming Hall In Home State
The state of Alaska must challenge federal approval for an Alaska Native tribe's gaming hall on its home turf and not in Washington, D.C., a D.C. federal judge ruled.
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June 24, 2025
Pollution Exclusion Applies Without Exception, AIG Unit Says
An AIG unit urged the Illinois Supreme Court to find that a permit or regulation allowing a company to discharge toxins into the environment has no bearing on the application of a pollution exclusion, saying "pollution is pollution" regardless of government authorization.
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June 24, 2025
Honeywell, DuPont Say Firefighters' PFAS Suit Falls Short
Honeywell, DuPont and other companies on Monday asked a Connecticut federal judge to toss a group of firefighters' lawsuit over alleged exposure to dangerous levels of forever chemicals, saying there's no legal support for the claims.
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June 23, 2025
GOP Plan For Merging Agencies Faces Reckoning, And Alarm
The Senate parliamentarian has given a thumbs-down to a Republican budget proposal that would allow President Donald Trump to unilaterally eliminate agencies through mergers and consolidation, adding to what experts say are a host of problems with the little-noticed provision.
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June 23, 2025
Trump Admin Rescinds Clinton-Era 'Roadless' Logging Rule
U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke L. Rollins announced Monday that she was rescinding the longstanding "Roadless Rule" limiting the number of roads built in national forests, calling the 2001 rule "outdated," contrary to the "will of Congress" and an obstacle to "common sense management of our natural resources."
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June 23, 2025
Monsanto Settles With Families After 11th Seattle PCB Trial
Monsanto settled a tort case on Monday brought by 22 people who claim that they were poisoned by chemicals known as PCBs at a Washington school, ending jury deliberations following a nine-week trial in state court.
Expert Analysis
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5 Keys To Building Stronger Attorney-Client Relationships
Attorneys are often focused on being seen as the expert, but bonding with clients and prospects by sharing a few key personal details provides the basis for a caring, trusted and profoundly deeper business relationship, says Deb Feder at Feder Development.
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BlackRock Suit Highlights Antitrust Risks Of ESG
In Texas v. BlackRock, pending in Texas federal court, 13 state attorneys general are suing large institutional investors in the coal business, underscoring key reasons companies may want to alter their approach to developing and implementing policies related to environmental, social, and governance factors, especially if coordination with competitors is involved, say attorneys at Manatt.
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Evidence Rule May Expand Use Of Out-Of-Court Statements
A proposed amendment to Federal Rule of Evidence 801(d)(1)(A) would broaden the definition of nonhearsay, reflects a more pragmatic approach to regulating the admissibility of out-of-court statements by declarant-witnesses, and could help level the playing field between prosecutors and criminal defendants, say attorneys at Hangley Aronchick.
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How Courts Can Filter Nonmeritorious Claims In Mass Torts
Nonmeritorious claims have been a key obstacle to settlement in many recent high-profile mass torts, but courts may be able to use tools they already have to solve this problem, says Samir Parikh at Wake Forest University.
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Series
Racing Corvettes Makes Me A Better Lawyer
The skills I use when racing Corvettes have enhanced my legal practice in several ways, because driving, like practicing law, requires precision, awareness and a good set of brakes — complete with the wisdom to know how and when to use them, says Kat Mateo at Olshan Frome.
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Opinion
Attorneys Must Act Now To Protect Judicial Independence
Given the Trump administration's recent moves threatening the independence of the judiciary, including efforts to impeach judges who ruled against executive actions, lawyers must protect the rule of law and resist attempts to dilute the judicial branch’s authority, says attorney Bhavleen Sabharwal.
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The Math Of Cross-Examination: Less Is More, More Is Less
When conducting cross-examination at trial, attorneys should remember that “less is more, and more is less” — limiting both the scope of questioning and the length of each query in order to control the witness’s testimony and keep the factfinders’ attention, says Thomas Innes at the Defender Association of Philadelphia.
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Rethinking 'No Comment' For Clients Facing Public Crises
“No comment” is no longer a cost-free or even a viable public communications strategy for companies in crisis, and counsel must tailor their guidance based on a variety of competing factors to help clients emerge successfully, says Robert Bowers at Moore & Van Allen.
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Fund Names Rule FAQs Leave Some Interpretative Uncertainty
Although recently released FAQs clarify many specific points of the 2023 expansion to the Investment Company Act's fund names rule, important questions remain about how U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission staff will interpret other key terms when the end-of-year compliance date arrives, say attorneys at Dechert.
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How Design Thinking Can Help Lawyers Find Purpose In Work
Lawyers everywhere are feeling overwhelmed amid mass government layoffs, increasing political instability and a justice system stretched to its limits — but a design-thinking framework can help attorneys navigate this uncertainty and find meaning in their work, say law professors at the University of Michigan.
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Tools For Witness Control That Go Beyond Leading Questions
Though leading questions can be efficient and effective for constraining a witness’s testimony, this strategy isn’t appropriate for every trial and pretrial scenario, so techniques like headlining and looping can be deployed during direct examination, depositions and even witness interviews, says Allison Rocker at Baker McKenzie.
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Opinion
US Steel-Nippon Merger Should Not Have Been Blocked
The Biden administration's block of the U.S. Steel and Nippon Steel merger on national security grounds was unconstitutional overreach and needs to be overturned, with the harms remedied in federal court, says attorney Chuck Meyer.
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10 Issues To Watch In Aerospace And Defense Contracting
This year, in addition to evergreen developments driven by national security priorities, disruptive new technologies and competition with rival powers, federal contractors will see significant disruptions driven by the new administration’s efforts to reduce government spending, regulation and the size of the federal workforce, say attorneys at Thompson Hine.
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Navigating The Trump Enviro Rollback And Its Consequences
The Trump administration's rapid push for environmental deregulation will lead to both opportunities and challenges, requiring companies to adopt strategic approaches to a complex, unpredictable legal environment in which federal rollbacks are countered by increased enforcement by states, and risks of citizen litigation may be heightened, say attorneys at Beveridge & Diamond.
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Series
Competitive Weightlifting Makes Me A Better Lawyer
The parallels between the core principles required for competitive weightlifting and practicing law have helped me to excel in both endeavors, with each holding important lessons about discipline, dedication, drive and failure, says Damien Bielli at VF Law.