Environmental

Expert Analysis

• Opinion

  6 Ways Financial Regulators Should Prioritize Climate Risk

  

  As the Biden administration prepares to take office, financial regulators must resolve to collaborate with each other and industries to manage the financial risks from climate change after years of obstruction by the Trump administration, says New York Department of Financial Services Superintendent Linda Lacewell.

• 4 Legal Industry Trends Litigation Financiers Are Watching

  

  Some recent litigation developments demonstrate efforts by law firms and their clients to search for opportunities in the COVID-19 economic fallout, while others — such as the rise of contingency fee arrangements — reflect acceleration of tendencies that were already underway, says William Weisman at Therium Capital.

• How EU Climate Regs May Affect US Private Fund Managers

  

  As compliance dates for the European Commission's environmental, social and governance rules draw closer, U.S. private fund managers should be aware that EU investors and subsidiaries could trigger climate risk data requests and compliance obligations, says Trysha Daskam at Silver Regulatory.

• Lenders' Role Will Be Key In NYC Green Building Loans

  

  New York City's Climate Mobilization Act, which will soon restrict large buildings' carbon emissions, provides for a loan program to help owners finance energy-efficient improvements — but the program's success will depend on mortgage lenders' participation, says Jason Rozes at Dechert.

• A Lawyer's Guide To Setting Well-Being Goals In 2021

  

  In the face of rising client demands due to the pandemic and the changing regulatory environment, and with remote work continuing for the foreseeable future, lawyers should invest in their well-being by establishing inspiring yet realistic goals for 2021 — one month at a time, says Krista Larson at Morgan Lewis.

• IRS Continuity Safe Harbor Will Aid Renewable Projects

  

  Recent Internal Revenue Service guidance expanding the continuity safe harbor to protect tax credit eligibility for qualified offshore and federal land renewable energy projects will provide certainty for developers who often face significant construction and permitting delays, say attorneys at Mayer Brown.

• Building The Hydrogen Sector Will Require New Laws, Regs

  

  Hydrogen's potential as a clean fuel and energy storage medium has captured the imaginations of governments, environmental advocates and energy sector players, but project developers will need to work with legislators and regulators to craft new use-appropriate policies, say James Bowe and William Rice at King & Spalding.

• Keyword Searches To Improve Your Privilege Doc Review

  

  "Confidential" and other search terms commonly used to locate privileged documents during e-discovery are pretty ineffective, so practitioners should consider including specific types of keywords that are demonstrably better at targeting privilege, say Robert Keeling at Sidley and Rishi Chhatwal at AT&T.

• The Benefits Of More Alternative Dispute Resolution At GAO

  

  While disruption amid the pandemic undoubtedly contributed to a 210% uptick in the use of alternative dispute resolution at the U.S. Government Accountability Office in fiscal year 2020, bid protest practitioners should hope the upward trend continues given the various efficiencies it brings to the procurement process, says Noah Bleicher at Jenner & Block.

• ABA Approves Remote Practice, But Questions Remain

  

  Lawyers working remotely during the pandemic while physically outside the jurisdictions in which they are licensed will find some comfort in a recent American Bar Association opinion sanctioning such practice, but there is ambiguity regarding the contours of what's allowed, say attorneys at Harris Wiltshire.

• Keys To Creating Standout Law Firm Thought Leadership

  

  Whether geared toward a global audience or a particular client, a law firm's articles, blog posts and client alerts should strive to be original by harnessing a few editorial tools and following the right distribution sequence, say Steven Andersen and Tal Donahue at Infinite Global.

• Perspectives

  Judges On Race: The Power Of Discretion In Criminal Justice

  

  Judges should take into consideration the several points of law enforcement and prosecutorial discretion — from traffic stops to charging decisions and sentencing recommendations — that often lead to race-based disparate treatment before a criminal defendant even reaches the courthouse, say Judge Juan Villaseñor and Laurel Quinto at Colorado's Eighth Judicial District Court.

• Expect New SEC Leadership To Require More ESG Reporting

  

  President-elect Joe Biden's eventual pick to lead the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission will likely increase public companies' environmental, social and governance disclosure obligations through new rules and guidance on climate risks and other ESG areas, say Frank Zarb and Louis Rambo at Proskauer.

• Buyers May Be Wary Of Climate-Driven PG&E Asset Sale

  

  PG&E's plan to sell its Pleasant Creek natural gas storage field will allow the utility to avoid decommissioning and remediation costs, and it aligns with regulators' desire to see the company move in a climate-friendly direction — but buyers may be leery of such assets for the same reasons, say Vidhya Prabhakaran and Patrick Ferguson at Davis Wright.

• 5 Attorney Business Development Tips For The New Year

  

  Lawyers should remember that the basics of interpersonal relationships have not changed despite the completely virtual environment caused by the pandemic, and should leverage the new year as an excuse to connect with clients in several ways, say Megan Senese and Courtney Hudson at Pillsbury.