Constellation To Sell Power Plants For $26.6B Calpine Deal

By Matthew Perlman

The U.S. Department of Justice said on Friday that enforcers have reached a deal allowing Constellation Energy Corp.'s $26.6 billion purchase of Calpine Corp. to move ahead, with the sale of power plants located in Delaware, Pennsylvania and Texas.

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6th Circ. Partially Overturns EPA's Detroit Ozone Ruling

By Carolyn Muyskens

The Sixth Circuit reversed a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency determination that the Detroit area meets federal air quality standards, ruling Friday that the state of Michigan failed to implement federally required air pollution controls.

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Nuclear Waste Storage Worries Too Hypothetical, Justices Told

By Ganesh Setty

A company licensed to temporarily store nuclear waste urged the U.S. Supreme Court to reject a challenge to a condition in its license application to contract with the U.S. Department of Energy once Congress allows it.

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Energy Dept. Defends $7.5B Grant Cuts In Political Bias Case

By Keith Goldberg

The U.S. Department of Energy has urged a federal judge in Washington not to block its termination of energy project grants worth more than $7.5 billion, arguing there is no merit to claims alleging the federal government unconstitutionally targeted funds for Democratic-leaning states.

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Divided DC Circ. Backs Trump's NLRB, MSPB Firings

By Braden Campbell

A split D.C. Circuit panel on Friday upheld President Donald Trump's firings of two labor agency officials in spite of their statutory job protections, saying they wield enough executive power that Congress can't restrict the president's authority to fire them.

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Legislation Targets Reversal Of Oak Flat Land Transfer In Ariz.

By Crystal Owens

An Arizona congressional representative is carrying on her father's initiative to repeal a 2014 National Defense Authorization Act rider that transfers more than 2,422 acres to a copper mining company while litigation to block the move continues to play out in the Ninth Circuit.

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ITC Bans Infringing Drill Bit Imports After Fed. Circ. Remand

By Elliot Weld

The U.S. International Trade Commission has held that a group of foreign companies is violating Section 337 of the Tariff Act by shipping diamond drill bit components that infringe a U.S. company's patent and issued an order banning such imports after the case was remanded by the Federal Circuit.

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Eaton's Position On Parental Support Conflicting, Judge Says

By Molly Moses

Eaton is telling "different stories at different times" about the ability of its foreign parent company to step in and pay the U.S. company's debt obligations to third parties, Tax Court Judge Albert Lauber said in questioning one of the company's experts Friday.

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Factory Mutual Sued For $14M In Lost Power Plant Revenue

By Gianna Ferrarin

A power plant owner hit Factory Mutual Insurance Co. with a suit in New York federal court alleging the insurer wrongly withheld at least $14 million in coverage for lost revenue following an outage.

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US Magnesium Creditors Again Ask Judge To Nix Ch. 11 Loan

By Clara Geoghegan

US Magnesium's unsecured creditors committee has once again urged a Delaware bankruptcy judge not to give final approval to the former magnesium producer's $10 million Chapter 11 loan, saying it only benefits US Magnesium's secured lenders and parent company.

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Brief

Holland & Knight Adds Ex-House Speaker's Adviser In DC

By Tracey Read

Holland & Knight LLP has added the former senior policy adviser and counsel to Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., as a public policy and regulation practice group partner.

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Categorical Exclusions Bring New NEPA Litigation Risks

With recent court rulings and executive actions shifting regulatory frameworks around the National Environmental Protection Act — especially regarding the establishment, adoption and use of categorical exclusions to expedite projects — developers must carefully evaluate the risks presented by this altered and uncertain legal landscape, says Stacey Bosshardt at Greenberg Traurig.

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10 Commandments For Agentic AI Tools In The Legal Industry

Though agentic artificial intelligence has demonstrated significant promise for optimizing legal work, it presents numerous risks, so specific ethical obligations should be built into the knowledge base of every agentic AI tool used in the legal industry, says Steven Cordero at Akerman LLP.

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US Lawyer Numbers Surge With Hefty 2024 Graduating Class

By Tracey Read

The number of U.S. lawyers showed marked growth for the first time since 2020, due to a 2024 graduating class that was nearly 12% larger than any other class since 2012, a study from the American Bar Association released Monday showed.

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Habba Resigns As Acting US Atty After DQ Ruling At 3rd Circ.

By Jake Maher

Alina Habba stepped down Monday as acting U.S. attorney for New Jersey following a Third Circuit ruling that she was unlawfully appointed to the position, with the U.S. Department of Justice unveiling that a trio of officials will take on her responsibilities.

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Conservative Justices Probe 'Husk' Of FTC Firing Protections

By Bryan Koenig

The U.S. Supreme Court's conservative majority pushed back Monday against the 90-year-old precedent permitting the removal only for cause of Federal Trade Commission members, and perhaps those serving other independent agencies, calling those safeguards a "dried husk" and wondering where to draw the line for protected agencies.

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Ex-Josh Cellars President Fights Gibson Dunn Withdrawal Bid

By Elliot Weld

The former president of the company behind the Josh Cellars wine brand disputed Gibson Dunn & Crutcher LLP's version of events around his allegedly unpaid legal bills, saying he has questions about the reasonableness of the firm's charges, which must be arbitrated per his contract with the firm.

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Carlton Fields Steps Aside In 'Irreconcilable' Miss America Case

By Emily Johnson

A Florida federal judge allowed Carlton Fields and its attorneys on Monday to withdraw from representing the plaintiffs in a dispute over the ownership of the Miss America pageant, after the firm said "irreconcilable differences" drew it to ask to step down.

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Jury Expert Sues Atty For 'Pirating' Her Jan. 6 Venue Report

By Matt Perez

A New Hampshire defense attorney representing a defendant charged for crimes related to the storming of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, has been sued in D.C. federal court for allegedly stealing a copyrighted study analyzing attitudes in the jury pool of the District of Columbia.

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Litigation Funder Says Attys Hid Deal To Evade $1.5M Payout

By Christine DeRosa

A Florida-based litigation funder has sued two California attorneys and a law firm, alleging they secretly settled a client's civil dispute and steered the money so they wouldn't have to repay over $1.5 million.

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Analysis

What To Do When Jurors Don't 'Trust The Science'

By Chris Villani

The pandemic and initiatives from the second administration of President Donald Trump challenging decades of established scientific norms have made science more politicized, and attorneys say picking a jury and presenting scientific evidence is increasingly challenging.

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Brief

Senators Kelly, Slotkin Set Up Legal Defense Funds

By Courtney Bublé

After appearing in a video encouraging members of the military and intelligence community to not follow illegal orders, Sens. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., and Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., have established legal defense funds.

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Defense Bill Includes Protections For Retired Justices

By Courtney Bublé

The National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal 2026 released Sunday night extends U.S. Supreme Court police protection for retired and former justices and their immediate family members.

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Catching Up With Delaware's Chancery Court

By Jarek Rutz

The Delaware Chancery Court delivered a busy first week of December, featuring commercial disputes, post-closing merger and acquisition battles and renewed scrutiny of fiduciary conduct ranging from oil and gas investments to healthcare acquisitions. 

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