Analysis

Judge Decries 'Gamesmanship' In Nixing EPA Waiver Moves

By Keith Goldberg

A federal judge has struck an initial blow against the Trump administration and congressional Republicans' aggressive use of the Congressional Review Act to block the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's move to make Clean Air Act waivers for California subject to potential rescission by lawmakers.

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8th Circ. Says Exclusion Bars Oil Well Blast Coverage

By Danielle Ferguson

The Eighth Circuit said Thursday that an AIG unit does not owe $25 million to an ExxonMobil subsidiary for injury claims stemming from a 2016 oil and gas well explosion, finding the energy company did not meet a notice requirement needed to sidestep a pollution exclusion.

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Oil Cos. Seek Quick Appeal To Nix Suit Over Heat Wave Death

By Gina Kim

Exxon, Chevron, Shell and other oil giants say they plan to seek appellate review of a Washington judge's order refusing to dismiss a civil suit over a woman's 2021 death that alleged the defendants knew their products were intensifying extreme weather patterns but downplayed risks to maximize profit.  

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Cities, Groups Ask Judge To Keep $3B EPA Grant Funding Alive

By Elaine Briseño

Cities and groups challenging the Environmental Protection Agency's cancellation of nearly $3 billion in environmental climate justice grants asked a South Carolina federal judge, who ruled the termination unlawful, on Wednesday to preserve the funding while the agency appeals the decision.

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Maduro Says Narco-Terrorism Charge Has No US Link

By Madeline Lyskawa

Former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro pressed a New York federal judge to throw out his narco-terrorism conspiracy charge, arguing that the U.S. government cannot indict him for something that took place entirely in another country and did not involve the U.S.

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Mich. Court Keeps Ann Arbor Public Power Measure On Ballot

By Melanie Dorsey

A Michigan appellate panel has kept a proposal to create a municipal electric utility in Ann Arbor on the November ballot, ruling that the city clerk was not clearly required to reject supplemental petition signatures submitted after the proposal's initial filing. 

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Alaska's Izembek Road Work OK'd Despite Axed Land Swap

By Joyce Hanson

A federal judge has slapped down an environmental group's bid to preliminarily stop the state of Alaska and a Native village corporation from beginning construction on 2.8 miles of road adjacent to the Izembek National Wildlife Refuge.

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Brief

EPA Appeals Order To Determine Soot Standard Compliance

By Tom Lotshaw

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said it's appealing a California federal judge's decision ordering it to designate what parts of the country are meeting or not meeting new air quality standards for fine particulate matter by early February.

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Freshfields, V&E Guide Flex's $4.4B EPC Power Deal

By Jade Martinez-Pogue

Freshfields LLP-led manufacturing company Flex on Thursday unveiled plans to acquire EPC Power, advised by Vinson & Elkins LLP, in a $4.4 billion deal.

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Nippon Tells 9th Circ. Not To Revive US Steel Merger Case

By Bryan Koenig

Nippon Steel urged the Ninth Circuit on Wednesday not to revive a consumer lawsuit challenging its now-completed purchase of U.S. Steel Corp., arguing the district court rightly found the plaintiffs too far removed from the steel market to allege higher prices when buying steel-containing products.

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ISun Ch. 7 Trustee Sues Former Execs Over Self-Dealing

By Vince Sullivan

The Chapter 7 trustee in the bankruptcy of solar power company iSun Inc. accused the former CEO and Chief Financial Officer of sinking the company into insolvency through self-dealing and hidden debt transactions, saying in an adversary suit their actions were reckless.

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Worker Says Colo. Mining Co. Shorted Pay, Including Overtime

By Rachel Konieczny

A uranium mining company operating in Wyoming shorted hourly workers' pay by rounding down workers' recorded time and removing bonuses from overtime rate calculations, according to a proposed class and collective action filed Thursday in Colorado federal court.

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Jenner & Block Adds Crowell Energy Partner To DC Office

By Jack Rodgers

Jenner & Block LLP said Thursday it has hired the former co-leader of Crowell & Moring LLP's appellate practice, who worked on a range of energy matters there and spent over a decade of her career as a senior attorney with the Justice Department's Environment and Natural Resources Division.

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SolaREIT Names New GC, Transaction Counsel

By Isaac Monterose

Renewable energy real estate investment company SolaREIT has hired Marisa McCurdy as its new general counsel and Daniel Leppert as its new transaction counsel, the company announced Thursday.

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How Orbital Data Centers May Test NEPA's Reach

With environmental and scientific groups recently pushing back against the Federal Communications Commission's proposal to exempt massive data center satellite constellations from review under the National Environmental Policy Act, the question of whether NEPA even applies to projects in space turns on three closely related issues, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

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Series

Ballet Makes Me A Better Lawyer

A lifetime of learning and performing ballet taught me that success — whether in dance or practicing law — comes only through hours of thorough preparation, boundless energy and relentless effort, says Sharon Katz-Pearlman at Greenberg Traurig.

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Quinn Emanuel, McDermott Hit By Data Breaches

By Lauren Berg

Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP and McDermott Will & Schulte LLP both recently suffered data breaches, adding to the dozens of cybersecurity incidents law firms in the U.S. have suffered in 2026.

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Analysis

Boutique Firms Emerge As Trump Admin's 'Achilles' Heel'

By Phillip Bantz

Less fearful of retribution than some of their BigLaw counterparts, small law firms are taking on an outsize role handling cases seen as adversarial to the Trump administration.

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Interview

Federal Judge Warns Threats Imperil Judicial Independence

By Carolina Bolado

U.S. District Judge Beth Bloom of the Southern District of Florida told Law360 that judges and members of the bar need to educate the public on the judiciary's important role in American democracy to combat increasing threats, speaking following the release of two reports this week that warn of safety concerns for judges and that defiance of court orders is undermining the federal judiciary's independence.

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Husch Blackwell Gets Early Win In Ex-Partner's 401(k) Suit

By Andrea Keckley

A Missouri federal court granted Husch Blackwell LLP an early win over a former employee's proposed class action alleging the firm illegally withheld retirement contributions and mismanaged its employee 401(k) plan, finding the ex-partner couldn't prove violations of federal benefits law.

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Former Girardi Keese CFO Drops Appeal Of 5-Year Fraud Term

By Emily Sawicki

The Seventh Circuit has granted onetime Girardi Keese financial chief Christopher Kamon's request to drop the appeal he lodged fighting an Illinois federal judge's order adding five concurrent years onto the 10 he is already serving for his role helping Tom Girardi, the head of the firm, steal millions from plane crash clients who settled cases in Chicago.

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Pirro Urges House Ethics Panel To Refer Crime Claims To DOJ

By Courtney Bublé

U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro has told the House Ethics Committee that as cases involving criminal misconduct come before it, her office should be involved too.

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Fox Rothschild Says Adult Day Care Suit Rehashes Claims

By Rose Krebs

Fox Rothschild LLP is urging a New Jersey state court to toss claims against the firm and one of its attorneys in a complaint related to the firm's prosecution of a fraudulent loan lawsuit that led to a $65,000 sanction against the firm.

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