5th Circ. Says EPA Ignored Cos. To Push Efficiency Testing Rule

By Spencer Brewer

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.

Opinion attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Wash. Judge Blocks Trump Admin's EV Charging Funds Freeze

By Lauren Berg

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.

Order attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Gazprom Must Pay $1.37B In Naftogaz Contract Fight

By Caroline Simson

Ukraine's state-owned oil and gas company has claimed victory in a $1.37 billion arbitration against Gazprom after the Russian state-owned energy giant allegedly failed to pay for natural gas transit services.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

State AGs Sue Trump Admin To Stop Billions In Grant Cuts

By Rae Ann Varona

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.

Complaint attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Co. Slams 'Overheated' Reed Smith Brief In Shipping Row

By Emily Sawicki

Reed Smith should not be allowed to halt court proceedings amid its effort to hold onto a client file sought by postbankruptcy owners of Eletson Holdings Inc., a reorganized international shipping company, amid its ongoing dispute with Levona Holdings Ltd., according to briefs both sides filed before the Second Circuit.

2 documents attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Rail Fuel Surcharge MDL Tossed In Sealed Opinion

By Bryan Koenig

Union Pacific Railroad Co., CSX Transportation Inc., Norfolk Southern Railway Corp. and BNSF Railway Co. scored a decisive win Tuesday against roughly 18 years of price-fixing litigation accusing the country's four largest railroad companies of colluding on freight fuel surcharges, in a sealed opinion issued in D.C. federal court.

Order attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

No Coverage For Oil Co. Accused Of Pipe Scheme, Court Told

By Catherine Marfin

Everest Indemnity Insurance Co. is asking a southern Texas federal court to rule that it is not required to indemnify a Houston energy equipment company accused of defrauding an oil and gas operator through faulty pipes.

Complaint attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Cable Cos. Push For Faster 'Self-Help' To Upgrade Poles

By Christopher Cole

Broadband providers need authority to quickly hire their own contractors to upgrade poles for service attachments if utilities that own the infrastructure can't get the work done quickly enough, a cable lobbying group told the Federal Communications Commission.

Letter attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Mich. Court Says Nonprofit Can't Co-Own Power Project

By Danielle Ferguson

A Michigan state appellate court on Monday found that the Michigan Public Power Agency's electric transmission lines lack the physical connection required under a 2021 law to co-own two new electric grid upgrade projects, marking the first time an appellate court has tackled the relatively new infrastructure statute.

Opinion attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

V&E Adds Investment, Finance Trio In NY, Texas

By Tracey Read

Vinson & Elkins LLP has brought on three new partners to strengthen its investment management and finance practices.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Simpson Thacher Grows In Houston With Ex-Latham Atty

By James Boyle

An attorney with expertise on financial transactions in the energy and infrastructure industries has moved his practice to Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP's Houston office after nearly 12 years with Latham & Watkins LLP.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Move Beyond Surface-Level Edits To Master Legal Writing

Recent instances in which attorneys filed briefs containing artificial intelligence hallucinations offer a stark reminder that effective revision isn’t just about superficial details like grammar — it requires attorneys to critically engage with their writing and analyze their rhetorical choices, says Ivy Grey at WordRake.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Kasowitz Rebrands Amid Shift To Streamlined Firm Names

By Andrea Keckley

Kasowitz Benson Torres LLP announced Tuesday that it is rebranding to Kasowitz LLP, becoming the latest firm to shorten its name.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

3rd Circ. Pick Told DOJ To Defy Courts, Whistleblower Says

By Courtney Bublé

A top career official at the U.S. Department of Justice who was fired has come forward with a whistleblower complaint alleging Third Circuit judicial nominee Emil Bove, who was acting deputy attorney general at the beginning of the year, sought to defy court orders.

Letter attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Judiciary Warns Congress Of Cyber Risks To PACER

By Courtney Bublé

PACER, the online public repository of federal court documents, is vulnerable to cyberthreats, a top judiciary official told members of Congress on Tuesday.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Former DOJ Antitrust Official Joins Latham

By Bryan Koenig

Latham & Watkins LLP on Wednesday announced the addition of a new D.C.-based antitrust partner with the hiring of Andrew Forman, a former deputy assistant attorney general in the U.S. Department of Justice's Antitrust Division who is rejoining private practice after three years of helping lead civil competition enforcement.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Winston & Strawn Sues Hunter Biden For 'Unpaid Legal Fees'

By Alison Knezevich

Winston & Strawn LLP is suing Hunter Biden in Washington, D.C., alleging he owes the BigLaw firm more than $50,000 for legal work related to his federal criminal case in Delaware and other matters.

Complaint attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Another Musk Case, Another Judge Recusal

By Bryan Koenig

A California federal magistrate judge on Tuesday became the latest federal judge to recuse from a case involving Elon Musk, this time stepping down from handling his lawsuit challenging OpenAI's now-abandoned transition to a for-profit enterprise.

Order attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

ABA Announces New Research Into Attorney Mental Health

By Emma Cueto

The American Bar Association announced Tuesday it is launching a national research project on attorney mental health, which will provide an updated benchmark of the issue nearly a decade after its 2016 study.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Trump Hones Immunity Argument In 2nd Circ. Carroll Appeal

By Pete Brush

Counsel for President Donald Trump told the Second Circuit on Tuesday that he did not "unequivocally and explicitly" waive presidential immunity before a jury awarded writer E. Jean Carroll $83.3 million in their defamation battle, refining the theory that he cannot be held liable.

3 documents attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Analysis

Anthropic Copyright Ruling May Spur More AI Licensing Deals

By Ivan Moreno

The first federal court decision on the fairness of taking copyrighted material to train generative artificial intelligence is a mixed outcome for tech companies and content creators that could prompt both parties to seek coexistence, according to attorneys, with the judge concluding that while the technology is "spectacularly" transformative, using pirated material is inexcusable.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »