The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on Thursday backed plans from the Trump administration, state governors and PJM Interconnection to address escalating power prices amid data center-fueled increases in electricity demand, and encouraged the nation's largest grid operator to promptly submit policy proposals.
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FRIDAY, JANUARY 23, 2026 Law360 iOS App Law360 Android App Follow Law360 on Facebook Follow Law360 on LinkedIn Follow Law360 on Twitter

TOP NEWS

FERC Commissioners Back Fed-State Push For PJM Changes

By Keith Goldberg

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on Thursday backed plans from the Trump administration, state governors and PJM Interconnection to address escalating power prices amid data center-fueled increases in electricity demand, and encouraged the nation's largest grid operator to promptly submit policy proposals.

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AGs Target Investor Advocacy Group As 'Climate Cartel'

By Carolina Bolado

A group of state attorneys general led by Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier issued a warning letter Wednesday to climate advocacy organization Ceres claiming concerns about violations of antitrust and consumer protection laws.

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Ethanol Biz Loses Bid To Overturn €48M Price-Fixing Fine

By William Janes

A Swedish ethanol producer failed on Thursday to overturn a €47.7 million ($55.9 million) fine for colluding to maintain high prices by market manipulation after a European appeals court ruled that a competition watchdog did not presume it was guilty.

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OIL AND GAS

Poland Faces $40M Award Revival Bid In DC Circ.

By Caroline Simson

Mercuria Energy Group urged the D.C. Circuit on Thursday to revive the Cypriot commodities trader's bid to enforce a since-annulled $40 million arbitral award against Poland, saying the United States' commitment to its arbitration-related treaty obligations is at stake.

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Judge Severs Tax Charges From Ex-Rep's Foreign Agent Case

By Jack McLoone

A former Florida congressman will get to contest tax charges against him separately from a criminal indictment alleging he and a political consultant failed to register as foreign agents while lobbying on behalf of Venezuela's state oil company, a federal judge ruled.

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Brief

Washington Drops $9M Climate Fund Suit Against NOAA

By Elaine Briseño

Washington state dropped its lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Commerce after a federal judge temporarily blocked the Trump administration from withholding more than $9 million meant to shore up the state's resiliency to climate change.

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UTILITIES AND POWER

2 Firms Advise Energy Infrastructure Co.'s Go-Public Deal

By Nate Beck

Utility-scale energy infrastructure developer Hecate Energy Group said Thursday that it is set to become a public company valued at $1.2 billion under a merger advised by Cahill Gordon & Reindel LLP and Allen Overy Shearman Sterling LLP.

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RENEWABLES

Nevada Solar Project Files Ch. 11 For 2nd Time In 5 Years

By Rick Archer

A Nevada solar project is seeking Chapter 11 protection in a Delaware bankruptcy court with more than $180 million in debt, saying the same technical issues that sent it into bankruptcy in 2020 have kept it from operating at full power.

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DEALS

General Fusion To Go Public In $1B Nasdaq Deal

By Jade Martinez-Pogue

Private equity-backed General Fusion on Thursday announced plans to go public by merging with special purpose acquisition company Spring Valley Acquisition Corp. III in a deal that provides the combined company a roughly $1 billion pro forma equity value and was built by four law firms.

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Deals Rumor Mill

SpaceX Eyes IPO, Spirit Mulls PE Owner, And Other Rumors

By Al Barbarino

Elon Musk's SpaceX is putting together a group of Wall Street investment banks for a potential IPO, Spirit Airlines is in talks with investment firm Castlelake to help lead it out of bankruptcy, and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman looks to the Middle East to potentially raise tens of billions of dollars. 

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EXPERT ANALYSIS

What Texas Can Learn From La. About CO2 Well Primacy

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's granting Texas primary authority over wells used to inject carbon dioxide into deep rock formations is a significant step forward for carbon capture and storage projects in the state — but Louisiana's experience after it was granted primacy offers a cautionary tale, say attorneys at Phelps Dunbar.

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Key False Claims Act Trends From The Last Year

The False Claims Act remains a powerful enforcement tool after some record verdicts and settlements in 2025, and while traditional fraud areas remain a priority, new initiatives are raising questions about its expanding application, says Veronica Nannis at Joseph Greenwald.

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Series

Hosting Exchange Students Makes Me A Better Lawyer

Opening my home to foreign exchange students makes me a better lawyer not just because prioritizing visiting high schoolers forces me to hone my organization and time management skills but also because sharing the study-abroad experience with newcomers and locals reconnects me to my community, says Alison Lippa at Nicolaides Fink.

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LEGAL INDUSTRY

Ex-Baker McKenzie Atty Alleges Assault In New DC Lawsuit

By Alison Knezevich

A former Baker McKenzie associate who was sued for defamation over a series of social media posts accusing the firm's Washington, D.C., managing partner of sexual assault has brought her own lawsuit, marking the first time she publicly detailed her allegations in court records.

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Trump Calls For Prosecution Of Jack Smith Post-Hearing

By Courtney Bublé

Shortly after former special counsel Jack Smith gave his first public congressional testimony on the Trump cases, in which he warned the rule of law should not be taken for granted, President Donald Trump said he should be prosecuted.

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Goldstein Prosecutors Unveil Conflicting Cash Source Claims

By Jared Foretek

A former lawyer at SCOTUSblog founder Thomas Goldstein's firm said Thursday that Goldstein told coworkers that the more than $960,000 in cash he brought off a flight from Hong Kong — the source of which is integral to the government's case — had come from a client.

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ABA Outlines Limited Atty Duty To Give Info To Former Clients

By Lynn LaRowe

The American Bar Association said attorneys have a limited responsibility to convey information to former clients or successor counsel that was not within the client's file, when doing so is necessary to protect a client's interests and reasonably practicable, according to a new ethics opinion.

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Proposed Subpoena Rule Change Raises Victim Privacy Fears

By Brandon Lowrey

A proposal to loosen restrictions on the use of federal criminal subpoenas would endanger and further traumatize victims of crime, most of whom lack legal representation to fight the invasive demands, victims' rights advocates told a federal rules advisory committee on Thursday.

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Pa. Justices Say Judge's Partisan Posts Warrant Suspension

By Hayley Fowler

Pennsylvania's highest court has adopted a balancing test for restricting a sitting judge's free speech outside the context of an election and, in doing so, affirmed the suspension of a state court judge who it said damaged the court's appearance of impartiality by making political posts on social media.

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Brief

Courthouse News Drops Access Suit Against DC Court Clerk

By Emily Sawicki

National litigation news outlet Courthouse News Service has voluntarily and permanently dropped claims against a Washington, D.C., Superior Court clerk and the executive officer of the D.C. courts over filing delays, with both sides agreeing to pay their own costs.

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Promo that reads 2025 Practice Groups of the Year

COMPANIES IN TODAY'S NEWS

AT&T Inc.

Abengoa SA

American Bar Association

American Federation of Teachers

Bank of America Corp.

BlackRock Inc.

Burke Inc.

CVS Health Corp.

Castlelake LP

Cenovus Energy, Inc.

Coterra Energy Inc.

Courthouse News Service Inc.

Development Specialists Inc.

Devon Energy Corp.

Eli Lilly & Co.

Executive Health Resources Inc.

Exxon Mobil Corp.

Frontier Airlines Inc.

Gilead Sciences Inc.

Hecate Energy LLC

Illumina Inc.

JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Lantmännen Ekonomisk Förening

Mercuria Energy Group Ltd.

Meta Platforms Inc.

Morgan Stanley

Nasdaq Inc.

National Association for the Advancement of Colored People

National Education Association

Novo Nordisk A S

Occidental Petroleum Corp.

Omnicare Inc.

OpenAI OpCo LLC

PJM Interconnection LLC

Pfizer Inc.

RTX Corp.

Rite Aid Corp.

S&P Global Inc.

Sovereign Arbitration Advisors LLC

Space Exploration Technologies Corp.

Spirit Airlines Inc.

Supervalu Inc.

T-Mobile US Inc.

The Goldman Sachs Group Inc.

U.S. Chamber of Commerce

Verizon Communications Inc.

LAW FIRMS IN TODAY'S NEWS

A&O Shearman

Baker McKenzie

Cahill Gordon

Cassels Brock

DLA Piper

Davis Wright Tremaine

Faegre Drinker

Fasken

Goldstein & Russell

Greenberg Traurig

Jackson Lewis PC

Jones Walker LLP

Joseph Greenwald & Laake

Morgan Lewis

Munger Tolles

Nicolaides Fink

Phelps Dunbar

Thomas & LoCicero

GOVERNMENT AGENCIES IN TODAY'S NEWS

European Commission

Federal Bureau of Investigation

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

Federal Reserve System

Florida House of Representatives

General Court of the EU

Internal Revenue Service

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

New York Attorney General's Office

Pennsylvania Supreme Court

U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Maryland

U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida

U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware

U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit

U.S. Department of Commerce

U.S. Department of Education

U.S. Department of Homeland Security

U.S. Department of Justice

U.S. District Court for the Central District of California

U.S. District Court for the Central District of Illinois

U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia

U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland

U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey

U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania

U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida

U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas

U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida

U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York

U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington

U.S. District Court of the District of New Hampshire

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

U.S. House of Representatives

U.S. Senate

U.S. Supreme Court

Washington Attorney General's Office

Washington State Department of Ecology