Analysis

Tax-Credit Cliff Sparks M&A Rush For Clean Energy

By Keith Goldberg

The looming July cutoff to maintain eligibility for clean electricity investment and production tax credits is sparking a dealmaking spree as smaller developers who are unable to meet the deadline begin looking to sell projects to deeper-pocketed players who can.

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Truck Makers Say Calif. Can't Ditch 'Clean Trucks' Pact Suit

By Linda Chiem

Heavy-duty truck manufacturers have told a California federal judge that state officials cannot be allowed to circumvent federal law and saddle manufacturers with stringent emissions standards and stiff penalties for noncompliance, saying the Golden State's regulations are unequivocally preempted.

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3 Canadian Law Firms Steer $6.5B Boralex PE Buyout

By Al Barbarino

Brookfield Asset Management and La Caisse have agreed to acquire all of Boralex Inc.'s outstanding shares in a deal that gives the Canadian renewable power producer an enterprise value of CA$9 billion, or about $6.5 billion, according to a deal announcement Wednesday. 

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DOE Worker Who Took Buyout Admits To Attempted Bribery

By Julie Manganis

An ex-U.S. Department of Energy employee who accepted the Trump administration's "fork in the road" deferred resignation offer last year pled guilty Wednesday to trying to bribe a former co-worker to steer contracts to his new company, federal prosecutors announced.

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Ukraine Cos. Say Russia's High Court Bid Can't Stall Awards

By Joyce Hanson

Ukrainian energy and gas companies have urged the D.C. Circuit to remand to district court their lawsuits seeking to enforce $242 million in arbitral awards against Russia, despite the country's pending petition before the U.S. Supreme Court that asks it to resolve a circuit split.

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Ex-Nikola CEOs Can't Get Bankruptcy Pause For Investor Suit

By Emilie Ruscoe

Former CEOs of bankrupt electric-truck maker Nikola Corp. can't hit pause on proposed investor class action claims they face while related claims against the company are stayed amid its bankruptcy proceedings, an Arizona federal judge has determined.

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EV Co. Investors Get Final OK Of $13.3M Deal, Atty Fees

By Emilie Ruscoe

Investors in bankrupt electric vehicle company Arrival have gotten final approval for their nearly $13.3 million deal ending claims the company touted a purportedly profitable business plan as it went public via merger with a special purpose acquisition company only to scale back its projections within a year of the merger announcement.

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Groups Say Miner, Nonprofit Forum Shop In Chuckwalla Suit

By Crystal Owens

A group of California tribes and conservation nonprofits is accusing a Michigan miner and the BlueRibbon Coalition of venue shopping in their challenge to the establishment of the Chuckwalla National Monument, arguing that the case should be transferred to a district "with an actual stake in the suit."

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Ashurst Adds 4 Ex-Bracewell Partners To Finance Practice

By Daniel Moritz-Rabson

Ashurst LLP has announced the addition of a four-partner team in New York to expand its finance and restructuring capacities ahead of a proposed merger with Perkins Coie LLP.

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FBT Gibbons Lands Public Finance Pros From BigLaw Firms

By Madison Arnold

FBT Gibbons LLP has added two public finance partners, one from Bracewell LLP in Houston and another from Barnes & Thornburg LLP in Columbus, Ohio.

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How Iran War Might Reshape Proxy Contests This Year

The Iran war may function as a short-term poison pill for proxy contests, not because it strengthens corporate defenses, but because it increases the risks associated with activist commitments, say attorneys at Sidley.

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What 2nd Circ. Discovery Stay Means For Sovereign Litigation

The Second Circuit’s recent stay of a postjudgment discovery order against Argentine officials in an oil investment dispute is worth examining in its full doctrinal and practical context, as limiting enforcement efforts that pry into foreign governments' internal workings could quietly reshape the trajectory of sovereign litigation in the U.S., says Josep Galvez at 4-5 Gray's Inn.

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White & Case Staffer Sues Firm Over Nude Photo Ridicule

By Dorothy Atkins

A White & Case LLP staffer sued the law firm in New York state court Wednesday, alleging the firm's purported "hostile work environment" shielded his colleagues after they allegedly shared nude photos of him, which he claims were taken by his supervisor while he was unconscious at a firm-sponsored party.

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Akin Must Explain Client's 'Self-Indulgent' 9th Circ. Appeal

By Lauren Berg

Upholding a foreign arbitration award against a wine importer, the Ninth Circuit on Thursday ordered its attorneys at Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP to explain why they and their client shouldn't pay their opponent's attorney fees for bringing a "frivolous" and "self-indulgent" appeal.

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Troutman, Former Associate Fight Over Scope Of Bias Trial

By Emily Sawicki

Weeks ahead of an anticipated May trial over discrimination and retaliation claims brought by a former Troutman Pepper Hamilton Sanders LLP associate, the firm and its onetime employee are sparring over the scope of evidence that may be presented at trial.

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Maduro Judge Hints US Should Reconsider Legal Fee Refusal

By Pete Brush

A Manhattan federal judge suggested Thursday that the Trump administration should revisit its refusal to allow former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro to access his country's funds to pay for his defense against narco-terrorism and trafficking charges.

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Antitrust Leaders Say Lobbyists Don't Impact Outcomes

By Matthew Perlman

The leaders of the Federal Trade Commission and U.S. Department of Justice's Antitrust Division said Thursday that companies can lobby the agencies all they want, but enforcers will still make merger and conduct decisions based on the facts and the law.

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Bill To Give Admin More Control Over US Attys Advances

By Courtney Bublé

A Republican-led bill that would give the executive branch more authority over the installation of U.S. attorneys was advanced out of a House committee Thursday.

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