An Oregon federal judge on Thursday halted the U.S. Department of Defense's freeze of wind projects, finding renewable energy groups and environmental nonprofits are likely to succeed in showing the agency violated deadlines for reviewing the projects' impact on military readiness.
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TOP NEWS

Ore. Judge Says DOD Wind Project Blockage Was Unlawful

By Madeline Lyskawa

An Oregon federal judge on Thursday halted the U.S. Department of Defense's freeze of wind projects, finding renewable energy groups and environmental nonprofits are likely to succeed in showing the agency violated deadlines for reviewing the projects' impact on military readiness.

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Trump Admin Pays RWE $1.2B To Drop Offshore Wind Leases

By Hailey Konnath

Germany-based RWE has agreed to give up its offshore wind leases off the coasts of New York, California and Louisiana in exchange for a $1.2 billion payment from President Donald Trump's administration, the latest in a string of payments from the government targeting wind energy.

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Ex-Goldman Exec Convicted Of Ghana Bribery Plot

By Stewart Bishop

A former Goldman Sachs executive director was convicted Thursday for his role in what Brooklyn federal prosecutors say was a wide-ranging conspiracy to bribe Ghanaian officials in support of a Turkish energy company's push to obtain a lucrative power plant contract as the West African nation was reeling from an electricity crisis.

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DOE Can't Force FOIA Filers To Reaffirm Old Requests

By Jared Foretek

A D.C. federal judge blocked the U.S. Department of Energy's requirement that Freedom of Information Act filers confirm their interest in pending requests filed before October 2024 within 30 days or face closure, ruling that the policy was never authorized in the FOIA statute.

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POLICY & REGULATION

China Announces Trade Countermeasures After US Actions

By Dylan Moroses

China's government will strengthen export controls on drones and their components as well as suspend coordinated inspections with U.S. officials and start new investigations into American businesses as countermeasures in response to recent U.S. actions implicating Chinese companies.

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OIL AND GAS

GOP Senators Float Repeal Of Calif. Vehicle Emissions Rules

By Linda Chiem

Four Republican senators on Thursday proposed revoking U.S. Environmental Protection Agency waivers granted to California for vehicle emissions regulations that have been in place for over a decade, following through on the Trump administration's efforts to dismantle the Golden State's authority to set stricter tailpipe emissions standards.

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UTILITIES AND POWER

Energy Co. Says Russia Can't Relitigate $219M Crimea Award

By Corey Rothauser

Ukrainian energy supplier DTEK Krymenergo urged a Washington, D.C., federal court on Wednesday to enforce a $219 million arbitral award against Russia, arguing that the country is improperly repackaging a treaty interpretation claim that the D.C. Circuit has already rejected.

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Ute Tribe Says Ex-Energy Manager Can't Evade Tribal Review

By Crystal Owens

A tribe in Utah is asking the Tenth Circuit to deny a former energy manager's bid to have a 13-year breach of contract dispute heard before a federal court, arguing that because of his "delay tactics," a trial in Ute Indian Tribal Courts has not concluded.

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RENEWABLES

Spain To Seek 2nd Chance In Award Enforcement Cases

By Caroline Simson

Spain will continue fighting the enforcement of hundreds of millions of euros worth of arbitral awards against it despite the U.S. Supreme Court denying its certiorari bid in a series of parallel cases, focusing on issues raised by the Trump administration in those cases.

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Suit Against Ex-Lumio Execs Will Stay In Delaware

By Rick Archer

A Delaware bankruptcy judge Thursday denied a request by former executives of solar panel provider Lumio Holdings to transfer a suit against them by the company's liquidating trustee to a Utah court.

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NUCLEAR

Judge Tosses Nuclear Power Wage-Fixing Case, For Now

By Matthew Perlman

A Maryland federal court tossed a proposed class action accusing nuclear energy producers including Constellation Energy, DTE Energy and Duke Energy of fixing wages, after finding the claims came too late.

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PEOPLE

Akin Brings On 2 Mayer Brown Energy Attys In Chicago

By Tracey Read

Two former Mayer Brown LLP energy and infrastructure attorneys have moved to Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP's fast-growing Chicago office, the firm announced Wednesday.

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EXPERT ANALYSIS

What Cos. Must Know About EPA Water Monitoring Proposal

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's newly proposed rule that would require public water systems to monitor for 30 unregulated drinking water contaminants does not impose new obligations on companies, but the data collected could affect future policy, investigations and litigation, says Ayodeji Ayolola at Gordon Rees.

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Series

Being A Sommelier Makes Me A Better Lawyer

Being a sommelier has quietly shaped how I practice law by changing the way I think, communicate and connect with people, and offers a constant reminder that expertise is about making your knowledge useful and accessible to others, says Kara Du at Sheppard.

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LEGAL INDUSTRY

How Does In-House Pay Compare? Take The Law360 Survey

How do in-house salaries vary across industries, roles, and organizational revenue? What compensation tools are companies using to lure top talent? Help Law360 Pulse answer these questions and more in this year's In-House Compensation Survey.

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No Simpson Thacher Malpractice In PIPE Case, Jury Finds

By Madison Arnold

Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP escaped a malpractice lawsuit late Thursday over its representation of Patriot National Inc. in a private investment in public equity transaction in the years before the company's downfall.

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Dems Slam Skadden's 'Nothing To See Here' Trump Deal Reply

By Hailey Konnath

Three Democratic lawmakers on Thursday criticized Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom LLP's response to their request that the firm disclose details of its pro bono arrangement with the Trump administration, saying the firm's "three sentence letter essentially saying 'nothing to see here'" is "not going to cut it."

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New ABA Chief Seeks To 'Streamline' Org., Defend Democracy

By Emily Sawicki

The American Bar Association's new president, Barbara J. Howard, will focus on twin goals of defending democracy against expected unprecedented attacks associated with this year's midterm elections, while also reorganizing the association to run more efficiently, as she kicks off her one-year term this month.

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Richards Layton Under Fire Amid Bid To Avoid AI Sanctions

By Rose Krebs

A firm has asked a Delaware vice chancellor to allow it to submit more "factual information" regarding what it says are inconsistencies in Richards Layton & Finger PA's attempt to avoid sanctions for submitting a filing with errors generated by artificial intelligence.

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Analysis

The Dramatic Moments Set To Shape Tom Goldstein's Appeal

By Jeff Overley and Jared Foretek

Prurient revelations, brash recriminations and purportedly glaring judicial errors in Tom Goldstein's criminal case have captivated the appellate bar for nearly 19 months, and many of those moments will be center stage in the star attorney's imminent appeal.

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2nd Circ. Says Pillsbury Must Surrender $3.6M Retainer

By Jessica Corso

Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP was ordered on Thursday to hand over a $3.6 million retainer it was paid to defend a client against criminal and civil fraud charges, with the Second Circuit upholding a ruling that the funds were part of an asset freeze order issued in a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission case.

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Ex-GC Hijacked Accounts And Posted Klan Imagery, Suit Says

By Ben Adlin

A Washington state court granted a temporary restraining order Wednesday in a school fundraising company's lawsuit accusing its former general counsel of taking control of its social media accounts and allegedly replacing its LinkedIn photo with a manipulated image of its president in a Ku Klux Klan robe.

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Ex-Girardi Atty Gets Probation For Keeping Silent On Theft

By Lauraann Wood

A former Girardi Keese attorney was sentenced to one day time-served and two years of probation Thursday for staying quiet and failing to report disgraced plaintiff's attorney Tom Girardi's theft of millions of settlement dollars owed to Lion Air Flight 620 plane crash victims.

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Wash. Justices Offer Bar Waiver After July Exam Tech Failure

By Rachel Riley

The Washington State Supreme Court said Thursday it's offering to waive the bar exam requirement for first-time applicants who were unable to take the test last week due to an abrupt cancellation driven by technical issues at the Yakima Convention Center where it was scheduled to be administered.   

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Justices' FTC Ruling Weakens Qui Tam's Constitutional Base

The U.S. Supreme Court’s holding in Trump v. Slaughter, expanding presidential control over those exercising executive power, suggests that courts may be receptive to arguments challenging the constitutional foundations of the False Claims Act’s qui tam mechanism, says Daniel Passeser at Wiggin.

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COMPANIES IN TODAY'S NEWS

Accelerant

Akin's

Ameren Corp.

American Bar Association

Arizona Public Service Co.

Constellation Energy Corp.

DTE Energy Co.

Deutsche Telekom AG

Dominion Energy Inc.

Duke Energy Corp.

Entergy Corp.

Environmental Defense Fund Inc.

Executive Health Resources Inc.

FirstEnergy Corp.

Google LLC

Hard Yaka Inc.

Intel Corp.

Invenergy LLC

LinkedIn Corp.

Luminant Generation Co. LLC

Lumio HX Inc.

NextEra Energy Inc.

PG&E Corp.

Patriot National Inc.

Public Co. Accounting Oversight Board

Public Service Enterprise Group Inc.

RWE AG

STP Nuclear Operating Co.

Southern California Edison Co.

The Boeing Co.

The Goldman Sachs Group Inc.

The Southern Co. Inc.

TotalEnergies SE

Twitter Inc.

Vimeo Inc.

Vistra Corp.

Washington State Bar Association

Xcel Energy Inc.

Yelp Inc.

YouTube Inc.

LAW FIRMS IN TODAY'S NEWS

A&O Shearman

Akin Gump

Anderson Kill

Arnold & Porter

Ashby & Geddes

Ashurst Perkins

Berger Montague

Burns Charest

Cairncross & Hempelmann

Cohen Milstein

Conrad & Scherer

Covington & Burling

Crowell & Moring

Curtis Mallet-Prevost

DLA Piper

Gibson Dunn

Girardi & Keese

Gordon Rees

Gressley Kaplin

HSF Kramer

Hagens Berman

Handley Farah

Hughes Hubbard

Hunton Andrews

Isom Law Firm

Jenner & Block

King & Spalding

Kirkland & Ellis

Kirton McConkie

Latham & Watkins

Lewis Rice

Lockridge Grindal

Mayer Brown

McGuireWoods

Morgan Lewis

Morris Nichols

Morrison Cohen

O'Melveny & Myers

Paul Hastings

Pillsbury Winthrop

Quinn Emanuel

Richards Layton

Seila Law

Sidley Austin

Simpson Thacher & Bartlett

Skadden Arps

Stearns Weaver

Sullivan & Cromwell

Susman Godfrey

Troutman

Weil Gotshal

Werksman Jackson

Wiggin & Dana

Williams & Connolly

WilmerHale

GOVERNMENT AGENCIES IN TODAY'S NEWS

California Air Resources Board

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

Delaware Court of Chancery

Federal Aviation Administration

Federal Bureau of Investigation

Federal Communications Commission

Federal Trade Commission

Food and Drug Administration

Internal Revenue Service

Office of the U.S. Trade Representative

Tennessee Valley Authority

Transportation Security Administration

U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York

U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Illinois

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 Ninth Circuit

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit

U.S. Customs and Border Protection

U.S. Department of Commerce

U.S. Department of Defense

U.S. Department of Energy

U.S. Department of Homeland Security

U.S. Department of Justice

U.S. Department of the Interior

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 Oregon

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

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

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

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission

U.S. Supreme Court

United Nations

Ute Indian Tribe