Analysis

State Of 2026 Energy Dealmaking: Midyear Report

By Keith Goldberg

The war in Iran is the most influential development that has shaped energy dealmaking so far in 2026, and that figures to still be the case in the second half of the year. Other factors include data center demands and tax credits. Here, attorneys outline to Law360 the trends that are defining energy transactions this year.

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EPA Floats Compliance Changes To Truck Emission Regs

By Gautama Mehta

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday proposed reducing the mileage for which trucks that will be built in 2027 have to adhere to emissions standards established in 2023.

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Judge Backs Feds' Valuation Method In Windfarm Grant Fight

By Tom Lotshaw

A U.S. Court of Federal Claims judge ordered several California wind farm owners and the federal government to largely employ a method the government proposed to value their facilities and hash out a decade-old dispute over grants worth hundreds of millions of dollars.

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Fed. Circ. Hunts For Definition Of Heat-Resistant Brick

By Jack McLoone

A Federal Circuit panel pressed attorneys Thursday on how to define specialized heat-resistant bricks when compared to a similar product while considering a claim that the U.S. Court of International Trade essentially nullified duty orders on bricks by reinterpreting a previous appellate court decision.

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Brief

EU, South Africa Meet To Discuss Clean Energy Trade Deal

By Dylan Moroses

South African and European officials began an intergovernmental dialogue Thursday to continue implementation efforts on the green energy trade deal signed last year, with particular focus on the kinds of businesses and investment projects the deal should encourage, according to a news release by the European Commission.

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Brief

WTO, IMF, World Bank, IEA Cite Uneven Iran War Toll

By Dylan Moroses

The ongoing war in Iran sharply raised energy and fertilizer prices when it began, and although those prices have dropped, the conflict continues to fuel significant trade volatility, according to a joint statement issued by the leaders of four global economic rule-setting bodies.

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Exxon, Chevron Can't Exit Climate Suit Over Wash. Heat Death

By Rachel Riley

A Washington state judge said Wednesday that Exxon, Chevron and other oil giants must face a lawsuit over a death in a 2021 heat wave, distinguishing the case from other climate torts brought by cities and rejecting the companies' contention that the family of Juliana Leon is seeking to regulate global greenhouse gas emissions.

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DOJ Joins Another Suit Aimed At Calif. Emissions Rules

By Elaine Briseño

The U.S. Department of Justice has intervened in another lawsuit targeting California's emission rules for heavy-duty trucks, arguing the Clean Air Act bars states from attempting to enforce or adopt their own emissions standards for new vehicles.

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CFTC Puts CME's 24/7 Crude Oil Contract Trading On Ice

By Aislinn Keely

The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission on Thursday slammed the brakes on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange's plan to offer round-the-clock trading on crude oil futures, calling the exchange's attempt to self-certify the contracts "wholly inappropriate" after the agency publicly sought feedback on the risks of 24/7 trading in the energy industry.

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Russia Says No Arbitration Pact Backed $219M Crimea Award

By Caroline Simson

Russia has now revived its argument that it never agreed to arbitrate a $219 million dispute with a subsidiary of one of Ukraine's largest privately owned energy distributors, telling a D.C. federal court that underlying treaty protections don't apply to Crimean investors.

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Levona Pans Greenberg Traurig, Reed Smith Privilege Claims

By Andrea Keckley

Levona Holdings has urged a New York federal judge to order Reed Smith LLP and Greenberg Traurig LLP to turn over privilege logs in discovery related to the company's motion for sanctions, saying there are "reasons to doubt" the firms' privilege claims.

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Orbital Data Centers Pose Environmental Risks, FCC Warned

By Ganesh Setty

Groups aimed at combatting pollution have urged the Federal Communications Commission to assess the environmental effects of low-orbit, satellite-based data centers before issuing any licenses for such projects, saying existing proposals "describe their plans in grandiose, civilization-changing terms."

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States Flag Freedom Forever's Deal With Financier In Ch. 11

By Clara Geoghegan

A dozen states have objected to Freedom Forever's settlement with one of its key financing partners, telling a Delaware judge they were concerned about the deal's impacts on customer contracts with the bankrupt solar panel installer.

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Investors Look To Enforce €52M Romania Energy Award

By Joyce Hanson

A Dutch investor and related European entities have urged a D.C. federal court to enforce an arbitral award now worth some €52 million ($59 million) that they won against Romania after the country yanked a series of incentives for renewable energy projects.

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DLA Piper Adds Kirkland Project Finance Partner In DC

By Jack Rodgers

DLA Piper has announced it hired a Kirkland & Ellis LLP partner who primarily works on U.S. and Latin American project finance matters with clients focused on natural resources financing.

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PacifiCorp Ruling Shows Limits Of Aggregate Wildfire Loss Models

An Oregon appeals court's recent decision in James v. PacifiCorp illustrates that in litigation involving multiple wildfires, materially different causation theories, and evidence tied to particular fires and locations, a single undifferentiated damages model is vulnerable to attack, say Paige Van Oosten and Jason Kim at Hunton and Kevin Cahill at FTI Consulting.

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How Reincorporating In Texas May Alter Earnout Disputes

While the DExit debate has focused on shareholder suits, far less attention has been paid to what reincorporating in Texas means for M&A disputes, making it particularly important to understand the nuances between Delaware and Texas earnout jurisprudence, say attorneys at Selendy Gay.

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Series

Bass Fishing Makes Me A Better Lawyer

Landing a trophy striped bass and closing a big deal both require cultivating the patience to finesse — not force — your way to desired outcomes, changing course when your old approach isn’t working and learning from the ones that got away, says Jon Ruiss at Alston & Bird.

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NY Courts Ban 'Smart' Glasses Over Secret Recording Abilities

By Lauren Berg

"Smart" glasses containing cameras and other recording devices will be banned from all state courts in New York beginning later this month, making it the apparent first in the nation to implement a statewide blanket ban on the wearable technology.

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Ex-Associate Says Jackson Lewis Pushed Her Out After Leave

By MJ Koo

A former associate attorney who was on the partnership track at Jackson Lewis PC has brought suit against the employment law firm in California state court, alleging that it refused to accommodate her temporary medical restrictions after she returned from leave and pressured her to accept a demotion or resign.

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Woodward Running DOJ Antitrust Division Alarms Observers

By Bryan Koenig

When Associate Attorney General Stanley E. Woodward Jr. quietly took over direct oversight late last month of the U.S. Department of Justice's Antitrust Division, there was no formal announcement, no White House action or U.S. Senate consultation, and little to signal what lies ahead.

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Arizona Atty Faces Possible Sanctions Over Bogus Quotes

By Emily Sawicki

An Arizona federal judge is mulling fee sanctions against an attorney found to have included erroneous quotations in a brief she filed in her client's employment discrimination case, amid what he called her history of "improper litigation conduct" in the pending matter and previous cases.

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Photographers Group Rebuts Judiciary On Court Cameras

By Courtney Bublé

The National Press Photographers Association pushed back on the federal judiciary's claims that allowing cameras in courtrooms would be problematic.

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Chicago US Atty Faces Ill. Judge For Discussing Sealed Case

By Lauraann Wood

Chicago's U.S. attorney stood silent for nearly 30 minutes Thursday as an Illinois magistrate judge sternly criticized him for publicly discussing a gang-related kidnapping case before it was officially unsealed, though she stopped short of finding his conduct constituted a deliberate violation of court orders.

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Ex-Wis. Judge Appeals Conviction In ICE Obstruction Case

By Ganesh Setty

A former Wisconsin state judge convicted of obstructing immigration authorities trying to arrest a defendant after he appeared in her courtroom lodged an appeal before the Seventh Circuit on Thursday, after avoiding a prison sentence but being fined $5,000.

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Grassley Claims Smith's Team Mishandled Classified Docs

By Jack Karp

Individuals working in then-special counsel Jack Smith's office may have mishandled classified information while investigating President Donald Trump, according to messages obtained by the Senate Judiciary Committee, committee Chair Sen. Chuck Grassley has told the U.S. Department of Justice.

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Attys Win $2.5M Fee Award After $63K Native Bias Verdict

By Joyce Hanson

A South Dakota hotel must pay an Indigenous advocacy group about $2.5 million in attorney fees following a trial jury's $63,191 verdict in a civil rights case claiming the business discriminated against Native American tribe members based on race, a federal judge has ruled.

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