Analysis

FERC Future Fuzzy After High Court's Agency Firings Ruling

By Keith Goldberg

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission faces an uncertain future following the U.S. Supreme Court's blockbuster ruling that presidents have unlimited authority to fire members of independent agencies, which creates new risks for an energy industry that's used to regulatory continuity at FERC.

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2nd Circ. Backs NY Gas Appliance Ban In Split With 9th Circ.

By Lauren Berg

New York City and the Empire State can enforce their laws effectively banning fossil-fuel appliances in new buildings, the Second Circuit ruled Tuesday, splitting from the Ninth Circuit in rejecting trade groups and unions' arguments that the statutes run afoul of federal law.

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Ohio Accounting Firm Escapes Holtec's Fraud Claims

By George Woolston

A New Jersey state court judge tossed Holtec International's claims against an accounting firm in its suit alleging fraud against its former general counsel and others accused of embezzling tens of millions of dollars from the company, according to a court order.

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Ukraine On The Hook For $71M In Aluminum Plant Feud

By Caroline Simson

Affiliates of the Russian company Rusal, one of the world's largest aluminum companies, have been awarded $71 million in a dispute with Ukraine stemming from the affiliates' investment in what was once Europe's largest aluminum production plant, the amount a fraction of the more than $1 billion the affiliates had sought.

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Puerto Rico Oversight Board Pitches $3B Bond Settlement

By Emlyn Cameron

Puerto Rico's Financial Oversight and Management Board pitched a $3 billion settlement package to bondholders of the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority, with an eye to finishing the power authority's bankruptcy, according to a news release Tuesday.

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Eversource, Avangrid Say Conn. Grid Law Is Unconstitutional

By Aaron Keller

Eversource Energy and Avangrid have accused Connecticut officials of violating the U.S. Constitution's supremacy, takings and contracts clauses by enacting a 2025 state law that forces utilities to participate in a regional power grid, arguing the state cannot meddle with their two-decade-old, federally approved voluntary memberships.

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Rail Group Says DC Train Car 'Border Fee' Rule Preempted

By Jared Foretek

The nation's largest railroad trade group told a federal judge on Monday that Washington, D.C.'s 60-cent fee for every railcar entering the district violates the dormant commerce clause, federal law and the city's own Administrative Procedure Act.

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DOJ Says Mich. Climate Antitrust Claims Are Barred

By Melanie Dorsey

The U.S. Department of Justice has weighed in on Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel's antitrust lawsuit against some of the world's largest oil companies, arguing much of the state's case is legally barred because Michigan is improperly attempting to regulate climate change through state antitrust law. 

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Eletson Ex-Owners Ordered To Pay $296K In Fraud-Tainted Feud

By Emlyn Cameron

A New York federal judge has told the former majority owners of Eletson Gas to pay nearly $300,000 in sanctions after he vacated an underlying $102 million arbitration award over alleged fraud.

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Oil Co., Contractor Win Coverage For Worker Injury Deal

By Hope Patti

A Travelers unit and an oilfield services provider must cover an oil and gas exploration company and a drilling contractor's half of a personal injury settlement, a Texas federal court ruled, saying the insurer and its policyholder breached their contractual defense and indemnity obligations under Texas law.

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EU Carves Out Free Trade Partners In Revised Steel Duties

By Jack McLoone

The European Union's new tariff-free steel import quotas will take effect Wednesday, with half of the 18.3 million metric tons in annual duty-free steel imports being allocated to countries with free-trade agreements with the EU, the European Commission said Tuesday.

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K&L Gates Brings On Energy Co. Legal Chief In Dallas

By Lynn LaRowe

K&L Gates LLP announced Tuesday that it has boosted its corporate and energy offerings with a Dallas-based partner who came aboard from a general counsel role at Texas energy company Vivakor Inc.

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Series

Power To The Paralegals: Burnout As A Structural Problem

Law firm leadership can best retain their paralegals not by encouraging self-care, but by seeking top-down structural solutions for the quiet proliferation of responsibilities and the vicarious exposure to client trauma that particularly drive burnout in this vital role, says Erika Sneeringer at Brockstedt Mandalas.

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Why DOE Isn't Phasing Out Appliance Efficiency Regs

While the U.S. Department of Energy recently acted on President Donald Trump's 2025 executive order requiring it to consider sunsetting many energy regulations, the DOE has not proposed phasing out efficiency standards for appliances and industrial equipment — but it could pursue other approaches to ease such requirements, say attorneys at HWG.

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Perfectus Deal Raises Trade Missteps To Enterprise Risk Level

Former inspector general Parisa Salehi at Parker Poe discusses what the U.S. Department of Justice's recently settled False Claims Act case against Perfectus Aluminum can teach companies about satisfying trade reporting obligations as agencies increasingly coordinate enforcement.

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Goldstein Calls Gov't's Attack On Text Messages 'Hypocrisy'

By Jared Foretek

Lawyers for convicted SCOTUSblog founder Thomas Goldstein have rejected prosecutors' claims that the famed U.S. Supreme Court lawyer may have deleted messages between himself and his poker backers, calling the government "hypocritical" after it had previously argued that Goldstein could authenticate the messages if he took the stand at trial.

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Judiciary Dems Seek DOJ Replies Before Blanche Hearing

By Courtney Bublé

Ahead of acting Attorney General Todd Blanche's confirmation hearing for the permanent position, Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee are demanding he provide answers to their outstanding oversight inquiries.

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Brief

Texas Federal Judge Requires Confirmation Of AI Checks

By Emily Sawicki

Attorneys and self-represented parties appearing before U.S. District Judge Ernest Gonzalez of the Western District of Texas are now required to certify that they have independently verified the contents of any filings created or edited using artificial intelligence.

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'Do Your Part,' Mass. Judge Chides Read Case Attys Post-Leak

By Cara Salvatore

A Massachusetts judge on Wednesday lectured counsel in the high-profile civil case against Karen Read, the Massachusetts woman acquitted of murdering her Boston police officer boyfriend, to honor their ethical obligations after sensitive information leaked on social media.

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U Of Ky. Appoints Controversial Dean Pick For Law School

By Courtney Bublé

U.S. District Judge Gregory Van Tatenhove of the Eastern District of Kentucky will retire from the bench later this month to become dean of the University of Kentucky's J. David Rosenberg College of Law, a move that sparked controversy in the state.

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Wash. Atty Loses Bid For Jury In Dispute Over Bar Sanctions

By Emily Sawicki

A Washington lawyer sanctioned and disciplined for bringing a "frivolous" election suit in 2021 against then-Gov. Jay Inslee has lost her bid to have her ethics charges heard by a jury, with a state appeals panel finding no error in a trial court's ruling that it lacked jurisdiction to take on the disciplinary matter.

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Analysis

High Court's Guardrails Won't Ease Fight Over Trans Athletes

By Alex Lawson

The U.S. Supreme Court's decision permitting states to ban transgender athletes from girls' sports was written in simple terms, but attorneys tracking the issue see the ruling as a flashpoint for further litigation.

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Analysis

Plea Deals Get Scrutiny In 'Hunter,' But Justices Stay Cautious

By Brandon Lowrey

The shock for Mary Fan came almost immediately after she began her career as a federal prosecutor in Southern California in the mid-2000s.

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5 NYC Legal Service Provider Union Contracts Have Expired

By Andrea Keckley

The collective bargaining agreements for five New York City-based indigent defense and civil legal aid providers expired at the end of the day Tuesday as multiple unions reported outstanding points of contention in their negotiations.

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Watchdog Says DOL Needs Better Info Sharing Controls

By Kellie Mejdrich

The U.S. Department of Labor's lack of controls over information sharing between subagencies and nongovernmental entities, including law firms and legal advocacy organizations, may have unfairly advantaged those parties with privileged investigative information, an agency watchdog reported, though use of the practice has dropped off. 

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Roundup

The Top In-House Hires Of June

By Michele Gorman

Legal department hires during the past month included high-profile appointments at Bayer, Harley-Davidson and PBS. Here, Law360 Pulse looks at some of the top in-house announcements from June.

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