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Environmental

  • May 30, 2025

    Trump Admin Says States Can't Fight Wind Permit Pause

    The Trump administration said a Massachusetts federal judge should reject states' push to block a decision to pause permitting for wind energy projects, saying their claims amount to nothing more than a policy disagreement with no place in court.

  • May 30, 2025

    Mass. Can't Delay Developer's Suit Over Brownfields Credit

    Massachusetts tax officials who have taken more than two years to consider the appeal of a denied brownfields tax credit must hand over the administrative record in the case so that a developer can pursue a motion for judgment on the pleadings, a state court justice has ordered.

  • May 30, 2025

    Strathcona Lobs $4.3B Offer For MEG, Snags PE Investment

    North American oil producer Strathcona Resources Ltd. on Friday launched an unsolicited takeover offer to acquire Canadian thermal oil producer MEG Energy Corp. in a cash-and-stock deal, while simultaneously announcing a $662 million investment from Waterous Energy Fund in connection with the transaction.

  • May 29, 2025

    Shell Told To Disclose Climate Risk Docs In RI Terminal Case

    A Rhode Island federal judge Thursday ordered Shell Oil Co. to answer the Conservation Law Foundation's inquiries concerning its knowledge behind the construction and operation of a bulk storage terminal in Providence that the conservation group claims is unprepared for flooding and other weather events expected in a changing climate.

  • May 29, 2025

    Projects Get Some NEPA Relief, But How Much Is Unknown

    The U.S. Supreme Court's decision limiting judicial review of environmental analyses of infrastructure projects, combined with the Trump administration's drive to ease approval processes, may boost developers' optimism — but the extent to which reviews can be narrowed remains unknown.

  • May 29, 2025

    Monsanto-Funded Researcher Influenced Panel, Jury Hears

    A Missouri jury hearing the latest trial over cancer claims related to Monsanto's glyphosate pesticides heard Thursday that a Monsanto-funded researcher was able to change the course of a prestigious international panel weighing the chemical's carcinogenicity.

  • May 29, 2025

    Judge Sees No Harm In BLM Drill Permits Near Colo. Grassland

    A Colorado federal judge said an environmental group failed to show standing for a suit challenging the U.S. Bureau of Land Management's refusal to mitigate surface pollution from oil and gas wells on state and private lands on and around the Pawnee National Grassland.

  • May 29, 2025

    Texas Justices Keep Court Orders On $3.4B Water Pipeline

    A Texas appeals court mostly kept intact court orders barring a groundwater company from interfering with several leases as a part of a $3.4 billion pipeline venture to supply water to San Antonio, finding in a Thursday opinion the company was undercutting its lessee.

  • May 29, 2025

    Insurer Waived Arbitration For Many Reasons, NJ Panel Rules

    An insurer waived its right to arbitration for many reasons, a New Jersey appellate panel affirmed, finding a pier owner's coverage dispute concerning underlying litigation brought against it by public utilities blaming it for a fluid leak in the Hudson River must head to trial.

  • May 29, 2025

    DOT Calls States' EV Charging Funding Suit Premature

    The U.S. Department of Transportation urged a Washington federal judge to reject an attempt by 16 states to block the Trump administration from cutting off funding for electric vehicle charging projects, saying their claims aren't yet ripe for review.

  • May 29, 2025

    Monsanto Won't Get Damages Offset In $100M PCB Tort Loss

    A Washington state judge has denied Monsanto's bid to reduce the latest $100 million verdict in a chemical poisoning tort series that's yielded more than $1 billion in punitive damages, concluding that the agro-chemical giant hid the health dangers of PCBs for decades in pursuit of profit.

  • May 29, 2025

    Fla. Appeals Order To Monitor Indian River Manatees

    Florida's Department of Environmental Protection said Wednesday it is appealing an injunction requiring the agency to implement new manatee monitoring programs after a federal judge found it violated the Endangered Species Act by allowing wastewater pollution into the North Indian River Lagoon watershed.

  • May 29, 2025

    Big Oil Caused Woman's Heat Wave Death, Novel Suit Says

    The daughter of a Seattle woman who died during a 2021 heat wave filed a first-of-its kind wrongful death suit in Washington state court Thursday against oil and gas giants — including BP, Chevron, ConocoPhillips and Shell — alleging the companies knew for decades their fossil fuel products would one day "claim lives."

  • May 29, 2025

    Interior OKs Utah Mine In First Fast-Tracked Energy Review

    The U.S. Department of the Interior has greenlit a uranium and vanadium mine in southeastern Utah, the first to be approved under a new, expedited 14-day environmental review process.

  • May 29, 2025

    Kids Launch New Climate Case Over Trump Energy Orders

    The U.S. government on Thursday was hit with a fresh lawsuit from youths alleging that federal energy policies harm their future by exacerbating climate change, specifically targeting President Donald Trump's executive orders aimed at boosting fossil fuels.

  • May 29, 2025

    Texas Bars Some Property Tax Hikes Above Voter-OK'd Rates

    Texas will prohibit school districts from adopting property tax rates above voter-approved thresholds in response to a natural disaster if voters previously rejected a similar proposed rate increase, under a bill signed by Gov. Greg Abbott.

  • May 29, 2025

    Crowell & Moring Hires Ex-EPA Deputy Assistant Admin In SF

    Crowell & Moring LLP announced on Thursday the hiring of a former deputy assistant administrator from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as senior counsel in the firm's environmental and regulatory enforcement groups in its San Francisco office.

  • May 29, 2025

    RJ Reynolds Lied About Carbon Offset Of Vapes, Suit Says

    A group of California vape users is suing R.J. Reynolds Vapor Co. and its U.S. and British affiliates in federal court, alleging that its claims that the Vuse vape is the first carbon-neutral electronic cigarette are misleading.

  • May 29, 2025

    High Court Restores Federal Approval Of Utah Oil Railway

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday upheld the federal government's approval of a rail project intended to haul crude oil out of Utah's Uinta Basin.

  • May 28, 2025

    16 States Sue Trump Admin Over Cuts To Science Grants

    A coalition of 16 state attorneys general have sued the Trump administration in New York federal court on Wednesday to stop it from cutting millions of dollars in grant funds from the National Science Foundation for scientific research and programs aimed at enhancing diversity, equity and inclusion in STEM fields and environmental justice.

  • May 28, 2025

    Elon Musk Is Leaving White House Role, Trump Admin Says

    Billionaire Elon Musk is ending his work with President Donald Trump and the federal Department of Government Efficiency, a White House official confirmed Wednesday evening.

  • May 28, 2025

    DOI Faces Energy Co. Suit Over Fort Berthold Oil Lease

    A Colorado energy company has sued the federal government over what it says is an approved 60-year-old oil and gas lease, saying that it was suddenly told in April that it never actually owned an interest in the lease on an Indian reservation in North Dakota.

  • May 28, 2025

    NRC Has No Defense For New License Rules, DC Circ. Told

    Two anti-nuclear power groups are contending before the D.C. Circuit that the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission is offering inconsistent arguments in defense of updated regulations for renewing nuclear power plant operating licenses.

  • May 28, 2025

    Feds Ask SC Judge To Toss Suit Over Frozen Grant Funding

    The Trump administration urged a South Carolina federal judge to dismiss a complaint challenging its authority to freeze and terminate grant funding for lack of jurisdiction, as it also appeals an order directing it to restore several dozen grants funded by Congress.

  • May 28, 2025

    Feds Tell Justices 9th Circ. Wrongly OK'd CWA Citizen Suit

    The federal government is urging the U.S. Supreme Court to sink an environmental group's Clean Water Act citizen suit seeking to enforce the terms of a Washington state-issued pollutant-discharge permit that is stricter than the law requires.

Expert Analysis

  • In-House Expert Testimony Is Tricky, But Worth Considering

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    Litigation counsel often reject the notion of designating in-house personnel to provide expert opinion testimony at trial, but dismissing them outright can result in a significant missed opportunity, say David Ben-Meir at Ben-Meir Law and Martin Pitha at Lillis Pitha.

  • Issues To Watch At ABA's Antitrust Spring Meeting

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    Attorneys at Freshfields consider the future of antitrust law and competition enforcement amid agency leadership changes and other emerging developments likely to dominate discussion at the American Bar Association's Antitrust Spring Meeting this week.

  • Tracking Changes To AI Evidence Under Federal Rules

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    As the first quarter of 2025 draws to a close, important changes to the Federal Rules of Evidence regarding the use of artificial intelligence in the courtroom are on the horizon, including how to handle evidence that is a product of machine learning, say attorneys at Debevoise.

  • State Extended Producer Responsibility Laws: Tips For Cos.

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    As states increasingly shift the onus of end-of-life product management from consumers and local governments to the businesses that produce, distribute or sell certain items, companies must track the changing landscape and evaluate the applicability of these new laws and regulations to their operations, say attorneys at Alston & Bird.

  • Law Firm Executive Orders Create A Legal Ethics Minefield

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    Recent executive orders targeting BigLaw firms create ethical dilemmas — and raise the specter of civil or criminal liability — for the government attorneys tasked with implementing them and for the law firms that choose to make agreements with the administration, say attorneys at Buchalter.

  • 5 Steps To Promote Durable, Pro-Industry Environmental Regs

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    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's planned wave of deregulation will require lengthy reviews, and could be undone by legal challenges and future changes of administration — but industry involvement in rulemaking, litigation, trade associations, and state and federal legislation can help ensure favorable and long-lasting regulatory policies, say attorneys at Balch & Bingham.

  • Firms Must Embrace Alternative Billing Models Or Fall Behind

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    As artificial intelligence tools eliminate inefficiencies and the Big Four accounting firms enter the legal market, law firms that pivot from the entrenched billable hour model to outcomes-based pricing will see a distinct competitive advantage, says attorney William Brewer.

  • Key Insurance Issues Likely To Arise From NY Superfund Law

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    The recently enacted New York Climate Change Superfund Act imposes a massive $75 billion in liabilities on energy companies in the fossil fuel industry, which can be expected to look to their insurers for coverage, raising a slew of coverage issues both old and new, say attorneys at Wiley.

  • How Trump Policies Are Affecting The Right To Repair

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    Recent policy changes by the second Trump administration — ranging from deregulatory initiatives to tariff increases — are likely to have both positive and negative effects on the ability of independent repair shops and individual consumers to exercise their right to repair electronic devices, say attorneys at Carter Ledyard.

  • How Attorneys Can Master The Art Of On-Camera Presence

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    As attorneys are increasingly presented with on-camera opportunities, they can adapt their traditional legal skills for video contexts — such as virtual client meetings, marketing content or media interviews — by understanding the medium and making intentional adjustments, says Kerry Barrett.

  • Series

    Baseball Fantasy Camp Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    With six baseball fantasy experiences under my belt, I've learned time and again that I didn't make the wrong career choice, but I've also learned that baseball lessons are life lessons, and I'm a better lawyer for my time at St. Louis Cardinals fantasy camp, says Scott Felder at Wiley.

  • DOJ Immigration Playbook May Take Cues From A 2017 Case

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    A record criminal resolution with a tree trimming company accused of knowingly employing unauthorized workers in 2017 may provide clues as to how the U.S. Department of Justice’s immigration crackdown will touch American companies, which should prepare now for potential enforcement actions, says Jonathan Porter at Husch Blackwell.

  • NM Case Shows Power Of Environmental Public Nuisance Law

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    A recent ruling from a New Mexico appeals court finding that a pattern of environmental violations, even without any substantial impact on a nearby community, can trigger nuisance liability — including potential damages and injunctive relief — has important implications for regulated entities in the state, says Kaleb Brooks at Spencer Fane.

  • Series

    Adapting To Private Practice: From Fed. Prosecutor To BigLaw

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    Making the jump from government to private practice is no small feat, but, based on my experience transitioning to a business-driven environment after 15 years as an assistant U.S. attorney, it can be incredibly rewarding and help you become a more versatile lawyer, says Michael Beckwith at Dickinson Wright.

  • Opinion

    After Fires, Calif. Must Streamline Enviro Reviews For Housing

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    Recent waivers to the California Environmental Quality Act and other laws granted by California Gov. Gavin Newsom to expedite reconstruction of residential property damaged in the Los Angeles wildfires are laudable — but given the state's widespread housing shortage, policymakers should extend the same benefits to other communities, say attorneys at Alston & Bird.

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