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Energy
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February 04, 2025
Pushing The Envelope In Climate Law: Murder Charges
Climate change legal advocates are pointing to wildfires in Los Angeles, hurricanes in the Southeast and a regulation-averse presidential administration as evidence that local prosecutors should begin going after fossil fuel companies with criminal charges — up to and including homicide.
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February 04, 2025
Mich. Supreme Court Says City's Electricity Fee Is Illegal Tax
A franchise fee added to East Lansing, Michigan, residents' energy bills is a disguised tax, the Michigan Supreme Court ruled Monday, saying the fee was used to raise revenue for the city without first being approved by voters.
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February 04, 2025
DLA Piper Partner To Testify At Cognizant Evidence Hearing
Prosecutors told a New Jersey federal judge Tuesday that the managing partner of DLA Piper's Houston office will testify at a Feb. 18 evidentiary hearing in a criminal bribery case against two former executives of Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp., which tapped the law firm for an internal investigation into the alleged corrupt scheme in India.
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February 04, 2025
White House Lacks Authority To Issue NEPA Regs, Judge Says
The White House Council on Environmental Quality has no authority to issue binding National Environmental Policy Act regulations, a North Dakota judge has ruled, scrapping challenged regulations the Biden administration had enacted.
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February 04, 2025
6th Circ. Urged To Back $600M Train Derailment Deal
Norfolk Southern and East Palestine, Ohio, residents defended a $600 million class settlement in Sixth Circuit briefs Monday, saying the deal provides meaningful relief to people and businesses impacted by a 2023 train derailment and release of toxic chemicals.
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February 04, 2025
Wash. Gov. Orders Look At Data Centers' Tax Revenue Impact
Washington's governor issued an executive order directing the state's Department of Revenue to create a work group to examine the impact of data centers on the state's tax revenue and economy and recommend policies to address tax revenue needs in relation to other priorities.
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February 04, 2025
US, Osage Nation Fight Bid To Stay $4.2M Wind Farm Order
The U.S. government is fighting a bid by Enel Green Power North America to stay a $4.2 million judgment and permanent injunction that requires it to remove 84 wind turbines from the Osage Nation's reservation, arguing that the company is unlikely to prevail in a Tenth Circuit appeal.
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February 04, 2025
Veteran Energy Attorney Joins Baker Botts In Austin
Baker Botts LLP announced Tuesday that an experienced energy attorney who's spent over 30 years working in various government and private practice roles has joined the firm's office in Austin, Texas, as a partner.
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February 04, 2025
Pearl Energy Closes $999.9M Fund, Tioga Raises $125M
Kirkland & Ellis LLP-advised Pearl Energy Investments on Tuesday revealed that it clinched its fourth flagship fund after securing $999.9 million in investor commitments, while Atlanta-based multi-strategy real estate investment firm Tioga Capital closed its fourth fund after raising $125 million in capital commitments.
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February 04, 2025
Shell Workers' 401(k) Suit Gets Class Nod, But No Early Wins
A Texas federal judge awarded class certification to more than 10,000 current and former Shell Oil Co. workers in their suit claiming the energy behemoth mismanaged their $10 billion 401(k) plan, but he declined to grant either side early wins.
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February 04, 2025
China Hits US Energy Goods With Retaliatory Tariffs
China on Tuesday slapped tariffs on U.S. coal, crude oil and liquefied natural gas as part of its retaliation against additional tariffs on Chinese goods imposed by President Donald Trump.
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February 03, 2025
DOJ Poised To Prosecute Threat-Makers Against DOGE
A federal prosecutor appointed by President Donald Trump offered Elon Musk his office's support to "protect" the work of the newly created Department of Government Efficiency headed by the billionaire businessman, including "legal action against anyone who impedes your work or threatens your people."
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February 03, 2025
Texas Appeals Court Wipes Exxon's $2.5M Oil Cleanup Verdict
A Texas appeals court has wiped a more than $2.5 million verdict for ExxonMobil Pipeline Co., finding that successive owners of its pipeline hadn't agreed to assume the cleanup costs of an oil spill.
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February 03, 2025
Blank Rome Adds Ex-Babst Calland Litigator In Pittsburgh
Blank Rome LLP has expanded its Pittsburgh office with the recent addition of a business litigator who moved her practice after three years with Babst Calland Clements and Zomnir PC.
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February 03, 2025
Sidley Adds Paul Hastings Energy, Finance Pro In Houston
Sidley Austin LLP added a former Paul Hastings LLP partner specializing in energy industry transactions to its energy, transportation and finance team in Houston, the firm announced Monday.
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February 03, 2025
Power Cos., States Ask DC Circ. To Dispose Of Coal Ash Rule
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency acted arbitrarily and well beyond its authority when it enacted a new rule to strengthen federal regulations for coal ash, a score of electric utility entities and Republican-led states told the D.C. Circuit.
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February 03, 2025
US Steel, Nippon Say Election Politics Blocked $14.9B Deal
Japan's Nippon Steel Corp. and U.S. Steel Corp. on Monday filed their opening brief in a suit against former President Joe Biden and the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States over a blocked $14.9 billion mega-merger, alleging the deal was blocked purely due to election-year politics and not national security as claimed.
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February 03, 2025
Lumio Gets OK To Liquidate Through Ch. 11 After Asset Sale
A Delaware bankruptcy judge on Monday approved solar panel provider Lumio Holdings Inc.'s Chapter 11 liquidation plan, months after the company agreed to sell its business to Zeo Energy Corp.
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February 03, 2025
DC Judge Joins RI In Blocking Trump Funding Freeze
A D.C. federal judge on Monday temporarily blocked the Trump administration from implementing a freeze on federal spending while a group of nonprofits sue over the move, ruling the pause appears to "suffer from infirmities of a constitutional magnitude."
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February 03, 2025
PetroQuest Gets OK For $20.6M Texas Oilfield Sale
A Delaware bankruptcy judge on Monday approved the $20.6 million sale of PetroQuest Energy's East Texas oilfields, more than two years after a failed attempt to sell those fields sparked a lawsuit that helped land the company in Chapter 11.
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February 03, 2025
ADNOC, OMV Merger Talks Move Ahead In 'Positive Manner'
The Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. says talks with Austria's OMV to create a new global polyolefins group, potentially valued around $30 billion, are proceeding "in a constructive and positive manner."
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February 03, 2025
Calif. City On The Hook In Contractor Wage Fight, Panel Says
The city of Long Beach, California, could be required to foot the bill for arbitration awards rendered against an oil company subcontractor in workers' wage lawsuits, a state appellate panel ruled, saying an arbitration decision holds as much weight as any other court order and can trigger liability for indemnity.
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January 31, 2025
Pipeline Inspector Asks Justices To Deem Him An Employee
A former pipeline inspector for energy industry service provider Killick Group has petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to review a Fifth Circuit decision classifying him as an independent contractor not eligible for overtime, saying Friday the high court should resolve a circuit split on the factors determining employee status.
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January 31, 2025
Funding Freezes 'Commonplace,' Feds Tell DC Judge
The Trump administration is asking a D.C. federal judge to throw out a lawsuit challenging a freeze on federal spending outlined in a since-rescinded memo from the White House budget office, telling the court that the withdrawal moots the litigation.
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January 31, 2025
Trump's Funding Moves Create Heartburn For Energy Cos.
The Trump administration's about-face on a federal funding freeze hasn't assuaged energy companies' fears that grants and loans they've been awarded may be in jeopardy, presenting legal and practical risks for projects counting on government cash.
Expert Analysis
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Replacing The Stigma Of Menopause With Law Firm Support
A large proportion of the workforce is forced to pull the brakes on their career aspirations because of the taboo surrounding menopause and a lack of consistent support, but law firms can initiate the cultural shift needed by formulating thoughtful workplace policies, says Barbara Hamilton-Bruce at Simmons & Simmons.
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Class Actions At The Circuit Courts: August Lessons
In this month's review of class action appeals, Mitchell Engel at Shook Hardy considers certification cases touching on classwide evidence of injury from debt collection practices, defining coupon settlements under the Class Action Fairness Act, proper approaches for evaluating attorney fee awards in class action settlements, and more.
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Planning Law Firm Content Calendars: What, When, Where
During the slower month of August, law firms should begin working on their 2025 content calendars, planning out a content creation and distribution framework that aligns with the firm’s objectives and maintains audience engagement throughout the year, says Jessica Kaplan at Legally Penned.
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Series
Playing Golf Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Golf can positively affect your personal and professional life well beyond the final putt, and it’s helped enrich my legal practice by improving my ability to build lasting relationships, study and apply the rules, face adversity with grace, and maintain my mental and physical well-being, says Adam Kelly at Venable.
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Brownfield Questions Surround IRS Tax Credit Bonus
Though the IRS has published guidance regarding the Inflation Reduction Act's 10% adder for tax credits generated by renewable energy projects constructed on brownfield sites, considerable guesswork remains as potential implications seem contrary to IRS intentions, say Megan Caldwell and Jon Micah Goeller at Husch Blackwell.
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Law Firms Should Move From Reactive To Proactive Marketing
Most law firm marketing and business development teams operate in silos, leading to an ad hoc, reactive approach, but shifting to a culture of proactive planning — beginning with comprehensive campaigns — can help firms effectively execute their broader business strategy, says Paul Manuele at PR Manuele Consulting.
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Energy And AI: Key Issues And Future Challenges
Artificial intelligence promises new technical advantages for the energy industry, but it is also responsible for vast, and growing, energy consumption — so the future of AI and energy will require balancing technological advancement with regulatory oversight, environmental responsibility and infrastructure development, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.
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Opinion
The Big Issues A BigLaw Associates' Union Could Address
A BigLaw associates’ union could address a number of issues that have the potential to meaningfully improve working conditions, diversity and attorney well-being — from restructured billable hour requirements to origination credit allocation, return-to-office mandates and more, says Tara Rhoades at The Sanity Plea.
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Opinion
It's Time For A BigLaw Associates' Union
As BigLaw faces a steady stream of criticism about its employment policies and practices, an associates union could effect real change — and it could start with law students organizing around opposition to recent recruiting trends, says Tara Rhoades at The Sanity Plea.
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How Justices Upended The Administrative Procedure Act
In its recent Loper Bright, Corner Post and Jarkesy decisions, the U.S. Supreme Court fundamentally changed the Administrative Procedure Act in ways that undermine Congress and the executive branch, shift power to the judiciary, curtail public and business input, and create great uncertainty, say Alene Taber and Beth Hummer at Hanson Bridgett.
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Vendor Rights Lessons From 2 Chapter 11 Cases
A Texas federal court’s recent critical vendor order in the Zachry Holdings Chapter 11 filing, as well as a settlement between Rite Aid and McKesson in New Jersey federal court last year, shows why suppliers must object to critical vendor motions that do not recognize creditors' legal rights, says David Conaway at Shumaker.
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2 Vital Trial Principles Endure Amid Tech Advances
Progress in trial technologies in the last 10 years has been transformative for courtroom presentations, but two core communication axioms are still relevant in today's world of drone footage evidence and 3D animations, say Adam Bloomberg and Lisa Walters at IMS Legal Strategies.
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Mirror, Mirror On The Wall, Is My Counterclaim Bound To Fall?
A Pennsylvania federal court’s recent dismissal of the defendants’ counterclaims in Morgan v. Noss should remind attorneys to avoid the temptation to repackage a claim’s facts and law into a mirror-image counterclaim, as this approach will often result in a waste of time and resources, says Matthew Selmasska at Kaufman Dolowich.
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Nuclear Power Can Help Industrial Plants Get To Net-Zero
In the race to fight climate change and achieve net-zero emissions, the industrial sector currently faces immense challenges — but the integration of nuclear energy is a promising solution, so companies should consider the financial and regulatory issues, opportunities, and risk-mitigating factors, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.
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Series
Playing Dungeons & Dragons Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Playing Dungeons & Dragons – a tabletop role-playing game – helped pave the way for my legal career by providing me with foundational skills such as persuasion and team building, says Derrick Carman at Robins Kaplan.