Energy

  • January 10, 2025

    US Trustee Balks At Ch. 11 Bid Protections In First Mode Case

    A package of bid protections for the stalking horse of bankrupt electric-engine developer First Mode needs to be reined in, the Office of the U.S. Trustee has said, urging a Delaware bankruptcy judge to reject the debtor's request that expenses and fees tied to the $15 million bid be paid as priority claims.

  • January 10, 2025

    No Ulterior Motive In Anschutz's Secrets Suit, Judge Says

    A Colorado state judge rejected a Denver oil prospector's claim that Anschutz Exploration Corp. abused the judicial process by suing him for sharing allegedly confidential well production information, finding there was no evidence Anschutz filed the trade secrets claims with an ulterior motive.

  • January 10, 2025

    Treasury, IRS Plan Rules For Clean Transportation Fuel Credit

    Treasury and the IRS released guidance Friday for producers of transportation fuel hoping to qualify for the newly available clean fuels production tax credit, saying they plan to release rules clarifying which entities qualify for the credit and how producers can determine allowable emissions levels.

  • January 10, 2025

    US Hits Russia With Extensive Energy-Related Sanctions

    The Biden administration on Friday announced an extensive round of new sanctions, including blocking two major Russian oil producers, with the goal of reducing Russian revenues from energy in the midst of its war on Ukraine, a move that comes as the U.S. has been amping up sanctions on its foreign rival.

  • January 10, 2025

    Butler Snow Grows In Austin With 14-Atty Boutique Pickup

    Butler Snow LLP announced a major expansion of its Austin, Texas, office by hiring 14 attorneys from area boutique Enoch Kever PLLC, which the firm said increases its capabilities in areas such as advocacy and appellate.

  • January 10, 2025

    KKR, PSP Buy $2.8B Stake In American Electric Power Units

    Private equity giant KKR and Canada-based Public Sector Pension Investment Board, both advised by Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP, have agreed to take a minority stake in Morgan Lewis & Bockius LLP-led American Electric Power's transmission companies in Ohio, Indiana and Michigan, in a $2.82 billion deal.

  • January 10, 2025

    UK Litigation Roundup: Here's What You Missed In London

    This past week in London has seen legal services group RBG Holdings face a winding-up petition from founder Ian Rosenblatt amid soured talks about the group's leadership, J.P. Morgan file a fresh claim against WeRealize, retailer Asda face an intellectual property claim over a specific type of mandarin and financier Nathaniel Rothschild sue German entrepreneur Lars Windhorst and his investment vehicle Tennor International. Here, Law360 looks at these and other new claims in the U.K.

  • January 10, 2025

    Taxation With Representation: Kirkland, Davis Polk, Wachtell

    In this week's Taxation With Representation, Constellation acquires Calpine, Cintas seeks a deal with UniFirst Corp., Stryker Corp. acquires Inari Medical Inc., and Paychex Inc. buys Paycor.

  • January 10, 2025

    Constellation Energy Buying Calpine In $26.6B Megadeal

    Constellation has agreed to acquire Calpine at a net purchase price of $26.6 billion, in a deal that will merge two of the largest power generation companies in the U.S., the companies announced Friday. 

  • January 09, 2025

    Maryland Judge Trims Oil Refining IP Suit Ahead Of Trial

    A Maryland federal judge has determined chemical company W.R. Grace made false statements when publicly comparing its product to competitor G.W. Aru, but left most questions of injury, invalidity and additional infringement for a May trial.

  • January 09, 2025

    Colo. Oil Co. Says Unfair Order Threatens Its Demise

    Oil and gas operator K.P. Kauffman Co. Inc. is asking a Colorado state judge to scrap a $5.8 million penalty against it, claiming regulators unlawfully imposed an unfair order that threatens to drive it into insolvency and bankruptcy.

  • January 09, 2025

    EV Co. Says Liberty Mutual Owes $25M In Construction Clash

    Vietnamese electric car company VinFast accused Liberty Mutual Insurance Co. in North Carolina federal court of wrongfully refusing to pay more than $25 million for a $40 million deposit bond related to the construction of a manufacturing plant in the state.

  • January 09, 2025

    Texas Oil Well Operator's Ch. 11 Plan Approved With Releases

    Oil well operator Independence Contract Drilling received approval Thursday from a Texas bankruptcy judge for its Chapter 11 reorganization plan, which includes consensual third-party releases.

  • January 09, 2025

    Colo. Urges 10th Circ. Not To Vacate Air Emissions Plan

    Colorado told the Tenth Circuit that a green group challenging an air emissions permitting program in the state misled a panel of judges during oral arguments by asserting that eliminating the program would resolve its concerns.

  • January 09, 2025

    AI Startup Anthropic Seeks $60B Valuation, Plus More Rumors

    Artificial-intelligence startup Anthropic is seeking $2 billion in a new funding round that would value the company at $60 billion, while fashion giant Shein is now eyeing a mid-2025 initial public offering in London and Constellation Energy is lining up a $30 billion bid to acquire electricity provider Calpine. Here, Law360 breaks down the notable deal rumors from the past week.

  • January 09, 2025

    Feds Award Millions To Tribes For Safe Water, Homes, Climate

    With a week left in its term, the Biden administration has doled out millions to states and tribal communities throughout the country to boost efforts toward more reliable water sources, to take on housing health and safety hazards and to continue the ongoing battle against climate change.

  • January 09, 2025

    US Steel And Nippon's Lawsuit Seen As 'Hail Mary' Attempt

    President Joe Biden may not have put forth an airtight national security argument for blocking Nippon Steel's planned acquisition of U.S. Steel, but the companies' subsequent lawsuit is still highly unlikely to earn them another chance at making the deal happen, according to legal experts. 

  • January 09, 2025

    High Court Ruling Looms Over FERC Gas Enforcement Deal

    A TotalEnergies unit will pay $5 million to end a decadelong Federal Energy Regulatory Commission gas market manipulation probe, an enforcement case that was weakened by the U.S. Supreme Court's June ruling that limits the authority of in-house agency judges.

  • January 09, 2025

    Fired Exec's Suit Paused As 4th Circ. Mulls Arbitration Denial

    A Virginia federal judge paused a former gas company executive's lawsuit alleging breach of contract and wrongful termination while the Fourth Circuit decides whether to hear the company's midsuit appeal.

  • January 09, 2025

    IRS Gets First Dibs On $1M BP Oil Spill Payout, 11th Circ. Says

    The IRS gets first priority to a $1 million settlement BP paid to a staffing company that racked up $23 million in federal tax debt and went bankrupt following the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, the Eleventh Circuit affirmed, denying an insurer's claim to the money.

  • January 09, 2025

    Wind Power Substation Is Quiet Enough, Mass. Justices Say

    Massachusetts' top court on Thursday gave the green light for an electric substation connected to an 800-megawatt wind turbine generation facility in federal waters south of Martha's Vineyard, rejecting a resident's argument that the new facility would be too noisy.

  • January 09, 2025

    Eversheds Sutherland Adds Hunton Energy Pro In Houston

    Eversheds Sutherland announced Thursday that a former Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP attorney with prior in-house experience at Exxon Mobil Corp. has joined the firm as a partner in Houston, strengthening its global energy offerings and its presence in Texas.

  • January 08, 2025

    Ex-FBI Informant Who Smeared Bidens Gets 6 Years

    A former FBI informant who falsely told agents that a Ukrainian energy company had paid off President Joe Biden and his son Hunter was sentenced Wednesday in California federal court to six years in prison.

  • January 08, 2025

    PowerPlan To Pay $24M, Ending Rival's Monopoly Claims

    Roper Technologies subsidiary PowerPlan Inc. has agreed to pay $24 million in a settlement with a rival firm formed by former employees who said the utility software giant tried to lock them out of the market by threatening litigation against them and prospective clients.

  • January 08, 2025

    Mich. Utility Tells DC Circ. It Can Challenge FERC Decision

    A Michigan transmission owner has told the D.C. Circuit that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's challenge of its ability to protest the agency's refusal to grant it sole ownership of grid updates needed to serve a Michigan solar farm is "meritless."

Expert Analysis

  • Lawyers Can Take Action To Honor The Voting Rights Act

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    As the Voting Rights Act reaches its 59th anniversary Tuesday, it must urgently be reinforced against recent efforts to dismantle voter protections, and lawyers can pitch in immediately by volunteering and taking on pro bono work to directly help safeguard the right to vote, says Anna Chu at We The Action.

  • Series

    After Chevron: NRC Is Shielded From Loper Bright's Effects

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    While the U.S. Supreme Court's recent Loper Bright v. Relentless decision brought an end to Chevron deference, Congress' unique delegation of discretionary authority to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission will likely insulate it from the additional judicial scrutiny that other federal agencies will face, say Ryan Lighty and Scott Clausen at Morgan Lewis.

  • How Loper Bright Weakens NEPA Enviro Justice Strategy

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    The National Environmental Policy Act is central to the Biden administration's environmental justice agenda — but the U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision in Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo casts doubt on the government's ability to rely on NEPA for this purpose, and a pending federal case will test the strategy's limits, say attorneys at Perkins Coie.

  • Navigating Antitrust Considerations In ESG Collaborations

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    The intersection of ESG goals and antitrust laws presents a complex challenge for businesses and their counsel — but by creating clear frameworks for collaboration, adhering to established guidelines and carefully considering the competitive implications of their actions, companies can work toward sustainability while mitigating legal risks, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • How To Grow Marketing, Biz Dev Teams In A Tight Market

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    Faced with fierce competition and rising operating costs, firms are feeling the pressure to build a well-oiled marketing and business development team that supports strategic priorities, but they’ll need to be flexible and creative given a tight talent market, says Ben Curle at Ambition.

  • Series

    Rock Climbing Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Rock climbing requires problem-solving, focus, risk management and resilience, skills that are also invaluable assets in my role as a finance lawyer, says Mei Zhang at Haynes and Boone.

  • What Chevron's End Means For How Congress Does Business

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    The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo decision, overturning the Chevron doctrine, will have a far-reaching impact across the entire public policy life cycle, beginning with how Congress writes its laws and extending through agency implantation and judicial review, say attorneys at K&L Gates.

  • Think Like A Lawyer: Dance The Legal Standard Two-Step

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    From rookie brief writers to Chief Justice John Roberts, lawyers should master the legal standard two-step — framing the governing standard at the outset, and clarifying why they meet that standard — which has benefits for both the drafter and reader, says Luke Andrews at Poole Huffman.

  • The Rise Of State And Local Environmental Leadership

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    While Congress is deadlocked, and a U.S. Supreme Court with a hostility toward the administrative state aggressively dismantles federal environmental oversight, state and local governments are stepping up with policies to shape a more sustainable future for all species, says Jonathan Rosenbloom at Albany Law School.

  • NYSE Delisting May Be The Cost Of FCPA Compliance

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    ABB’s recent decision to delist its U.S. depository receipts from the New York Stock Exchange, coupled with having settled three Foreign Corrupt Practices Act enforcement actions, begs the question of whether the cost of FCPA compliance should factor into a company's decision to remain listed in the U.S., says John Joy at FTI Law.

  • CFTC Action Highlights Necessity Of Whistleblower Carveouts

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    The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission's novel settlement with a trading firm over allegations of manipulating the market and failing to create contract carveouts for employees to freely communicate with investigators serves as a beacon for further enforcement activity from the CFTC and other regulators, say attorneys at Davis Wright.

  • 5 Tips For Solar Cos. Navigating Big Shifts In US Trade Policy

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    Renewable energy developers can best mitigate new compliance risks from the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative’s increased tariffs on imported solar cells, and simultaneously capitalize on Treasury Department incentives for domestic solar manufacturers, by following five best practices in the changing solar trade landscape, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • Series

    Being A Luthier Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    When I’m not working as an appellate lawyer, I spend my spare time building guitars — a craft known as luthiery — which has helped to enhance the discipline, patience and resilience needed to write better briefs, says Rob Carty at Nichols Brar.

  • Half-Truths Vs. Omissions: Slicing Justices' Macquarie Cake

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's recent ruling in Macquarie v. Moab provides a road map for determining whether corporate reports that omit information should be considered misleading — and the court baked it into a dessert analogy that is key to understanding the guidelines, say Daniel Levy and Pavithra Kumar at Advanced Analytical Consulting Group.

  • Lead Like 'Ted Lasso' By Embracing Cognitive Diversity

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    The Apple TV+ series “Ted Lasso” aptly illustrates how embracing cognitive diversity can be a winning strategy for teams, providing a useful lesson for law firms, which can benefit significantly from fresh, diverse perspectives and collaborative problem-solving, says Paul Manuele at PR Manuele Consulting.

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