Energy

  • February 18, 2025

    Houston Energy Co. Settles Claims Over Utah Plant Turbines

    Houston clean energy company Fervo Energy Co. has settled its claims with a geothermal equipment supplier it accused of threatening to file a patent infringement lawsuit if it didn't win a bid to supply turbines for Fervo's Utah power plant.

  • February 18, 2025

    State AGs Can't Yet Block Musk From Accessing Agency Data

    A Washington, D.C., federal judge on Tuesday denied a motion from 14 state attorneys general for an emergency order to stop Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency from accessing data systems at seven federal agencies or enacting mass firings of those agencies' employees.

  • February 18, 2025

    'ComEd Four' Look To Halt Case After Trump FCPA Order

    Four former Commonwealth Edison CEO executives and lobbyists convicted of conspiring to bribe ex-Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan asked a federal judge on Monday to stay all proceedings in their case, citing an executive order from President Donald Trump they claim could lead to the dropping of Foreign Corrupt Practices Act charges.

  • February 18, 2025

    Career FERC Atty, Enforcement Leader Joins McGuireWoods

    Following a 16-year career at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission that spanned myriad leadership roles, the former deputy director of the agency's enforcement wing has moved his practice to McGuireWoods LLP, the firm announced Tuesday.

  • February 18, 2025

    Int'l Arbitration Attorney Returns To Quinn Emanuel As Partner

    Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP announced Tuesday that an ace international arbitration attorney and former associate has rejoined the firm as a partner in New York.

  • February 18, 2025

    DOJ Noncommittal On Cognizant Bribe Trial Amid FCPA Order

    In the wake of President Donald Trump's Feb. 10 executive order pausing enforcement of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, prosecutors told a federal judge Monday that they are preparing for a March 3 trial in their charges alleging two former executives of Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp. authorized a bribe to an Indian official, but that the case is under review.

  • February 18, 2025

    Energy Group Of The Year: Kirkland

    Kirkland & Ellis LLP's energy attorneys led EQT Corp. in its $35 billion merger with Equitrans Midstream Corp. and counseled Global Infrastructure Partners in its $12.5 billion acquisition by BlackRock Inc., earning the team a place among the 2024 Law360 Energy Groups of the Year.

  • February 18, 2025

    Diamondback Buys Midland Assets For $3B Cash Plus Stock

    Kirkland & Ellis LLP-advised oil and natural gas company Diamondback Energy Inc. on Tuesday announced plans to buy Midland Basin assets from Vinson & Elkins LLP-led Double Eagle IV Midco LLC. in a cash-and-stock deal that includes a $3 billion cash payment.

  • February 14, 2025

    Loper Bright Doesn't Sink ESG Rule, Texas Judge Says

    A Texas federal judge again upheld a Biden-era rule allowing retirement fiduciaries to consider issues like climate change and social justice when choosing investments, ruling that the rule was still valid despite the U.S. Supreme Court doing away with a decades-long approach to interpreting statutes.

  • February 14, 2025

    Feds Seek Stay Of States' Methane Suit, Citing Trump Order

    The federal government has requested a pause on North Dakota and other states' challenge to a Bureau of Land Management methane waste rule, saying a stay is appropriate because the rule is under review following President Donald Trump's "Unleashing American Energy" executive order.

  • February 14, 2025

    States Move To Block Musk From Taking Over Gov't Agencies

    Fourteen state attorneys general Friday sought an emergency order in D.C. federal court to stop Elon Musk and his U.S. DOGE Service Temporary Organization from exercising "unprecedented" authority over federal agencies, arguing that as an unelected, unconfirmed official, Musk has "taken the helm" of the federal government in violation of the U.S. Constitution.

  • February 14, 2025

    Demise Of Humphrey's Executor Could Sow Chaos At FERC

    The Trump administration's quest to expand the president's firing authority over members of independent agencies paints a target on the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission that would create instability within the energy industry if at-will removal of commissioners becomes a reality.

  • February 14, 2025

    4th Circ. To Hear Deloitte Appeal Of SCANA Class Cert. Ruling

    The Fourth Circuit has agreed to hear a case that could overturn the class status of SCANA Corp. investors accusing Deloitte of issuing misleading audit reports about the progress being made on a failed $9 billion nuclear energy project, saying it would hear arguments over whether a U.S. Supreme Court model on damages was properly applied to the class certification order.

  • February 14, 2025

    Ex-Fla. Rep's Associate Wants Sanctions For 'Sham' Lawsuit

    An associate of David Rivera has asked for sanctions against the former Florida congressman and his attorney, arguing that Rivera's suit accusing him of disclosing a confidential legal memorandum to law enforcement is "a complete sham" contrived to get discovery Rivera is not entitled to in the criminal proceeding in which he is accused of unlawfully lobbying on behalf of Venezuela.

  • February 14, 2025

    Solar Tech Co. SunPower Beats Investor Suit Over Defects

    A California federal court has permanently dismissed an investor's suit alleging solar power equipment company SunPower concealed product defects in order to maintain artificially high share prices, saying the investor has not established SunPower knew or could have known its statements were false when made.

  • February 14, 2025

    Trump Aims To End Limits On President's Power To Fire

    President Donald Trump has his sights set on taking down a 90-year-old U.S. Supreme Court ruling that protects certain government officials from being fired, a U.S. Department of Justice letter confirms, and he plans to leverage his prior legal victories to deliver the precedent's death knell and expand presidential power.

  • February 14, 2025

    Old Permits Irrelevant To Pollution Controls, Texas Justices Say

    The Texas Supreme Court said that previous emissions permits have no bearing on the definition of the best available pollution control technology for new projects, weighing in on a Fifth Circuit dispute over a proposed liquefied natural gas terminal in Port Arthur, Texas.

  • February 14, 2025

    EPA Fires Hundreds Of Employees, Cuts Millions In Contracts

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Friday kept up the pace of cuts to staffing and spending, firing 388 probationary workers and canceling $60 million in contracts related to diversity, equity and inclusion and environmental justice programs.

  • February 14, 2025

    Colo. Judge Upholds $2M Agency Fine For Oil Co.'s Offenses

    A Colorado judge has found that state regulators were within their powers to revoke an agreement with an oil and gas company and impose a nearly $2 million fine that could shut the firm down after finding it engaged in "wide-spread, systemic, repeated" rule violations.

  • February 14, 2025

    EPA, Energy Dept. Rush To Fulfill Trump's Appliance Order

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and U.S. Department of Energy said they're acting to comply with President Donald Trump's order — delivered via social media post — that they should undo Biden-era appliance efficiency standards.

  • February 14, 2025

    Houston Energy Co. Stiffed For Cleanup Costs, Court Told

    A Houston energy company refused to decommission a toppled oil and gas platform in the Gulf of Mexico and then failed to pay up when another party got stuck with the cleanup duty, an oil company has told a Texas federal court.

  • February 14, 2025

    Enviro Groups Back EPA On Challenged PFAS Superfund Rule

    Conservation groups are urging the D.C. Circuit to deny a string of industry challenges to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's decision to designate two "forever chemicals" as hazardous substances under the federal government's Superfund law, arguing that they have no merit.

  • February 14, 2025

    Judges Suggest Withdrawal Was Optional In Dam Permit Spat

    D.C. Circuit judges Friday pressed a California water district on whether it was partly to blame for delays in recertifying two hydroelectric dams, suggesting it voluntarily agreed to the state board's requests that it refile the applications in order to avoid the Clean Water Act's certification time limit.

  • February 14, 2025

    DC Judge Orders Feds To Restore Foreign Funding

    A D.C. federal judge ordered the Trump administration to restore foreign funding in connection with any grants or programs in place before the inauguration, saying aid organizations have made a sufficient showing that the pause threatens their very existence.

  • February 14, 2025

    Energy Group Of The Year: V&E

    Vinson & Elkins LLP helped clients advance billions of dollars of energy transactions, from Permian Basin mega-mergers to major offshore wind acquisitions, and also helped clients embroiled in litigation secure courtroom wins, earning the firm a spot among the 2024 Law360 Energy Groups of the Year.

Expert Analysis

  • Opinion

    6 Changes I Would Make If I Ran A Law School

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    Reuben Guttman at Guttman Buschner identifies several key issues plaguing law schools and discusses potential solutions, such as opting out of the rankings game and mandating courses in basic writing skills.

  • Implications Of NY Climate Case For Generating Facilities

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    Regardless of how Greenidge Generation LLC v. New York Department of Environmental Conservation develops on remand, this decision has immediate repercussions for generating facilities seeking permit applications and renewals in New York, likely involving Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act considerations, say attorneys at Hodgson Russ.

  • Firms Still Have The Edge In Lateral Hiring, But Buyer Beware

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    Partner mobility data suggests that the third quarter of this year continued to be a buyer’s market, with the average candidate demanding less compensation for a larger book of business — but moving into the fourth quarter, firms should slow down their hiring process to minimize risks, say officers at Decipher Investigative Intelligence.

  • Think Like A Lawyer: 1 Type Of Case Complexity Stands Out

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    In contrast to some cases that appear complex due to voluminous evidence or esoteric subject matter, a different kind of complexity involves tangled legal and factual questions, each with a range of possible outcomes, which require a “sliding scale” approach instead of syllogistic reasoning, says Luke Andrews at Poole Huffman.

  • How Litigation, Supply Chains Buffeted Offshore Wind In 2024

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    U.S. offshore wind developers continue to face a range of challenges — including litigation brought by local communities and interest groups, ongoing supply chain issues, and a lack of interconnection and transmission infrastructure — in addition to uncertainty surrounding federal energy policy under the second Trump administration, say attorneys at Liskow & Lewis.

  • Think Like A Lawyer: Note 3 Simple Types Of Legal Complexity

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    Cases can appear complex for several reasons — due to the number of issues, the volume of factual and evidentiary sources, and the sophistication of those sources — but the same basic technique can help lawyers tame their arguments into a simple and persuasive message, says Luke Andrews at Poole Huffman.

  • Permitting, Offtake Among Offshore Wind Challenges In 2024

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    Although federal offshore wind development started to pick up this year, many challenges to the industry became apparent as well — including slow federal permitting, the pitfalls of restarting permits after changes in project status, and the difficulties of negotiating economically viable offtake agreements, say attorneys at Liskow & Lewis.

  • Series

    Gardening Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Beyond its practical and therapeutic benefits, gardening has bolstered important attributes that also apply to my litigation practice, including persistence, patience, grit and authenticity, says Christopher Viceconte at Gibbons.

  • Litigation Inspiration: Reframing Document Review

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    For attorneys — new ones especially — there is much fulfillment to find in document review by reflecting on how important, interesting and pleasant it can be, says Bennett Rawicki at Hilgers Graben.

  • What Fed. Circ. Ruling Means For Patent Case Dismissals

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    ​​​​​​​The Federal Circuit's recent decision in UTTO v. Metrotech is significant because it specifically authorizes district courts to dismiss patent infringement lawsuits without a separate Markman hearing, but only when the meaning of a claim term is clear and case-dispositive, says Peter Gergely at Merchant & Gould.

  • How Boards And Officers Should Prep For New Trump Admin

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    In anticipation of President-elect Donald Trump's proposed tariffs and mass deportation campaign, company officers and board members should pursue proactive, comprehensive contingency planning to not only advance the best interests of the companies they serve, but to also properly exercise their fiduciary duty of care, say attorneys at Winston & Strawn.

  • DC Circ. Decision Opens Door To NEPA Regulation Litigation

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    A recent D.C. Circuit decision in Marin Audubon Society v. Federal Aviation Administration could open the door to more litigation over the White House Council on Environmental Quality's National Environmental Policy Act regulations, and could affect how many agencies conduct and interpret environmental assessments, say attorneys at ArentFox Schiff.

  • Service Providers Must Mitigate 'Secondary Target' Risks

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    A lawsuit recently filed in an Illinois federal court against marketing agency Publicis over its work for opioid manufacturers highlights an uptick in litigation against professional service providers hired by clients that engaged in alleged misconduct — so potential targets of such suits should be sure to conduct proper risk analysis and mitigation, say attorneys at Dechert.

  • Opinion

    FTC Actions In Oil Cases Go Against Its Own Rulemaking

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    Two recent Federal Trade Commission actions concerning the oil and gas industry appear to defy its own merger guidelines, with allegations that fall far short of the commission's own standard — raising serious questions about the agency's current approach, say attorneys at Clifford Chance.

  • How Global Data Center Regs May Influence US Policies

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    As regulators around the world react to the growth of data centers, and their increasing consumption of energy, water and land, international policies in this area may influence how the incoming U.S. administration regulates data centers in this country, say attorneys at HWG.

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