Environmental

  • November 07, 2024

    Louisiana Says EPA Usurped State Power In Pollution Row

    The state of Louisiana told the Fifth Circuit that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has no authority to invalidate a two-year compliance deadline extension the state granted to a neoprene manufacturer, which is being sued by the agency. 

  • November 07, 2024

    Ex-GE Affiliate Cleared In Bellwether Chemical Leak Verdict

    A Louisiana jury has cleared General Electric Co. and former subsidiary Dresser LLC of liability in a bellwether suit over allegations that they improperly disposed of chemicals that contaminated the Rapides Parish area.

  • November 07, 2024

    Paul Hastings Lands Morgan Lewis Enviro Litigator In Dallas

    Paul Hastings LLP announced Thursday that it is expanding its top-notch environmental litigation practice into Texas with a partner in Dallas who came aboard from Morgan Lewis & Bokius LLP and is the latest in a string of additions this year that has tripled the firm's Lone Star State headcount.

  • November 06, 2024

    Trump's Win Likely To Spur Deals For Capital Markets Attys

    Former President Donald Trump's decisive win in Tuesday's presidential election will enable deals to proceed on a more certain basis, capital markets advisers said Wednesday, citing pent-up demand to restart capital raising after a long period of subdued activity.

  • November 06, 2024

    DOI Signs Bison Conservation Pact With Canada And Mexico

    The U.S. Department of the Interior said it has inked a new agreement with Canada and Mexico to work on strengthening conservation of the American bison across its range in North America while focusing on historic Indigenous ties with the species.

  • November 06, 2024

    Alaska Asks 9th Circ. To Roll Back Ringed Seal Protections

    The state of Alaska called on the Ninth Circuit to overturn a district court's refusal to eliminate Endangered Species Act protections for Arctic ringed seals, arguing the federal government failed to properly credit new information that raised serious questions about the necessity for continuing protections.

  • November 06, 2024

    Customers Look To Preserve Lead Class Action Against AT&T

    AT&T shareholders are telling a Texas federal judge that the company acted with scienter when it allegedly misled investors about the removal of lead-covered copper cables from its network, pushing back on AT&T's motion to dismiss the suit stemming from a drop in the company's stock price.

  • November 06, 2024

    Calif. Truckers Seek Scrub Of State's New Emissions Rule

    The California Trucking Association is asking a federal court in the state to give it a win in its challenge to the California Air Resources Board rule requiring that they switch to zero-emissions vehicles, saying the rule is preempted because it will impact trucking rates and routes.

  • November 06, 2024

    NC Agencies Say Forest Service Workers' OT Is Straight Time

    A North Carolina trial court correctly held that the overtime rate under state law for North Carolina Forest Service professional employees is a straight-time rate, two state agencies told the state's appeals court, arguing that a higher rate is not warranted.

  • November 06, 2024

    Solar Companies Reach $6M Deal In Employee Poaching Suit

    A residential solar power company with offices in Connecticut has secured a $6 million consent judgment against a competitor that it sued for poaching more than 80 of its workers, the company said Wednesday, putting an end to the litigation that had sought more than $11 million in damages.

  • November 06, 2024

    Poultry Cos. Can't Nab Quick Appeal Of Pollution Verdict Plan

    Tyson, Cargill and other poultry producers have not shown that an immediate appeal of an Oklahoma federal judge's plan to hash out remedies concerning a river pollution trial that took place over a decade ago would "materially advance the ultimate termination of the litigation," the judge ruled.

  • November 06, 2024

    Gray Reed Co-Founder James McGraw Dies At 74

    James "Jim" McGraw, one of the founding partners of Texas law firm Gray Reed & McGraw LLP, has died at age 74, the firm announced Wednesday.

  • November 06, 2024

    Ariz. Judge Blocks Lithium Exploration Drilling Project

    An Arizona federal judge blocked a third phase of a Sandy Valley lithium exploration project Tuesday, ruling that the Bureau of Land Management likely fell short of its duties to weigh potential impacts to a hot spring known as Ha'Kamwe' that is sacred to the Hualapai Indian Tribe.

  • November 06, 2024

    Tax Court To Rethink $1.9M Deduction Denial Post-Chevron

    The U.S. Tax Court agreed to reconsider its denial of a $1.9 million tax break for farming sought by a Texas couple, saying it will examine whether a subsequent U.S. Supreme Court ruling overturning long-standing deference to federal agencies invalidates regulations at issue in the case.

  • November 06, 2024

    Mining Developer Wants In On Nevada Lithium Project Row

    The owner and developer behind the Rhyolite Ridge Lithium-Boron Mine asked a Nevada federal judge to let it intervene in a challenge brought by environmental and tribal groups seeking to upend the U.S. Department of the Interior's authorization of the mine project.

  • November 06, 2024

    Calif. DA Recalled In Latest Blow To Progressive Prosecutors

    San Francisco Bay Area residents have voted to recall Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price less than two years after she took office, following a multimillion-dollar campaign backed by conservative-tied nonprofits that criticized Price's prosecution policies for being overly liberal.

  • November 05, 2024

    Trump Win Puts Emissions Regs On Chopping Block

    Projected president-elect Donald Trump is expected to roll back Biden administration rules and initiatives meant to slash transportation-sector emissions and encourage the adoption of electric vehicles likely focusing on what experts say would be more "traditional" infrastructure investment in highways, roads and bridges.

  • November 05, 2024

    Trump Win Assures Halt To Biden's Enviro Priorities

    As Donald Trump emerges as the projected 47th president of the United States, environmental law experts are looking for him to quickly depart from the Biden administration's priorities and return to the form established in his first administration by taking a lax approach to industry enforcement, rolling back climate change rules, reducing stringency of regulations and deemphasizing environmental justice.

  • November 05, 2024

    Trump Has Official Immunity. What About His Aides?

    Whether the U.S. Supreme Court's decision on presidential immunity extends to subordinates who follow a president's orders has become a more pressing question in the wake of Donald Trump's projected election win, according to legal experts.

  • November 05, 2024

    How Trump Can Quash His Criminal Cases

    Donald Trump's projected victory at the polls also translates to a win in the courts, as the second-term president will have the power to end both of his federal criminal cases. And the U.S. Supreme Court's decision on presidential immunity would shield him from any consequences for ordering his charges to be dismissed, experts say.

  • November 05, 2024

    An Early Look At Trump's Supreme Court Shortlist

    With former President Donald Trump projected to win the 2024 presidential election and the Republicans' success in securing the U.S. Senate majority, Trump may now get the chance to appoint two more justices to the U.S. Supreme Court, cementing the court's conservative tilt for decades to come.

  • November 05, 2024

    GOP's Senate Win Hands Future Of The Judiciary To Trump

    Republicans were projected to take back the White House and Senate and possibly the House early Wednesday, putting the GOP in position to back Donald Trump's agenda and his slate of young, conservative judicial nominees. 

  • November 05, 2024

    The Firms With An Inside Track To A New Trump Admin

    Law firms that have represented Donald Trump and the Republican Party on everything from personal legal woes to election-related lawsuits could see the risks of that work pay dividends as Trump is projected to secure a second term in office.

  • November 05, 2024

    Nat'l Park Service Makes Tribal Consultation A Top Priority

    The National Park Service's director has issued a first-time agency order making nation-to-nation consultations with Native American and Alaska Native tribes a top priority for agency decision-makers as they work on conservation and other issues that affect Indigenous communities.

  • November 05, 2024

    Feds Push For Win In Tongass National Forest Road Rule Row

    The U.S. government is asking an Alaska federal judge to affirm its decision to reinstate roadless area protections for millions of acres of the Tongass National Forest, arguing its authority to enact such rules to balance uses is spelled out in statute and has long been recognized by courts.

Expert Analysis

  • Lawyers With Disabilities Are Seeking Equity, Not Pity

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    Attorneys living with disabilities face extra challenges — including the need for special accommodations, the fear of stigmatization and the risk of being tokenized — but if given equitable opportunities, they can still rise to the top of their field, says Kate Reder Sheikh, a former attorney and legal recruiter at Major Lindsey & Africa.

  • High Stakes In Justices' Review Of Clean Air Act Venue Fights

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    Disputes over the Clean Air Act's venue provision may seem arcane, but a forthcoming U.S. Supreme Court decision encompassing three cases will affect core principles of the separation of powers and constitutional due process in ways that could have significant consequences for the regulated community, say J. Michael Showalter and David Loring at ArentFox Schiff.

  • Testing The Waters As New Texas Biz Court Ends 2nd Month

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    Despite an uptick in filings in the Texas Business Court's initial months of operation, the docket remains fairly light amid an apparent wait-and-see approach from some potential litigants, say attorneys at Norton Rose.

  • Opinion

    Judicial Committee Best Venue For Litigation Funding Rules

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    The Advisory Committee on Civil Rules' recent decision to consider developing a rule for litigation funding disclosure is a welcome development, ensuring that the result will be the product of a thorough, inclusive and deliberative process that appropriately balances all interests, says Stewart Ackerly at Statera Capital.

  • Fluoride Ruling Charts Path To Bypass EPA Risk Evaluations

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    A California federal court's recent ruling in Food and Water Watch v. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, ordering the agency to address the public health risks of fluoridated drinking water, establishes a road map for other citizen petitioners to bypass the EPA's formal risk evaluation process, say attorneys at Wiley.

  • The Strategic Advantages Of Appointing A Law Firm CEO

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    The impact on law firms of the recent CrowdStrike outage underscores that the business of law is no longer merely about providing supplemental support for legal practice — and helps explain why some law firms are appointing dedicated, full-time CEOs to navigate the challenges of the modern legal landscape, says Jennifer Johnson at Calibrate Strategies.

  • The Ups And Downs Of SEC's Now-Dissolved ESG Task Force

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    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's Climate and ESG Enforcement Task Force, which was quietly disbanded sometime over the summer, was marked by three years of resistance from some stakeholders to ESG regulation, a mixed record in the courts and several successful enforcement actions, say attorneys at Crowell & Moring.

  • What Hawaii High Court Got Right And Wrong In AIG Ruling

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    Though the Hawaii Supreme Court in its recent Aloha Petroleum v. National Union Fire Insurance decision correctly adopted the majority rule that recklessly caused harm is an accident for coverage purposes, it erred in its interpretation of the pollution exclusion by characterizing climate change as "traditional environmental pollution," say attorneys at Haynes Boone.

  • 7 Tips To Help Your Witness Be A Cross-Exam Heavyweight

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    Because jurors tend to pay a little more attention to cross-examination, attorneys should train their witnesses to strike a balance — making it tough for opposing counsel to make their side’s case, without coming across as difficult to the jury, says Ken Broda-Bahm at Persuasion Strategies.

  • Series

    Beekeeping Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    The practice of patent law and beekeeping are not typically associated, but taking care of honeybees has enriched my legal practice by highlighting the importance of hands-on experience, continuous learning, mentorship and more, says David Longo at Oblon McClelland.

  • Useful Product Doctrine May Not Shield Against PFAS Liability

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    Courts have recognized that companies transferring hazardous recycled materials can defeat liability under environmental laws by showing they were selling a useful product — but new laws in California and elsewhere restricting the sale of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances may change the legal landscape, says Kyle Girouard at Dickinson Wright.

  • CFTC Anti-Fraud Blitz Is A Warning To Carbon Credit Sellers

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    With its recent enforcement actions against a carbon offset project developer and its senior executives for reporting false information about the energy savings of the company's projects, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission is staking out its position as a primary regulator in the voluntary carbon credit market, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • Opinion

    Legal Institutions Must Warn Against Phony Election Suits

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    With two weeks until the election, bar associations and courts have an urgent responsibility to warn lawyers about the consequences of filing unsubstantiated lawsuits claiming election fraud, says Elise Bean at the Carl Levin Center for Oversight and Democracy.

  • How Cos. Can Build A Strong In-House Pro Bono Program

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    During this year’s pro bono celebration week, companies should consider some key pointers to grow and maintain a vibrant in-house program for attorneys to provide free legal services for the public good, says Mary Benton at Alston & Bird.

  • Series

    Home Canning Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Making my own pickles and jams requires seeing a process through from start to finish, as does representing clients from the start of a dispute at the Patent Trial and Appeal Board through any appeals to the Federal Circuit, says attorney Kevin McNish.

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