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Environmental
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November 07, 2024
Attys For Solar Co. Ex-CEO Should Be DQ'd, Plaintiffs Say
The lawyers representing the former CEO of a bankrupt solar energy company should be disqualified, attorneys for the plaintiffs in a suit against him said Wednesday, arguing that the firm had multiple conflicts of interest with its work as in-house counsel for the solar energy company and was intentionally delaying discovery because of its "obvious web of conflicting obligations."
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November 07, 2024
Ex-Cop, Brother Admit Energy Contract Kickback Scheme
A former Massachusetts police officer and his electrician brother pled guilty Wednesday to paying off employees of a utility ratepayer-funded energy savings program administrator who steered $36 million in contracts their way, federal prosecutors said Thursday.
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November 07, 2024
Calif. Gov. Lays Groundwork To Fight Trump Policies In Court
California Gov. Gavin Newsom called a special legislative session on Thursday to fund litigation against President-elect Donald Trump's potential erosion of abortion rights, immigration protections and environmental progress, saying lawyers for the blue state have already begun preparing "to challenge in court unconstitutional and unlawful federal policies."
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November 07, 2024
Shook Hardy Adds Former Assistant Illinois AG
In its effort to become one of the nation's premier white collar firms, Shook Hardy & Bacon LLP is bringing in from Dechert LLP a former Illinois assistant attorney general as a partner in its Chicago office.
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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.
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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.
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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 & Bockius LLP and is the latest in a string of additions this year that has tripled the firm's Lone Star State headcount.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
Expert Analysis
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Rebuttal
Cancer Research Org. Is Right To Avoid Corporate Influence
While a previous Law360 guest article criticizes the International Agency for Research on Cancer's processes, its reliance on peer-reviewed literature is proper and its refusal to allow corporate influence is sound science, say Lance Oliver and Ridge Mazingo at Motley Rice.
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Attorneys Can Benefit From Reverse-Engineering Their Cases
Trial advocacy programs often teach lawyers to loosely track the progression of a lawsuit during preparation — case analysis, then direct examination, then cross-examination, openings and closings — but reverse-engineering cases by working backward from opening and closing statements can streamline the process and also improve case strategy, says Reuben Guttman at Guttman Buschner.
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How Courts' Differing Views On Standing Affect PFAS Claims
Two recent opinions from New York federal courts — in Lurenz v. Coca-Cola, and Winans v. Ornua Foods North America — illustrate how pivotal the differing views on standing held by different courts will be for product liability litigation involving per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, particularly consumer claims, say attorneys at Hollingsworth.
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New State Carbon Capture Laws: Key Points For Developers
Multiple states have introduced or expanded legal frameworks for carbon capture and sequestration this year, and while there are some common themes, many of these state laws include unique approaches and requirements — which developers and investors should be aware of when considering potential projects and investment risks, say attorneys at Arnold & Porter.
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E-Discovery Quarterly: Rulings On Hyperlinked Documents
Recent rulings show that counsel should engage in early discussions with clients regarding the potential of hyperlinked documents in electronically stored information, which will allow for more deliberate negotiation of any agreements regarding the scope of discovery, say attorneys at Sidley.
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Loper Bright Limits Federal Agencies' Ability To Alter Course
The U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision to dismantle Chevron deference also effectively overrules its 2005 decision in National Cable & Telecommunications Association v. Brand X, greatly diminishing agencies' ability to change regulatory course from one administration to the next, says Steven Gordon at Holland & Knight.
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New NHTSA Fuel Economy Rule Adds Compliance Complexity
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's recently announced final rule on new corporate average fuel economy standards for passenger cars and light trucks will create challenges for manufacturers, which must also comply with the EPA's multipollutant rule and California's zero-emission vehicle programs, say Joanne Rotondi and Hannah Graae at Hogan Lovells.
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Series
Teaching Scuba Diving Makes Me A Better Lawyer
As a master scuba instructor, I’ve learned how to prepare for the unexpected, overcome fears and practice patience, and each of these skills – among the many others I’ve developed – has profoundly enhanced my work as a lawyer, says Ron Raether at Troutman Pepper.
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Lawyers Can Take Action To Honor The Voting Rights Act
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.
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Series
After Chevron: NRC Is Shielded From Loper Bright's Effects
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.
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How Loper Bright Weakens NEPA Enviro Justice Strategy
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.
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Opinion
Expert Witness Standards Must Consider Peer Review Crisis
For nearly two decades, the so-called replication crisis has upended how the scientific community views the reliability of peer-reviewed studies, and it’s time for courts to reevaluate whether peer review is a trustworthy proxy for expert witness reliability, say Jeffrey Gross and Robert LaCroix at Reid Collins.
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Navigating Antitrust Considerations In ESG Collaborations
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.
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How To Grow Marketing, Biz Dev Teams In A Tight Market
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.
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Series
Rock Climbing Makes Me A Better Lawyer
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.