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Environmental
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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November 05, 2024
Mich. Judge Won't Delay Benton Harbor Lead Pollution Suit
A federal magistrate judge in Michigan rejected a request to push back a scheduling conference in litigation over lead contamination in a Michigan city's drinking water, ordering the parties on Monday to press forward with resolving the significantly narrowed case.
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November 05, 2024
Groups Lose Early Bid To Undo Calif. Climate Disclosure Laws
A California federal judge rejected the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and other business groups' attempt to block California's corporate climate disclosure rules before discovery, ruling Tuesday that discovery is needed for the court to answer whether the laws facially violate the First Amendment.
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November 05, 2024
States Say EPA 'Wants To Drive The Car' In CWA Row
Idaho and a coalition of states are asking a North Dakota federal judge to strike down a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency rule requiring states to consider tribal treaty rights when they set their water quality standards, arguing the agency has no such power under the Clean Water Act.
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November 05, 2024
EPA's Superfund 'Blank Check' Dooms PFAS Rule, Groups Say
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency wrote itself a legal "blank check" to increase the number of chemicals subject to required cleanups under federal Superfund law, industry advocates told the D.C. Circuit.
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November 05, 2024
Conagra Settles False Ad Suit Over 'Sustainable' Fish
Conagra and a proposed class of consumers have settled a suit accusing the food giant of deceptively labeling its seafood products as sustainable despite using ocean-harming methods to source them, according to a minute order entered Tuesday.
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November 05, 2024
FERC Skimped On Pipeline Review, Environmental Groups Say
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission wrongly limited its review of a methane gas pipeline that crosses the U.S.-Mexico border to a 1,000-foot border facility, ignoring the 157-mile U.S.-based pipeline segment that cuts across Western Texas, environmental groups told the D.C. Circuit.
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November 05, 2024
Holland & Knight Gains Latham Project Finance Atty In DC
Holland & Knight LLP has hired a former Latham & Watkins LLP attorney, who has joined the firm as a partner in Washington, D.C., to represent equity investors, developers, lenders and other clients in a range of project finance matters, the firm announced Tuesday.
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November 05, 2024
On The Ground: How Attorneys Safeguarded The Election
Attorneys worked tirelessly Tuesday to support citizens and election workers on the final day of voting in one of history's most contentious presidential contests.
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November 04, 2024
Couple Avoids Prison For $500K Emission-Tampering Scheme
A Washington federal judge on Monday sentenced a married couple who owned an auto repair shop to four months of GPS monitor and four years of probation for raking in more than $500,000 by illegally altering pollution-control devices on hundreds of diesel trucks.
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November 04, 2024
NC Commission Signs Off On Duke Energy Resource Plan
The North Carolina Utilities Commission has signed off on Duke Energy's latest resource plan, with one nonprofit lamenting that the order gives the utility giant "essentially everything it wanted."
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November 04, 2024
Post-Chevron, DC Circ. Wrestles With At-Sea Monitoring Rule
A D.C. Circuit panel on Monday revisited a challenge to federal regulations requiring fishermen to fund the cost of compliance monitors aboard their ships, grappling with how to interpret the federal statute underlying the regulations following the demise of the Chevron deference.
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November 04, 2024
Monsanto Can't Keep Expert PCB Estimates From Seattle Jury
A Washington state judge has slapped down Monsanto's bid to stop a plaintiffs' expert from sharing chemical exposure opinions with jurors in a Seattle PCB poisoning tort, saying on Monday that the company's stance that the testimony is "junk science" relies on an outdated record in a related Court of Appeals case.
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November 04, 2024
FERC, NJ Conservation Orgs Battle Over Pipeline Rehearing
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission is clashing with a host of conservation groups and the New Jersey Division of the Rate Counsel over whether the D.C. Circuit should reconsider a panel decision that vacated the agency's approval for a natural gas pipeline expansion on the East Coast.
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November 04, 2024
Hurricane Zeta MDL Judge Orders Mediation Amid DQ Battle
A Houston judge overseeing a multidistrict litigation created to handle claims from crew members who say they were injured while weathering Hurricane Zeta on a Transocean drilling rig ordered the parties to mediation Friday in the midst of a bitter disqualification battle between their feuding firms.
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November 04, 2024
Shell Slips Negligence Claim In Pa. Nuisance Lawsuit
Neighbors of Shell Chemical Appalachia's Western Pennsylvania ethylene cracker plant will need to be more specific about dust and pollution affecting their homes if they want to revive a negligence claim that a federal court struck from a proposed class action Monday.
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November 04, 2024
DC Circ. Won't Block Coal Ash Rule During Challenge
The D.C. Circuit has denied East Kentucky Power Cooperative Inc.'s effort to block the implementation of a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency rule that strengthened the federal regulations requiring safe management of coal ash dumped at operating and retired power plants.
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November 04, 2024
Class Cert. Sought In Ga. Man's 'Forever Chemicals' Suit
A Georgia man who lives near a Mount Vernon Mills textile plant asked a federal judge on Friday to certify two classes of neighbors who want to hold the manufacturers of so-called "forever chemicals" responsible for the alleged pollution of city drinking water.
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November 04, 2024
Michigan County Fights To Keep Radioactive Waste Out
Wayne County urged a Michigan federal judge to keep in place an order barring a local landfill from accepting deliveries of radioactive waste from the Manhattan Project, arguing the surrounding communities' and environmental health could suffer for "billions of years."
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November 04, 2024
Texas Border Buoy Trial Delayed After En Banc Ruling
An Austin federal judge paused an impending bench trial between the Biden administration and the state of Texas over a 1,000-foot buoy barrier in the Rio Grande, reopening discovery Monday in the wake of an en banc circuit court opinion that slammed the judge for ordering the removal of the buoys.
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November 04, 2024
UAE Grocery Giant Lulu Seeks $1.7B IPO As Demand Grows
United Arab Emirates grocery chain Lulu Retail Holdings PLC on Monday unveiled additional investment in an upsized initial public offering that could net $1.7 billion, potentially making it the largest UAE listing this year, guided by three law firms.
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November 04, 2024
Texas Rips Feds' 5th Circ. Bid To Revive Highway GHG Rule
Texas is telling the Fifth Circuit there's no reason to disturb a district court's decision to vacate a Federal Highway Administration rule that called on states to set targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from federally funded highway projects.
Expert Analysis
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New State Climate Liability Laws: What Companies Must Know
New legislation in Vermont and New York creating liability and compliance obligations for businesses deemed responsible for climate change — as well as similar bills proposed in California, Massachusetts and Maryland — have far-reaching implications for companies, so it is vital to remain vigilant as these initiatives progress, say Gregory Berlin and Jeffrey Dintzer at Alston & Bird.
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EU Investor-State Dispute Transparency Rules: Key Points
The European Union's recent vote to embrace greater transparency for investor-state arbitration will make managing newly public information more complex for all parties in a dispute — so it is important for stakeholders to understand the risks and opportunities involved, say Philip Hall, Tara Flores and Charles McKeon at Thorndon Partners.
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Despite Calif. Delays, Climate Disclosure Rules Are Coming
Progress continues on state, federal and international climate disclosure regimes, making compliance a key concern for companies — but the timeline for implementation of California's disclosure laws remains unclear due to funding and timing disputes, says David Smith at Manatt Phelps.
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Decoding Arbitral Disputes: Intra-EU Enforcement Trends
Hungary recently declared a distinct stance on the European Court of Justice's 2021 ruling in Moldavia v. Komstroy on intra-EU arbitration under the Energy Charter Treaty, highlighting a critical divergence in the bloc on enforcing investment awards and the complexities of balancing regional uniformity with international obligations, says Josep Galvez at 4-5 Gray's Inn.
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Opinion
Now More Than Ever, Lawyers Must Exhibit Professionalism
As society becomes increasingly fractured and workplace incivility is on the rise, attorneys must champion professionalism and lead by example, demonstrating how lawyers can respectfully disagree without being disagreeable, says Edward Casmere at Norton Rose.
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What Happens After Hawaii Kids' Historic Climate Deal
Implications of the Hawaii Department of Transportation's first-of-its-kind settlement with youth plaintiffs over constitutional climate claims may be limited, but it could incite similar claims, says J. Michael Showalter and Robert Middleton at ArentFox Schiff.
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Series
Serving In The National Guard Makes Me A Better Lawyer
My ongoing military experience as a judge advocate general in the National Guard has shaped me as a person and a lawyer, teaching me the importance of embracing confidence, balance and teamwork in both my Army and civilian roles, says Danielle Aymond at Baker Donelson.
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Big Business May Come To Rue The Post-Administrative State
Many have framed the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decisions overturning Chevron deference and extending the window to challenge regulations as big wins for big business, but sand in the gears of agency rulemaking may be a double-edged sword, creating prolonged uncertainty that impedes businesses’ ability to plan for the future, says Todd Baker at Columbia University.
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Series
After Chevron: A Sea Change For Maritime Sector
The shipping industry has often looked to the courts for key agency decisions affecting maritime interests, but after the U.S. Supreme Court's Loper Bright ruling, stakeholders may revisit important industry questions and coordinate to bring appropriate challenges and shape rulemaking, say attorneys at Holland & Knight.
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A Midyear Forecast: Tailwinds Expected For Atty Hourly Rates
Hourly rates for partners, associates and support staff continued to rise in the first half of this year, and this growth shows no signs of slowing for the rest of 2024 and into next year, driven in part by the return of mergers and acquisitions and the widespread adoption of artificial intelligence, says Chuck Chandler at Valeo Partners.
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Tips For Implementing EU Sustainability Reporting Guidance
Lawyers at Sullivan & Cromwell discuss the European Financial Reporting Advisory Group’s recently published guidance on double materiality assessments and offer takeaways on achieving a sustainability directive-compliant process that could enhance clarity and consistency among multinational stakeholders.
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Series
After Chevron: Creating New Hurdles For ESG Rulemaking
The U.S. Supreme Court's Loper Bright decision, limiting court deference to agencies' statutory interpretations, could have significant impacts on the future of ESG regulation, creating new hurdles for agency rulemaking around these emerging issues, and calling into question current administrative actions, says Leah Malone at Simpson Thacher.
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California Adds A Novel Twist To State Suits Against Big Oil
California’s suit against Exxon Mobil Corp., one of several state suits that seek to hold oil and gas companies accountable for climate-related harms, is unique both in the magnitude of the alleged claims and its use of a consumer protection statute to seek disgorgement of industry profits, says Julia Stein at UCLA School of Law.
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Criminal Enforcement Considerations For Gov't Contractors
Government contractors increasingly exposed to criminal liability risks should establish programs that enable detection and remediation of employee misconduct, consider voluntary disclosure, and be aware of the potentially disastrous consequences of failing to make a mandatory disclosure where the government concludes it was required, say attorneys at Crowell & Moring.
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Opinion
States Should Loosen Law Firm Ownership Restrictions
Despite growing buzz, normalized nonlawyer ownership of law firms is a distant prospect, so the legal community should focus first on liberalizing state restrictions on attorney and firm purchases of practices, which would bolster succession planning and improve access to justice, says Michael Di Gennaro at The Law Practice Exchange.