Native American

October 28, 2024
Navajo See Growing Trend After Return Of Ceremonial Masks

The Navajo Nation says there is a growing trend among the descendants of collectors and amateur archaeologists to give Indigenous artifacts back to their rightful owners, after a donor returned a set of 11 ceremonial masks that the tribe says vitally define its sovereignty.
October 28, 2024
FCC To Help Tribal Libraries Connect To E-Rate Funding

The Federal Communications Commission will help tribal libraries link up with funding through the E-Rate subsidy program for schools and libraries on a permanent basis.
October 28, 2024
Tribe-Linked Lenders Flouted Interest Laws, Borrower Says

A Florida man and his purported data analytic companies face a proposed class action alleging they improperly touted a relationship with a small Native American tribe as they made consumer loans with triple-digit annual interest rates.
October 28, 2024
DC Circ. Told Carbon Tech Doesn't Back EPA Power Plant Rule

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency can't show that carbon capture and sequestration technology can be used now to meet its new emissions requirements for power plants, necessitating vacatur, Republican-led states and industry challengers told the D.C. Circuit.
October 28, 2024
Osage Call Need For Okla. ETC Designation 'Critical'

The Osage Nation of Oklahoma is asking once again for the FCC to designate it as an eligible telecommunications carrier so that it can more easily bring internet — and federal subsidy programs — to the underserved citizens of its reservation, which is roughly the size of Delaware.
October 25, 2024
NEPA Rail Ruling Backers Flood Justices With Amicus Briefs

Former federal officials, states, Colorado cities, two law schools and 30 members of Congress are all urging the U.S. Supreme Court to affirm a ruling overturning federal approval for a rail project to haul crude oil out of Utah, rather than reinvent the National Environmental Policy Act as project supporters propose.
October 25, 2024
Biden Calls U.S. Indian Boarding Schools 'A Sin On Our Soul'

President Joe Biden on Friday apologized for the 150 years of U.S. policy that established more than 500 government-funded Indian boarding schools throughout the country, calling the endeavor one of the most consequential moves of his term and the era "one of the most horrific chapters in American history."
October 25, 2024
Seminole Tribe Looks To Dismiss Gaming Ad Suit

The Seminole Tribe of Florida asked a Florida federal court to dismiss a proposed class suit claiming ads from the tribe's gaming vendor are misleading, arguing that the suit cannot continue without the tribe as a party, but the tribe cannot be added as a party because of sovereign immunity.
October 25, 2024
Biden Admin Puts Up $4B For Clean Energy, Grid Projects

The Biden administration on Friday said it's handing out approximately $4 billion in combined grants and loans for clean energy purchases and grid upgrades for a slew of states, tribes and electricity co-operatives.
October 25, 2024
BLM Gives Green Light To Nevada Lithium Mine

The Biden administration has announced that it's approving the proposed Rhyolite Ridge lithium mine in southeast Nevada, a decision a conservation group said threatens to push an imperiled wildflower species into extinction.
October 25, 2024
NY Won't Alter Date For Mascot Ban, Court Told

The New York Board of Regents won't postpone a deadline for the state's public schools to get rid of any Indigenous names, mascots and logos, it told a federal district court in a challenge by three school districts over the ban.
October 24, 2024
Biden To Issue Apology For US Role In Boarding Schools

President Joe Biden is expected to issue a formal apology Friday for the federal government's Indian boarding schools during a trip to Arizona's Gila River Indian Community, the first such apology from a sitting president in response to U.S. policies that inflicted trauma on generations of Indigenous communities.
October 24, 2024
Survivors Say They Were Excluded From Tulsa Committee

The two remaining survivors of one of the deadliest incidents of mass race violence in the country's history say the city of Tulsa, Oklahoma, has excluded them from a commission geared toward recommending how reparations can be made for the 1921 destruction of a once-thriving Black community in Indian Country.
October 24, 2024
Program Led To Surge In Officers, Arrests For Tribes, FBI Says

A surge in FBI personnel in a program designed to address violent crimes in tribal communities allowed agents to focus on more than 300 cases in the last two years, the agency said, including investigations into missing and murdered Indigenous people that victims' advocates have called for for years.
October 24, 2024
Dems From Storm-Impacted States Call For Probes Of Misinfo

Democratic lawmakers from states recently impacted by Hurricanes Helene and Milton asked the leadership of three House committees on Wednesday to investigate and hold hearings on the "troubling surge" in the spread of misinformation, scams and conspiracy theories about the storms on social media.
October 24, 2024
DC Circ. Ruling Endangers Distressed Texas Area, Port Says

The owner of the Port of Brownsville in Texas is urging the D.C. Circuit to consider the devastating impacts a panel's decision to vacate Federal Energy Regulatory Commission reauthorization orders for two major liquefied natural gas projects threatens to impose on the region.
October 23, 2024
EPA's GHG Power Plant Rule Is Achievable, Scientists Say

A half-dozen prominent scientists and engineers have told the D.C. Circuit that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's plan to tap carbon capture and sequestration technology to reduce power plants' greenhouse gas pollution is on point and readily achievable.
October 23, 2024
Tribes Want Magistrate Judge To Drop Out Of $12M Award Suit

Two Native American tribes have told a Wyoming federal court that a magistrate judge should recuse himself from an oil and gas company's lawsuit attempting to stop them from using their tribal judicial system to vacate a more than $12 million arbitration award.
October 23, 2024
Religion Law Can't Save Sacred Worship Site, High Court Told

A law designed to protect religious freedom can't help an Apache nonprofit's bid to save a sacred worship site in Arizona from destruction, the federal government said, arguing that the tribe is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to nullify a congressional statute crafted to allow federal third-party land transfers.
October 23, 2024
USDA Unveils $1.5B In Conservation, Climate-Smart Projects

The U.S. Department of Agriculture on Wednesday revealed a $1.5 billion investment in 92 partner-driven conservation projects through the agency's Regional Conservation Partnership Program.
October 22, 2024
Copper Mining Co. Asks High Court To Toss Sacred Site Suit

A copper mining company that wants to build operations in a tribally sacred part of the Tonto National Forest has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to toss a challenge to a Ninth Circuit ruling that allows for the transfer of nearly 2,500 acres of land.
October 22, 2024
Tribe, Feds Reach Deal Over National Preserve Site

The federal government, joined by the Pueblo of Jemez, called on the Tenth Circuit to amend its March 2023 ruling granting the tribe title to a portion of the Valles Caldera National Preserve after the parties reached a settlement agreement concerning how the title will be effectuated.
October 22, 2024
Feds Partner With Osage, Navajo To Tackle Orphaned Wells

The U.S. Department of Energy said it's inked agreements with the Osage Nation and the Navajo Nation that are aimed at identifying undocumented orphaned wells on tribal lands and addressing their harmful impacts.
October 22, 2024
Neb. Tribe Appeals Ruling To 4th Circ. In Army Burial Row

A Nebraska tribe will ask the Fourth Circuit to overturn a lower court's decision that determined that the U.S. Army isn't required to repatriate the remains of two Indigenous children from an Indian Boarding School cemetery in Pennsylvania, arguing that the ruling is an affront to tribal sovereignty.
October 22, 2024
The 2024 Prestige Leaders

Check out our Prestige Leaders ranking, analysis and interactive graphics to see which firms stand out for their financial performance, attractiveness to attorneys and law students, ability to secure accolades and positive legal news media representation.

Expert Analysis

The Most-Read Legal Industry Law360 Guest Articles Of 2023

A range of legal industry topics drew readers' attention in Law360's Expert Analysis section this year, from associate retention strategies to ethical billing practices.
Attorneys' Busiest Times Can Be Business Opportunities

Attorneys who resolve to grow their revenue and client base in 2024 should be careful not to abandon their goals when they get too busy with client work, because these periods of zero bandwidth can actually be a catalyst for future growth, says Amy Drysdale at Alchemy Consulting.
In The World Of Legal Ethics, 10 Trends To Note From 2023

Lucian Pera at Adams and Reese and Trisha Rich at Holland & Knight identify the top legal ethics trends from 2023 — including issues related to hot documents, artificial intelligence and cybersecurity — that lawyers should be aware of to put their best foot forward.
How Attorneys Can Be More Efficient This Holiday Season

Attorneys should consider a few key tips to speed up their work during the holidays so they can join the festivities — from streamlining the document review process to creating similar folder structures, says Bennett Rawicki at Hilgers Graben.
Clean Water Act Jurisdiction Still Murky After A Choppy 2023

This year brought several important Clean Water Act jurisdictional developments, including multiple agency rules and a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that substantially altered the definition of "waters of the United States," but a new wave of litigation challenges has already begun, with no clear end in sight, say attorneys at Nossaman.
A Former Bankruptcy Judge Talks 2023 High Court Rulings

In 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court issued four bankruptcy law opinions — an extraordinary number — and a close look at these cases signals that changes to the U.S. Bankruptcy Code will have to come from Congress, not the courts, says Phillip Shefferly at the University of Michigan Law School.
Series

Children's Book Writing Makes Me A Better Lawyer

Becoming a children's book author has opened doors to incredible new experiences of which I barely dared to dream, but the process has also changed my life by serving as a reminder that strong writing, networking and public speaking skills are hugely beneficial to a legal career, says Shaunna Bailey at Sheppard Mullin.
How Clients May Use AI To Monitor Attorneys

Excerpt from Practical Guidance

Artificial intelligence tools will increasingly enable clients to monitor and evaluate their counsel’s activities, so attorneys must clearly define the terms of engagement and likewise take advantage of the efficiencies offered by AI, says Ronald Levine at Herrick Feinstein.
Series

The Pop Culture Docket: Judge D'Emic On Moby Grape

The 1968 Moby Grape song "Murder in My Heart for the Judge" tells the tale of a fictional defendant treated with scorn by the judge, illustrating how much the legal system has evolved in the past 50 years, largely due to problem-solving courts and the principles of procedural justice, says Kings County Supreme Court Administrative Judge Matthew D'Emic.
Series

Performing Music Makes Me A Better Lawyer

The discipline of performing live music has directly and positively influenced my effectiveness as a litigator — serving as a reminder that practice, intuition and team building are all important elements of a successful law practice, says Jeff Wakolbinger at Bryan Cave.
Breaking Down High Court's New Code Of Conduct

The U.S. Supreme Court recently adopted its first-ever code of conduct, and counsel will need to work closely with clients in navigating its provisions, from gift-giving to recusal bids, say Phillip Gordon and Mateo Forero at Holtzman Vogel.
How Purdue High Court Case Will Shape Ch. 11 Mass Injury

The U.S. Supreme Court's recent arguments in Harrington v. Purdue Pharma, addressing the authority of bankruptcy courts to approve nonconsensual third-party releases in Chapter 11 settlement plans, highlight the case's wide-ranging implications for how mass injury cases get resolved in bankruptcy proceedings, says George Singer at Holland & Hart.
Opinion

Legal Profession Gender Parity Requires Equal Parental Leave

To truly foster equity in the legal profession and to promote attorney retention, workplaces need to better support all parents, regardless of gender — starting by offering equal and robust parental leave to both birthing and non-birthing parents, says Ali Spindler at Irwin Fritchie.
Series

Writing Thriller Novels Makes Me A Better Lawyer

Authoring several thriller novels has enriched my work by providing a fresh perspective on my privacy practice, expanding my knowledge, and keeping me alert to the next wave of issues in an increasingly complex space — a reminder to all lawyers that extracurricular activities can help sharpen professional instincts, says Reece Hirsch at Morgan Lewis.
What Lawyers Must Know About Calif. State Bar's AI Guidance

Initial recommendations from the State Bar of California regarding use of generative artificial intelligence by lawyers have the potential to become a useful set of guidelines in the industry, covering confidentiality, supervision and training, communications, discrimination and more, say attorneys at Debevoise.