Native American

  • May 14, 2024

    9th Circ. Rejects Bid For Full Rehearing In Oak Flat Dispute

    The Ninth Circuit on Tuesday rejected a bid by an Apache nonprofit for a full judge en banc rehearing in an effort to block a copper mining company from destroying an Indigenous religious site in central Arizona known as Oak Flat, setting up the case for a U.S. Supreme Court appeal.

  • May 13, 2024

    Hunting Groups Want In On Gray Wolf Protections' Lawsuit

    Several hunting groups have asked a Montana federal court to let them intervene in a gray wolf protection lawsuit brought by environmentalists against the U.S. Department of the Interior, saying they should get involved because their interests aren't adequately represented by the government.

  • May 13, 2024

    Utah, Oil Co. Can Enter BLM Oil Lease Challenge, Judge Says

    Anschutz Exploration Corp. and Utah will get the chance to fight environmentalists' lawsuit challenging the Bureau of Land Management's decision to sell oil and gas leases on more than 200,000 acres of public land, a Utah federal judge has ruled.

  • May 13, 2024

    Ariz. Casino Can't Claim Immunity In Discrimination Row

    Sovereign immunity can't protect a Harrah's casino operated on Arizona Native American lands from a discrimination lawsuit filed by five former employees, a federal judge said, arguing that the for-profit corporation is formed under the laws of the state, not those of the tribal community.

  • May 13, 2024

    US Tells DC Circ. Ayahuasca Church's Settlement Inapt

    Federal regulators are telling the D.C. Circuit to ignore a recent settlement that will allow a Phoenix-based church to continue using ayahuasca in its ceremonies, saying it has nothing to do with the Iowa-based ayahuasca church challenging the IRS's refusal to give it tax-exempt status.

  • May 13, 2024

    FERC Powers Up Major Rewrite Of Grid Planning Policy

    The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on Monday finalized a long-awaited overhaul of how major electric transmission projects are planned and paid for, with the agency's Republican commissioner claiming his Democratic colleagues are unlawfully favoring clean energy at the expense of state electricity authority.

  • May 13, 2024

    Texas, Mo. Say Border Contractors Lack Interests To Defend

    Texas and Missouri have slammed contractors' attempts to defend the Biden administration's plans to use border wall construction funds to remediate existing barriers, telling a Texas federal court that the group lacks a direct interest in the case's outcome.

  • May 10, 2024

    Ill. Residents Ask Court To Void Alaskan Tribal Co. Loans

    Six borrowers accusing an Alaska-based tribal lending company of making usurious loans at annual rates of as much as 700% or more have filed suit in Illinois federal court, saying it violated racketeering laws and must void the already existing debt.

  • May 10, 2024

    Ariz. GOP Wants A Say In VRA Dispute Headed For 9th Circ.

    The Arizona Republican Party wants to intervene in a Voting Rights Act dispute headed for the Ninth Circuit, arguing that it intends to defend the validity of the provisions of two state redistricting laws that a lower court found violated federal law.

  • May 10, 2024

    Oil Giants Say Tribal Climate Change Row Must Stay Federal

    Several giant oil companies are fighting a bid by two Native American tribes to remand their consolidated case to state court, telling a Washington federal district court that the claims brought by tribes have always been governed by federal law.

  • May 10, 2024

    EPA Tightens Copper-Smelting Toxic Emissions Standards

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is finalizing regulations it says will reduce toxic, cancer-causing emissions from copper-smelting facilities.

  • May 09, 2024

    Efforts To Enact Savanna's Act Falling Short, Lawmakers Say

    Two U.S. senators behind a law aimed at reforming law enforcement protocols to address the crisis of missing and murdered Native American women are pressing the U.S. Department of Justice to step up its efforts to finalize its implementation.

  • May 09, 2024

    Judge Halts DEA's Hearing On Proposed Psychedelics Ban

    An administrative law judge with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration has ordered the agency to cancel a June 10 hearing on its proposal to ban two psychedelic substances while a researcher's federal lawsuit challenging the agency's actions plays out in court, according to an order made public Thursday.

  • May 09, 2024

    Caremark Can Seek Arb. In Oklahoma Tribe's Prescription Suit

    An Oklahoma federal court judge has paused a dispute between the Muscogee (Creek) Nation and Caremark LLC until the pharmaceutical company can resolve a bid to compel the tribe into arbitration in an Arizona court over unpaid reimbursement claims.

  • May 09, 2024

    Red States, Electric Co-Ops Challenge EPA Power Plant Rules

    Twenty-seven Republican-led states and the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association called on the D.C. Circuit Thursday to unravel the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's new source performance standards for greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuel-fired electric generating units.

  • May 09, 2024

    Biden Seeks To Elevate Interior Dept. Official To No. 2 Post

    The White House announced Thursday that President Joe Biden intends to nominate Fish and Wildlife Assistant Secretary Shannon A. Estenoz as deputy secretary of the U.S. Department of the Interior.

  • May 08, 2024

    Tribes And Groups Urge 9th Circ. To Uphold TikTok Ban Pause

    Free speech and internet advocacy groups, as well a Native American nonprofit and two tribes, are urging the Ninth Circuit to uphold a lower court's decision that blocks Montana from banning social app TikTok, arguing that First Amendment protections include such media platforms.

  • May 08, 2024

    ND Changes Course In Residents' High Court VRA Dispute

    In a move Native American tribes are calling "unconscionable," North Dakota Secretary of State Michael Howe is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to vacate and remand Voting Rights Act litigation, saying the state is unable to defend the basis for which it won the lawsuit.

  • May 08, 2024

    BIA Tells 8th Circ. Energy Co. Can't Revive Lease Suit

    The U.S. Department of the Interior's Bureau of Indian Affairs has asked the Eighth Circuit to uphold a North Dakota federal judge's dismissal of Prima Exploration Inc.'s oil and gas lease termination suit, saying the lower court correctly dismissed the case for failure to exhaust administrative remedies.

  • May 08, 2024

    In Final Memo, Blumenauer Eyes Path Forward For Cannabis

    Rep. Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore., a longtime champion of cannabis reform in Congress who plans to retire this year, is calling marijuana reform a "winning issue" for policymakers and outlined numerous actions both legislators and federal agencies can take to move the issue forward.

  • May 08, 2024

    Mont. Tribe Says Feds Must Sign Law Enforcement Contract

    The Northern Cheyenne Tribe has accused the U.S. government of failing to provide the tribe with adequate law enforcement services, urging a Montana federal judge to order it to sign a tribal self-determination contract with an annual funding amount of at least $325,829.

  • May 07, 2024

    DOI Gives States And Tribes $148M For Drought Resiliency

    The U.S. Department of the Interior has said it has invested nearly $148 million to help states and Native American tribes prepare for water reliability challenges due to drought and other scarcity concerns, saying the money will go to 42 projects in 10 states.

  • May 07, 2024

    PolyMet Land Swap Discovery Order Paused, For Now

    PolyMet Mining doesn't have to produce information it had previously withheld in a Minnesota tribe's challenge to undo a land swap, a federal district court determined after the company asked for emergency relief to avoid any potential harm it said could come from wrongfully disclosing privileged documentation.

  • May 07, 2024

    Alaska Tribes Say USDA Didn't Consult On Broadband Grants

    Two Alaskan tribes are taking the U.S. Department of Agriculture to federal court after they say the agency gave away $70 million in funds meant to help connect them to the internet after falsely declaring them "served" without checking with the tribes, as they were legally obligated to do.

  • May 07, 2024

    Energy Dept. Says Red States Can't Block LNG Export Pause

    The U.S. Department of Energy has asked a Louisiana federal judge to toss a group of Republican-led states' lawsuit challenging a pause on reviewing applications to export liquefied natural gas to non-free trade agreement countries, saying the states have created a "false narrative" about the move.

Expert Analysis

  • Attorneys Have An Ethical Duty To Protect The Judiciary

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    The tenor of public disagreement and debate has become increasingly hostile against judges, and though the legislative branch is trying to ameliorate this safety gap, lawyers have a moral imperative and professional requirement to stand with judges in defusing attacks against them and their rulings, says Deborah Winokur at Cozen O'Connor.

  • AI Can Help Lawyers Overcome The Programming Barrier

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    Legal professionals without programming expertise can use generative artificial intelligence to harness the power of automation and other technology solutions to streamline their work, without the steep learning curve traditionally associated with coding, says George Zalepa at Greenberg Traurig.

  • Preparing Law Students For A New, AI-Assisted Legal World

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    As artificial intelligence rapidly transforms the legal landscape, law schools must integrate technology and curricula that address AI’s innate challenges — from ethics to data security — to help students stay ahead of the curve, say Daniel Garrie at Law & Forensics, Ryan Abbott at JAMS and Karen Silverman at Cantellus Group.

  • Bid Protest Spotlight: Instructions, Jurisdiction, Scrutiny

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    In this month's bid protest roundup, Michaela Thornton at MoFo examines three recent protests resolved in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims and the U.S. Government Accountability Office that arose from indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity contract awards and offer important reminders about the fundamentals of procurement law.

  • General Counsel Need Data Literacy To Keep Up With AI

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    With the rise of accessible and powerful generative artificial intelligence solutions, it is imperative for general counsel to understand the use and application of data for myriad important activities, from evaluating the e-discovery process to monitoring compliance analytics and more, says Colin Levy at Malbek.

  • A Look At Successful Bid Protests In FY 2023

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    Attorneys at Sheppard Mullin look beyond the statistics in the U.S. Government Accountability Office’s recent annual report on bid protests, sharing their insights about nine categories of sustained protests, gained from reading every fiscal year 2023 decision in which the protester had a positive result.

  • Rite Aid's Reasons For Ch. 11 Go Beyond Opioid Suits

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    Despite opioid-related lawsuits being the perceived reason that pushed Rite Aid into bankruptcy, the company's recent Chapter 11 filing reveals its tenuous position in the pharmaceutical retail market, and only time will tell whether bankruptcy will right-size the company, says Daniel Gielchinsky at DGIM Law.

  • Navigating Discovery Of Generative AI Information

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    As generative artificial intelligence tools become increasingly ubiquitous, companies must make sure to preserve generative AI data when there is reasonable expectation of litigation, and to include transcripts in litigation hold notices, as they may be relevant to discovery requests, say Nick Peterson and Corey Hauser at Wiley.

  • Finding Focus: Strategies For Attorneys With ADHD

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    Given the prevalence of ADHD among attorneys, it is imperative that the legal community gain a better understanding of how ADHD affects well-being, and that resources and strategies exist for attorneys with this disability to manage their symptoms and achieve success, say Casey Dixon at Dixon Life Coaching and Krista Larson at Stinson.

  • House Bill Could Help Resolve 'Waters Of US' Questions

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    Legislation recently introduced in the U.S. House that would restore Clean Water Act protection to areas excluded from it by the U.S. Supreme Court's Sackett v. EPA decision faces an uphill battle, but could help settle the endless debates over the definition of "waters of the United States," says Richard Leland at Akerman.

  • Attorneys, Law Schools Must Adapt To New Era Of Evidence

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    Technological advancements mean more direct evidence is being created than ever before, and attorneys as well as law schools must modify their methods to account for new challenges in how this evidence is collected and used to try cases, says Reuben Guttman at Guttman Buschner.

  • Tips For Litigating Against Pro Se Parties In Complex Disputes

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    Litigating against self-represented parties in complex cases can pose unique challenges for attorneys, but for the most part, it requires the same skills that are useful in other cases — from documenting everything to understanding one’s ethical duties, says Bryan Ketroser at Alto Litigation.

  • New Initiatives Will Advance Corporate Biodiversity Reporting

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    Two important recent developments — the launch of the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures' framework on nature and biodiversity reporting, and Nature Action 100's announcement of the 100 companies it plans to engage on biodiversity issues — will help bring biodiversity disclosures into the mainstream, say David Woodcock and Maria Banda at Gibson Dunn.

  • Pro Bono Work Is Powerful Self-Help For Attorneys

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    Oct. 22-28 is Pro Bono Week, serving as a useful reminder that offering free legal help to the public can help attorneys expand their legal toolbox, forge community relationships and create human connections, despite the challenges of this kind of work, says Orlando Lopez at Culhane Meadows.

  • Series

    Playing In A Rock Cover Band Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Performing in a classic rock cover band has driven me to hone several skills — including focus, organization and networking — that have benefited my professional development, demonstrating that taking time to follow your muse outside of work can be a boon to your career, says Michael Gambro at Cadwalader.

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