Energy

  • November 12, 2024

    Shell Gets Dutch Climate Emissions Ruling Overturned

    A Dutch appeals court has overturned a landmark ruling that ordered Shell to reduce its carbon emissions, finding on Tuesday that there was no "social standard of care" requiring the oil and gas producer to meet legally imposed climate targets.

  • November 08, 2024

    Trump's Election Swings The Energy Policy Pendulum Again

    The reelection of former President Donald Trump means the energy industry faces yet another drastic shift in U.S. policy, continuing a decadelong pattern of regulatory pendulum swings. Here's a rundown of what the energy industry is in for when Trump reenters the White House.

  • November 08, 2024

    Ga. Judge Sets 2nd Trial Plan For Solar Farm Damages Fight

    A Georgia federal judge said he's moving ahead with plans for a second jury to decide how much in damages the owner and developers of Lumpkin Solar Farm owe a neighboring property owner for harms stemming from runoff and some 1,000 cubic yards of sediment that have washed off the site.

  • November 08, 2024

    ND Wants To Back Feds In Dakota Access Pipeline Row

    North Dakota wants to back the federal government in a challenge by the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe seeking to block a Texas-based energy company from continuing to operate the Dakota Access Pipeline, arguing a shutdown would undermine the state's interests in oil and gas regulation activity.

  • November 08, 2024

    Kentucky Utility Asks High Court To Stay EPA Coal Ash Rule

    A Kentucky electric utility called on the U.S. Supreme Court to halt the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's rule strengthening federal regulations requiring safe management of coal ash dumped at operating and retired power plants, while it appeals the D.C. Circuit's refusal to block the rule.

  • November 08, 2024

    Landowners Ink $6.5M Deal To Cap Inactive Gas Wells

    A group of landowners is asking a West Virginia federal court to approve a proposed settlement that would have Diversified Energy Co. more than quadruple its commitment to plugging inactive gas wells that it obtained from EQT Corp., meaning that it will cap off at least 2,600 wells in West Virginia, Ohio, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Tennessee by 2035.

  • November 08, 2024

    White & Case Adds Life Sciences IP Atty From A&O Shearman

    A veteran life sciences patent litigator has jumped from Allen Overy Shearman Sterling to White & Case LLP in New York, expanding the firm’s capabilities to represent medical and pharmaceutical industry clients in complex litigation.

  • November 08, 2024

    Experienced Dealmakers Lead 3 SPACs Raising $365M Total

    Three special purpose acquisition companies began trading Friday after pricing initial public offerings that raised $365 million combined under guidance from four law firms, marking the latest sign that more SPACs, particularly those with prior deals under their belts, are willing to test an improving market.

  • November 08, 2024

    Chancery Rejects $2.4M Fee Request In 'Poison Pill' Case

    Cautioning that class attorneys in virtual lookalike settlements shouldn't expect to match big, early fee awards, a Delaware vice chancellor on Friday approved a $300,000 attorney fee — downsized from a $2.4 million request — for those who secured a company agreement to scuttle an overreaching shareholder rights "poison pill."

  • November 08, 2024

    Judge Will Give Solar Co. $3M Interim Lifeline In Ch. 11

    A Delaware bankruptcy judge said Friday she will grant Oya Renewables, a solar energy producer with offices in Boston and Toronto, interim access to $3 million in postpetition funding on offer from its Chapter 11 stalking horse bidder once some final modifications are made.

  • November 08, 2024

    UK Litigation Roundup: Here's What You Missed In London

    This past week in London has seen collapsed German airline Air Berlin take action against its former auditor KPMG, the associate editor at The Spectator hit with a libel claim by a mosque over the far-right riots that took place in August and British licensing authority the Performing Right Society sue Parklife Manchester and four other festival organizers. Here, Law360 looks at these and other new claims in the U.K.

  • November 08, 2024

    V&E Reinforces DC Energy Team With Ex-Locke Lord Partner

    Vinson & Elkins LLP has hired a longtime Locke Lord LLP partner who represents several natural gas, crude oil and liquids pipeline and storage companies, boosting the firm's energy regulatory practice in Washington, D.C.

  • November 08, 2024

    MVP: Sidley's Tara Higgins

    Tara Higgins, co-leader of Sidley Austin LLP's global energy practice, represented Invenergy as part of the equity financing needed for the $1.5 billion acquisition of a renewables portfolio from American Electric Power, including 14 projects in 11 states, earning her a spot as one of the 2024 Law360 Energy MVPs.

  • November 07, 2024

    DLA Piper Chile Adds New Dispute Resolution Partner

    DLA Piper Chile has welcomed a new partner from Chilean law firm Albagli Zaliasnik to its dispute resolution practice, saying she will focus on civil litigation and arbitration in sectors including energy and finance.

  • November 07, 2024

    Fed. Circ. Questions Gov't Analysis For Omani Nail Duties

    A Federal Circuit panel wrestled Thursday with an Omani steel nail producer's claims that the U.S. Department of Commerce used distorted data to calculate its anti-dumping duties, with judges contemplating whether the alleged agency error was an innocuous one.

  • November 07, 2024

    W.Va. Coal Mine Held In Contempt Again Over Pollution

    A West Virginia federal judge held Lexington Coal Co. in contempt for a third time on Thursday over the company's continued failure to address ionic pollution caused by its coal mining operations in Appalachia, ordering it to pay a $50,000 fine and establish a $100,000 fund to achieve compliance. 

  • November 07, 2024

    NM Tribe Settles Land Claim Dispute With Feds

    The Pueblo of Jemez and the U.S. government have settled in New Mexico federal court the tribe's claim on land within the Valles Caldera National Preserve, finally agreeing in the 12-year-old dispute that Jemez has aboriginal title to an area known as Banco Bonito.

  • November 07, 2024

    Solar Energy Co. Hits Ch. 11 With $100M In Debt, Sale Plans

    Oya Renewables, a solar energy producer with offices in Boston and Toronto, has filed for Chapter 11 protection in the Delaware bankruptcy court, disclosing at least $100 million in liabilities — including almost $87 million in funded debt — and plans to sell its assets, while blaming factors such as project delays and litigation for its liquidity crunch.

  • November 07, 2024

    7th Circ. Sends Refuge Power Line Fight Back To Wis. Judge

    A Seventh Circuit panel scrapped stayed preliminary injunctions that temporarily blocked a power transmission line from crossing the Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge, directing a Wisconsin federal judge to determine if conservation groups' request for permanent relief is warranted or even possible with the line now built.

  • November 07, 2024

    Apache Say 'Stakes Are Clear' In Oak Flat Land Dispute

    The federal government is trying to manufacture problems by claiming that a law aimed at protecting the religious rights of minorities can't apply to later-enacted statutes, an Apache nonprofit has told the U.S. Supreme Court in its bid to save a sacred worship site in Arizona from mining destruction.

  • 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."

  • 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.

  • November 07, 2024

    Silicon Carbide Biz Says Researchers Swiped Trade Secrets

    Silicon carbide technology company Wolfspeed Inc. is going after two former higher-ups in its research and development department for allegedly taking trade secrets to a rival, according to a newly filed state Business Court complaint.

  • 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

    MVP: Jenner & Block's Matthew E. Price

    Matthew E. Price of Jenner & Block LLP's energy practice helped persuade a Pennsylvania federal court to overturn a state commission's denial of a transmission line project that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission said would reduce regional congestion, earning him a spot as one of the 2024 Law360 Energy MVPs.

Expert Analysis

  • Nuclear Power Can Help Industrial Plants Get To Net-Zero

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    In the race to fight climate change and achieve net-zero emissions, the industrial sector currently faces immense challenges — but the integration of nuclear energy is a promising solution, so companies should consider the financial and regulatory issues, opportunities, and risk-mitigating factors, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • Series

    Playing Dungeons & Dragons Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Playing Dungeons & Dragons – a tabletop role-playing game – helped pave the way for my legal career by providing me with foundational skills such as persuasion and team building, says Derrick Carman at Robins Kaplan.

  • 3 Leadership Practices For A More Supportive Firm Culture

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    Traditional leadership styles frequently amplify the inherent pressures of legal work, but a few simple, time-neutral strategies can strengthen the skills and confidence of employees and foster a more collaborative culture, while supporting individual growth and contribution to organizational goals, says Benjamin Grimes at BKG Leadership.

  • New State Carbon Capture Laws: Key Points For Developers

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    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.

  • E-Discovery Quarterly: Rulings On Hyperlinked Documents

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    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.

  • Loper Bright Limits Federal Agencies' Ability To Alter Course

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    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.

  • New NHTSA Fuel Economy Rule Adds Compliance Complexity

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    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.

  • Series

    Teaching Scuba Diving Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    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.

  • Lawyers Can Take Action To Honor The Voting Rights Act

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    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.

  • Series

    After Chevron: NRC Is Shielded From Loper Bright's Effects

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    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.

  • How Loper Bright Weakens NEPA Enviro Justice Strategy

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    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.

  • Navigating Antitrust Considerations In ESG Collaborations

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    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.

  • How To Grow Marketing, Biz Dev Teams In A Tight Market

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    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.

  • Series

    Rock Climbing Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    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.

  • What Chevron's End Means For How Congress Does Business

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    The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo decision, overturning the Chevron doctrine, will have a far-reaching impact across the entire public policy life cycle, beginning with how Congress writes its laws and extending through agency implantation and judicial review, say attorneys at K&L Gates.

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