Environmental

  • January 29, 2025

    Ga. Judge Won't Free Wildlife Rehab From Animal Care Suit

    A Georgia federal judge on Tuesday refused to free Noah's Ark Animal Rehabilitation Center and Sanctuary or the chair of its board of directors from an Ohio-based nonprofit's suit alleging the center failed to properly care for its wildlife.

  • January 29, 2025

    Mich. Judge Doubts Discovery Dispute Should DQ Firm

    A Michigan federal judge on Wednesday said a law firm's alleged "bad behavior" doesn't necessarily mean it can't represent a former CEO of a solar energy company, telling residents who sought to disqualify the firm because of a supposed conflict that their complaints may be better dealt with through discovery motions.

  • January 29, 2025

    Senate Banking Committee Forms NFIP Working Group

    With the National Flood Insurance Program's authorization set to expire in March, the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking has formed a working group to reform the program and work toward long-term reauthorization, a press release from committee chairman and South Carolina Republican Sen. Tim Scott said.

  • January 29, 2025

    New DOT Chief Orders Fuel Economy Standards Redo

    U.S. Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy has ordered the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to retool its "extraordinarily stringent" vehicle fuel economy standards, immediately diving into President Donald Trump's rollback of Biden-era policies aimed at bolstering electric vehicles.

  • January 29, 2025

    Senate Confirms Former Rep. Lee Zeldin To Lead EPA

    The U.S. Senate on Wednesday confirmed former New York congressman Lee Zeldin to lead the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

  • January 29, 2025

    EPA Can't Invoke Immunity In Flint Water Crisis Suit

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is not entitled to a government immunity defense in a lawsuit filed by Flint, Michigan, residents who claim it failed to take proper action during a lead-tainted drinking water crisis, a federal judge has said.

  • January 29, 2025

    Nonprofits Back NC Officials In Animal Waste Permit Suit

    After multiple lower state courts went back and forth on whether certain provisions laid out in a trio of farm animal waste system permits should have been adopted as official state rules, multiple advocacy groups urged the Tar Heel State justices to let them side with the government as they review the issue.

  • January 29, 2025

    4 Questions About Trump's Federal Worker Resignation Policy

    President Donald Trump’s offer of letting federal workers resign with several months of paid administrative leave raises questions about its legality and whether workers will actually get paid, attorneys said. Here, Law360 explores four questions that stem from the policy.

  • January 29, 2025

    2nd Circ. Rejects NY Tribe's Eel Fishing Regs Challenge

    The Second Circuit has upheld a lower court's rejection of the Unkechaug Indian Nation's challenge to New York State Department of Environmental Conservation regulations on eel harvests, finding that an agreement dating back to 1676 is not federal law preempting state fishing regulations.

  • January 29, 2025

    Environmental Group Of The Year: Hunton

    Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP secured court victories for Marathon Petroleum in a series of climate change lawsuits around the country, helped a range of industry groups challenge federal regulations and negotiated a landmark $57 million settlement on behalf of an Exelon subsidiary, earning the firm a spot among the 2024 Law360 Environmental Groups of the Year.

  • January 29, 2025

    Orrick Adds Bradley Arant Energy Regulatory Pro In DC

    Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP has grown its energy capabilities in the nation's capital with the addition of an attorney from Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP.

  • January 29, 2025

    Tribal Leaders Call Funding Freeze A 'Step In Wrong Direction'

    Native American nonprofit groups and tribal leaders are weighing the effects of the Trump administration's possible federal funding freeze, calling the president's directive, which was revoked on Wednesday, shocking and vowing to bring legal action if necessary to protect Indian Country and the nation's Indigenous citizens.

  • January 29, 2025

    $7.8B ChampionX Deal Gets Added Scrutiny Across The Pond

    SLB's path to closing its proposed $7.8 billion acquisition of ChampionX got a little trickier Wednesday as the U.K. Competition and Markets Authority launched a formal investigation into a deal that is also under the scrutiny of U.S. regulators. 

  • January 29, 2025

    White House Rescinds Trump's Spending Freeze

    The White House on Wednesday rescinded a directive freezing federal funding, saying it wants to end litigation and confusion, but said the move will not end a review of spending to ensure compliance with a series of executive orders by the president.

  • January 28, 2025

    Trump Tells Federal Workers They're Welcome To Resign

    The Trump administration on Tuesday emailed about 2 million federal employees offering them the option to resign but continue to be paid to the end of September, in an effort to implement a campaign promise to drastically cut the federal workforce and only keep employees who are "loyal" and "trustworthy."

  • January 28, 2025

    Norfolk Southern Cuts $22M Derailment Deal With Ohio Village

    Norfolk Southern Corp. has reached a $22 million settlement with East Palestine, Ohio, to resolve claims over the 2023 train derailment and chemical spill near the Ohio-Pennsylvania border, according to a joint statement published on the village's website Monday.

  • January 28, 2025

    Energy Co. Seeks Abeyance In Dakota Access Pipeline Row

    The operator of the Dakota Access Pipeline has asked the D.C. federal district court to suspend a South Dakota tribe's suit to shut down the pipeline's use until the court first rules on the tribe and federal government's competing motions for summary judgment.

  • January 28, 2025

    FCC Scraps Reg Plan For Cell Tower Enviro Reviews

    The Federal Communications Commission's new Republican chief said Tuesday the agency was dropping a plan launched during the Biden administration to more rigorously vet cell tower building projects for environmental impacts.

  • January 28, 2025

    SoCal Edison Faces More Suits Over Eaton Blaze

    At least two more lawsuits were filed in California state court against Southern California Edison, alleging the investor-owned public utility is responsible for sparking the devastating Eaton Fire that began Jan. 7 and destroyed most of Altadena, California, killing at least 17 people.

  • January 28, 2025

    New FERC Chair Backs Status Quo For Gas Project Reviews

    Newly minted Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Chairman Mark Christie told Law360 in an exclusive interview that he sees no reason to change the approval process for gas infrastructure projects despite recent court rulings that have dinged FERC for legally inadequate reviews.

  • January 28, 2025

    Feds, Enviro Orgs. Look To Sink Farm's 'Swampbuster' Challenge

    The federal government and environmental groups have asked an Iowa federal court to reject a farm owner's effort to overturn the "Swampbuster" conservation law that aims to protect wetlands in agricultural areas.

  • January 28, 2025

    NJ Targets MTA's Changes In Revised Congestion-Pricing Suit

    New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy plans to target New York City's public transit agency and the altered toll amounts in the state's renewed legal challenge to congestion pricing, according to a proposed amended complaint.

  • January 28, 2025

    Ariz. Judge Rejects Monument Challenge Due To Mining Ban

    A federal district court judge dismissed the Arizona State Legislature's challenge to former President Joe Biden's proclamation that established an Indigenous site in the Grand Canyon region as a national monument, saying the lawmakers failed to show how the order would harm the state's mining revenue-related interests.

  • January 28, 2025

    Senate Confirms Sean Duffy As DOT Secretary

    The U.S. Senate on Tuesday confirmed former Wisconsin congressman Sean Duffy to be secretary of the U.S. Department of Transportation.

  • January 28, 2025

    Cravath, Ropes & Gray Guide $2.4B Connecticut Water Deal

    Ropes & Gray LLP and Cravath Swaine & Moore LLP are leading a $2.4 billion deal that will see public energy company Eversource Energy sell subsidiary Aquarion Water Co., a public water supply and wastewater treatment company, to a unit of the state of Connecticut. 

Expert Analysis

  • What Bisphenol S Prop 65 Listing Will Mean For Industry

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    The imminent addition of bisphenol S — a chemical used in millions of products — to California's Proposition 65 list will have sweeping compliance and litigation implications for companies in the retail, food and beverage, paper, manufacturing and personal care product industries, say attorneys at Alston & Bird.

  • Think Like A Lawyer: Note 3 Simple Types Of Legal Complexity

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    Cases can appear complex for several reasons — due to the number of issues, the volume of factual and evidentiary sources, and the sophistication of those sources — but the same basic technique can help lawyers tame their arguments into a simple and persuasive message, says Luke Andrews at Poole Huffman.

  • Permitting, Offtake Among Offshore Wind Challenges In 2024

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    Although federal offshore wind development started to pick up this year, many challenges to the industry became apparent as well — including slow federal permitting, the pitfalls of restarting permits after changes in project status, and the difficulties of negotiating economically viable offtake agreements, say attorneys at Liskow & Lewis.

  • Series

    Gardening Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Beyond its practical and therapeutic benefits, gardening has bolstered important attributes that also apply to my litigation practice, including persistence, patience, grit and authenticity, says Christopher Viceconte at Gibbons.

  • Litigation Inspiration: Reframing Document Review

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    For attorneys — new ones especially — there is much fulfillment to find in document review by reflecting on how important, interesting and pleasant it can be, says Bennett Rawicki at Hilgers Graben.

  • The Fashion Industry Should Prep Now For State PFAS Bans

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    New York and California have each passed legislation regulating PFAS in apparel and other textiles, so retailers should consult with manufacturers and suppliers and obtain the requisite certification documents as soon as possible to avoid disruptions in supply chains, say attorneys at Venable.

  • California Supreme Court's Year In Review

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    Attorneys at Horvitz & Levy highlight notable decisions on major questions from the California Supreme Court's last term, including voter initiatives, hostile work environment and the economic loss rule.

  • DC Circ. Decision Opens Door To NEPA Regulation Litigation

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    A recent D.C. Circuit decision in Marin Audubon Society v. Federal Aviation Administration could open the door to more litigation over the White House Council on Environmental Quality's National Environmental Policy Act regulations, and could affect how many agencies conduct and interpret environmental assessments, say attorneys at ArentFox Schiff.

  • Service Providers Must Mitigate 'Secondary Target' Risks

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    A lawsuit recently filed in an Illinois federal court against marketing agency Publicis over its work for opioid manufacturers highlights an uptick in litigation against professional service providers hired by clients that engaged in alleged misconduct — so potential targets of such suits should be sure to conduct proper risk analysis and mitigation, say attorneys at Dechert.

  • Opinion

    FTC Actions In Oil Cases Go Against Its Own Rulemaking

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    Two recent Federal Trade Commission actions concerning the oil and gas industry appear to defy its own merger guidelines, with allegations that fall far short of the commission's own standard — raising serious questions about the agency's current approach, say attorneys at Clifford Chance.

  • How Global Data Center Regs May Influence US Policies

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    As regulators around the world react to the growth of data centers, and their increasing consumption of energy, water and land, international policies in this area may influence how the incoming U.S. administration regulates data centers in this country, say attorneys at HWG.

  • Series

    Flying Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Achieving my childhood dream of flying airplanes made me a better lawyer — and a better person — because it taught me I can conquer difficult goals when I leave my comfort zone, focus on the demands of the moment and commit to honing my skills, says Ivy Cadle at Baker Donelson.

  • Post-Election Implications For The EPA's Methane Rules

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    Amid the U.S. Supreme Court's recent denial of requests to halt implementation of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's methane rule in two suits, and given the outcome of the election, a complete reversal of the methane rule is expected, but state-level policymaking and enforcement will continue, says John Watson at Spencer Fane.

  • Series

    Circus Arts Make Me A Better Lawyer

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    Performing circus arts has strengthened my ability to be more thoughtful, confident and grounded, all of which has enhanced my legal practice and allowed me to serve clients in a more meaningful way, says Bailey McGowan at Stinson.

  • 3 Ways To Train Junior Lawyers In 30 Minutes Or Less

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    Today’s junior lawyers are experiencing a skills gap due to pandemic-era disruptions, but firms can help bring them up to speed by offering high-impact skill building content in bite-sized, interactive training sessions, say Stacey Schwartz at Katten, Diane Costigan at Winston & Strawn and Lauren Tierney at Freshfields.

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