Environmental

  • February 07, 2025

    FERC Says Trump Orders Support DC Circ. Rehearing Bid

    The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has told the D.C. Circuit that President Donald Trump's revocation of two environmental executive orders dating back decades shows that the appeals court's vacatur of two FERC reauthorizations of liquefied natural gas projects was unjustified.

  • February 07, 2025

    Trump's Tariff Moves Put Energy Cos. In Scramble Mode

    President Donald Trump's aggressive use of tariffs in the early weeks of his administration has roiled the energy industry's long-term planning, and the fast-changing environment has companies scrambling to insulate themselves from potential financial hits.

  • February 07, 2025

    Texas Wants 3M, Dupont 'Forever Chemical' Suit In State Court

    Texas has asked a federal judge to send its litigation against 3M, DuPont and others over so-called forever chemicals back to state court, writing that the companies are misguided in their "desperate" attempt to send the case to federal court.

  • February 07, 2025

    SoCal Edison Says Its Equipment May Have Caused Hurst Fire

    Southern California Edison told a state energy regulator that it believes its utility equipment might have ignited last month's Hurst Fire in northern Los Angeles County, but it's still investigating the cause of the area's far more destructive Eaton Fire.

  • February 07, 2025

    Plaintiffs Lawyers Swarm Los Angeles Post-Fires

    A deadly wildfire may be among the first covered by a new state fund that reimburses at-fault utility companies. This could mean billions of dollars for plaintiffs lawyers, and, if past fires are any indication, frustration and confusion for some victims.

  • February 07, 2025

    Justices Deny Trump DOJ's Bid To Delay Three Energy Cases

    The U.S. Supreme Court denied the Trump administration's request to pause three cases so the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency can review Biden-era regulatory decisions that may alter the government's legal positions.

  • February 07, 2025

    Trump Admin Freezing EV Charging Station Funds

    The Federal Highway Administration told state transportation department directors it is freezing a $5 billion initiative aimed at helping states deploy electric vehicle charging stations — a move the Sierra Club called both "illegal and terrible."

  • February 06, 2025

    States Say NY Climate Act 'Wrings Funds' From Energy Cos.

    A coalition of 22 states sued New York state Thursday over its recently signed Climate Superfund Act, saying it constitutes an attack on U.S. energy producers that will be felt by consumers.

  • February 06, 2025

    Sterilization Plant's 'Royal' Mistake Leaked Pollution, Jury Told

    A former head of Terumo BCT Inc.'s Colorado medical sterilization facility testified Thursday that after a 2008 incident that he called a "royal fuck up" resulted in the release of a toxic chemical inside the plant, Terumo aired out the building and allowed the emissions to go outside.

  • February 06, 2025

    SEC's Dealer Suit May Criminalize Major Investors, Funds Say

    The hedge fund industry has urged the Eighth Circuit on to overturn a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission victory against a penny stock trader, arguing that the SEC's case threatens to "make a felon of every institutional investor" by declaring them unregistered securities dealers.

  • February 06, 2025

    Ala. Tribe Fights Bid To Renew Burial Grounds Row

    The Poarch Band of Creek Indians is asking a federal district court to deny a bid by the Muscogee (Creek) Nation to renew a complaint in a dispute over an Alabama burial site, arguing the new claims should have been added to the original lawsuit more than a decade ago.

  • February 06, 2025

    Investors, Italy Tussle Over $23M Awards Enforcement Suit

    Renewable energy investors looking to enforce tens of millions of euros worth of arbitral awards against Italy accused the country on Wednesday of trying to prolong the litigation through jurisdictional arguments that the D.C. Circuit has already rejected, while Italy argued that the underlying facts here are different.

  • February 06, 2025

    EPA Places 168 Environmental Justice Workers On Leave

    Scores of U.S. Environmental Protection Agency workers who have been focused on environmental justice issues were placed on leave Thursday, in line with the Trump administration's promise to largely abandon that area of work.

  • February 06, 2025

    FERC Tells DC Circ. Revised Grid Hookup Policy Is Sound

    The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission defended the penalty framework in its revised policy on hooking up new power projects to the grid, telling the D.C. Circuit it reasonably balanced competing interests and imposed a variety of safeguards. 

  • February 06, 2025

    Paint Co. Says Chubb Owes $1M For Plant Explosion

    A Columbus, Ohio, paint manufacturer accused Chubb of wrongfully refusing to reimburse it for more than $1 million after the company's resin manufacturing plant exploded and caused a hazardous chemical spill, in a suit removed Thursday by Chubb to Ohio federal court.

  • February 06, 2025

    House Committee Weighs Wildfire Strain On Calif. Insurers

    A U.S. House of Representatives subcommittee met Thursday to discuss the recent California wildfires and how regulatory policy may aid future prevention of natural disasters, as experts emphasized that the fires only further exposed the state's ongoing insurance crisis.

  • February 06, 2025

    Nippon Says US Steel Deal Aligns With Trump Goals

    Nippon Steel said Thursday that its proposed $14.9 billion acquisition of Pennsylvania-based U.S. Steel is in line with President Donald Trump's goals, as the Japanese steelmaker dropped hints of its strategy to get the new administration to approve the deal. 

  • February 06, 2025

    Trump's Federal Worker Buyout Plan Put On Hold

    A Massachusetts federal judge on Thursday put on hold the Trump administration's "deferred resignation" program for federal employees, delaying the deadline for workers to accept the offer until Monday while the court weighs the legality of the move.

  • February 05, 2025

    Sterilization Co. Skimped On Pollution Controls, Residents Say

    An attorney for four Colorado residents who claim emissions from a Terumo BCT Inc. medical sterilization facility caused their cancers told jurors at the start of a six-week trial Wednesday that the company cut corners and failed to implement known solutions to cut toxic emissions into the community.

  • February 05, 2025

    California Tribes Sue Feds Over 'Massive' Casino Project

    The Wintu Tribe of Northern California and the Paskenta Band of Nomlaki Indians hauled several federal agencies into Washington, D.C., federal court for allegedly greenlighting a plan to turn over 220 acres of Indigenous territory into a "massive" casino development without evaluating the environmental impact or the land's cultural significance.

  • February 05, 2025

    Suit Challenges BLM Approvals Of More Calif. Drilling Permits

    Conservation and public health groups have told a California federal judge that the U.S. Bureau of Land Management continues to barrel ahead in approving more oil and gas drilling permits in the polluted San Joaquin Valley and to shirk its public notice and environmental review duties.

  • February 05, 2025

    Doubt Over NEPA Regs' Future Brings New Risk For Projects

    Recent court decisions and President Donald Trump have jeopardized long-standing federal regulations for environmental reviews, introducing uncertainty in the permit application and approval process for projects ranging from roads to pipelines that could lead to delays and new litigation.

  • February 05, 2025

    NJ Seeks Jury Trial In PFAS Cleanup Case Against 3M, DuPont

    New Jersey officials are fighting back against 3M and DuPont's requests to have a federal bench trial on their environmental claims seeking remediation and restoration cost reimbursement over purported PFAS contamination, arguing that its legal claims are tied to legal remedies that a jury, not a judge, must decide.

  • February 05, 2025

    Chicago's Climate Suit Belongs In Federal Court, Judge Hears

    The city of Chicago should not be allowed to take environmental deception claims against the nation's largest oil producers back to state court because the city's suit targets conduct performed largely for the federal government, a judge heard during a Wednesday hearing.

  • February 05, 2025

    Nixon Peabody Taps Ex-Faegre Drinker Environmental Atty

    Nixon Peabody LLP hired a former Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP environmental attorney for the firm's New York City office.

Expert Analysis

  • The Compliance Trends And Imperatives On Tap In 2025

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    The corporate ethics and compliance landscape is rapidly evolving, posing challenges from conflicting stakeholder expectations to technological disruptions, and businesses will need to explore human-centered, data-driven and evidence-based practices, says Hui Chen at CDE Advisors.

  • Hydrogen Regs Will Provide More Certainty — If They Survive

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    Newly finalized regulations implementing the Section 45V clean hydrogen tax credit allow producers more flexibility, and should therefore help put the industry on more solid footing — but the incoming Trump administration and Republican Congress will have multiple options for overturning or altering the regulations, say attorneys at Steptoe.

  • 5 E-Discovery Predictions For 2025 And Beyond

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    In the year to come, e-discovery will be shaped by new and emerging trends, from the adoption of artificial intelligence provisions in protective orders, to the proliferation of emojis as a source of evidence in contemporary litigation, say attorneys at Littler.

  • NY Plastic Pollution Verdict May Not Bode Well For Other Suits

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    The dismissal of New York state's public nuisance complaint against PepsiCo over pollution of the Buffalo River with the company's single use plastic bottles may not augur well for similar lawsuits filed by Baltimore and Los Angeles County, although tort law varies from state to state, say attorneys at Winston & Strawn.

  • Climate Disclosure Spotlight Shifts To 2 Calif. Laws

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    With Donald Trump's election spelling the all-but-certain demise of the proposed federal climate disclosure rules, new laws in California currently stand as the nation's only broadly applicable climate disclosure requirements — and their brevity is both a blessing and a curse, say attorneys at Davis Polk.

  • Final Hydrogen Tax Credit Regs Add Flexibility For Producers

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    The recently released final regulations implementing the Inflation Reduction Act's clean hydrogen production tax credit offer taxpayers greater flexibility, reducing risk and creating more certainty for investments in the industry, thus diminishing — but not eliminating — the risk of legal challenges to the regulations, say attorneys at Steptoe.

  • How Decline Of Deference Will Affect Trump Policymaking

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    An administrative law regime without Chevron deference may limit the Trump administration’s ability to implement new policies in the short term, but ultimately help it in the long term, and all parties with an interest in regulatory changes will have to take a fresh approach to litigation, say attorneys at Covington.

  • Anticipating The Maritime Sector's Future Under Trump 2.0

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    With the Republicans taking control of a governance trifecta, the maritime sector should brace for both familiar leadership and new change that could significantly shift shipping and defense priorities, say attorneys at Holland & Knight.

  • Defense Strategies For Addressing Conspiracy-Minded Jurors

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    As conspiracy theories continue to proliferate and gain traction in the U.S., defense attorneys will need to consider ways to keep conspiracy-minded jurors from sitting on the jury, and to persuade them when this isn’t possible, say consultants at IMS Legal Strategies.

  • 7 Ways 2nd Trump Administration May Affect Partner Hiring

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    President-elect Donald Trump's return to the White House will likely have a number of downstream effects on partner hiring in the legal industry, from accelerated hiring timelines to increased vetting of prospective employees, say recruiters at Macrae.

  • E-Discovery Quarterly: Rulings On Custodian Selection

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    Several recent rulings make clear that the proportionality of additional proposed custodians will depend on whether the custodians have unique relevant documents, and producing parties should consider whether information already in the record will show that they have relevant documents that otherwise might not be produced, say attorneys at Sidley.

  • Impact Of Successful Challenges To SEC's Rulemaking Ability

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    In 2024, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission faced significant legal challenges to its aggressive rulemaking agenda as several of its rules were vacated by the Fifth Circuit, which could hinder the SEC's ability to enact rules extending beyond express statutory authority in the future, say attorneys at Debevoise.

  • Justices Seem Focused On NEPA's Limits In Utah Rail Case

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    After last month's oral argument at the U.S. Supreme Court in Seven County Infrastructure Coalition v. Eagle County, Colorado, the court appears poised to forcefully reiterate that the National Environmental Policy Act requires federal agencies to review only those environmental impacts within their control, say attorneys at Perkins Coie.

  • How Trial Attys Can Wield Amended Federal Evidence Rules

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    Trial lawyers should assess recent amendments to four Federal Rules of Evidence and a newly enacted rule on illustrative aids to determine how to best use the rules to enhance pretrial discovery and trial strategy, says Stewart Edelstein, former litigation chair at Cohen & Wolf.

  • Series

    Exercising On My Peloton Bike Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    While I originally came to the Peloton bike for exercise, one cycling instructor’s teachings have come to serve as a road map for practicing law thoughtfully and mindfully, which has opened opportunities for growth and change in my career, says Andrea Kirshenbaum at Littler.

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