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Energy

  • September 16, 2025

    Environmental Groups Say Gov't Won't Share Climate Docs

    Environmental groups have told a Massachusetts federal judge that the Trump administration isn't following his suggestion that it turn over materials related to the work of an advisory panel recommending reversal of the government's position that greenhouse gases are dangerous.

  • September 15, 2025

    FAA, SpaceX Get Early Win In Starship Enviro Review Suit

    A D.C. federal judge Monday handed a win to the Federal Aviation Administration and SpaceX in litigation alleging they failed to complete an adequate environmental review for SpaceX's Starship rocket launch program, ruling that the analysis was "perhaps imperfect" but ultimately well reasoned.

  • September 15, 2025

    Zenith Challenges $130M Tunisia Award Over Conflicts

    Canadian oil and gas company Zenith Energy Ltd. will look to revive its $130 million claim against Tunisia over a nixed oilfield concession, saying it intends to argue in annulment proceedings in Switzerland that, among other things, certain members of the tribunal improperly concealed their ties to the North African country.

  • September 15, 2025

    11th Circ. Told Fla. 'Radioactive' Road Suit Must Be Tossed

    The U.S. government and a fertilizer producer urged the Eleventh Circuit to toss an environmental nonprofit's challenge to the use of radioactive phosphogypsum on a private roadway, arguing the nonprofit lacks standing. 

  • September 15, 2025

    FERC Abandons Push To Update Pipeline Review Policy

    The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has ended its long-gestating proceeding aimed at updating its gas infrastructure approval policy, saying the policy the agency initially enacted in 1999 remains sound.

  • September 15, 2025

    Energy Trader Tries To Sink CFTC Spoofing Case

    An energy trading firm and its owner asked an Illinois federal judge on Friday to grant summary judgment on the Commodity Futures Trading Commission's allegations they manipulated the crude oil market, saying the agency has put forward no evidence the owner intended to cancel the futures orders in question when he placed them.

  • September 15, 2025

    Charleston SC Not Appealing Dismissal Of Climate Suit

    Charleston, South Carolina, has ended its pursuit of climate change-related infrastructure damages from fossil fuel companies, electing not to appeal a state judge's dismissal of the city's lawsuit last month.

  • September 15, 2025

    Kirkland, Gibson Dunn Advise On $1B Blackstone Energy Deal

    Blackstone will pay nearly $1 billion to purchase the Hill Top Energy Center natural gas power plant from Ardian, with Kirkland & Ellis LLP and Gibson Dunn & Crutcher LLP steering the private equity firms on the agreement, the firms said Monday. 

  • September 15, 2025

    9th Circ. Says Ore. Water Rights Case Is Still Relevant

    The Ninth Circuit won't dismiss the Klamath Irrigation District's appeal over water releases from an Oregon lake as moot, saying a decision would provide relief by affecting how the scarce resource is allocated regardless of the federal government's new position on the application of the Endangered Species Act.

  • September 15, 2025

    V&E, Sullivan & Cromwell Build $6B Energy Industry Merger

    Sullivan & Cromwell LLP-advised independent energy company California Resources Corp. unveiled plans Monday to merge with upstream energy company Berry, led by Vinson & Elkins LLP, in an all-stock deal that values the combined company at an enterprise value of more than $6 billion.

  • September 12, 2025

    8th Circ. Pauses Challenges To Abandoned Climate Regs

    The Eighth Circuit on Friday said it would wait to rule on challenges to Biden-era climate disclosure rules that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has said it will no longer defend, giving the regulator time to decide what it wants to do with the rules.

  • September 12, 2025

    DOJ Says States Can't Reverse Grant Cuts In OMB Reg Fight

    The Trump administration urged a Massachusetts federal judge to throw out a suit brought by a score of states accusing it of misinterpreting an Office of Management and Budget regulation to slash thousands of grants, arguing they must seek relief in another forum.

  • September 12, 2025

    Feds Back Chevron And Exxon In High Court Pollution Case

    The Trump administration has backed Chevron and Exxon's U.S. Supreme Court bid to overturn a ruling that Louisiana courts should hear pollution lawsuits stemming from the companies' World War II-era oil production, saying their work clearly puts the litigation in federal court.

  • September 12, 2025

    Fed. Circ. Affirms PTAB's Slicing Of Fracking Patent Claims

    The Federal Circuit on Friday backed a Patent Trial and Appeal Board decision invalidating claims in a patent relating to hydraulic fracturing pump technology, finding that the tribunal had sufficient evidence supporting its conclusion that the claims were obvious.

  • September 12, 2025

    States, Tribes Say New Policy Warrants Ore. Dam Case Restart

    An Oregon federal judge granted a joint motion by two states, environmental groups and tribes to lift a five-year stay in a lawsuit over Columbia River Basin dams' hydropower practices and attempts to restore fisheries, following a Trump administration memo revoking a basin agreement.

  • September 12, 2025

    EPA To Spike Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Friday proposed repealing a 15-year-old program that requires power plants, fossil fuel and natural gas suppliers, and other facilities to report their greenhouse gas emissions, which the EPA said would save companies money.

  • September 12, 2025

    Chem Industry's Goals For Toxic Substance Law Face Hurdles

    The chemical industry is pushing to overhaul a federal toxic substances law to accelerate the approval of new products, but narrow party margins in Congress, compromises built into the law and environmental groups' opposition weigh heavily against them.

  • September 12, 2025

    DC Circ. Probes NLRB's Employee Criticism Protections

    A D.C. Circuit panel struggled Friday with the appropriate line for when an employee's public criticisms of their employer maintain protection under federal labor law as it weighed upholding a National Labor Relations Board ruling finding a Texas utility unlawfully fired a worker who testified before the state Senate.

  • September 12, 2025

    Trump Admin Asks Justices To Shut Down Climate Torts

    The Trump administration has urged the U.S. Supreme Court to put an end to climate change lawsuits brought by state and local governments against fossil fuel companies, arguing that such suits are barred by both the U.S. Constitution and Clean Air Act.

  • September 12, 2025

    Taxation With Representation: Felesky Flynn, Gibson, Kirkland

    In this week's Taxation With Representation, copper mining companies Anglo American and Teck Resources plan to merge, EchoStar agrees to sell spectrum licenses to SpaceX, and Diversified Energy acquires fellow energy operator Canvas.

  • September 12, 2025

    Magnesium Producer's DIP Rollup Denied Amid Enviro Row

    A Delaware bankruptcy judge on Friday rejected US Magnesium's request to roll up some $3 million in existing debt after the state of Utah argued that doing so would improperly grant a lender liens on unencumbered assets, saying the evidence didn't support approving the rollup so early in the Chapter 11 case.

  • September 12, 2025

    Insurer Says Demolition Co. Can't Pursue Damage Offset

    An insurer seeking to recoup $375,000 paid in connection with an implosion that damaged a policyholder's home asked a Pennsylvania state court to toss a demolition contractor's counterclaim for an offset of damages, saying the contractor attempted to improperly join a claim from a separate action.

  • September 12, 2025

    Calif. Court Refuses To Block Climate Reporting Rules, Again

    A California federal court judge would not bar two new state climate disclosure regulations while a coalition of business groups takes its bid for an injunction up to the Ninth Circuit, saying his perspective hasn't shifted since the groups' last injunction request. 

  • September 11, 2025

    Energy Giants Largely Defeat Climate Change RICO Suit

    A Puerto Rico federal judge on Thursday mostly threw out, for good, racketeering and antitrust claims accusing a slew of energy industry companies of misrepresenting the climate dangers of fossil fuel products in causing a pair of hurricanes, though she declined to throw out some of the claims with prejudice.

  • September 11, 2025

    SEC Sues Podcast Host, Others Over $82M In Securities Sales

    A trio of allegedly unregistered securities brokers, including a podcaster, are facing a suit from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, alleging they sold unregistered oil and gas securities at the behest of sponsors of the associated unregistered offerings, raising a combined $82 million in exchange for transaction-based compensation.

Expert Analysis

  • Foreign Countries Have Strong Foundation To Fill FCPA Void

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    Though the U.S. has paused enforcement of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, liberal democracies across the globe are well equipped to reverse any setback in anti-corruption enforcement, potentially heightening prosecution risk for companies headquartered in the U.S., says Stephen Kohn at Kohn Kohn.

  • How Attys Can Use A Therapy Model To Help Triggered Clients

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    Attorneys can lean on key principles from a psychotherapeutic paradigm known as the "Internal Family Systems" model to help manage triggered clients and get settlement negotiations back on track, says Jennifer Gibbs at Zelle.

  • 3 Steps For In-House Counsel To Assess Litigation Claims

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    Before a potential economic downturn, in-house attorneys should investigate whether their company is sitting on hidden litigation claims that could unlock large recoveries to help the business withstand tough times, says Will Burgess at Hilgers Graben.

  • Despite SEC Climate Pause, Cos. Must Still Heed State Regs

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    While businesses may have been given a reprieve from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's rules aimed at standardizing climate-related disclosures, they must still track evolving requirements in states including California, Illinois, New Jersey and New York that will soon require reporting of direct and indirect carbon emissions, say attorneys at Husch Blackwell.

  • Series

    Teaching College Students Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Serving as an adjunct college professor has taught me the importance of building rapport, communicating effectively, and persuading individuals to critically analyze the difference between what they think and what they know — principles that have helped to improve my practice of law, says Sheria Clarke at Nelson Mullins.

  • 5 Areas Contractors Should Watch After 1st 100 Days

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    Federal agencies and contractors face challenges from staff reductions, contract terminations, pending regulatory reform and other actions from the second Trump administration's first 100 days, but other areas stand to become more efficient and cost-effective, say attorneys at Thompson Hine.

  • Series

    Adapting To Private Practice: From DOJ Enviro To Mid-Law

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    Practitioners leaving a longtime government role for private practice — as when I departed the U.S. Department of Justice’s environmental enforcement division — should prioritize finding a firm that shares their principles, values their experience and will invest in their transition, says John Cruden at Beveridge & Diamond.

  • Why Trade Cases May Put Maple Leaf Deference On Review

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    When litigation challenging the president’s trade actions reaches the Federal Circuit, the court will have to reevaluate the Maple Leaf standard in light of the U.S. Supreme Court's 2024 Loper Bright decision limiting Chevron-like deference to cases involving statutory provisions in which Congress delegated discretionary authority to the executive branch, say attorneys at Wiley.

  • Key Questions When Mediating Environmental Disputes

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    As the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency implements dramatic regulatory changes, companies seeking to use mediation to manage increased risks and uncertainties around environmental liabilities should keep certain essential considerations in mind to help reach successful outcomes, says Edward Cohen at Thompson Coburn.

  • Trump DOE's Plan On AI Offers Challenges, Opportunities

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    The Trump administration's push to make federal land available for development of artificial intelligence data centers follows a similar Biden administration proposal — but a new request for information from the U.S. Department of Energy envisions a rapid timeline that may prove challenging for both the DOE and industry stakeholders, say attorneys at HWG.

  • Legal Ethics Considerations For Law Firm Pro Bono Deals

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    If a law firm enters into a pro bono deal with the Trump administration in exchange for avoiding or removing an executive order, it has an ethical obligation to create a written settlement agreement with specific terms, which would mitigate some potential conflict of interest problems, says Andrew Altschul at Buchanan Angeli.

  • Series

    Playing Football Made Me A Better Lawyer

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    While my football career ended over 15 years ago, the lessons the sport taught me about grit, accountability and resilience have stayed with me and will continue to help me succeed as an attorney, says Bert McBride at Trenam.

  • 10 Arbitrations And A 5th Circ. Ruling Flag Arb. Clause Risks

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    The ongoing arbitral saga of Sullivan v. Feldman, which has engendered proceedings before 10 different arbitrators in Texas and Louisiana along with last month's Fifth Circuit opinion, showcases both the risks and limitations of arbitration clauses in retainer agreements for resolving attorney-client disputes, says Christopher Blazejewski at Sherin and Lodgen.

  • How Trump Energy Order May Challenge State Climate Efforts

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    Even if the Trump administration's recent executive order targeting state and local environmental, climate and clean energy laws, regulations and programs doesn't result in successful legal challenges to state authority, the order could discourage state legislatures from taking further climate action, say attorneys at Foley Hoag.

  • EPA's Proposed GHG Reform Could Hinder Climate Regulation

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    The Trump administration will reconsider the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's landmark 2009 greenhouse gas endangerment finding, which could leave the U.S. federal government with no statutory authority whatsoever to regulate climate change or greenhouse gas emissions, says David Smith at Manatt.

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