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Environmental

  • July 24, 2025

    Trump AI Push Runs Up Against Cost, Enviro Concerns

    President Donald Trump's push to rapidly build infrastructure for the booming artificial intelligence industry could drive up energy costs in markets supporting data center growth and even hit roadblocks if state and local governments resist new developments.

  • July 24, 2025

    Toxic Waste Site Owner Can't Sue After Guilty Plea, Court Told

    The estates of two former owners of a Georgia chemical company accused of dumping toxic waste at a disused plant asked a federal judge this week to throw out a suit from the current property owner, arguing its hands are far from clean in the site's contamination after its principal's 2022 guilty plea for illegal dumping.

  • July 24, 2025

    FERC Chair Bids Goodbye At Last Monthly Meeting

    Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Chairman Mark Christie presided over his final monthly open meeting on Thursday, after President Donald Trump nominated Vinson & Elkins LLP energy regulatory counsel Laura Swett to fill the Republican commissioner's seat.

  • July 24, 2025

    Bellwether Plaintiffs Want Redo Of GE Pollution Trial

    The plaintiffs in a bellwether pollution suit against General Electric Co. and a former subsidiary are asking for a new trial, arguing the jury should not have been able to find in the subsidiary's favor after it had admitted to responsibility in prior court filings.

  • July 24, 2025

    Conn. Water Cos. Want Judge To Toss Customer PFAS Cases

    The Connecticut Water Co. and Aquarion Water Co. on Thursday asked a Connecticut Superior Court judge to dismiss two consumer proposed class actions seeking cash damages for tap water allegedly contaminated with PFAS "forever chemicals," arguing the case should have been first considered by a state regulatory agency.

  • July 24, 2025

    Green Groups Cleared To Join EV Funding Freeze Challenge

    A Washington federal judge will let the Sierra Club and other environmental organizations enter a multistate lawsuit against the federal government seeking to preserve funding for new electric-vehicle charging infrastructure, concluding the groups have a significant interest in protecting the project funds.  

  • July 24, 2025

    Waste Management Unit Sues PE Fund Over Eviction Threat

    A Waste Management Inc. subsidiary accused its private equity fund landlord in Colorado state court of wrongfully threatening the company with eviction from its local large waste recycling facility in north Denver.

  • July 24, 2025

    Insurer Asks 4th Circ. To Nix $1.1M Roof Damage Verdict

    An insurer specializing in covering religious organizations asked the Fourth Circuit to set aside a $1.1 million jury verdict it faces over roof damage that a North Carolina church said was caused by snow, arguing the lower court's jury instructions adopted the wrong causation standard.

  • July 24, 2025

    Equitrans Charged Over 2-Week Gas Leak In Pennsylvania

    Pennsylvania Attorney General Dave Sunday on Thursday charged energy company Equitrans LP with failing to properly maintain a facility where natural gas leaked for 14 days into the air, ground and water, contaminating the nearby area and several neighboring states.

  • July 24, 2025

    Navy Takes Ariz. Border Land For Immigration Enforcement

    The U.S. Department of the Interior said it turned over about 285 acres of land along the border with Mexico to the U.S. Navy for three years so the military can set up an enforcement area as part of the Trump administration's efforts to prevent illegal immigration.

  • July 24, 2025

    CapVest Seeks $11.7B Stake In Stada, Plus More Rumors

    British private equity firm CapVest Partners is looking to take a major stake in German drugmaker Stada Arzneimittel in a roughly $11.7 billion deal, Comedy Central's "South Park" creators have nabbed a $1.5 billion five-year streaming rights deal with Paramount, and ExxonMobil wants to explore deepwater blocks in Trinidad and Tobago for oil and gas. Here, Law360 breaks down these and other deal rumors from the past week.

  • July 23, 2025

    Red Wolf Survival Relies On Redesignation, Judge Told

    A conservation lawyer told a North Carolina federal judge in a dueling motions hearing Wednesday the state's experimental population of red wolves is still imperiled, arguing in federal court that the government needs to take another look at a petition to grant the wolves tighter protections.

  • July 23, 2025

    Enviro Groups Slam FAA For SpaceX Review Shortcuts

    The Federal Aviation Administration knew SpaceX's plans to restore migratory birds' coastal habitats in the event of an explosion at its Boca Chica, Texas, launch site were inadequate, but allowed the company to bypass a full environmental impact statement nonetheless, environmental groups said Wednesday in D.C. federal court.

  • July 23, 2025

    North Carolina AG Defends Power To Pursue PFAS Suit

    North Carolina Attorney General Jeff Jackson on Wednesday urged a state court judge not to dismiss his long-running lawsuit against DuPont spinoffs over groundwater contamination from forever chemicals, saying lawmakers have not revoked his power to continue pursuing the case.

  • July 23, 2025

    ICJ Puts Reparations On The Table In Climate Change Case

    The International Court of Justice on Wednesday delivered its long-awaited advisory opinion on governments' obligations with respect to climate change, issuing a rare, unanimous decision that opens the door for nations harmed by human-caused greenhouse gas emissions to seek reparations.

  • July 23, 2025

    Trump Wins 9th Circ. Block On Order Providing Reorg Plans

    The Ninth Circuit greenlighted the Trump administration's request to pause a lower court ruling requiring the government to turn over its layoff and reorganization plans in the case disputing whether the president can lawfully reshape federal agencies without congressional approval.

  • July 23, 2025

    FWS Wrongly Approved Bird-Harming Pesticide, Judge Says

    A North Carolina judge on Wednesday revoked the federal government's approval of a pesticide that is toxic to birds for use as an algal bloom control measure at a lake in a wildlife refuge, saying regulators bungled the environmental review.

  • July 23, 2025

    SEC Asks 8th Circ. To Rule On Abandoned Climate Regs

    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission asked the Eighth Circuit on Wednesday to decide the fate of Biden-era climate disclosure rules that the agency has said it will no longer defend against challenges brought by Republican-led states and business interests.

  • July 23, 2025

    7th Circ. Revives Part Of Solar Firm's Panama Grid Suit

    The Seventh Circuit on Tuesday largely upheld an Illinois federal judge's ruling that Spanish energy company Avanzalia Solar could not pursue its claims that Goldwind Americas blocked and delayed access to the Panamanian power grid.

  • July 23, 2025

    No New General Causation Opinions In Camp Lejeune Case

    A North Carolina federal judge is limiting the scope of expert opinions in the consolidated litigation over water contamination at Camp Lejeune, saying the plaintiffs' specific causation experts can refer to prior general causation opinions but cannot introduce new general causation opinions.

  • July 23, 2025

    Trump Publishes AI 'Action Plan' With 90 Policy Proposals

    In an effort to secure America's leadership in artificial intelligence, the Trump administration released a blueprint Wednesday outlining ideas to accelerate innovation, modernize infrastructure and foster international collaboration while safeguarding national security.

  • July 23, 2025

    5th Circ. Finds Enclave Doctrine Blocks Asbestos Claims

    The Fifth Circuit has held that the federal enclave doctrine blocks the bulk of a military family's claims in a suit alleging their housing at Randolph Air Force Base had mold and asbestos, while affirming a $91,000 damages award against the housing managers.

  • July 22, 2025

    5th Circ. Asks If Fishery Council Guidance Was Ratified

    A Fifth Circuit panel pushed multiple commercial fisheries to explain how the adoption of fishing limit recommendations from a council would not count as a ratification and clear constitutional hurdles, saying during oral arguments on Tuesday that the council in question seemingly made a "bottom up data recommendation."

  • July 22, 2025

    Gov'ts, Tribes Look To Settle Idaho Mining Pollution Suit

    The U.S. government, Idaho and a tribal nation are asking a federal judge to approve an unopposed settlement with a phosphate ore mining company over its alleged dumping of hazardous substances within a national forest.

  • July 22, 2025

    Power Cos., PJM Back FERC Auction Rerun Decision

    Power producers and PJM Interconnection LLC told the D.C. Circuit Monday the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission was right to let PJM rerun an electricity capacity auction with an inflated reliability requirement after the Third Circuit ruled changes to it were retroactive ratemaking.

Expert Analysis

  • Trump Air Emissions Carveouts Cloud The Regulatory Picture

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    President Donald Trump's new proclamations temporarily exempting key U.S. industries from air toxics standards, issued under a narrow, rarely-used provision of the Clean Air Act, will likely lead to legal challenges and tighter standards in some states, contributing to further regulatory uncertainty, say attorneys at GableGotwals.

  • How Property Insurers Serve As Climate Change Harbingers

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    Thomas Dawson at McDermott discusses the role that U.S. property insurers may play in identifying and assessing climate risk, as well as in financing climate change adaptation projects, in light of global warming and shifting geopolitical realities.

  • Series

    Playing Baseball Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Playing baseball in college, and now Wiffle ball in a local league, has taught me that teamwork, mental endurance and emotional intelligence are not only important to success in the sport, but also to success as a trial attorney, says Kevan Dorsey at Swift Currie.

  • Managing Risks As State AGs Seek To Fill Enforcement Gap

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    Given an unprecedented surge in state attorney general activity resulting from significant shifts in federal enforcement priorities, companies must consider tailored strategies for navigating the ever-evolving risk landscape, say attorneys at Cozen O'Connor.

  • A Deep Dive Into 14 Nixed Gensler-Era SEC Rule Proposals

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    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission last month formally withdrew 14 notices of proposed rulemaking, including several significant and widely criticized proposals that had been issued under former Chair Gary Gensler's leadership, signaling a clear and definitive shift away from the previous administration, say attorneys at Dechert.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: Skillful Persuasion

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    In many ways, law school teaches us how to argue, but when the ultimate goal is to get your client what they want, being persuasive through preparation and humility is the more likely key to success, says Michael Friedland at Friedland Cianfrani.

  • A Look At Trump 2.0 Antitrust Enforcement So Far

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    The first six months of President Donald Trump's second administration were marked by aggressive antitrust enforcement tempered by traditional structural remedies for mergers, but other unprecedented actions, like the firing of Federal Trade Commission Democrats, will likely stoke heated discussion ahead, says Richard Dagen at Axinn.

  • Litigation Inspiration: How To Respond After A Loss

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    Every litigator loses a case now and then, and the sting of that loss can become a medicine that strengthens or a poison that corrodes, depending on how the attorney responds, says Bennett Rawicki at Hilgers Graben.

  • Tips For Cos. From California Climate Reporting FAQ

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    New guidance from the California Air Resources Board on how businesses must implement the state's sweeping climate reporting requirements should help companies assess their exposure, understand their disclosure obligations and begin documenting good-faith compliance efforts, says Thierry Montoya at Frost Brown.

  • What Calif. Insurance Ruling Means For Smoke Damage Limits

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    As California continues to grapple with an increasing number of wildfire claims, a state court's recent Aliff v. California FAIR Plan decision serves as a clear directive to insurers that policy language that narrows the scope of fire coverage below the California Insurance Code's minimum standards is impermissible, say attorneys at Wood Smith.

  • The Metamorphosis Of The Major Questions Doctrine

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    The so-called major questions doctrine arose as a counterweight to Chevron deference over the past few decades, but invocations of the doctrine have persisted in the year since Chevron was overturned, suggesting it still has a role to play in reining in agency overreach, say attorneys at Crowell & Moring.

  • Series

    Playing Mah-Jongg Makes Me A Better Mediator

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    Mah-jongg rewards patience, pattern recognition, adaptability and keen observation, all skills that are invaluable to my role as a mediator, and to all mediating parties, says Marina Corodemus.

  • Calif. Air Waivers Fight Fuels Automakers', States' Uncertainty

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    The unprecedented attempt by Congress and the Trump administration to kill the Clean Air Act waivers supporting California's vehicle emissions standards will eventually end up in the U.S. Supreme Court — but meanwhile, vehicle manufacturers, and states following California's standards, are left in limbo, says John Watson at Spencer Fane.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: Navigating Client Trauma

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    Law schools don't train students to handle repeated exposure to clients' traumatic experiences, but for litigators practicing in areas like civil rights and personal injury, success depends on the ability to view cases clinically and to recognize when you may need to seek help, says Katie Bennett at Robins Kaplan.

  • Lawsuit, Exec Orders Should Boost Small Modular Reactors

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    A lawsuit in Texas federal court and a set of new executive orders from the White House may finally push the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission to allow for accelerated deployment of small modular reactors — a technology that could change the country's energy future, says Aleksey Shtivelman at Shutts & Bowen.

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