Energy

April 30, 2013
Fracking Not Behind Methane Contamination, Pa. DEP Says

After a 16-month investigation, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection announced Monday that hydraulic fracturing for natural gas by WPX Energy Inc. in the northeast corner of the state was not responsible for methane contamination in three private water wells in the area.
February 25, 2013
Shine Might Be Off Alt Fee Arrangements, GC Survey Shows

A significantly smaller percentage of in-house counsel used some form of alternative legal fee structures last year, according to a new legal survey from Fulbright & Jaworski LLP that defied previous years' upward trends and more vocal criticism in recent years of the billable hour.
February 25, 2013
GCs Brace For More Whistleblower Suits

The percentage of in-house counsel expecting an increase in whistleblower suits hit a three-year high in 2012, as companies braced for more tipsters to come forward under a potent new Dodd-Frank Act program, according to a survey released Tuesday by Fulbright & Jaworski LLP.
February 25, 2013
In-House Teams Expand To Keep Pace With More Suits, Probes

Corporations beefed up their legal departments in 2012 and expect to do the same this year, according to a new report, with mounting regulatory challenges and abundant litigation combining to boost the need for in-house expertise.
February 25, 2013
GCs Rate Fixed Fees Best Bang For Their Buck

In-house corporate lawyers last year rated fixed-fee legal pricing the most effective alternative fee model to the straight billable hour, according to an annual Fulbright & Jaworski LLP survey released Tuesday.
February 15, 2013
GCs Name Cream Of The Crop Litigators

Corporate counsel singled out nearly 100 litigators as the most client service-driven in their field thanks to their innate ability to deliver solid outcomes, effectively communicate litigation strategy and prioritize their clients' business interests.
February 6, 2013
Oil, Gas Systems Rank 2nd In GHGs From Facilities, EPA Says

Oil and natural gas systems are the second-biggest source of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions from large facilities, trailing only power plants, according to data published by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Tuesday.
February 4, 2013
Fracking A Slice Of Pa. Industrial Air Pollution, DEP Says

The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection on Friday pegged the state's natural gas operations at 4 percent of its 2011 industrial air pollution, a sliver of the 72 percent created by power plants, according to its first natural gas emissions review.
December 5, 2012
DOE Study Gives Thumbs-Up To Increased LNG Exports

The U.S. Department of Energy on Wednesday released a long-awaited study recommending the wider export of liquefied natural gas, potentially paving the way for the regulatory approval of 15 pending LNG export facility applications.
October 5, 2012
Utica Shale Has 38 Trillion Cubic Feet Of Gas, US Says

The fossil-fuel rich Utica Shale in the eastern U.S., located partly in Pennsylvania, has roughly 38 trillion cubic feet of undiscovered, technically recoverable natural gas, according to an initial resource assessment by the U.S. Geological Survey released Thursday.
September 13, 2012
Ncondezi Puts $2B Price Tag On African Power Project

Ncondezi Coal Co. Ltd. notified investors Thursday that it will need to find a deep-pocketed equity partner to help finance the 1,800-megawatt coal-fired power plant it wants to add to its planned Mozambique thermal coal mine, which it estimated will cost $2.25 billion.
September 11, 2012
Cash Grant Expiration Fueling Solar Boomlet, Attys Say

The U.S. installed twice as much new solar capacity in 2012 as it did last year, according to a Monday report, but attorneys think that figure — inflated by the rush to meet a 2011 deadline for government project grants — will be relatively short-lived.
August 31, 2012
4 Firms Feared Most By In-House Counsel

When dealing with high-stakes litigation, there are four top-notch firms that in-house counsel dread seeing on the other side of the courtroom, according to a new survey of corporate counsel.
August 30, 2012
Probe Finds No Improprieties In DOE Law Firm Hires

The U.S. Department of Energy's internal watchdog didn't discover anything inappropriate in the way the agency hired law firms to help with loan guarantee applications, but recommended greater transparency throughout the process, a report released Thursday said.
August 7, 2012
Study Links Texas Earthquakes To Fracking Disposal Wells

A University of Texas study released Monday suggests earthquakes caused by oil and gas development in Texas are more common than previously recognized, fueling the national debate about how to regulate possible environmental, health and safety risks posed by drilling activities.
July 20, 2012
Brazilian Regulator Slams Chevron For 2011 Spill

Brazilian regulators on Friday said an oil leak at Chevron Corp.'s offshore well in 2011 was 45,000 gallons larger than previously estimated, criticizing the oil giant for procedural lapses that could land it up to $25 million in fines on top of the two $11 billion lawsuits it is facing over the spill.
July 16, 2012
FCA Recoveries On Steep Rise To Record Highs, Report Says

Riding a sharply rising tide of enforcement, recoveries under the False Claims Act will likely hit record highs in 2012, with most imminent claims likely to come from the health care industry, according to a report issued Thursday by Gibson Dunn & Crutcher LLP.
July 9, 2012
NY AG Frets As ConEd Labor Dispute Rolls On

Consolidated Edison Co. of New York Inc. would not likely be able to handle a massive, storm-triggered outage after locking out 8,500 union workers, the state's attorney general said Monday, wading into the benefits dispute as the parties continue to duke it out in court.
June 29, 2012
Law360's Global 20 Firms Open Up New Frontiers

For the second year in a row, Law360 has selected and ranked the 20 law firms with the greatest global reach and expertise.
June 22, 2012
GCs Name Rolls Royce Of Law Firms

A new report based on interviews with corporate counsel has identified the eighteen law firms with the strongest brands in the legal market.

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Expert Analysis

Rise Of The Machines — Predictive Coding Goes Mainstream

The pros of using predictive coding far outweigh the cons. Given the heavy pressure on law firms and in-house counsel to reduce discovery costs, as well as the Justice Department's recent stance on the subject, it appears predictive coding will continue to emerge from the obscure world of legal technology to the mainstream of legal practice, say Michael Moscato and Myles Bartley of Curtis Mallet-Prevost Colt & Mosle LLP.
The Oil And Gas Operator's Texas Advantage

The interpretation by the Supreme Court of Texas in Reeder v. Wood County Energy LLC grants vast protection to oil and gas operators, but by doing so, it is perceived by some as muddling the differences between tort and contract law, says Michael Bolton and Kate Kalanick of Faegre Baker Daniels LLP.
4th Circ. Weighs In On Bona Fide Purchaser Defense

The Fourth Circuit recently issued a ruling in PCS Nitrogen Inc. v. Ashley II of Charleston that may limit the availability of the bona fide prospective purchaser defense. By narrowly construing one of the elements of the BFPP defense, the court has underscored the importance of strict compliance with all requirements of the defense, say attorneys with K&L Gates LLP.
Another Challenge To Calif. Cap-And-Trade Law

The California Air Resources Board has again been sued over its implementation of the Global Warming Solutions Act in Morning Star Packing Co., et al. v. CARB, which resembles an earlier action brought by the California Chamber of Commerce. Petitioners of both cases face the difficult challenge of convincing the court to derail a massive regulatory scheme that is now well underway, say attorneys with Marten Law PLLC.
The Who, What And Why Of Public-Private Partnerships

Public-private partnerships have been used in a wide range of sectors to provide public services, from power plants and railroads to hospitals and sanitation plants. Yet there are a variety of potential contractual arrangements and the financing of a PPP can be complex, say Maryam Khosharay and Herbert Glaser of Haynes and Boone LLP.
Latest In EPA's Series Of Aggressive Coal Plant Rules

Recently, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced proposed technology-based effluent limitation guidelines and standards for steam electric power-generating units. These guidelines will certainly impose significant costs, and when coupled with the cost of the EPA’s rules under the Clean Air Act, there can be little question that some coal-fired facilities will close as a result, say attorneys with Latham & Watkins LLP.
E-Discovery In The Cloud: Who Can Get Your Data?

Many lawyers are asking whether placing electronically stored information in the cloud could inadvertently waive the attorney-client privilege and whether the government or a civil litigant could obtain ESI directly from a cloud service provider. In answering these questions, there are a number of aspects of the cloud worth considering, say Timothy Broas and Matthew Saxon of Winston & Strawn LLP.
5 Reasons For Optimism In The Venture Capital Community

Not every company can be the next Facebook. But thankfully, for many startups, generating one billion users is not the end goal, nor should it be. Enter “narrowcasting” — one of a few reasons to be optimistic about venture capital, despite the first quarter of 2013 being the slowest for fundraising since 2002, says David Kaufman of Thompson Coburn LLP.
Pros And Cons Of Recent Renewable Energy Bill

While the recently introduced bill permitting renewable energy projects to use a master limited partnership structure seems like good policy, there is concern that opening the MLP franchise to projects without a strong track record of producing steady cash flows could result in failed projects and cast a pall over the entire investment category, say attorneys with Sidley Austin LLP.
Flaws In NY Court's Ruling Of Recent Natural Gas Cases

Recently, a New York appellate court upheld lower court decisions in Norse Energy Corp. USA v. Town of Dryden and Cooperstown Holstein Corp. v. Town of Middlefield, which found municipal bans on natural gas development to be a valid exercise of home rule. There are a number of reasons, however, that the court should have instead overturned these decisions, says Yvonne Hennessey of Hiscock & Barclay LLP.

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