Energy

  • July 24, 2025

    GAO Urges Energy Dept. Watchdog To Rethink Audit Division Costs

    A U.S. Department of Energy watchdog significantly underestimated how much it would cost to audit billions of dollars of inherently risky incurred cost contracts the department has awarded, according to the U.S. Government Accountability Office.

  • 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

    PREPA Bondholders Say Utility Swiped $2.9 Billion

    The electric utility for Puerto Rico on Wednesday defended itself in New York bankruptcy court from allegations that it had improperly spent its revenues, which the bondholders claim as collateral for $8.5 billion worth of bonds.

  • July 23, 2025

    DOE Nixes $4.9B Loan Commitment To Grain Belt Express

    The U.S. Department of Energy on Wednesday pulled the plug on its conditional commitment to a $4.9 billion loan guarantee for the first phase of the Grain Belt Express, a transmission line slated to cross parts of Kansas, Missouri, Illinois and Indiana.

  • 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

    Siemens Energy Failed To Cut Shoddy 401(k) Fund, Suit Says

    A Siemens Energy employee said the company cost workers millions in retirement savings by failing to trim an underperforming fund from its $3 billion retirement plan and by using forfeited funds to pay for its match obligations instead of plan fees, according to his Texas federal suit.

  • 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

    Feds Seek 15 Months For Lobbyist Over Madigan Scheme

    Federal prosecutors have urged an Illinois federal judge to sentence ex-ComEd lobbyist Jay Doherty to one year and three months in prison for his "critical role" in a scheme to bribe former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan, whose associates were paid as "subcontractors" under Doherty's lobbying contract with the utility even though they did little to no work.

  • 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

    CFTC Settles With Puerto Rico-Based Gas Futures Trader

    The Commodity Futures Trading Commission and a Puerto Rico-based natural gas futures trader on Wednesday announced that they had reached a settlement, ending the agency's suit alleging that the trader used nonpublic information to make profitable energy trades.

  • 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

    Feds Launch Forfeiture Suit For $7M In Fraud-Linked Crypto

    The acting U.S. attorney for the Western District of Washington said she is pushing for the forfeiture of about $7 million in cryptocurrency assets seized as part of an investigation into an oil and gas investment fraud scheme.

  • July 22, 2025

    EQT Investors' $167.5M Deal To End Merger Suit Gets 1st OK

    Investors in energy company EQT Corp. have gotten an initial green light for their $167.5 million settlement to end claims the company overstated the benefits of its $6.7 billion merger with Rice Energy, drawing what's purported to be the largest shareholder settlement in the Western District of Pennsylvania closer to a close.

  • July 22, 2025

    CFTC Denied Early Win In $185M Metals Fraud Suit

    A Texas federal judge has denied summary judgment to both the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and two individual defendants in a fraud suit that accuses them and their entities of ripping off more than 1,600, mostly elderly, investors and causing over $185 million in customer losses, setting the matter up for a potential trial.

  • 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.

  • July 22, 2025

    Judge Rejects Bondholder Claim Against Puerto Rico

    A New York federal judge found Tuesday the terms of Puerto Rico's debt restructuring plan bars holders of bonds issued by the island's public electric utility from lodging a claim against its government.

  • July 22, 2025

    Quantum Wants FTC To Lift Order On $5.2B Natural Gas Deal

    The Federal Trade Commission is asking for public feedback on a Quantum Energy Partners petition aiming to set aside a consent order the agency entered over a $5.2 billion deal that EQT Corp. struck with Quantum for oil and gas assets in Appalachia.

  • July 22, 2025

    Pa. Gas Cos. Sued Over Heater Explosion That Killed 6

    Natural gas from a leaking pipeline allegedly filled the basement of a suburban Pittsburgh home, fueling an explosion that leveled three houses and killed six people in 2023, according to lawsuits filed Tuesday by the families of three victims.

  • July 22, 2025

    Final OK Sought On Energy Co.'s $8.2M 401(k) Suit Deal

    A class of employees who participated in a Pennsylvania energy company's retirement plan have asked a federal judge to give final approval to an $8.2 million settlement resolving claims that the employees' 401(k) plans were mismanaged.

  • July 22, 2025

    Sable Aims To Sink Groups' Suit Over Calif. Oil Platforms

    Sable Offshore Corp. told a California federal judge that green groups didn't follow proper litigation notice rules, dooming their lawsuit alleging the federal government failed to require the company to update safety and pollution control plans at drilling facilities.

  • July 21, 2025

    Mining Co. Says Congo Lithium Deal Violates Arbitration Order

    Australian mining company AVZ Minerals Ltd. said Monday that a deal struck late last week between the Democratic Republic of the Congo and California-based KoBold Metals to develop part of a lucrative lithium mining project violates an order issued in its pending arbitration against the country.

  • July 21, 2025

    DC Circ. Urged To Leave FERC Project Approvals Alone

    Grid operator Southwest Power Pool Inc. urged the D.C. Circuit to deny utility petitions challenging the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's approval of four transmission projects developed by Kansas-based Sunflower Electric Power Corp.

  • July 21, 2025

    Energy Litigation To Watch In The 2nd Half Of 2025

    Courtroom showdowns between the Trump administration and blue states over U.S. energy and climate change policy will dominate the energy litigation landscape for the rest of 2025. Here is what the energy industry will be watching closely in the second half of the year.

  • July 21, 2025

    Ex-ComEd CEO Gets 2 Years For Burying Madigan Bribes

    The former CEO of Commonwealth Edison and later Exelon Utilities was sentenced to two years in prison Monday for a scheme to pay millions to associates of ex-Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan to secure his support for major energy legislation, and for hiding the nature of those payments to circumvent the company's internal accounting controls.

Expert Analysis

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • Cos. Face Convergence Of Anti-Terrorism Act, FCPA Risks

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    Recent moves by the U.S. Department of Justice to classify cartels and transnational criminal organizations as terrorist groups, and to use a range of statutes including the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act to pursue these types of targets, mean that companies operating in certain jurisdictions are now subject to overlapping exposure, say attorneys at Miller & Chevalier.

  • Nuclear Stakeholders Must Prepare For Cyber Threats

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    As the White House signals its support for a revival of nuclear power to supply the power needs of data centers and the artificial intelligence industry, investors and operators must keep in mind that safeguarding nuclear infrastructure from evolving cyber threats will be essential, say attorneys at A&O Shearman.

  • 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.

  • Challenging A Class Representative's Adequacy And Typicality

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    Recent cases highlight that a named plaintiff cannot certify a putative class action unless they can meet all the applicable requirements of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, so defendants should consider challenging a plaintiff's ability to meet typicality and adequacy requirements early and often, say attorneys at Womble Bond.

  • 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.

  • Opinion

    4 Former Justices Would Likely Frown On Litigation Funding

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    As courts increasingly confront cases involving hidden litigation finance contracts, the jurisprudence of four former U.S. Supreme Court justices establishes a constitutional framework that risks erosion by undisclosed financial interests, says Roland Eisenhuth at the American Property Casualty Insurance Association.

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