Environmental

  • June 24, 2025

    Wash. Judge Blocks Trump Admin's EV Charging Funds Freeze

    A Seattle federal judge Tuesday issued a preliminary injunction blocking the Trump administration from withholding funds for electric vehicle charging infrastructure projects in 14 states, but stopped short of applying it to two other states and Washington, D.C., and stayed the order to give the administration time to appeal.

  • June 24, 2025

    State AGs Sue Trump Admin To Stop Billions In Grant Cuts

    A coalition of 21 states and the District of Columbia filed suit Tuesday in Massachusetts federal court, accusing the Trump administration of unlawfully using a single clause "buried in federal regulations" to nix billions of dollars in federal grant funding to the states.

  • June 24, 2025

    5th Circ. Says EPA Ignored Cos. To Push Efficiency Testing Rule

    The Fifth Circuit has thrown out part of a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency rule for determining measures for fuel efficiency, finding Tuesday that the agency used a faulty methodology to justify tightening standards and outright ignored comments when creating the rule.

  • June 24, 2025

    NC Senate Backs $700M Boost For Hurricane Helene Recovery

    The North Carolina Senate has signed off on a proposal to allocate another $700 million to the state's Hurricane Helene Disaster Recovery Fund, including $75 million for road and bridge repairs and $70 million to meet Federal Emergency Management Agency's state matching requirements.

  • June 24, 2025

    Ohio Derailment Deal Admin Wants Explanation For Ouster

    The ex-administrator of Norfolk Southern's $600 million settlement with the people and businesses of East Palestine, Ohio, is asking a federal court to share why it was terminated, saying in filings Monday that the company had no idea the plaintiffs' counsel were going to ask for a new administrator.

  • June 24, 2025

    Green Group Sues Forest Service Over NH Logging Project

    A green group on Monday asked a New Hampshire federal court to strike down the U.S. Forest Service's approval of a White Mountain National Forest logging project that the group said didn't get the proper environmental review.

  • June 24, 2025

    Alaska Must Challenge Tribe's Gaming Hall In Home State

    The state of Alaska must challenge federal approval for an Alaska Native tribe's gaming hall on its home turf and not in Washington, D.C., a D.C. federal judge ruled.

  • June 24, 2025

    Pollution Exclusion Applies Without Exception, AIG Unit Says

    An AIG unit urged the Illinois Supreme Court to find that a permit or regulation allowing a company to discharge toxins into the environment has no bearing on the application of a pollution exclusion, saying "pollution is pollution" regardless of government authorization.

  • June 24, 2025

    Honeywell, DuPont Say Firefighters' PFAS Suit Falls Short

    Honeywell, DuPont and other companies on Monday asked a Connecticut federal judge to toss a group of firefighters' lawsuit over alleged exposure to dangerous levels of forever chemicals, saying there's no legal support for the claims.

  • June 23, 2025

    GOP Plan For Merging Agencies Faces Reckoning, And Alarm

    The Senate parliamentarian has given a thumbs-down to a Republican budget proposal that would allow President Donald Trump to unilaterally eliminate agencies through mergers and consolidation, adding to what experts say are a host of problems with the little-noticed provision.

  • June 23, 2025

    Trump Admin Rescinds Clinton-Era 'Roadless' Logging Rule

    U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke L. Rollins announced Monday that she was rescinding the longstanding "Roadless Rule" limiting the number of roads built in national forests, calling the 2001 rule "outdated," contrary to the "will of Congress" and an obstacle to "common sense management of our natural resources."

  • June 23, 2025

    Monsanto Settles With Families After 11th Seattle PCB Trial

    Monsanto settled a tort case on Monday brought by 22 people who claim that they were poisoned by chemicals known as PCBs at a Washington school, ending jury deliberations following a nine-week trial in state court.

  • June 23, 2025

    Permit Delays Out Of Hand, Telecom Biz Tells Interior Dept.

    Telecom providers are still having a tough time getting federal permits approved for broadband projects, with the Bureau of Land Management causing severe delays, the industry's main trade group told the U.S. Department of the Interior.

  • June 23, 2025

    Green Groups Urge DOI To Force Companies To Plug Wells

    Conservation groups on Monday urged the Trump administration to block oil and gas companies with unplugged wells and inactive platforms from securing new offshore drilling rights, accusing the government of letting the companies use the ocean as their junkyard.

  • June 23, 2025

    NY Tribe Says Feds Ignore Public Health In Sanitation Fight

    The Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe has asked a New York federal court to order the Indian Health Service to turn over its authority to maintain sanitation facilities to the tribe, arguing that part of the IHS's public health mission is to ensure clean water and functioning sewage systems.

  • June 23, 2025

    Apache Nonprofit Asks Justices For Rehearing In Mining Row

    An Apache nonprofit is urging the U.S. Supreme Court to reconsider a decision to deny its petition that looked to block the transfer of nearly 2,500 acres to an Arizona copper mining company, arguing the outcome of a case now before the justices could sway their analysis.

  • June 23, 2025

    NJ Justices Greenlight Renewed Bid For Roundup Mass Tort

    The New Jersey Supreme Court has granted a renewed application for lawsuits against Monsanto Co. and its parent company, Bayer AG, alleging injuries from exposure to the company's weed killer Roundup to be designated as multicounty litigation, according to a Monday notice to the bar.

  • June 23, 2025

    Kennedys Expands With Litigators In Philly, Midwest

    Kennedys Law LLP expanded its litigation team with the recent addition to its offices in Philadelphia and Chicago of four attorneys specializing in liability, insurance and cybersecurity.

  • June 23, 2025

    Coal Processing Co. Admits To Bypassing Pollution Controls

    The now-defunct Erie Coke Corp. has pled guilty to criminal violations of the Clean Air Act at its former lakefront facility, federal prosecutors have announced.

  • June 20, 2025

    Science Research Funding Cuts Blocked By Mass. Judge

    A Massachusetts federal judge Friday prohibited the Trump administration from cutting certain National Science Foundation research funding associated with facilities and administrative costs, ruling that the policy runs afoul of multiple laws and the government hasn't adequately explained its reasoning.

  • June 20, 2025

    San Antonio Pushes To Repair Park Amid Tribal Dispute

    The city of San Antonio has asked the Fifth Circuit to lift a stay on a tribal appeal after the Texas Supreme Court answered a question about a state law addressing religious practices, arguing that the high court's opinion rules out two Native Americans' claims.

  • June 20, 2025

    EPA Told To Explain Its Crop-Based Fuel Standards

    The D.C. Circuit on Friday returned a mixed opinion on challenges from green groups to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's 2023-2025 renewable fuel standards, upholding the agency's volume-setting process but ruling that its climate change analysis was arbitrary and capricious under the Clean Air Act.

  • June 20, 2025

    2nd Circ. Backs Chubb's Win In $49M Sandy Coverage Fight

    The Second Circuit on Friday cemented a Chubb unit's win in a decade-long dispute over a chocolatier's bid for an additional $49 million in coverage for Superstorm Sandy losses, affirming a decision denying the chocolatier's requests to set aside a jury verdict or hold a new trial.

  • June 20, 2025

    Ga. County Seeks Extension Of Feds' Sewer Update Deadline

    Georgia's DeKalb County has again asked a federal judge for more time to come into compliance with a federal consent decree requiring it to upgrade its sewer systems, arguing that recent assessments of the project have made the decree's timeline "substantially more onerous."

  • June 20, 2025

    Mich. Says Feds Can't Block AG's Climate Tort Suit

    The Trump administration's lawsuit to block Michigan from suing fossil fuel companies for climate harms is based on guesswork about a hypothetical lawsuit and should be dismissed, Michigan argued Friday.

Expert Analysis

  • Strategies To Help Witnesses Manage Deposition Anxiety

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    During and leading up to deposition, witnesses may experience anxiety stemming from numerous sources and manifesting in a variety of ways, but attorneys can help them mitigate their stress using a few key methods, say consultants at Courtroom Sciences.

  • How Cos. Can Mitigate Increasing Microplastics Liability Risk

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    Amid rising scrutiny in the U.S. and Europe of microplastics' impact on health and the growing threat of litigation against consumer product and food and beverage manufacturers, companies can limit liability through compliance with labeling laws, careful contract management and other practices, say attorneys at Rogers Joseph.

  • Strategizing For Renewable Energy Project Success In Texas

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    The Electric Reliability Council of Texas has long been a key market for renewable energy projects, but rising financial and regulatory uncertainty means that developers and investors must prepare for inflation and policy risks, secure robust insurance coverage, and leverage tax equity transferability to ensure success, say attorneys at McDermott.

  • A Cold War-Era History Lesson On Due Process

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    The landmark Harry Bridges case from the mid-20th century Red Scare offers important insights on why lawyers must be free of government reprisal, no matter who their client is, says Peter Afrasiabi at One LLP.

  • How Latin American Finance Markets May Shift Under Trump

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    Changes in the federal government are bringing profound implications for Latin American financial institutions and cross-border financing, including increased competition from U.S. banks, volatility in equity markets and stable green investor demand despite deregulation in the U.S., says David Contreiras Tyler at Womble Bond.

  • Series

    Improv Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Improv keeps me grounded and connected to what matters most, including in my legal career where it has helped me to maintain a balance between being analytical, precise and professional, and creative, authentic and open-minded, says Justine Gottshall at InfoLawGroup.

  • How BigLaw Executive Orders May Affect Smaller Firms

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    Because of the types of cases they take on, solo practitioners, small law firms and public interest attorneys may find themselves more dramatically affected by the collective impact of recent government action involving the legal industry than even the BigLaw firms named in the executive orders, says Reuben Guttman at Guttman Buschner.

  • Opinion

    Lawsuits Shouldn't Be Shadow Assets For Foreign Capital

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    Third-party litigation financing amplifies inefficiencies from litigation and facilitates national exposure to foreign influence in the U.S. justice system, so full disclosure of financing arrangements should be required as a matter of institutional integrity, says Roland Eisenhuth at the American Property Casualty Insurance Association.

  • How To Accelerate Your Post-Attorney Career Transition

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    Professionals seeking to transition to nonattorney careers may encounter skepticism as nontraditional candidates, but there are opportunities for thought leadership and to leverage speaking and writing to accelerate a post-attorney career transition, say Janet Falk at Falk Communications and Evgeny Efremkin at Toronto Metropolitan University.

  • Key Takeaways From The 2025 Spring Antitrust Meeting

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    Leadership changes, shifting priorities and evolving enforcement tools dominated the conversation at the recent American Bar Association Spring Antitrust Meeting, as panelists explored competition policy under a second Trump administration, agency discretion under the 2023 merger guidelines and new frontiers in conduct enforcement, say attorneys at Freshfields.

  • What PFAS-Treated Clothing Tariff Bill Would Mean For Cos.

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    In keeping with a nationwide trend of greater restrictions on per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, legislation pending in the U.S. House of Representatives would remove tariff advantages for PFAS-treated clothing — so businesses would be wise to proactively adapt their supply chains and review contracts to mitigate liability, say attorneys at Alston & Bird.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: Be An Indispensable Associate

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    While law school teaches you to research, write and think critically, it often overlooks the professional skills you will need to make yourself an essential team player when transitioning from a summer to full-time associate, say attorneys at Stinson.

  • What 2nd Trump Admin Means For Ship Pollution Compliance

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    As the second Trump administration's civil and criminal enforcement policies take shape, the maritime industry must ensure it complies with both national and international obligations to prevent oil pollution from seagoing vessels — with preventive efforts and voluntary disclosures being some of the best options for mitigating risk, say attorneys at Holland & Knight.

  • Mass. AG Emerges As Key Player In Consumer Protection

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    Through enforcement actions and collaborations with other states — including joining a recent amicus brief decrying the defunding of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau — Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell has established herself as a thought leader for consumer protection and corporate accountability, say attorneys at Troutman Pepper.

  • Series

    Birding Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Observing and documenting birds in their natural habitats fosters patience, sharpens observational skills and provides moments of pure wonder — qualities that foster personal growth and enrich my legal career, says Allison Raley at Arnall Golden.

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