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Environmental
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April 22, 2024
Oregon Judge Won't Delay Youth Climate Trial
An Oregon federal judge denied the U.S. Department of Justice's 14th request to pause a suit filed by young people claiming their rights are being violated by federal policies that are worsening climate change, and also told the Ninth Circuit to reject the agency's latest attempted appeal in the long-running litigation.
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April 22, 2024
Steptoe & Johnson Adds Securities Duo In Oklahoma
Steptoe & Johnson PLLC has announced the hiring of two experienced securities attorneys from regional firm Conner & Winters LLP to its corporate and mergers and acquisitions practice in its Oklahoma City office.
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April 22, 2024
Prosecutors, Pols And Partners Among Pa. AG Hopefuls
Two district attorneys, two state lawmakers and partners from Montgomery McCracken Walker & Rhoads LLP and Curtin & Heefner LLP are among the attorneys hoping voters will give them a shot at succeeding Michelle Henry as Pennsylvania's attorney general.
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April 22, 2024
Catching Up With Delaware's Chancery Court
Last week, Delaware's Chancery Court news included a Tesla announcement about moving to Texas, a midcase appeal of Tripadvisor's move to Nevada, and United Airlines' escape from a stockholder suit. Disputes about board entrenchment, squeeze-out mergers, co-founder fallouts and deadly ice cream moved ahead.
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April 22, 2024
Latham-Led GEF Capital Closes $325M Climate-Focused Fund
Latham & Watkins LLP-advised climate change- and pollution mitigation-focused private equity firm GEF Capital Partners on Monday announced that it clinched its second climate solutions fund above target with $325 million in tow.
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April 19, 2024
Real Estate Authority: Small Bank Loans, ULI, Lunar Housing
Law360 Real Estate Authority covers the most important real estate deals, litigation, policies and trends. Catch up on this week's key developments by state — as well as on the rising regulatory focus on small-bank commercial real estate loans, takeaways from the Urban Land Institute's Reslience Summit, and an architect's guide to lunar housing.
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April 19, 2024
DOI Bans New Mining Claims On 4,200 Acres Of NM Land
The U.S. Department of the Interior has closed down any new mining claims for the next 50 years on 4,200 acres in Sandoval County, New Mexico, in an effort to protect the area with significant cultural ties to two Native American tribes.
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April 19, 2024
Flint Class Urges Approval Of $25M Water Firm Settlement
A proposed class of 45,000 Flint, Michigan, property owners, businesses and adult residents on Friday urged a Michigan federal court to give the go-ahead to a $25 million settlement with Veolia North America, the last remaining engineering defendant in sprawling litigation over the city's water crisis.
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April 19, 2024
Enviro Groups Say Federal Plan Threatens At-Risk Bats
A coalition of environmental groups sued the U.S. Forest Service and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on Thursday in North Carolina federal court alleging that a plan to allow logging in the Nantahala and Pisgah national forests will harm endangered bats on the brink of extinction.
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April 19, 2024
NY Nixes Power Deals With Trio Of Offshore Wind Projects
New York officials on Friday said they wouldn't offer power contracts to a trio of offshore wind projects, the latest setback for the Empire State in efforts to make offshore wind a key component of its clean energy future.
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April 19, 2024
Biden Administration Sharply Limits Drilling In Alaska Arctic
The Biden administration on Friday issued new restrictions on oil and gas leasing across vast swathes of Alaska's Arctic while simultaneously ruling out construction of a controversial road state officials proposed to access mining areas in sensitive wilderness.
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April 19, 2024
Pa. AG Charges Shell With Hiding Pipeline Pollution Spills
Pennsylvania Attorney General Michelle Henry announced Friday that she has charged a Shell subsidiary in state court, saying the company did not tell the state's Department of Environmental Protection about pollution problems it encountered while building a 45-mile pipeline in the Keystone State.
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April 19, 2024
Fla. Solar Panel CEO Can Be Sued In Mich., Judge Says
A Michigan federal judge ruled Thursday that a Florida resident and former CEO of a solar panel company must face racketeering claims in Michigan alongside the company for allegedly scamming customers because he used to own property in the state and lived there during the alleged scheme.
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April 19, 2024
Arnold & Porter Atty Returns To Greenberg Traurig In Calif.
Greenberg Traurig LLP has rehired a former associate from Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer LLP whose practice focuses on a range of environmental litigation dealing with cancer-causing chemicals, plastic pollutants and the laws surrounding their regulation.
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April 19, 2024
EPA Says 2 'Forever Chemicals' Are Hazardous Substances
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Friday officially declared two "forever chemicals" to be hazardous materials under federal law, which could bring a host of consequences for Superfund site cleanups and development projects.
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April 19, 2024
UK Litigation Roundup: Here's What You Missed In London
This past week in London has seen U.K. holiday resort chain Butlins target Aviva and a huddle of insurers, Meta and WhatsApp tackle a patents claim by telecommunications company Semitel, an ongoing construction dispute between Essex County Council and Balfour Beatty, and Formycon AG hit a pharmaceutical company for infringing medical products. Here, Law360 looks at these and other new claims in the U.K.
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April 18, 2024
Nuke Power Plant Owner Says NY Can't Bar Water Discharges
The owner of the shuttered Indian Point nuclear power plant sued the state of New York on Thursday, alleging a law banning discharges of radioactive materials into the Hudson River unlawfully infringes on the federal government's authority.
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April 18, 2024
4th Circ. Vacates Enviro Win In Mining Co. Permit Ruling
The special receiver for a defunct mining company can transfer mining permits for a site formerly owned by Patriot Coal Corp., the Fourth Circuit ruled, finding that a West Virginia federal judge interpreted a consent decree providing for mine shutdown and cleanup too broadly.
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April 18, 2024
Electronics Co. Says Insurer Cut $34.9M In Asbestos Coverage
A Philadelphia electronics company that inherited asbestos liability from a company it acquired told a Pennsylvania federal court that an insurer is wrongfully preventing it from accessing over $34.9 million in coverage to deal with the claims.
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April 18, 2024
BLM Prioritizes Conservation On Federal Land In Final Rule
The Biden administration finalized a rule Thursday that prioritizes the conservation of federal lands through new initiatives like leasing frameworks that center on restoration and mitigation.
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April 18, 2024
Enbridge Says Feds' Pipeline Brief Aids Michigan Case
Enbridge Energy has said the U.S. government's recent brief to the Seventh Circuit in separate litigation over its Line 5 pipeline backs its challenge against Michigan over the state's attempts to shutter the project, arguing the federal government has a strong interest in ensuring that trade and diplomatic relations with Canada aren't affected.
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April 18, 2024
25 States Urge DC Circ. To Block EPA Auto Emissions Rules
Twenty-five Republican-led states on Thursday called for the D.C. Circuit to vacate the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's rule requiring reductions in greenhouse gas emissions from cars, trucks and vans through 2032.
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April 18, 2024
FERC To Reveal Final Grid-Planning Policy Revamp
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on Thursday said it would unveil on May 13 the final version of its long-awaited overhaul of how major electric transmission projects are planned and paid for.
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April 18, 2024
Gulf Oil Terminal Sale Spurs Environmental Settlement Talks
The recent sale of a Gulf Oil shoreline terminal in New Haven, Connecticut, is poised to advance settlement talks in an environmental lawsuit challenging the facility's preparedness for the alleged effects of global warming, according to a federal court hearing held Thursday.
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April 18, 2024
Pomerantz To Rep Investors In AT&T Lead Cable Class Action
A New Jersey federal judge approved Pomerantz LLP as the lead counsel for a proposed investor class action alleging AT&T lied about its effort to be environmentally conscious while contributing to the installation of toxic lead cables, with the New York City Public Pension Funds serving as lead plaintiff.
Expert Analysis
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Practicing Law With Parkinson's Disease
This Parkinson’s Awareness Month, Adam Siegler at Greenberg Traurig discusses his experience working as a lawyer with Parkinson’s disease, sharing both lessons on how to cope with a diagnosis and advice for supporting colleagues who live with the disease.
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Climate Disclosure Mandates Demand A Big-Picture Approach
As carbon emissions disclosure requirements from the European Union, California and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission take effect, the best practice for companies is not targeted compliance with a given reporting regime, but rather a comprehensive approach to systems assessment and management, says David Smith at Manatt.
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Series
Playing Hockey Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Nearly a lifetime of playing hockey taught me the importance of avoiding burnout in all aspects of life, and the game ultimately ended up providing me with the balance I needed to maintain success in my legal career, says John Riccione at Taft.
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ESG Challenges In Focus After Sierra Club Opposes SEC Rule
The Sierra Club's recent objection to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's climate-related disclosures for investors presents an unusual — pro-disclosure — legal challenge and an opportunity to take a close look at the varying critiques of ESG regulations, say Colin Pohlman, and Jane Luxton and Paul Kisslinger at Lewis Brisbois.
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For Lawyers, Pessimism Should Be A Job Skill, Not A Life Skill
A pessimistic mindset allows attorneys to be effective advocates for their clients, but it can come with serious costs for their personal well-being, so it’s crucial to exercise strategies that produce flexible optimism and connect lawyers with their core values, says Krista Larson at Stinson.
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Illinois EV Charging Act Sparks Developer Concerns
A recent state law in Illinois requiring multifamily housing to provide facilities for electric vehicle charging raises significant concerns for developers over existing infrastructure that isn't up to the task, says Max Kanter at Much Shelist.
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5th Circ. Clarifies What Is And Isn't A 'New Use' Of PFAS
The Fifth Circuit's March 21 decision in Inhance Technologies v. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, preventing the EPA from regulating existing uses of PFAS under "significant new use" provisions of the Toxic Substances Control Act, provides industry with much-needed clarity, say Joseph Schaeffer and Sloane Wildman at Babst Calland.
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Opinion
New Mexico Fire Victims Deserve Justice From Federal Gov't
Two years after the largest fire in New Mexico's history — a disaster caused by the U.S. government's mismanagement of prescribed burns — the Federal Emergency Management Agency must remedy its grossly inadequate relief efforts and flawed legal interpretations that have left victims of the fire still waiting for justice, says former New Mexico Attorney General Hector Balderas.
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Opinion
Requiring Leave To File Amicus Briefs Is A Bad Idea
A proposal to amend the Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure that would require parties to get court permission before filing federal amicus briefs would eliminate the long-standing practice of consent filing and thereby make the process less open and democratic, says Lawrence Ebner at the Atlantic Legal Foundation and DRI Center.
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Opinion
Streamlined Mine Regulation Is Key For The Energy Transition
Mining is essential for obtaining the critical minerals required for a transition to greener energy and transportation technologies, but inefficient permitting processes are making it harder to mine these essential materials that will enable a more environmentally sound future, says Scot Anderson at Womble Bond.
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4 Ways To Motivate Junior Attorneys To Bring Their Best
As Gen Z and younger millennial attorneys increasingly express dissatisfaction with their work and head for the exits, the lawyers who manage them must understand and attend to their needs and priorities to boost engagement and increase retention, says Stacey Schwartz at Katten.
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How 3 Unfolding Cases Could Affect The Energy Industry
Three judicial decisions now in the pipeline — Texas' challenge to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's methane regulations, Delaware's climate suit against big energy companies, and a case before the Supreme Court of Texas on royalty lease interpretation — could have important implications for the energy industry, say Michelle Scheffler and Rachael Cox at Skadden.
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How IRA Unlocks Green Energy Investments For Tribes
An Inflation Reduction Act provision going into effect May 10 represents a critical juncture for Native American tribes, offering promising economic opportunity in green energy investment, but requiring a proactive and informed approach when taking advantage of newly available tax incentives, say attorneys at Lewis Brisbois.
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What Nevada 'Superbasin' Ruling Means For Water Users
The Nevada Supreme Court's recent decision in Sullivan v. Lincoln County Water District, affirming that the state can manage multiple predesignated water basins as one "superbasin," significantly broadens the scope of water constraints that project developers in Nevada and throughout the West may need to consider, say attorneys at Perkins Coie.
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Tipsters May Be Key To Financial Regulators' ESG Efforts
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission are looking to whistleblowers to assist their climate and ESG task forces, suggesting insider information could be central to the agencies' enforcement efforts against corporate greenwashing, false investment claims and climate disclosure violations, says John Crutchlow at Youman & Caputo.