Environmental

Expert Analysis

• Best Practices For Building A Better Meeting

  

  How can we improve meetings in the legal industry, which tends to evolve with the speed of a tranquilized water buffalo mired in quicksand? Breaking it down to three phases can yield significant benefits, says Nicholas Cheolas of Zelle LLP.

• Spending Bill Includes Unique Path To Conservation Goals

  

  Buried deep inside the recently passed Consolidated Appropriations Act, legislation reviving the formerly expired Federal Land Transaction Facilitation Act offers opportunities for potential purchasers of federal public lands, while also creating a source of funding for important conservation transactions, says John Andrews of Snell & Wilmer LLP.

• Status Update On 'One Federal Decision' Project Reviews

  

  Last week, a dozen federal agencies signed a memorandum of understanding committing to a more coordinated and streamlined federal review process. But because there have been no changes to underlying statutory requirements, each agency will still have to determine that a project review meets its respective legal obligations, say Raya Treiser and Nathaniel Custer of WilmerHale.

• 5 Ways Law Firms Are Becoming More Like Hotels

  

  One way law firms differentiate themselves from the competition to attract and retain top talent is through their real estate and workplace strategies. Taking a lead from the hospitality industry can help create a more inviting, welcoming and collaborative workspace environment, says Bella Schiro of Jones Lang LaSalle Inc.

• Opinion

  Gorsuch's 1st Year Shows He Is A Conservative Activist

  

  In his first year on the U.S. Supreme Court, Justice Neil Gorsuch has proven to be a narrow-minded elitist who consistently votes in favor of corporations and the powerful, acting to roll back protections for workers, consumers, LGBTQ individuals and other marginalized communities, says Elliot Mincberg of People for the American Way.

• How Is EPA's New Source Review Guidance Helpful?

  

  The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recently issued a memo reinterpreting regulations that determine when a project could trigger new source review. In this new policy directive, the EPA is now reinterpreting its existing regulations to allow sources to use this type of project analysis to assess whether an NSR permit is required, say attorneys with Sidley Austin LLP.

• Finance-Savvy Millennials Are Shifting Business Of Law

  

  The impact of millennials has already been felt within the legal community by our eagerness to embrace new technologies. One way that we will have potentially even more impact lies in our willingness to embrace new ways of developing business and financing law, says Michael Perich of Burford Capital LLC.

• Opinion

  Attorney-Client Privilege Is Alive And Well

  

  The FBI raid of the office of President Donald Trump’s personal lawyer set off a firestorm of controversy about the sanctity of the attorney-client privilege, epitomized by Trump's tweet that the "privilege is dead." But attorney-client privilege is never taken lightly — I have battle scars from the times I have sought crime-fraud exceptions, says Genie Harrison of the Genie Harrison Law Firm.

• Roundup

  Dissolving Practice

  

  In this series, experts discuss the unique aspects of closing a law firm, and some common symptoms of dysfunctionality in a firm that can be repaired before it's too late.

• Calif. Case Shows Propriety Of Telecom CEQA Exemptions

  

  A California appellate court's recent decision in Aptos v. Santa Cruz clarifies that "small cell" telecommunications networks in public streets and highways are exempt from California Environmental Quality Act review. This case comes at a time when the telecom industry and local governments both need certainty on the applicability of CEQA exemptions, says Michael Shonafelt of Newmeyer & Dillion LLP.