Environmental

  • July 17, 2026

    Top 4 Enviro Policies To Watch In The 2nd Half Of 2026

    The second half of 2026 may see the outcome of federal efforts to speed up construction timelines via federal rulemaking and in Congress, and the resolution of open questions around how the repeal of a foundational climate regulation will impact energy policy. Here are four key policy areas that are on environmental attorneys' radar.

  • July 17, 2026

    Judge Denies Bid To Fast-Track Alaska Refuge Road Ruling

    An Alaskan district judge is asking the federal government, the state of Alaska and an Indigenous corporation to provide an anticipated construction timeline for a road through the Izembek National Wildlife Refuge.

  • July 17, 2026

    UK Litigation Roundup: Here's What You Missed In London

    The past week in London has seen Snapchat and Dolby press on with a fresh infringement claim in their ongoing patent battle, The Telegraph face an intellectual property claim by a photo archive, a group of international human rights barristers and chambers sued, and oil business Equinor embroiled in a contract dispute with BP after recently acquiring full ownership in their offshore project. Here, Law360 looks at these and other new claims in the U.K.

  • July 16, 2026

    Northrop's $75M LA Contamination Deal Gets Preliminary OK

    A California federal judge Thursday preliminarily approved a $75 million class deal struck mid-trial by Northrop Grumman and residents of a Los Angeles suburb who accused the aerospace company of contaminating their properties, a day after hundreds of the neighborhood's residents filed a similar lawsuit in state court.

  • July 16, 2026

    Dominican Republic Calls $44M Asset Hunt Premature

    The Dominican Republic pointed to ongoing settlement proceedings in urging a Washington, D.C., federal judge to deny a billionaire businessman's bid to conduct discovery aimed at uncovering the country's assets for seizure to satisfy a nearly $44 million arbitral award.

  • July 16, 2026

    Feds Tell 11th Circ. It Can't Hear BP Offshore Drilling Case

    The federal government has told the Eleventh Circuit it doesn't have jurisdiction to hear an appeal from conservation groups challenging the Trump administration's approval of BP PLC's Kaskida offshore oil and gas drilling project in the Gulf of Mexico.

  • July 16, 2026

    Mich. Renews Enbridge Line 5 Permit, Tribes Vow Fight

    Michigan environmental regulators reissued key state permits for Enbridge Energy's proposed Great Lakes Tunnel project, allowing the company to continue pursuing approvals needed to replace the aging Line 5 pipelines beneath the Straits of Mackinac, while tribal leaders and environmental groups vowed to challenge the decision.

  • July 16, 2026

    FERC Pushes Reliability Standards For Data Centers

    The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on Thursday pressed for the continued development of reliability standards for power-hungry data centers and other computational loads, and ordered two western grid operators to report on coordination efforts at the seams of their operations.

  • July 16, 2026

    Air Force Lt. Col. Says Housing Sickened Him, Family

    U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Travis Allen and his wife are suing companies that provide privatized housing to military service members in Texas federal court, saying that despite being assured the housing was safe and properly maintained, their home had a host of problems that harmed Allen and his daughter's health.

  • July 16, 2026

    Chancery Lets Discovery Proceed In Bikini Atoll Trust Suit

    The Delaware Chancery Court has ruled that Fifth Third Bank must participate in discovery in litigation accusing Arden Trust Co. of mismanaging two congressionally created trust funds for displaced Bikini Atoll residents, while putting on hold Arden's separate claim seeking indemnification from the bank until the underlying case is resolved.

  • July 16, 2026

    Holland & Knight Adds DLA Piper Industrials Sector Co-Chair

    Holland & Knight LLP announced that it has hired the former U.S. co-chair of DLA Piper's industrials sector as a partner in New York.

  • July 16, 2026

    Whidbey Has To Notify Lummi Nation Before Digging

    A Washington federal judge has ordered Whidbey Telephone to give a tribe notice before resuming ground-disturbing work on a federally funded broadband project that had disturbed remains of the tribe's ancestors.

  • July 15, 2026

    ESA 'Harm' Rollback Defies 50-Year Precedent, Groups Say

    The Sierra Club, Center for Biological Diversity, WildEarth Guardians and a half dozen other environmental groups have become the latest to challenge the Trump administration's new definition of "harm" under the Endangered Species Act, initiating a lawsuit Tuesday seeking to restore the meaning that's been the prevailing interpretation for 50 years.

  • July 15, 2026

    Circuit-By-Circuit Guide To The US Supreme Court's Term

    Federal appeals courts had wide-ranging successes and struggles during the U.S. Supreme Court's recently completed term: One had its best showing in years following its worst showing in years; one felt déjà vu after recently starting to find favor with the justices; and one saw its reputation for independence occupy a rare role in the Supreme Court spotlight.

  • July 15, 2026

    Oil Giants Can't Move Chicago's Climate Suit, 7th Circ. Says

    The Seventh Circuit on Wednesday kept the city of Chicago's climate deception suit against BP, Shell and other oil giants in Illinois state court, saying the oil companies could not lean on their fuel production for the federal government to remove the case to federal court.

  • July 15, 2026

    DOJ Asks DC Circ. To Stay USDA Grant Revival Order

    The Trump administration is asking the D.C. Circuit to pause a district judge's injunction ordering the U.S. Department of Agriculture to reinstate more than $100 million in land access program grants aimed at assisting "underserved" farmers, arguing that the case belongs in the Court of Federal Claims.

  • July 15, 2026

    Ex-Utah Land Exec Says Ute Tribe's Bias Suit Fails Again

    The former director of Utah's School and Institutional Trust Lands Administration has asked a federal judge to dismiss a Native American tribe's most recent complaint in a race-based suit claiming state officials conspired to freeze the tribe out of a land sale, saying he didn't discriminate against the tribe.

  • July 15, 2026

    Pa. Energy Co. Accused Of 'Massive' Leak Into Neighborhood

    Pennsylvania-based Monroe Energy LLC has been hit with a putative class action in the Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas alleging that its negligence in maintaining a gasoline storage facility resulted in a "massive" spill that contaminated the properties of nearby residents.

  • July 15, 2026

    Limetree Refinery Cos. Reach $35M Deal In Toxic Leak Action

    Affiliates of the former operator of a U.S. Virgin Islands oil refinery have reached a $35 million settlement of proposed class action claims from local residents concerning water contamination from oil releases five years ago.

  • July 15, 2026

    Judge Rejects NY Assemblyman's Congestion Pricing Lawsuit

    A Manhattan federal judge has tossed New York state Assemblyman Jake Blumencranz's lawsuit seeking to derail congestion pricing, saying the lawmaker lacks standing to sue, and his claims are moot anyway since the judge voided the U.S. Department of Transportation's attempt to purportedly terminate the program.

  • July 15, 2026

    Ex-Senate Committee Chief Counsel Rejoins Hunton

    Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP has rehired a former Republican chief counsel for the U.S. Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, who started her career with the firm as an environmental law associate before its 2018 merger.

  • July 15, 2026

    1st Circ. Says Sending GE PCB Suit To State Court Was Error

    A First Circuit panel has reversed an order remanding to state court a woman's suit over General Electric Co.'s alleged improper disposal of polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs, saying the trial court wrongly concluded that GE couldn't take advantage of the federal officer removal statute.

  • July 14, 2026

    Landowner Says Verizon Tower Bad For Endangered Birds

    Verizon is trying to build a cell tower in wetlands that are frequented by endangered birds, and a local siting council should not have given the mobile company the green light to do so, according to a complaint filed recently with a Connecticut state court.

  • July 14, 2026

    Claims In Challenge To Coast Guard Vessel Routes Tossed

    A California federal judge said environmental groups have prematurely challenged a U.S. Coast Guard vessel route study they said fails to protect species from shipping traffic along the Pacific Coast, noting the Coast Guard hasn't adopted its recommendations.

  • July 14, 2026

    USPTO Decries Arbitrator's 'Extreme' Mgmt. Rights Threat

    The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has pushed back on an arbitrator holding that the agency violated union agreements when ending telework arrangements, saying the arbitrator ignored management rights provisions and added her own terms to the contract.

Expert Analysis

  • 7 Mistakes To Avoid When Using Trial Graphics

    Author Photo

    With several federal district judges recently expressing frustration with the overuse of PowerPoint slides in trial presentations, now is a good time for lawyers to assess when and how they use visuals to make sure their messages are communicated as effectively as possible, say Mark Rosman at Proskauer and Dan Bender at Digital Evidence Group.

  • Opinion

    State Bars Need To Get Specific About AI Confidentiality

    Author Photo

    Lawyers need to put actual client information into artificial intelligence tools to get their full value, but they cannot confidently do so until state bars offer clear, formal authority on which plan tiers of the three most popular generative AI tools are safe to use when sharing specific client details, says attorney Nick Berk.

  • EPA's Retreat On GHGs Reshapes Preemption Debate

    Author Photo

    In the wake of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's rescission of its finding that it can regulate climate-threatening greenhouse gases, states are poised to step up their own GHG regulation — but the EPA's new framework creates substantial uncertainty over the extent of federal preemption, say attorneys at Holland & Hart.

  • What Justices' Review Of Guam Case Will Mean For Permitting

    Author Photo

    In U.S. Department of the Air Force v. Prutehi Guahan, the U.S. Supreme Court will address whether a federal agency's permit application is a final decision that courts can review — a question whose answer could reshape the timing and strategy of environmental litigation across the federal permitting landscape, say attorneys at Foley Hoag.

  • Series

    Alpine Skiing Makes Me A Better Lawyer

    Author Photo

    Skiing has shaped habits I rely on daily as an attorney — focus, resilience and the ability to remain steady when circumstances shift rapidly — and influences the way I approach legal strategy, client counseling and teamwork, says Isaku Begert at Marshall Gerstein.

  • 3 Federal Policy Trends Shaping Data Center Power

    Author Photo

    With the White House, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and Congress each pushing energy policies that will influence how data centers are sited, powered and interconnected for years to come, industry stakeholders should understand compliance obligations, consider possible downstream effects, and evaluate off-grid and self-supply energy options, say attorneys at ArentFox Schiff.

  • What Voluntary Calif. Carbon Reports Show About Compliance

    Author Photo

    While the enforcement of California's S.B. 261 is currently paused due to a Ninth Circuit injunction, more than 130 companies have nonetheless chosen to voluntarily publish climate-related financial risk disclosures, providing a useful snapshot of how the market is interpreting the law's requirements in practice, say attorneys at DLA Piper.

  • What A Court Doc Audit Reveals About Erroneous Filings

    Author Photo

    My audit of 1,522 court documents from last month found that over 95% contained at least one verifiable error, with fewer than 1% showing clear indicators of artificial intelligence use — highlighting above all else that lawyers may want to focus most on strengthening their review processes, says Elliott Ash at ETH Zurich.

  • How Justices' GEO Ruling Resets Gov't Contractor Litigation

    Author Photo

    The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent GEO Group v. Menocal decision, holding that government contractors cannot immediately exit cases via interlocutory appeals, may increase litigation costs, strengthen plaintiffs' leverage in settlement negotiations and dampen the government's ability to attract bids on high-risk or sensitive projects, say attorneys at Wiley.

  • Parsing Rule 12(c) Motion Overuse In Securities Class Actions

    Author Photo

    Defendants in securities class actions have more frequently been filing motions for judgment on the pleadings following the denial of motions to dismiss, but courts have recently demonstrated an increasing willingness to reject these previously rare motions, finding them transparent attempts to relitigate already-decided issues, say attorneys at Labaton Keller.

  • New DOD Framework Offers Key Guidance On PFAS Disposal

    Author Photo

    The U.S. Department of Defense's recently updated guidance on disposal of materials containing per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances ends its moratorium on incineration of PFAS-containing waste, but contractors must be ready to demonstrate stringent compliance with the department's new permitting system, operational controls and data practices, say attorneys at Alston & Bird.

  • Series

    Ultramarathons Make Me A Better Lawyer

    Author Photo

    Completing a 100-mile ultramarathon was tougher, more humbling and more rewarding than I ever imagined, and the experience highlighted how long-distance running has sharpened my ability to adapt to the evolving nature of antitrust law and strengthened my resolve to handle demanding, unforeseen challenges, says Dan Oakes at Axinn.

  • Key Takeaways From The 2026 ABA Antitrust Spring Meeting

    Author Photo

    Last week's American Bar Association Spring Meeting revealed an antitrust landscape defined by heightened friction and tension — between federal and state enforcers, domestic and international regimes, competing political visions, and traditional enforcement tools and novel challenges, say attorneys at Skadden.

  • In First For DOJ, Action Signals New CFIUS Enforcement Era

    Author Photo

    The U.S. Department of Justice is seeking judicial enforcement of a divestment order, an unprecedented action for the agency that ushers in a new phase for the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, one in which judicial proceedings complement administrative oversight and presidential divestment orders may be enforced through litigation, says attorney Sohan Dasgupta.

  • 9th Circ. Ruling Clarifies Doc Protection Limits In Gov't Probes

    Author Photo

    The Ninth Circuit's recent decision in Kalbers v. U.S. Department of Justice confirms that Rule 6(e) provides robust protections when documents are in the government's possession only through a grand jury subpoena, emphasizing for companies the importance of careful labeling from the outset of an investigation, say attorneys at Cooley.

Want to publish in Law360?


Submit an idea

Have a news tip?


Contact us here
Can't find the article you're looking for? Click here to search the Environmental archive.