Environmental

  • April 29, 2025

    Kirkland Guides Allied Industrial On $300M Fund Close

    Houston-based Allied Industrial Partners has closed its inaugural fund at its $300 million hard cap, achieving the objective under the legal guidance of Kirkland & Ellis LLP.

  • April 29, 2025

    Stonepeak Buying Stake In Spain's Repsol For $340M

    Vinson & Elkins LLP-advised Stonepeak has agreed to purchase a 46.3% stake in Latham & Watkins LLP-advised Repsol's 777-megawatt solar and storage portfolio in the U.S. for $340 million, according to a Tuesday announcement.

  • April 28, 2025

    Pulled Decision Dooms Chicago Disposal Site Suit, Feds Say

    The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers urged an Illinois federal judge to toss a suit challenging its decision to expand a disposal facility that stores sediments dredged from Chicago waterways now that it has withdrawn that decision.

  • April 28, 2025

    Ag Groups Say 'Common Sense' Means Standing In EPA Suit

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency hit back Monday at a contention by agricultural groups that "common sense" gives them standing to challenge a 2024 rule that changes the type of gasoline car manufacturers are required to test for fuel economy.

  • April 28, 2025

    Biz Groups Fight NY's Bid To Join Their Climate Suit With States'

    Fossil fuel industry groups countered the New York attorney general's bid to transfer their lawsuit fighting a $75 billion tab they must pay for climate change adaptation projects, saying joining their suit with one from a group of Republican states would serve neither justice nor judicial economy.

  • April 28, 2025

    Veolia Settles Flint Water Crisis Claims For $53M

    A Michigan federal judge entered final judgment Monday in litigation brought by the state of Michigan and about 26,000 individuals against Veolia North America alleging it prolonged the water crisis in Flint, Michigan, after a $53 million settlement was approved earlier this month.

  • April 28, 2025

    EPA Waiver Lifts Summer Ban On High-Ethanol Fuel Sales

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Monday formally suspended the usual summer ban on sales of higher-ethanol gasoline blends, the fourth year in a row the agency has done so.

  • April 28, 2025

    Ziploc 'Microwave Safe' Bags Shed Microplastics, Buyer Says

    S.C. Johnson & Son Inc. falsely markets Ziploc bags and containers as "microwave safe" and suitable for use in freezers despite knowing they are made from materials that shed microplastics into food when the products are used as directed, according to a proposed class action filed in California federal court.

  • April 28, 2025

    FAIR Plan Failed To Pay For LA Fire Smoke Claims, Suit Says

    Another group of California homeowners has accused the state's insurer of last resort of illegally denying and underpaying claims for smoke damage following the Los Angeles wildfires despite its obligation to cover all fire-related damage under California law, according to a lawsuit filed in state court.

  • April 28, 2025

    Green Group Says Shell Case Discovery Fees Are Too Costly

    A Philadelphia-based environmental group suing Shell over pollution from a Western Pennsylvania chemical plant balked at a federal court's order that it pay 15% of the cost to resolve a discovery dispute, arguing it could be left with a potentially devastating tab.

  • April 28, 2025

    EPA Restarts Voluntary Retirement Program

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Monday refreshed its effort to convince employees to take a voluntary retirement package that was rolled out in the early days of the Trump administration but has been dormant until now.

  • April 28, 2025

    Nikola Seeks Court OK For $9M Climate-Credit Sale Process

    Electric truck maker Nikola Corp. has asked a Delaware bankruptcy judge to approve a sale process for environmental credits the company earned by selling zero-emission vehicles, saying it has secured an $8.97 million bid that will set a floor price for the assets.

  • April 28, 2025

    EPA Touts Intention To Act On PFAS Contamination

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Monday said it's planning a series of actions to address pollution from forever chemicals, including the designation of a leader for PFAS regulation and issues at the EPA.

  • April 28, 2025

    10th Circ. Says EPA Overlooked Colo. Air Pollution Concerns

    The Tenth Circuit on Monday said the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency inappropriately approved changes to Colorado's air pollution standards that a green group claimed allow regulators to disregard emissions during drilling, fracking and well completion processes.

  • April 25, 2025

    PacifiCorp Should Pay $96M To Wildfire Victims, Jury Told

    Nine plaintiffs who fled from wildfires started by PacifiCorp's negligence should get $95.5 million in noneconomic damages, an Oregon state jury heard in closing arguments Friday, while PacifiCorp's lawyer told the jury to focus on what the evidence actually supports and award roughly $2.2 million in that category.

  • April 25, 2025

    Okla. Backs Wind Farm At 10th Circ. In Osage Mineral Dispute

    Oklahoma is backing Enel Power in its Tenth Circuit bid to undo a $4.2 million judgment and order requiring it to remove 84 wind turbines from the Osage Nation reservation, saying the project provides tax revenue, employment and a stable power source for tens of thousands of homes.

  • April 25, 2025

    SPAC Deals Are Buzzing Again Despite Tariff Turmoil

    Amid heavy volatility that has largely frozen traditional initial public offerings, deal teams are launching more special purpose acquisition companies, an alternative market to typical IPOs that so far has shown few ill effects from tariff-related uncertainty.

  • April 25, 2025

    Interior's Energy Permits Plan Has Legal And Practical Risks

    The U.S. Department of the Interior's plan to truncate environmental reviews and accelerate the approval process for certain energy projects could be vulnerable to lawsuits, given the legwork needed to ensure project reviews are sufficient.

  • April 25, 2025

    Judge Blocks Trump Order Limiting Fed. Worker Bargaining

    A Washington, D.C., federal judge on Friday blocked President Donald Trump's order last month seeking to end collective bargaining for workers at more than a dozen federal agencies with national security roles, two days after suggesting during oral arguments that Trump's order was retaliatory.

  • April 25, 2025

    Exxon Can't Use $8.5M Deal To Skirt Pa. Suit, Judge Says

    Exxon Mobil Corp. and ExxonMobil Oil Corp. can't use an $8.5 million settlement from 2012 to escape Pennsylvania's drinking water contamination suit, a New York federal judge has ruled.

  • April 25, 2025

    $1.1M Hail Coverage Suit Against Travelers Is Time-Barred

    An Oklahoma property owner cannot get revised coverage from two Travelers units for more than $1.1 million in claimed hail damage repairs, an Oklahoma federal court ruled, finding that after Travelers paid roughly $100,000 in coverage, the property owner filed its coverage action too late. 

  • April 25, 2025

    WTO Will Hear EU-China Dispute Over Electric Car Batteries

    A World Trade Organization dispute panel will hear China's complaint against the European Union's duties on Beijing's electric car batteries after talks between the two governments failed to resolve the matter, the global trade watchdog announced Friday.

  • April 25, 2025

    Font Size Error Dooms USDA Contract Bid

    An information technology services company lost out on a U.S. Department of Agriculture contract for using the wrong font size in its quotation, after the U.S. Government Accountability Office found that it failed to follow the USDA's formatting guidelines.

  • April 25, 2025

    Calif. AG Asks Court To Sink Exxon Recycling Defamation Suit

    California's attorney general is asking a Texas federal court to dismiss Exxon Mobil Corp.'s lawsuit alleging he and several conservation groups have disparaged the company's reputation by declaring that it misled people about the effectiveness of plastic recycling.

  • April 25, 2025

    NJ Industrial Remediation Claims Not Time-Barred, Panel Says

    A Garden State appellate panel on Friday revived New Jersey's suit seeking the remediation of a contaminated industrial property in the city of Camden and associated damages, ruling that the state's remediation claims are not time-barred.

Expert Analysis

  • What's At Stake As 9th Circ. Eyes Cultural Resource Damages

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    In Pakootas v. Teck Cominco, the Ninth Circuit is faced with the long-unresolved question of whether cultural resource damages are recoverable as part of natural resource damages under the Superfund law — and the answer will have enormous implications for companies, natural resource trustees and Native American tribes, says Sarah Bell at Farella Braun.

  • E-Discovery Quarterly: The Perils Of Digital Data Protocols

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    Though stipulated protocols governing the treatment of electronically stored information in litigation are meant to streamline discovery, recent disputes demonstrate that certain missteps in the process can lead to significant inefficiencies, say attorneys at Sidley.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: Preparing For Corporate Work

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    Law school often doesn't cover the business strategy, financial fluency and negotiation skills needed for a successful corporate or transactional law practice, but there are practical ways to gain relevant experience and achieve the mindset shifts critical to a thriving career in this space, says Dakota Forsyth at Olshan Frome.

  • 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.

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