Environmental

  • August 28, 2026

    Trump Admin Wants Oklahoma Smelter Suit Thrown Out

    The U.S. Department of Justice asked a federal judge to dismiss Oklahoma's challenge of a massive aluminum smelter project the Trump administration has backed with a $500 million grant, arguing that the case is premature and that the facility is vital to national security.

  • August 28, 2026

    NJ Law Requires Data Centers To Report Utility Usage

    New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill signed a bill into law on Aug. 27 that requires data centers in the state to provide the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities with semiannual water and energy usage reports.

  • August 28, 2026

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

    The past week in London has seen shoe brand Crocs bring an appeal against the chief executive of the U.K.'s Intellectual Property Office, singer Alanis Morissette sued by the former head of operations at Live Nation Israel and the son of convicted fraudster Guo Wengui file an appeal against the Chapter 11 trustee controlling his father's bankruptcy estate. 

  • August 28, 2026

    Mazda Driver Avoids Sanctions In Oil-Burning Defect Suit

    A North Carolina federal judge has refused to sanction a Mazda driver and his attorneys for their attempt to revive a proposed class action over an alleged oil‑burning defect, finding the effort unlikely to succeed but not improper.

  • August 27, 2026

    US Oil Co. Ordered To Pay €2.3M Award To Slovakia

    A federal judge has ordered Discovery Global LLC to pay nearly €1.8 million ($2.1 million) remaining on a €2.75 million arbitral award issued to Slovakia after the Texas oil and gas company lost an investor-state claim in which it had sought as much as $2.1 billion.

  • August 27, 2026

    Wash. Mill Faces 35 Violations After Tank Collapse Killed 11

    The Washington State Department of Ecology cited Nippon Dynawave Packaging Co. on Wednesday with 35 water quality, air quality and hazardous waste violations tied to a May chemical storage tank collapse that flooded a pulp and paper mill with caustic white liquor and led to 11 employee deaths.

  • August 27, 2026

    Enviro Groups Seek More Time To Fight Roadless Rule Repeal

    Environmental groups have asked the U.S. Forest Service to extend a public comment period for its proposal to scrap a 25-year-old "Roadless Rule" that bars logging and road construction on tens of millions of acres of national forest around the country.

  • August 27, 2026

    Food Processor Says Tribe's Request Would Hinder Its Ops

    A Michigan produce processor fired back at a tribe's request that it stop releasing water into local wetlands, telling a federal judge Wednesday that even though it may have dumped untreated wastewater in the past, it's no longer in violation and that any restrictions would hurt its business.

  • August 27, 2026

    Colo. Pro Racer Says Botched Mold Cleanup Shut Down Shop

    A professional race car driver in Denver, Colorado, accused several companies Thursday of failing to address mold and asbestos contamination that eventually shut down his auto shop, canceled a commercial shoot and caused him an estimated loss of more than $2.9 million.

  • August 27, 2026

    VW Can't Toss Claims Audi E-Tron Batteries Are 'Time Bombs'

    A Georgia federal judge refused to dismiss a proposed class action Thursday accusing Volkswagen Group of America Inc. of concealing and failing to adequately repair an alleged defect in the high-voltage batteries of certain Audi electric vehicles, keeping alive claims the autos are "ticking time bombs" that can lose power, short-circuit and catch fire.

  • August 27, 2026

    Ex-West Point Prof Says Climate Science Stand Cost Him Job

    A former West Point professor is alleging in New York federal court that the military academy violated his First Amendment rights when it forced him out after he voiced opposition to a directive to stop teaching cadets about human contributions to climate change.

  • August 27, 2026

    Rising Star: V&E's Matthew Dobbins

    Matthew Dobbins' environmental practice at Vinson & Elkins LLP spans every major environmental statute, with clients in the energy, waste and industrial sectors. He's carved out a niche as lead environmental counsel on large-scale transactions, applying his diverse knowledge of environmental risk management to represent clients like Apollo Global Management and Endeavor Energy in acquisitions, earning him a spot among the environmental law practitioners under age 40 honored by Law360 as Rising Stars.

  • August 27, 2026

    DC Circ. Says Challenges To Pa. Power Plant Orders Can Wait

    A D.C. Circuit panel granted the Trump administration's push to pause consolidated cases challenging orders that blocked a Pennsylvania power plant from retiring while litigation over similar orders involving a Michigan power plant play out.

  • August 26, 2026

    Oil Cos. Insist High Court Must End Colo. Climate Suit

    Exxon and Suncor Energy argued Wednesday in their latest brief urging the U.S. Supreme Court to end the city and county of Boulder, Colorado's climate change tort lawsuit against them that allowing the case to proceed would set a precedent that juries can make decisions on energy policy.

  • August 26, 2026

    3 Firms Steer Enbridge's $600M Crude Oil Assets Buy

    Crude oil company Enbridge, advised by Sidley Austin LLP and Sullivan & Cromwell LLP, on Wednesday unveiled plans to acquire Kirkland & Ellis LLP-led Salt Creek Midstream's oil gathering business in a $600 million deal.

  • August 26, 2026

    Norfolk Southern Says Precedent Undermines Derailment Suit

    Norfolk Southern urged a Georgia federal judge Wednesday to deny class treatment to investors who allege they were deceived about the company's safety operations before a fiery train derailment in Ohio in 2023, arguing U.S. Supreme Court precedent undercut the argument that the rail carrier's share price was unlawfully inflated.

  • August 26, 2026

    Groups Ask Congress To Reject Idaho Toxic Waste Land Swap

    The Center for Biological Diversity, Snake River Waterkeeper and ManaSota-88 Inc. urged Congress on Wednesday to remove a provision from the National Defense Authorization Act that the center says would "cede historic lands of the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes in Idaho to expand a radioactive waste dump at one of the country's largest Superfund sites."

  • August 26, 2026

    9th Circ. Denies Challenges To EPA Rule On Chemical Reviews

    The Ninth Circuit on Wednesday denied petitions challenging a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency rule related to when and how some new chemicals can be exempted from standard pre-manufacture review processes, ruling the agency acted in line with its statutory powers.

  • August 26, 2026

    DC Circuit Upholds Approval Of La. LNG Terminal, Pipeline

    The D.C. Circuit on Tuesday rejected a challenge to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's approval of a $10 billion liquefied natural gas terminal and pipeline in Louisiana, denying petitions from environmentalists saying the commission had unjustifiably dismissed threats to the climate stemming from the project.

  • August 26, 2026

    Mont. Reaches Deal To Ensure Schools Teach Native History

    A group of individuals, tribal nations and the Montana Office of Public Instruction have agreed to settle a class action challenging the state's failure to implement a mandate that requires public schools to teach Indigenous history and culture in consultation with local tribes.

  • August 26, 2026

    Cos. Disguised Site Clearing as Logging, S.C. Neighbor Says

    A property owner revived claims in South Carolina federal court that a group of companies cleared a site for development under the guise of a logging operation to avoid installing sediment and stormwater management systems, all while the city of Greer, South Carolina, failed to enforce any regulations at the property.

  • August 26, 2026

    Feds Urge 6th Circ. To Affirm $100M DTE Clean Air Act Penalty

    Several DTE Energy Co. entities should not be allowed to escape a $100 million civil penalty a Michigan federal judge imposed for Clean Air Act violations at a coke production facility near Detroit, the U.S. Department of Justice has told the Sixth Circuit.

  • August 26, 2026

    Rising Star: Blank Rome's Stephen Zumbrun

    Stephen Zumbrun, partner at Blank Rome LLP, has won a trial verdict in an environmental case, directed a review of groundwater protections that helped shape a Superfund cleanup plan, and served as the regulatory point of contact on a major pharmaceutical acquisition. Add to that a busy pro bono practice, and it's clear how he earned a spot among the environmental law practitioners under age 40 honored by Law360 as Rising Stars.

  • August 26, 2026

    Man Gets 42 Months For Tax Crimes, Fraud, Must Pay $1.2M

    An Oregon businessman who withheld employment taxes from employees' pay but did not pay the taxes to the IRS was sentenced to 42 months in prison for tax evasion and other crimes and ordered to pay nearly $1.2 million in restitution, the U.S. Department of Justice said.

  • August 26, 2026

    Shoals Wins $96M Patent Infringement Verdict Against Rival

    A federal jury in North Carolina on Wednesday awarded a solar components company $96.38 million in damages after finding a rival supplier infringed its patents for an electrical connection system.

Expert Analysis

  • Data Center Developer Lessons From Maine's Vetoed Ban

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    The regulatory and political dynamics that recently led Maine’s governor to veto a popular bipartisan bill proposing a temporary data center development ban offer a useful template that developers can use to help their projects survive other states' attempts at moratoriums, say attorneys at Thompson Hine.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lesson: Diagnose Before Arguing

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    Law school often skips over explicitly teaching students how to determine what kind of problem a case presents before they commit to a particular doctrinal path, which risks building arguments that are internally coherent but externally misaligned, says Melanie Oxhorn at Kobre & Kim.

  • Becoming The Biz-Savvy GC That Portfolio Companies Need

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    Candidates for general counsel roles at private equity-backed portfolio companies should prioritize proving their sector-specific experience, commercial judgment and ease with uncertainty — and attorneys hoping to be candidates in five to 10 years should start working on those skills now, says Dimitri Mastrocola at Major Lindsey.

  • AI Regulatory Gaps May Fuel FCA Enforcement Action

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    The intersection of artificial intelligence and False Claims Act enforcement presents legal risk for government contractors across several industries, particularly in the absence of a federal regulatory framework explicitly governing its development and use, say attorneys at O’Melveny.

  • AI Agents Will Test The Bounds Of Expert Witness Rules

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    Rule 702 of the Federal Rules of Evidence does not address whether a testifying expert must be human, but as the rule’s amended admissibility framework intersects with the accelerating capabilities of agentic AI, courts may be forced to confront whether AI-generated expertise fits within existing evidentiary doctrine, says Steven Cordero at Akerman.

  • What New PFAS Rule Means For Tracking And Disclosure

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    In the wake of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's publication of its rule adding PFHxS-Na to the Toxics Release Inventory, companies should identify this substance in their facilities and supply chains, and prepare for disclosures to both regulators and the public, says Ayodeji Ayolola at Gordon Rees.

  • Reel Justice: 'Project Hail Mary' Can Aid Cross-Examination

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    In the new science fiction film, "Project Hail Mary," a character understood that survival depended on eliminating ambiguity — a useful lesson that trial lawyers can implement by asking statements that are delivered in the form of a question during cross-examination, says Veronica Finkelstein at Wilmington University.

  • AI-Proofing Class Action Notices From Pro Se Objection Surge

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    Class action practitioners should prepare for a likely surge in artificial intelligence-enabled pro se objections by implementing several practical strategies to navigate this shift, says Britany Wessan at Almeida Law Group.

  • Series

    Judges On AI: How Courts Can Survive The Tech Revolution

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    Colorado Supreme Court Justice Maria Berkenkotter and Colorado Court of Appeals Judge Lino Lipinsky de Orlov discuss how artificial intelligence has already fundamentally altered the legal system and offer tips for courts navigating deepfakes, hallucinations and a gap in access to AI tools.

  • What Jury Holdouts Can Teach Trial Lawyers About Strategy

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    Though a hung jury can be a disappointment, a psychological understanding of jury holdouts can help trial lawyers shape their damages arguments and understand leadership and group composition as a function of jury selection, says Clint Townson at Townson Litigation.

  • 'Mobile' Sources For On-Site Generation May Be A Risky Bet

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    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is considering treating large on-site generators used at data centers as mobile rather than stationary sources under the Clean Air Act, a significant policy change that would leave developers that adopt this solution at risk of regulatory reversals, say attorneys at Ballard Spahr.

  • 3 AI Adoption Mistakes GCs Should Avoid

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    The pressure in-house legal teams face to quickly adopt artificial intelligence tools, combined with budget constraints and the need to evaluate a crowded market of options, sets the stage for implementation mistakes that are often difficult to undo, says former 23andMe general counsel Guy Chayoun.

  • Series

    Playing Basketball Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    My grandfather used to say "I wear your jersey" as shorthand for wholly committing to support someone with loyalty and integrity — ideals that have shaped my life on the basketball court and in legal practice, says Tracy Schimelfenig at Schimelfenig Legal.

  • EPA Listing Signals New Scrutiny Of Drugs In Drinking Water

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    The recent publication of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's latest draft drinking water contaminant list highlights pharmaceuticals as a category of concern, marking the start of a process that could shape future research priorities, monitoring requirements, and federal and state actions, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • Series

    The Biz Court Digest: Georgia Court Has Business On Its Mind

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    Thanks to recent legislation, the Georgia State-wide Business Court will soon offer business litigants greater access to the court than ever before, further enhancing the court's emphasis on efficiency, predictability and accessibility for sophisticated commercial disputes, says former GSBC judge Walt Davis at Jones Day.

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