Environmental

  • June 09, 2026

    Insurers Look To Appeal Fire Warning Claims Dismissal

    Insurers and individuals suing the U.S. government over its response to a 2016 fire at Great Smoky Mountains National Park said they should be allowed to challenge the partial dismissal of claims alleging officials failed to warn residents of the fire's progression.

  • June 09, 2026

    Environmentalists Challenge EPA Methane Rule Rollback

    The Environmental Defense Fund will challenge a new U.S. Environmental Protection Agency rule loosening methane emission standards for the oil and gas industry in the D.C. Circuit.

  • June 09, 2026

    Taft Amps Up Growing Denver Team With 3 Stinson Partners

    Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP has landed its second major lateral group hire in Denver this year, with a trio of new partners joining from Stinson LLP.

  • June 09, 2026

    Donor Inflated Easement's Value To $12M, 10th Circ. Told

    A partnership improperly inflated the value of a North Carolina conservation easement donation to nearly $12 million to claim a sizable charitable tax deduction and failed to support the valuation, the IRS told the Tenth Circuit.

  • June 09, 2026

    The Law360 400: A Look At The Top 100 Firms

    The race to build the legal industry's largest law firm accelerated in 2025, with major firms leaning on mergers, lateral hiring and strategic expansion to climb the ranks of the Law360 400.

  • June 08, 2026

    SF Sues DOE Over Clean Energy Grant's Anti-Diversity Terms

    San Francisco hit the Energy Department with a lawsuit in California federal court Friday, alleging the Trump administration is trying to coerce the city to impose contradictory and legally questionable anti-equity policy funding conditions or else face $130,000 cuts in clean energy infrastructure grants awarded to the city.

  • June 08, 2026

    Port Of Tacoma Deal Ends Pollution Row With Enviro Group

    The Port of Tacoma and the Puget Soundkeeper Alliance have reached a tentative agreement to resolve their long-running dispute over wastewater regulation enforcement, with the Washington port agreeing to pay $3.9 million, including attorney fees and research.

  • June 08, 2026

    DC Judge Undoes IRS Wind, Solar Tax Credit Limitations

    A D.C. federal judge has vacated an Internal Revenue Service notice limiting how wind and large-scale solar projects can qualify for two Biden-era clean energy tax credits, finding the Trump administration didn't sufficiently consider reliance interests and explain its rationale for the change.

  • June 08, 2026

    Shoals Solar Patent Dispute Kept Alive By NC Court

    A North Carolina federal court has refused to find that three Shoals Technologies Group solar energy patents were unenforceable in the company's infringement suit but said the court would keep certain issues in mind should the case result in a damages verdict.

  • June 08, 2026

    Feds Probe Bonfire, Gunfire Damage To Wyoming Petroglyphs

    The U.S. Bureau of Land Management says it's investigating six acts of vandalism toward Indigenous petroglyph sites in Wyoming's Bighorn Basin that have caused irreparable damage to the centuries old archaeological sites.

  • June 08, 2026

    Wash. Tribe Says Court Misread Prior Fishing Boundary Case

    A Washington tribe wants a federal court to rethink a decision to deny its bid to open a new sub-proceeding regarding its fishing treaty limits within Evergreen State waterways, saying it's the first time a district court has denied such a request on jurisdictional grounds in the case's 50-year history.

  • June 08, 2026

    Ariz. Authorizes Special Tax Districts To Fund Infrastructure

    Arizona authorized the formation of special taxing districts to fund infrastructure projects with revenue from property taxes and other sources under a bill signed by the governor.

  • June 08, 2026

    Developers Stumped By Energy Credits' Foreign Debt Limits

    Developers seeking to finalize projects financed with clean energy tax credits and several loans are hitting a roadblock in demonstrating to the IRS that their debt has limited ties to prohibited foreign entities, a requirement for qualifying for the incentives.

  • June 08, 2026

    Conn. Expands Solar Energy System Tax, Limits Exemption

    Connecticut expanded the scope of a tax on solar energy systems and limited a property tax exemption for solar energy facilities under a bill signed by the governor.

  • June 08, 2026

    High Court Won't Hear Florida Takings Case

    The U.S. Supreme Court declined on Monday to take up a long-running dispute between a city in the Florida Keys and landowners over increasingly restrictive zoning, leaving in place a decision that said the city failed to pay the owners properly after inversely condemning their property.

  • June 08, 2026

    High Court Reopens Review Of DOE Furnace Efficiency Rules

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday vacated a D.C. Circuit decision that upheld Biden-era energy efficiency standards for furnaces and water heaters and ordered the circuit court to take another look in light of the Trump administration's intent to revise the rules.

  • June 05, 2026

    USDA Food Assistance Conditions Halted By Mass. Judge

    A Massachusetts federal judge Friday blocked the U.S. Department of Agriculture from conditioning funding for programs like school lunches and food assistance on compliance with Trump administration policies on gender, women's sports, diversity and immigration.

  • June 05, 2026

    EPA Asks 4th Circ. To Back 'Streamlined' Haze Plan Reviews

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency urged the Fourth Circuit to deny a petition challenging its approval of West Virginia's regional haze plan, saying it reasonably accepted the plan after proposing to reject it based on a new policy to streamline reviews.

  • June 05, 2026

    Site Redeveloper Fined $500K For Illegal Asbestos Demolition

    A redevelopment firm that admitted it commenced demolition work at a former automotive plant in Saginaw, Michigan, without first remediating asbestos was sentenced Friday to pay a $500,000 criminal fine and serve two years of probation, federal prosecutors said.

  • June 05, 2026

    Ga. Developer Must Pay $1M, Help Recover Native Artifacts

    A Georgia developer will pay a $1 million fine and help to repatriate Indigenous remains and artifacts after the United States alleged the company continued to build homes for a 2,230-acre development on a flood plain despite knowing about the presence of archaeological sites and cultural objects.

  • June 05, 2026

    Alaska Says No Need For July Ruling In Refuge Road Dispute

    Alaska is asking a federal court to reject an environmental group and Indigenous villages' bid for a July 15 judgment in their challenge to a federal government decision to allow a road through the Izembek National Wildlife Refuge, saying a date for its construction has not yet been solidified.

  • June 05, 2026

    Chevron Polluted Property With Abandoned Tanks, Suit Says

    A pair of Connecticut property owners are suing Chevron Corp. in state court, claiming that it is responsible for pollution to their property after it allegedly abandoned and failed to properly clean oil tanks on a former petroleum storage terminal facility.

  • June 05, 2026

    Trust Tells DC Circ. Security Isn't Viable Reason For Ballroom

    The National Trust for Historic Preservation argued to the D.C. Circuit on Friday that the administration can't use national security as a reason to build the ballroom at the White House.

  • June 05, 2026

    DOE Announces More Financial Support For US Coal Industry

    The Trump administration Thursday said it will steer hundreds of millions of dollars to projects in the U.S. coal industry, asserting it has a critical role to play in the country's energy sector.

  • June 04, 2026

    Tyco To Pay $10M To Resolve Wis. PFAS Contamination Suit

    Tyco Fire Products has agreed to shell out $10 million and continue to address PFAS contamination in Wisconsin under what the state called a "historic" agreement resolving allegations that the company failed to report or remediate harmful chemicals seeping into the groundwater around a firefighting testing site.

Expert Analysis

  • 7 Mistakes To Avoid When Using Trial Graphics

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    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

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    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

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    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

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    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

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    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

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    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

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    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

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    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

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    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

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    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

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    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

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    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

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    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

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    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

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    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.

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