Native American

  • January 23, 2024

    W.Va. County To Face Off With Opioid Distributors At 4th Circ.

    A Fourth Circuit panel will hear oral arguments Thursday morning in an appeal brought by a West Virginia county that lost the first bench trial in multidistrict litigation over the opioid epidemic, kicking off the first appellate arguments this year over verdicts in the MDL.  

  • January 23, 2024

    Voting Rights Groups Trim Claims In Ga. Election Law Dispute

    Voting rights groups have dropped accusations that a controversial Georgia election law violated their free speech rights and narrowed claims that the measure infringed voters' right to participate in elections, according to an amended complaint.

  • January 23, 2024

    Court Will Rethink Tribes' Claims In Railroad Dispute

    An Idaho federal judge has reinstated two Quiet Title Act claims the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes of the Fort Hall Reservation lodged against the federal government in a dispute over land once used by a railway, agreeing that a Supreme Court ruling requires the reversal of a prior order dismissing the claims.

  • January 22, 2024

    Officer's Conduct A Departure From BIA Policy, 9th Circ. Told

    The Bureau of Indian Affairs has said that despite one of its former officer's "reprehensible abuse of authority" in sexually assaulting a Northern Cheyenne woman, the federal government isn't responsible for his actions because it was a clear departure from any conduct authorized by his employer.

  • January 22, 2024

    Native Group Urges Court To Keep NFL Conspiracy Bid In Play

    A Native American organization is urging a federal district court to deny a motion by Washington Commanders owner Josh Harris seeking to dismiss its $1.6 million civil conspiracy and defamation lawsuit, saying that for an organization that promotes inclusivity, it is unacceptable to defame a minority group for sharing a different viewpoint.

  • January 22, 2024

    Feds Defend Ability To Take Land Into Trust For Alaska Tribes

    The U.S. government is urging an Alaska federal judge to reject the state of Alaska's arguments that the Interior Department's decision to take a 787-square-foot piece of land in downtown Juneau in trust for the Central Council of Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes oversteps its authority or threatens state jurisdiction.

  • January 22, 2024

    Motley Rice Fights DQ Bid In Opioid MDL

    Law firms representing governments suing over the opioid epidemic on Monday told an Ohio federal judge that "corporate wrongdoers" don't get to pick who sues them, in response to a pharmacy benefit manager's bid to disqualify Motley Rice LLC over its representation of other governments in prescription drug disputes.

  • January 22, 2024

    Ariz. 'Fintech Sandbox' Regulator Joins Greenberg Traurig

    Greenberg Traurig LLP's newest shareholder is an experienced financial technology regulator who has joined the firm's Phoenix office after nine years of government service.

  • January 22, 2024

    Justices To Consider If Feds Can Stop Rio Grande Water Deal

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday agreed to consider whether the federal government has the authority to scuttle a Rio Grande water sharing agreement between Texas, New Mexico and Colorado.

  • January 22, 2024

    High Court Won't Review Tribal Bond Scam Case

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday denied a petition by a former private equity professional to appeal his conviction and one-year prison sentence for allegedly helping a career con artist to execute a $60 million tribal bond scam.

  • January 19, 2024

    Law360 Names Firms Of The Year

    Eight law firms have earned spots as Law360's Firms of the Year, with 55 Practice Group of the Year awards among them, steering some of the largest deals of 2023 and securing high-profile litigation wins, including at the U.S. Supreme Court.

  • January 19, 2024

    Law360 Names Practice Groups Of The Year

    Law360 would like to congratulate the winners of its Practice Groups of the Year awards for 2023, which honor the attorney teams behind litigation wins and major deals that resonated throughout the legal industry this past year.

  • January 19, 2024

    Dam Co. Says Wash. Tribe Gets It Wrong On Fish Takings

    The operator of a dam on the Puyallup River near Seattle has asked a Washington federal court to dismiss a Native American tribe's claims about future construction of a hydroelectric project that may endanger fish, saying it is wrongly attempting to challenge operations that don't yet exist.

  • January 19, 2024

    Feds To Turn To 9th Circ. To Swat Down Kids' Climate Suit

    The federal government told an Oregon federal judge it plans to ask the Ninth Circuit to strike down her recent decision greenlighting an amended climate lawsuit filed by young people over the role of harmful fossil fuel energy policies in worsening the climate crisis.

  • January 19, 2024

    Camp Operator Wants $1M Surety Bond Order Cut In Half

    A Montana campground operator is asking a federal judge to cut nearly in half a $1 million surety bond order that would allow a stay to remain in place, saying the amount far exceeds any potential impact on the Blackfeet Nation in a long-running land lease dispute.

  • January 19, 2024

    Wash. Judge Upholds USFS Review For Forest Restoration

    A Washington federal judge upheld the U.S. Forest Service's decision to authorize a 24,000-acre restoration project on the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest near the town of Twisp, rejecting a conservation group's arguments that the environmental review fell short of what is required.

  • January 19, 2024

    Ariz. Tribes Say Power Line Project OK Imperils Sacred Areas

    A coalition of Arizona tribes and conservationists has sued the U.S. Department of the Interior over its approval of a major power transmission line project running through the state, claiming it failed to conduct a legally adequate inventory of historic properties and cultural resources that would be affected.

  • January 18, 2024

    SD Sioux Tribe Vying For FCC Universal Service Recognition

    The Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe is asking the Federal Communications Commission to certify its telephone authority as an Eligible Telecommunications Carrier, saying the agency had no reason four years ago to dismiss its petition, which would have made it eligible for federal funding.

  • January 18, 2024

    Dems Say DAPL Review Falling Short For Climate, Tribes

    More than 30 Democratic lawmakers wrote to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on Thursday to express concerns about tribal consultation and the climate analysis for a draft environmental impact statement for the Dakota Access Pipeline, saying the draft seems to shortchange and neglect environmental review requirements.

  • January 18, 2024

    Green Group Backs Mich. In Pipeline Challenge Venue Spat

    An environmental policy and law center is backing the Michigan attorney general in her appeal of Enbridge Energy's removal to federal court of a state lawsuit seeking to shut down a pipeline that crosses through the state's water, saying it undermines the role of states to protect their interest in natural resources.

  • January 18, 2024

    Feds Join AgriBiz In Asking 9th Circ. To Upend Land Swap

    The federal government and a global agribusiness with operations in Idaho have urged the Ninth Circuit to overturn a lower court ruling that favored the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes in their challenge to a U.S. Department of the Interior land transfer for the expansion of a fertilizer plant.

  • January 18, 2024

    Neb. County Officials Suggest Stay In VRA Consent Decree

    Officials in Thurston County, Nebraska, say a pause by a federal district court judge might best serve in determining whether to accept a consent decree that resolves Voting Rights Act claims brought by two Native American tribes while similar litigation plays out in the Eighth Circuit.

  • January 17, 2024

    'Chaos' Warning Resonates As Justices Mull Chevron's Fate

    A conservative-led campaign against the 40-year-old doctrine of judicial deference to federal regulators appeared vulnerable at U.S. Supreme Court arguments Wednesday to predictions of a litigation tsunami, as justices fretted about an onslaught of suits and politicization of the federal judiciary.

  • January 17, 2024

    Thomas Gets Laugh, Agrees Prior Ruling Is 'Embarrassment'

    The specter of a major 2005 telecommunications ruling hung over U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas on Wednesday as he and his colleagues considered whether to toss the court's decades-old precedent instructing judges to defer to federal agencies' interpretations of ambiguous statutes. 

  • January 17, 2024

    5 Key Takeaways From Supreme Court's Chevron Arguments

    U.S. Supreme Court justices questioned Wednesday whether overturning a decades-old precedent instructing courts to defer to federal agencies' interpretations of ambiguous statutes would lead judges to legislate from the bench or diminish the value of Supreme Court precedent — and pondered whether they could "Kisorize" the doctrine rather than doing away with it altogether.

Expert Analysis

  • Virginia 'Rocket Docket' Slowdown Is Likely A Blip

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    After being the fastest or second-fastest federal civil trial court for 14 straight years, the Eastern District of Virginia has slid to 18th place, but the rocket docket’s statistical tumble doesn't mean the district no longer maintains a speedy civil docket, says Robert Tata at Hunton.

  • NEPA Reforms May Aid Project Speed, But Red Tape Remains

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    The Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 included amendments to the National Environmental Policy Act that are designed to streamline the federal environmental review process for infrastructure projects, but coordination with agencies and early stakeholder engagement are still likelier to lead to successful outcomes than time and page limits, say Jena Maclean and Stephanie Regenold at Perkins Coie.

  • Takeaways From Tribes' High Court Adoption Case Victory

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Haaland v. Brackeen, upholding the Indian Child Welfare Act, leaves the door open for individuals to bring equal protection claims, but generally bodes well for future tribal issues that reach the court, says Sarah Murray at Brownstein Hyatt.

  • 5 Management Tips To Keep Law Firm Merger Talks Moving

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    Many law firm mergers that make solid business sense still fall apart due to the costs and frustrations of inefficient negotiations, but firm managers can increase the chance of success by effectively planning and executing merger discussions, say Lisa Smith and Kristin Stark at Fairfax Associates.

  • Opinion

    Okla. Bill Represents Restorative Justice For Tribal Students

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    Oklahoma law will soon confer Native American students with the right to wear traditional regalia during graduation ceremonies, removing uncertainty for Native American students and providing long-overdue restorative justice in the relationship between tribes and schools, says Bree Black Horse at Kilpatrick.

  • Rethinking In-Office Attendance For Associate Retention

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    The hybrid office attendance model doesn't work for all employees, but it does for many — and balancing these two groups is important for associate retention and maintaining a BigLaw firm culture that supports all attorneys, says Summer Eberhard at Major Lindsey.

  • Bid Protest Spotlight: Timeliness, Discovery, Registration Gap

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    In this month's bid protest roundup, Michaela Thornton at MoFo examines recent decisions from the U.S. Court of Federal Claims and the U.S. Government Accountability Office that consider the timeliness of a protest filing, discovery beyond the administrative record and a lapse in System for Award Management registration.

  • Sackett's US Waters Redefinition Is A Boon For Developers

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's recent landmark ruling in Sackett v. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency should reduce real estate project delays, development costs and potential legal exposures — but developers must remain mindful of how new federal and state regulations governing wetlands could affect their plans, say attorneys at Morris Manning.

  • Opinion

    Despite Its Plan Objections, UST Also Won In Purdue Ch. 11

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    The Second Circuit’s recent decision approving Purdue Pharma’s reorganization plan is a win even for the dissenting Office of the U.S. Trustee because the decision sets extremely stringent guidelines for future use of nonconsensual third-party releases, say Edward Neiger and Jennifer Christian at Ask.

  • Murdaugh Trials Offer Law Firms Fraud Prevention Reminders

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    As the fraud case against Alex Murdaugh continues to play out, the evidence and narrative presented at his murder trial earlier this year may provide lessons for law firms on implementing robust internal controls that can detect and prevent similar kinds of fraud, say Travis Casner and Helga Zauner at Weaver and Tidwell.

  • Firm Tips For Helping New Lawyers Succeed Post-Pandemic

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    Ten steps can help firms significantly enhance the experience of attorneys who started their careers in the coronavirus pandemic era, including facilitating opportunities for cross-firm connection, which can ultimately help build momentum for business development, says Lana Manganiello at Equinox Strategy Partners.

  • Tackling Judge-Shopping Concerns While Honoring Localism

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    As the debate continues over judge-shopping and case assignments in federal court, policymakers should look to a hybrid model that preserves the benefits of localism for those cases that warrant it, while preventing the appearance of judge-shopping for cases of a more national or widespread character, says Joshua Sohn at the U.S. Department of Justice.

  • EPA Nod For La. Program Bodes Well For Carbon Storage

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    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's recent announcement that it plans to grant Louisiana control over the permitting of carbon dioxide geologic sequestration wells is a welcome development for other states seeking similar authority — and developers seeking carbon storage well permits, say attorneys at Sidley.

  • Perspectives

    How Attorneys Can Help Combat Anti-Asian Hate

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    Amid an exponential increase in violence against Asian American and Pacific Islander communities, unique obstacles stand in the way of accountability and justice — but lawyers can effect powerful change by raising awareness, offering legal representation, advocating for victims’ rights and more, say attorneys at Gibson Dunn.

  • Opinion

    Congress Needs To Enact A Federal Anti-SLAPP Statute

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    Although many states have passed statutes meant to prevent individuals or entities from filing strategic lawsuits against public participation, other states have not, so it's time for Congress to enact a federal statute to ensure that free speech and petitioning rights are uniformly protected nationwide in federal court, say attorneys at Skadden.

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