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Native American
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February 21, 2024
9th Circ. Says Federal Coal Lease Ban Case 'Is Moot'
A Ninth Circuit panel on Wednesday vacated and remanded a district court's ruling that had reinstated a 2016 moratorium on federal coal leasing, with a recommendation that the litigation be dismissed as moot, saying there's no basis to conclude that a challenge to a defunct order is still alive.
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February 21, 2024
BIA Must Litigate Mont. Tribes' Trimmed Police Funding Suit
A federal district judge partially dismissed claims in a lawsuit filed by two Montana tribes seeking to gain $3.8 million in additional police funding for their communities after they alleged the U.S. Department of the Interior kept their law enforcement budget at nearly the same level it was 25 years ago.
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February 21, 2024
Tribes, Mich., Feds Refute Great Lakes Fishing Challenge
Several Native American tribes, the state of Michigan and the federal government have urged the Sixth Circuit to reject a sport fishing group's attempt to sink a tribal fishing pact for parts of lakes Huron, Michigan and Superior, arguing it strikes an appropriate balance between respecting tribal fishing rights and protecting the Great Lakes fisheries.
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February 21, 2024
Ga. Urges Judge To Reject DOJ Bid To Join Voting Rights Suit
Georgia officials want a Peach State federal court to reject the Biden administration's delayed attempt to join a lawsuit alleging a recent state election law discriminates against Black voters, arguing the move is driven by the government's concern about losing its own challenge to the state's voting rules.
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February 21, 2024
FCC Considers Adding Missing Persons To Emergency Alerts
The Federal Communications Commission plans to introduce a new code to the Emergency Alert System to allow information about missing or endangered persons to be widely disseminated.
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February 20, 2024
Fond Du Lac Tribe Seeks Sanctions In Mining Land Suit
The Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians has asked a Minnesota federal judge to sanction PolyMet Mining Inc. in the tribe's suit over a land swap for a copper and nickel mine, arguing that the company and its lawyers are obstructing the discovery process.
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February 20, 2024
Groups, Scholars Back Tribes In High Court Healthcare Bid
A coalition of Native American and Alaskan Native healthcare boards and nonprofits are asking the U.S. Supreme Court to uphold rulings that ordered the federal government to reimburse two tribes millions in administrative healthcare costs, arguing that the obligation is deeply rooted in the trust relationship between the United States and its Indigenous nations.
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February 20, 2024
Calif. Tribe Looks To Undo Tobacco Noncompliance Listing
The Twenty-Nine Palms of Mission Indians is suing the U.S. government in California federal court over its decision to place the tribe on a "non-compliant list" under a law that targets illegal tobacco trafficking, arguing that its operations comply with all applicable state laws.
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February 20, 2024
Fla. Gaming Pact Not Allowed Under Federal Law, Expert Says
A Miami law school adjunct professor supporting a pair of casinos seeking to undo the Seminole Tribe of Florida's gaming agreement authorizing online sports betting has urged the U.S. Supreme Court to hear the establishments' case or reverse a lower court decision, saying the pact violates the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act.
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February 20, 2024
Tribes, Enviro Orgs Can Join Fight Over Tongass Protections
An Alaska federal judge said a coalition of tribes, conservation groups, fishers and tourism businesses can join litigation to help defend a challenged Biden administration rule that reinstated roadless area protections for some 9 million acres of the vast Tongass National Forest.
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February 16, 2024
DOI Announces Final Rule On Class III Indian Gaming
The U.S. Department of the Interior on Friday announced its final rule on changes to Class III Indian gaming compacts, updating the federal regulation to provide better guidance and transparency for tribes and states to negotiate those agreements under the Indian Gaming and Regulatory Act.
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February 16, 2024
Hydro Co. Must Alter, Not Remove, Dam That's Killing Salmon
A Washington federal judge on Friday said a hydroelectric company must remove part of a rock dam structure killing endangered wild salmon, but the judge declined to order complete removal, saying it went beyond a narrowly tailored remedy zeroing in on what is harming fish.
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February 16, 2024
FCC Offers Incentives So Small Carriers Can Use Spectrum
The Federal Communications Commission's new program to encourage spectrum licensees to divvy up their unused airwaves for sublease to smaller and more rural carriers is now up and running and accepting applications.
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February 16, 2024
FERC Rejects Hydro Project Permits Amid Tribal Opposition
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has denied preliminary permits for three proposed hydropower projects on Navajo Nation land in Arizona, saying a recently revised policy clarifying Indigenous rights in the agency's decision-making process and the tribe's overwhelming opposition to the applications swayed the decision.
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February 16, 2024
Gov't Wants More Alaskan Native Reps On Subsistence Board
The U.S. government has plans to strengthen Alaskan Native tribal representation on its Federal Subsistence Board, saying the U.S. Department of the Interior and the U.S. Department of Agriculture have proposed a new rule to add board members with personal experience of subsistence living in rural Alaska.
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February 15, 2024
America First Legal Says Disney Favors Women, Minorities
A group founded by former Trump adviser Stephen Miller accused the Walt Disney Co. of discriminating against white men in its hiring and promotion decisions and on Wednesday asked the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to investigate.
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February 15, 2024
New York Says Thruway Doesn't Cut Through Cayuga Land
New York state officials are asking a federal district court to dismiss litigation by the Cayuga Nation that seeks a cut of the tolls collected on the New York State Thruway, arguing that the tribe can't prove it had possession of the land over which the highway was being built.
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February 15, 2024
What Rescheduling Pot Would Mean For Criminal Justice Reform
While federal drug enforcers mull a recommendation from health regulators to loosen restrictions on marijuana, criminal justice reformers are warning that rescheduling the drug would not realize President Joe Biden's campaign promise to decriminalize marijuana.
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February 15, 2024
NC Tribe Seeks To Restore Mountain Peak's Cherokee Name
The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians is asking the federal government to change the name of the highest point in the Smoky Mountains back to its original Indigenous title, saying the tribe has received overwhelming support from local and regional organizations for the process that began two years ago.
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February 15, 2024
DOI Inks Klamath Basin Agreement With Tribes, Water Users
The U.S. Department of the Interior said it has struck an agreement that will see water users and tribes work together in a push to improve the environment and water supplies in the drought-prone Klamath River Basin of southern Oregon and northern California, pledging $72 million for projects.
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February 15, 2024
Wash. Judge Says Tribes Can Seek River Pollution Damages
A Washington federal judge denied a Teck Resources Ltd. unit's bid for summary judgment on natural resource damages claims that the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation and state of Washington lodged over decades of Upper Columbia River pollution from a smelter in Trail, British Columbia, setting up the matter for a possible trial.
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February 14, 2024
USDA Says $20M Will Help Tribes Access Climate Market
Federally recognized tribes and Alaska Native corporations and villages are getting a $20 million bump to broaden their access to emerging climate markets as a way to address ongoing climate change, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said on Wednesday.
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February 14, 2024
Energy Co. Says Tribal Court Being Used To Duck $12M Award
Merit Energy Operations is asking a federal district court to block two Wyoming tribes from using the tribal judicial system to vacate a $12.6 million arbitration award against them, saying the move is a blatant attempt to escape the ultimate result in the case.
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February 14, 2024
Feds, Power Line Developer Decry Tribes' Suit As 'Too Late'
The federal government and SunZia Transmission LLC, the developer of a 550-mile power line, urged an Arizona federal judge Tuesday to deny a request from tribes and conservations groups for a preliminary injunction halting the project's construction, saying they waited too long to make their challenge.
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February 14, 2024
Navajo Say Hopi Tribe Bid To Join Land Trust Suit Is Untimely
The Navajo Nation has said the Hopi Tribe's attempt to intervene in its lawsuit against the U.S. government over a land trust and casino road easement dispute is untimely, coming after nearly four years of litigation.
Expert Analysis
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Data-Driven Insights Are Key To Attracting Today's Clients
As law firm growth slows and competition for clients increases, modern firms must rely on robust data analytics to develop the sector-based expertise and industry insights that clients increasingly prioritize in relationships with counsel, says Lavinia Calvert at Intapp.
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Ghosting In BigLaw: Why Better Feedback Habits Are Needed
Not giving assignments or constructive criticism to junior associates can significantly affect their performance and hours, potentially leading them to leave the firm, but partners can prevent this by asking the right questions and creating a culture of feedback, says Rachel Patterson at Orrick.
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Opinion
Water Infrastructure Crisis Requires Private Investment
The federal government is in the process of distributing billions of dollars recently allocated for upgrades to U.S. water infrastructure — but capital, beyond what government can provide, is needed to fully address decades of neglect, meaning that private investment must be a part of the solution, says Damian Georgino at Womble Bond.
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Rebuttal
Law Needs A Balance Between Humanism And Formalism
A recent Law360 guest article rightly questions the pretextual pseudo-originalism that permits ideology to masquerade as judicial philosophy, but the cure would kill the patient because directness, simplicity and humanness are achievable without renouncing form or sacrificing stare decisis, says Vanessa Kubota at the Arizona Court of Appeals.
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Short Message Data Challenges In E-Discovery
As short message platforms increasingly dominate work environments, lawyers face multiple programs, different communication styles and emoji in e-discovery, so they must consider new strategies to adapt their processes, says Cristin Traylor at Relativity.
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Opinion
Thomas Report Is Final Straw — High Court Needs Ethics Code
As a recent report on Justice Clarence Thomas' ongoing conflicts of interest makes evident, Supreme Court justices should be subject to an enforceable and binding code of ethics — like all other federal judges — to maintain the credibility of the institution, says Erica Salmon Byrne at Ethisphere.
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Joint Representation Ethics Lessons From Ga. Electors Case
The Fulton County district attorney's recent motion to disqualify an attorney from representing her elector clients, claiming a nonconsentable conflict of interest, raises key questions about representing multiple clients related to the same conduct and highlights potential pitfalls, say Hilary Gerzhoy and Grace Wynn at HWG.
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Lawyer Discernment Is Critical In The World Of AI
In light of growing practical concerns about risks and challenges posed by artificial intelligence, lawyers' experience with the skill of discernment will position them to help address new ethical and moral dilemmas and ensure that AI is developed and deployed in a way that benefits society as a whole, says Jennifer Gibbs at Zelle.
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Opinion
It's Time For Lawyers To Stand Up For Climate Justice
The anniversary this week of the Deepwater Horizon disaster offers an opportunity for attorneys to embrace the practice of just transition lawyering — leveraging our skills to support communities on the front lines of climate change and environmental catastrophe as they pursue rebuilding and transformation, says Amy Laura Cahn at Taproot Earth.
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Don't Forget Alumni Engagement When Merging Law Firms
Neglecting law firm alumni programs after a merger can sever the deep connections attorneys have with their former firms, but by combining good data management and creating new opportunities to reconnect, firms can make every member in their expanded network of colleagues feel valued, say Clare Roath and Erin Warner at Troutman Pepper.
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Without Stronger Due Diligence, Attys Risk AML Regulation
Amid increasing pressure to mitigate money laundering and terrorism financing risks in gatekeeper professions, the legal industry will need to clarify and strengthen existing client due diligence measures — or risk the federal regulation attorneys have long sought to avoid, says Jeremy Glicksman at the Nassau County District Attorney’s Office.
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Every Lawyer Can Act To Prevent Peer Suicide
Members of the legal industry can help prevent suicide among their colleagues, and better protect their own mental health, by learning the predictors and symptoms of depression among attorneys and knowing when and how to get practical aid to peers in crisis, says Joan Bibelhausen at Minnesota Lawyers Concerned for Lawyers.
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Building On Successful Judicial Assignment Reform In Texas
Prompt action by the Judicial Conference could curtail judge shopping and improve the efficiency and procedural fairness of the federal courts by implementing random districtwide assignment of cases, which has recently proven successful in Texas patent litigation, says Dabney Carr at Troutman Pepper.
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Do Videoconferences Establish Jurisdiction With Defendants?
What it means to have minimum contacts in a foreign jurisdiction is changing as people become more accustomed to meeting via video, and defendants’ participation in videoconferencing may be used as a sword or a shield in courts’ personal jurisdiction analysis, says Patrick Hickey at Moye White.
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Opinion
Humanism Should Replace Formalism In The Courts
The worrying tendency for judges to say "it's just the law talking, not me" in American decision writing has coincided with an historic decline in respect for the courts, but this trend can be reversed if courts develop understandable legal standards and justify them in human terms, says Connecticut Superior Court Judge Thomas Moukawsher.