FERC Looks To Put LNG Project Work On A Faster Track

By Keith Goldberg

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on Thursday said it will explore speeding up its permitting of liquefied natural gas projects by creating a blanket authorization process for certain project activities that wouldn't require individual approvals.

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'Not Well-Taken': 2nd Bid To Halt CFPB Energy Loan Rule Fails

By Jon Hill

A Florida federal judge on Thursday smacked down a lender trade group's renewed bid to halt a Biden-era Consumer Financial Protection Bureau rule that will tighten standards on clean-energy home improvement loans, calling the emergency request wasteful and "not well-taken."

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New Trial Bid Denied After $57M Coal Emissions IP Verdict

By Adam Lidgett

A Delaware federal magistrate judge won't order a new trial after a jury found in 2024 that companies affiliated with CERT Operations owed Midwest Energy Emissions Corp. more than $57 million for infringing patents on technology for refining coal to reduce mercury in emissions from power plants.

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Conn. Agency GC Tried To 'Mislead The Court,' Judge Says

By Michele Gorman

A Connecticut judge said Wednesday that he notified ethics officials after finding the general counsel of the state's utilities authority tried to mislead the court and opposing counsel over deleted text messages in a rate dispute with a pair of natural gas suppliers.

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Judge Raises Sanctions In Eletson Affiliate Ownership Row

By Rick Archer

The New York bankruptcy judge overseeing Eletson Holdings' Chapter 11 case has raised sanctions against three Cypriot corporations connected to the shipping company's former owners to $5,000 a day for failing to reverse changes to the board of an Eletson affiliate.

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Analysis

Importers Left With Uncertainty After US-China Trade Truce

By Dylan Moroses

U.S. importers have welcomed the latest trade truce with China and the ability to obtain key minerals without new licensing requirements for the next year, but continue to have questions about how commitments in the bilateral agreement will be met and concerns about risks of escalation.

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EU Needs Unified Tax Benefits For Electricity, Experts Say

By Kevin Pinner

The European Union needs a unified approach to tax benefits that would treat electricity more favorably than fossil fuels amid an impasse surrounding its overhaul to the energy taxation system, experts told the European Parliament's tax committee Thursday.

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Hedge Fund Can Register $1.4B PDVSA Judgment In Delaware

By Caroline Simson

Affiliates of hedge fund Gramercy won permission Thursday to register New York judgments totaling more than $1.4 billion against Venezuela's state-owned oil company in Delaware, where a long-awaited auction of Venezuela's most significant seizable asset to satisfy creditors owed some $20 billion is drawing to a close.

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FirstEnergy Must Pay $250M In Ohio Bribery Scandal Fallout

By George Woolston

FirstEnergy Corp.'s Ohio utilities were ordered to pay a combined $250.7 million in restitution to customers and civil forfeitures by the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio as part of the commission's investigation in response to the massive bribery scheme behind a $1.3 billion bailout for two nuclear energy plants.

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Chancery Says $33M Nikola Deal 'More Than Fair'

By Jarek Rutz

Delaware Chancellor Kathaleen St. J. McCormick granted final approval Thursday to a pair of settlements totaling more than $33 million, including more than $1.8 million in fees and expenses, resolving years of shareholder litigation tied to Nikola Corp.'s fraud-shadowed SPAC merger.

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Ex-Ill. Speaker Madigan Disbarred After Bribery Conviction

By Celeste Bott

The Illinois Supreme Court issued an order Wednesday disbarring former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan, who consented to the disbarment after he was convicted earlier this year on charges claiming he used his official position to steer business to his now-defunct personal law firm.

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Brief

Judge OKs Litigation Costs In Coal Miners' $15.2M Wage Suit

By Irene Spezzamonte

Coal miners who snagged a $15.2 million deal to end their unpaid wage suit against multiple mining companies supported their request for about $309,000 for litigation costs, a Kentucky federal judge said Thursday, signing off on the amount.

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How New Law Transforms Large-Load Power Projects In Texas

S.B. 6 — the new Texas law that revises state regulations for large electrical loads and related behind-the-meter projects — introduces higher up-front costs for developers and more flexible operating models for large-load customers, but should provide the certainty needed for greater investment in generation, say attorneys at Sidley.

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Rule Amendments Pave Path For A Privilege Claim 'Offensive'

Litigators should consider leveraging forthcoming amendments to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, which will require early negotiations of privilege-related discovery claims, by taking an offensive posture toward privilege logs at the outset of discovery, says David Ben-Meir at Ben-Meir Law.

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Series

My Miniature Livestock Farm Makes Me A Better Lawyer

Raising miniature livestock on my farm, where I am fully present with the animals, is an almost meditative time that allows me to return to work invigorated, ready to juggle numerous responsibilities and motivated to tackle hard issues in new ways, says Ted Kobus at BakerHostetler.

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Bonus Spotlight

Law Firms Begin Upping The Ante For Associate Bonuses

By Tracey Read

Trial boutique Wilkinson Stekloff LLP is exceeding the year-end associate bonus scale set by Cravath Swaine & Moore LLP, announcing bonuses late Wednesday that are 150% of market.

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CFPB Will Shift Remaining Lawsuits Over To DOJ

By Jon Hill

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau will be handing off its enforcement lawsuits and other litigation to the U.S. Department of Justice as the Trump administration prepares for the consumer agency to run out of money, Law360 has learned.

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Analysis

Trump's Epstein Directive Puts SDNY Prosecutor In A 'Pickle'

By Phillip Bantz

Manhattan chief federal prosecutor Jay Clayton appears to have been backed into a "horrible" corner with a "no-win" outcome as a result of a directive from President Donald Trump and U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi to investigate Jeffrey Epstein's ties to prominent Democrats, experts say.

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Comey Says DOJ's Conduct 'Shocks The Conscience'

By Hailey Konnath

James Comey on Thursday reiterated his request that the U.S. Department of Justice be forced to disclose all grand jury materials related to his indictment, noting the government has conceded that the grand jury never saw the operative indictment and saying the purported misconduct "shocks the conscience."

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NJ Panel Expands Scope Of Ex-Reed Smith Atty's Bias Claims

By Rose Krebs

A New Jersey appellate panel on Thursday ruled that a former Reed Smith LLP attorney is entitled to pursue more damages and obtain expanded wage data in her gender discrimination suit against the firm, saying a trial court incorrectly applied certain statutes when it limited the damages and data she could seek.

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X Corp. Ends $90M Fee Suit Against Wachtell

By James Mills

X Corp. has ended its California state lawsuit against Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz over $90 million in legal fees tied to the fight over Elon Musk's purchase of Twitter, according to a court filing.

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Analysis

Meta Loss Shows Time Not On Enforcers' Side In Tech Cases

By Bryan Koenig

Meta's triumph over a Federal Trade Commission antitrust case Tuesday hinged on a D.C. federal judge's finding that the company lacks a monopoly in the present day, highlighting some of the challenges of using slow-moving litigation to challenge fast-moving markets.

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Senate Panel OKs Miss. Judge, US Atty Nominees After Delay

By Courtney Bublé

After weeks of holdup, nominees for Mississippi federal courts and U.S. attorneys were voted out of committee on Thursday, following an impasse between Republican senators.

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Brief

Senate Passes Bill To Protect State Judges From Threats

By Courtney Bublé

The Senate on Thursday unanimously passed a bipartisan bill to beef up security for state and local judges.

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DOJ Antitrust Chief Says Agriculture A 'Top Priority'

By Matthew Perlman

The U.S. Department of Justice's top antitrust official said enforcers have already opened several investigations in the agriculture sector, including into meatpackers at the direction of President Donald Trump, and called the industry a "top priority" for the agency.

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