Analysis

Mich. AG's Antitrust Suit Charts New Path For Climate Torts

By Keith Goldberg

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel's antitrust lawsuit against fossil fuel companies opens a new front in climate change tort litigation, and is a riposte to red states using antitrust law to target pro-climate actions by companies.

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Minnesota Appeals Court Won't Toss Climate Change Suit

By Elaine Briseño

A Minnesota appeals court on Monday affirmed a lower court's decision not to toss the state's lawsuit alleging that Exxon Mobil Corp., Koch Industries Inc. and the American Petroleum Institute concealed the climate change risks of fossil fuels.

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DOJ Can't Sue Mich. To Stop 'Hypothetical' Climate Claims

By Melanie Dorsey

A Michigan federal judge ruled on Saturday that the U.S. Department of Justice cannot preemptively block the state from filing climate-related claims against the fossil fuel industry, adding there's no precedent for such a move being allowed in the long history of state litigation against national industry groups.

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2 Firms Guide Data Center, Grid Parts Builder Seeking $1.5B

By Nate Beck

Forgent Power Solutions, a manufacturer serving industrial and data center customers, said Monday that it expects to raise an estimated $1.5 billion in an upcoming initial public offering advised by Weil Gotshal & Manges LLP and Latham & Watkins LLP.

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Truck Makers Say Calif. Delaying 'Clean Trucks Pact' Fight

By Linda Chiem

Heavy-duty truck manufacturers on Monday accused California officials of trying to delay litigation over a 2023 agreement that would saddle manufacturers with stringent state emissions standards and stiff penalties for noncompliance in the coming years.

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10th Circ. Affirms $17M Atty Fee In Gas Well Royalty Case

By Zach Dupont

On the third go around in the Tenth Circuit, a class led by Chieftain Royalty Co. on Monday had its $17.3 million attorney fee award unanimously affirmed for a settlement resolving a gas well royalty dispute, despite objections from two class members.

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Texas Jury Returns $46 Million Verdict Against Stone Supplier

By Spencer Brewer

A Texas jury slapped a stone supplier with a $46 million verdict, finding that a truck driver who ran over and killed a man in DeWitt County in 2019 was driving on behalf of the company at the time of the accident. 

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Colo. High Court Says Xcel's Immunity Bid Went Too Far

By Rachel Konieczny

A Colorado regulatory agency lacked the authority to approve a tariff limiting Xcel Energy's liability from a man's personal injury claim, the Colorado Supreme Court held Monday in a ruling that also rejected an appellate court's finding that the tariff does not extend to non-Xcel customers.

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Angola Looks To Dodge $171M Seized Turbines Claim

By Joyce Hanson

The Republic of Angola is fighting back against a $171 million claim asserted by the Portuguese founder of energy company Aenergy SA over the alleged seizure of four turbines associated with $1.1 billion in power plant contracts, saying he is trying to "manipulate the facts."

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Texas Wind Farm Owner Hits Ch. 11 With $108M In Debt

By Emlyn Cameron

A wind farm owner in North Texas has filed for Chapter 11 protection with $108 million in debt, saying a winter storm in 2021 put it on a path to conflict with a partner in a defunct hedging agreement, with the partner eventually installing leaders to restructure the debtor.

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11th Circ. Won't Expedite Bid To Halt CFPB Energy Loan Rule

By Jon Hill

The Eleventh Circuit declined Monday to fast-track an appeal aimed at halting a new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau rule on clean-energy home improvement loans, rebuffing the rule's trade group challenger as the agency separately defended the Biden-era measure.

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USA Rare Earth Secures $3.1B Of Federal And Private Funding

By Jade Martinez-Pogue

Mining company USA Rare Earth Inc. on Monday announced that it is set to receive $3.1 billion of new funding through collaborations with the U.S. government and a private investment in public equity funding commitment, in deals shaped by three law firms.

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White & Case Rehires Crowell Energy Atty To DC Team

By Jack Rodgers

White & Case LLP has hired a Crowell & Moring LLP partner whose first role in private practice was with the firm, bringing decades of experience in energy regulatory matters as a former attorney adviser at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to the team, according to a Monday announcement.

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Orrick Adds Skadden Energy M&A Pro In Houston

By Lynn LaRowe

Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP announced Monday that it has brought on a partner in Houston from Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom LLP who brings particular expertise advising clients across the energy industry.

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Navigating Battery Validation Risk In The EV Supply Chain

Vehicle electrification has moved battery system supply chains from a background component into the center of the automotive universe — and for legal teams, battery validation is now a driver of contractual disputes, regulatory exposure and even shareholder litigation, say Samuel Madden at Secretariat Advisors and Vanessa Miller at Foley & Lardner.

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Series

Adapting To Private Practice: 5 Tips From Ex-SEC Unit Chief

My move to private practice has reaffirmed my belief in the value of adaptability, collaboration and strategic thinking — qualities that are essential not only for successful client outcomes, but also for sustained professional satisfaction, says Dabney O’Riordan at Fried Frank.

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Law Student Recruiting Moves Further Off Campus

By Emma Cueto

About four-fifths of law school summer associate recruiting in 2025 happened through employer-sponsored channels, as opposed to more traditional law school-sponsored channels, with recruiting also happening increasingly early, according to research unveiled Monday by the National Association for Law Placement.

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Fla. Bar Clears Gaetz Despite US House Ethics Report

By Courtney Bublé

The Florida Bar has decided to not discipline former U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., who was briefly President Donald Trump's pick for attorney general, despite the House ethics committee's findings that Gaetz regularly paid for sex, including with a minor.

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Texas Law Firm-Linked Plane Crashes In Maine With Fatalities

By Lynn LaRowe

A private plane connected to Texas-based litigation firm Arnold & Itkin LLP overturned and caught fire Sunday night as it attempted to take off from a Maine airport, killing at least six people on board, according to authorities and public records.

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Indiana Judge Was Shot Through Front Door, Cop Says

By Hailey Konnath

An Indiana Superior Court judge and his wife were shot by a man standing on their front porch, through their closed front door, according to an affidavit, which noted that the suspected shooter was connected to a man with pending charges in the judge's courtroom.

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Foley & Lardner Can't Dodge Pro-Palestinian Atty's Bias Suit

By Emily Sawicki

A Chicago federal judge on Monday denied Foley & Lardner LLP's bid for an early win against claims brought by a former summer associate who said discrimination led to the firm's decision to rescind a job offer after she publicly supported Palestinians amid Israel's war with Hamas.

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Minn. Judge Probes Limits Of ICE Enforcement Actions

By Ganesh Setty

A Minnesota federal judge on Monday considered whether to preliminarily block the Trump administration from sending thousands of immigration enforcement officers to the state, questioning if the surge is a coercive federal act in violation of state sovereignty.

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Full 3rd Circ. Passes On Alina Habba DQ Challenge

By Carla Baranauckas

The Third Circuit on Monday declined to reconsider its decision blocking Alina Habba from serving as acting U.S. attorney for New Jersey, denying the Justice Department's petition for rehearing and leaving intact a decision that sharply curtailed the government's use of creative maneuvers to install interim federal prosecutors.

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Catching Up With Delaware's Chancery Court

By Jarek Rutz

The Delaware Chancery Court wrapped up the week with a slate of high-stakes deal challenges, governance rulings and oversight decisions, including an emergency bid to block a $10.9 billion bank merger, a state Supreme Court reversal reshaping stockholder agreement litigation and a major opinion allowing sexual misconduct oversight claims to proceed.

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