3rd Circ. Backs Pa. Regulator In Pipeline Approval Fight

By George Woolston

The Third Circuit on Wednesday affirmed a Pennsylvania regulator's approval of a Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line Co. project, ruling there was no evidence the water quality information pushed by environmental groups would have altered the outcome of the application.

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Pa. County Urges Appeals Court To Revive Climate Suit

By Keith Goldberg

A Pennsylvania county's lawsuit that accuses oil companies of concealing the impacts of fossil fuels on climate change isn't preempted by federal law and should be revived, a state appellate court heard Wednesday.

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DC Circ. Not Fan Of EPA's Citation Habits In Methane Appeal

By Nadia Dreid

The D.C. Circuit didn't seem too sure Wednesday morning whether the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency had behaved how it ought to have when extending compliance deadlines for initiating requirements to reduce methane pollution from the oil and gas sector.

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Unions, Nonprofits Get USDA Reorganization Plan Blocked

By Rae Ann Varona

A California federal judge has temporarily blocked the U.S. Department of Agriculture from closing offices and reshuffling staff, saying the department's planned reorganization likely amounted to "reprogramming" prohibited by statutory spending restrictions.

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Paraquat Judge Demands To Meet 700 Opt-Out Plaintiffs

By Cara Salvatore

The Illinois federal judge overseeing mass litigation claiming the herbicide paraquat causes Parkinson's disease ordered a plaintiffs' lawyer Wednesday to reveal who is funding his cases and to start attending fortnightly conferences so she can speak to each of his 700 clients who have opted out of a global settlement.

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Groups Win Bid To Reopen Suits Over Native Monument Cuts

By Crystal Owens

A D.C. district court judge has agreed to reopen a series of stayed cases challenging President Donald Trump's removal of millions of acres from the Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments in Utah, saying circumstances have changed after a Tenth Circuit decision.

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Willkie Grows DC Office With Senior Westinghouse Atty

By Christine DeRosa

Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP has expanded its offerings in the nation's capital with a nuclear energy attorney who most recently worked in-house at U.S.-based global nuclear power provider Westinghouse Electric Co.

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Terminix Deal Shows Risks Of Calif. Aggregating Local Lapses

California district attorneys’ novel use of an unfair competition law to merge unrelated local enforcement matters against pest control providers Rentokil and Terminix into one recently settled statewide case demonstrates that lack of adequate communication between facilities and corporate compliance managers may cause isolated regulatory violations to snowball into larger challenges, say attorneys at Kazmarek Mowrey.

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What Lawyers Should Know Before Accepting Crypto Payment

As clients increasingly request to pay legal fees, retainers and escrow funds using cryptocurrency, lawyers should consider how only a handful of state bar authorities have addressed the issue with varying ethics opinions, as well as the related questions that no authority has yet answered, says attorney Felix Shipkevich.

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Watchdog Wants Probe Of Trump Press Secretary's Atty Claim

By Jack Karp

A nonprofit government watchdog on Wednesday asked the State Bar of California to investigate whether the new White House press secretary has claimed to be an attorney without being licensed to practice law.

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Ex-BigLaw Atty Wants Firm Docs For Insider Trading Defense

By Carolyn Muyskens

A former BigLaw associate accused of insider trading is seeking records from ex-employers Sidley Austin LLP, Latham & Watkins LLP and Goodwin Procter LLP to help fight charges that he tipped others about nonpublic deals the firms were working on.

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Quinn Emanuel Seeks Arbitration Of $1.7M Fee Dispute

By Caroline Simson

Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP is urging a California federal court to order an entrepreneur to arbitrate malpractice claims stemming from the firm's representation of her in a sexual harassment claim against a technology investor as it seeks to collect more than $1.7 million in unpaid fees.

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Baker Botts Atty Seeks $3.4M In Fees After Defamation Suit

By Madison Arnold

A Baker Botts LLP patent attorney has moved for almost $3.4 million in attorney fees and expenses in a defamation suit an inventor brought against her that was dismissed.

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Fox Rothschild Beats Daycare's Malicious Prosecution Suit

By George Woolston

A New Jersey state court dismissed an adult daycare company's suit against Fox Rothschild LLP and one of its attorneys related to their prosecution of a fraudulent loan lawsuit that led to a $65,000 sanction against the firm, according to a court order.

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DLA Piper Accused Of Malpractice In Investor's Soccer Deals

By Bonnie Eslinger

American businessman John Textor has filed a legal malpractice suit in Florida against DLA Piper over the firm's representation in connection with an investment vehicle he created to acquire soccer clubs in the United Kingdom and other countries, claiming his damages could exceed hundreds of millions of dollars.

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