Analysis

Feds' Bid To Wipe Calif. Clean Car Regs Spells More Upheaval

By Linda Chiem

The Trump administration's assault on California's more than decade-old clean car regulations deliberately upends the U.S. auto industry's transition toward alternative-powered vehicles, spelling even more regulatory uncertainty as the antagonistic political climate and long legal battles persist, experts say.

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States Join Push To Revive EPA Climate Danger Finding

By Julie Manganis

A coalition of state and local governments on Thursday became the latest group to ask that the D.C. Circuit overrule the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's rescission last month of its long-held position on the danger greenhouse gases pose to public health.

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Justice Kagan Denies Apache Bid To Block Ariz. Land Transfer

By Crystal Owens

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan on Thursday declined to block a federal government land transfer in Arizona after four Apache women looked to stop the exchange on behalf of their daughters, arguing that the area contains a site used for a coming of age ceremony that will be destroyed.

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PI Loses Bid To Block Extradition To US On Hacking Charges

By Ronan Barnard

A private investigator accused of hacking activists on behalf of ExxonMobil to subvert climate change litigation lost his bid on Thursday to overturn a decision to allow his extradition to the U.S. to face trial.

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Alaska Natives Retain Access To Land In Petroleum Reserve

By Joyce Hanson

An Alaska federal judge has stayed the Trump administration's cancellation of a conservation right-of-way issued to a tribal group seeking access to about 1 million acres of key habitat for a caribou herd within the vast National Petroleum Reserve located on the state's North Slope.

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FERC Chair Aims To Ease Energy Squeeze From War On Iran

By Keith Goldberg

The U.S.-Israel war on Iran that is roiling global energy markets underscores the need for the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to approve gas infrastructure projects more quickly so that energy prices can be kept in check, FERC Chair Laura Swett said Thursday.

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Ford, NJ Town Ink $3.4M Deal To Conclude Landfill Cleanup

By Carla Baranauckas

Ford Motor Co. and a New Jersey town have inked a $3.4 million deal with state and federal environmental regulators to conclude the remediation of a former iron mine that was later used as a landfill, according to filings Thursday in New Jersey federal court.

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4th Circ. Probes Basis For Chemours River Pollution Order

By Hayley Fowler

The Chemours Co. FC LLC found favor Thursday with at least one Fourth Circuit judge who appeared skeptical of why a lower court decided to render an injunction that blocks the company from continuing to discharge forever chemicals into the Ohio River.

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Del. Suit Targets NC Enviro Co. Charter Shielding Directors

By Jarek Rutz

A stockholder of a North Carolina-based environmental technology business has brought a class action in the Delaware Chancery Court seeking to invalidate a provision in the company's corporate charter that he contends unlawfully shields directors and officers from liability for certain misconduct.

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Target Hit With False Ad Suit Over 'Sustainably Caught' Tuna

By Gina Kim

Target's representations that its Good & Gather tuna products are "sustainably caught" are nothing but empty promises, as its suppliers use dangerous fishing practices that harm the marine ecosystem and kill endangered sea turtles, whales and dolphins, according to a proposed class action filed Wednesday in California federal court.

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SEC Sued Over Proxy Exclusion Policy Change

By Sarah Jarvis

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission violated the Administrative Procedure Act by implementing "a new, de facto rubber-stamp process" for companies to exclude shareholder proposals from their annual proxy ballots, according to a Thursday suit filed by major shareholder groups.

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3M, DuPont Hit With RICO Suit Over PFAS In Firefighter Gear

By Hailey Konnath

San Mateo County has filed a proposed Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act class action against a slew of chemical companies including 3M, Chemours and DuPont de Nemours, claiming that they provided protective gear for firefighters that contained "hazardous levels" of synthetic per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS.

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PE Behemoths Eye $10B OpenAI JV, Plus More Rumors

By Jade Martinez-Pogue

Private equity firms, including TPG and Bain Capital, are considering forming a $10 billion joint venture with OpenAI, Finnish lift maker Kone Oyj is mulling an acquisition of its rival TK Elevator, and Australian investment firm Macquarie has backed out of a bidding war for a stake in Kuwait's oil pipeline network due to the conflict in the Middle East.

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Legal And Industry Impacts Of America's Maritime Action Plan

America's Maritime Action Plan, unveiled by the White House last month, introduces changes to trade investigations, a new maritime trust fund and more — adding regulatory and compliance obligations for companies and counsel, but also new avenues for client engagement in project finance, contract negotiation and dispute resolution, say attorneys at Holland & Knight.

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Series

Coaching Soccer Makes Me A Better Lawyer

Coaching youth soccer for my 7-year-old son's team has sharpened how I communicate with clients, prepare witnesses, work within teams and think about leadership, making me a more thoughtful and effective lawyer in many ways, says Joshua Holt at Smith Currie.

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HSF Kramer Hires Axinn Antitrust Lawyer In DC

By Jack Rodgers

Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer LLP has hired a former Axinn Veltrop & Harkrider LLP partner, who represented Google in an antitrust investigation into its advertising technology, and who has represented other global companies in competition and related matters.

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Roundup

UK Litigation Roundup: Here's What You Missed In London

By Laura Stewart Liberty

The past week in London has seen an ex-professional footballer revive a dispute with Charles Russell Speechlys, Virgin Media face a group data protection claim after hundreds of thousands of customers' personal details were exposed online for months, and Mishcon de Reya sued by a real estate private equity firm founded by a former Morgan Stanley executive.

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Roundup

GC Cheat Sheet: The Hottest Corporate News Of The Week

By Michele Gorman

Major shareholder groups sued the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, claiming the agency violated the Administrative Procedure Act. In the meantime, some attorneys think the sanctions that judges are issuing to lawyers over AI-generated errors won't be enough to stop the problem. These are some of the stories in corporate legal news you may have missed in the past week.

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DOJ Rebuked Over Lack Of Candor For 'Imperious Client'

By Jack Karp

A Florida federal judge has rebuked government attorneys for failing to be up-front about legal authority that contradicts their position in a habeas case, warning them not to let their "imperious client" get between them and their ethical obligations.

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Beasley Allen Can't Halt DQ Ruling In J&J Talc Litigation

By George Woolston

A New Jersey state appeals court has refused to pause its decision disqualifying the Beasley Allen Law Firm from representing plaintiffs in multicounty litigation over Johnson & Johnson's talc-based baby powder, according to a court order.

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Where Calif. State Courts Landed On Generative AI Use Rules

By Emily Sawicki

The majority of California's 58 superior courts — together making up the country's largest trial court system — have decided to greenlight the use of generative artificial intelligence in their work this year, a Law360 investigation found.

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Law360's Legal Lions Of The Week

By Kevin Penton

Baron & Budd PC, Walden Macht Haran & Williams LLP and Powers Pyles Sutter & Verville PC lead this week's edition of Law360 Legal Lions, after the Ninth Circuit revived a major hospital chain's False Claims Act suit accusing large pharmaceutical companies of massive overcharges in a prominent drug discount program.

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Top SEC Enforcer Signals Continuity After Ryan Departure

By Sarah Jarvis

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's acting enforcement chief said Friday that the agency will continue to "focus on quality over quantity" when it comes to the cases it brings, projecting continuity with his predecessor's approach after her abrupt departure from the agency earlier this week.

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Roundup

Balancing The Scales: $3M Jury Verdict, GEO Appeal Denial

By Orlando Lorenzo

A Philadelphia federal judge rejected bids to disturb a $3 million jury award and impose sanctions on plaintiff's counsel arising from proceedings he described as "near-daily Festivus celebrations, where everyone got to air their grievances 'for the sake of the record'" and a Detroit man saw his murder conviction vacated after 27 years due to the case's reliance on a coerced confession and a lack of physical evidence, among other access to justice stories you may have missed.

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Bondi Keeps Ousted Wisconsin US Atty With New Title

By Lauren Berg

U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi swapped Brad D. Schimel's title from interim U.S. attorney to first assistant U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Wisconsin in order to keep him in charge of the office after his tenure expired earlier this week.

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In Case You Missed It: Hottest Firms And Stories On Law360

For those who missed out, here's a look back at the law firms, stories and expert analyses that generated the most buzz on Law360 last week.

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