NJ Strikes $49.5M Deal Over Pollution At Superfund Site

By Carla Baranauckas

The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection has reached a $49.5 million settlement with Pechiney Plastics Packaging Inc., Bristol-Myers Squibb Co., Citigroup Inc. and other companies, resolving the state's long-running natural resource damages suit over extensive groundwater contamination across a 10,000-acre Superfund site, state officials announced Monday.

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Monsanto Must Pay $28M Roundup Award, Calif. Court Says

By Bonnie Eslinger

A California appeals court on Monday affirmed a $28 million award against Monsanto for a California man who developed non-Hodgkins lymphoma after using the Bayer AG unit's Roundup weed killer for 20 years.

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Judge Pushes To Resolve Gaming Status Of $700M Casino

By Crystal Owens

A D.C. federal court judge is asking the federal government and several tribal nations for a report that lays out their positions on the Department of the Interior's reconsideration of gaming eligibility for a $700 million resort-style casino and hotel project in Vallejo, California.

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X-energy Raises $700M To Expand Nuclear Reactor Projects

By Jade Martinez-Pogue

Nuclear reactor maker X-energy Reactor Company LLC, advised by Latham & Watkins LLP, on Monday revealed that it wrapped its latest funding round after receiving $700 million from investors.

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Vt. Farmers, Enviro Org. Seek Win On Climate Superfund Law

By Juan-Carlos Rodriguez

Vermont organic farmers and an environmental group on Friday urged a federal judge to uphold the state's climate change Superfund law, which is being challenged by the Trump administration, red states and fossil fuel industry organizations.

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Insurer Says Bio-Lab Owes $20M For 2024 Chemical Plant Fire

By Hope Patti

A Hanover Insurance unit is owed more than $20 million from chemical manufacturer Bio-Lab Inc. and its parent companies for past and future payments made to an HVAC supply company whose property was damaged by a chemical plant fire last year, the insurer told a Georgia federal court.

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Global Net-Zero Shipping Framework Faces Rough Waters

The decision of the International Maritime Organization's Marine Environment Protection Committee to delay its proposal for reducing greenhouse gas emissions from ships, in the face of strenuous U.S. objections, highlights the importance of proactive engagement with policymakers and strategic planning for different compliance scenarios, say attorneys at Blank Rome.

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Takeaways From Landmark UK Ruling On Brazil Dam Collapse

The High Court found BHP liable for a Brazilian dam collapse that resulted in a major environmental disaster, showing that England remains open for complex transnational environmental claims and providing a road map for other mass claims that are sure to follow this case, says Josep Galvez at 4-5 Gray's Inn Square.

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Series

The Law Firm Merger Diaries: Making The Case To Combine

When making the decision to merge, law firm leaders must factor in strategic alignment, cultural compatibility and leadership commitment in order to build a compelling case for combining firms to achieve shared goals and long-term success, says Kevin McLaughlin at UB Greensfelder.

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Bonus Spotlight

Weil Matches Year-End And Special Bonuses For Associates

By Anna Sanders

Weil Gotshal & Manges LLP on Tuesday joined a cadre of other firms in matching the BigLaw standard for this year's associate bonuses.  

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Judges Decline Invites To Senate Hearing On Impeachment

By Courtney Bublé

Two federal judges, both of whom Republicans are looking to impeach, declined to testify before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee's hearing next week on the impeachment of "rogue" judges, a source familiar with the situation told Law360 on Tuesday.

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DOJ Official Sues Over Firing For Epstein Talk On Hinge 'Date'

By Alison Knezevich

A longtime official at the U.S. Department of Justice who was fired after he was secretly recorded discussing the Epstein files has sued the agency and U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi in D.C. federal court.

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Democrats Seek Documents On Emil Bove's DOJ Tenure

By Courtney Bublé

Senate Democrats are turning to public records requests to learn more about the controversial tenure of U.S. Circuit Judge Emil Bove while he served at the U.S. Department of Justice, claiming that they're being "stonewalled" by the department.

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$255K In Fees To Google For 'Frivolous' Ramey Case Upheld

By Ryan Davis

The Federal Circuit on Tuesday affirmed a California judge's decision that a client of embattled intellectual property firm Ramey LLP must pay nearly $255,000 in fees and sanctions for bringing a "frivolous" patent suit against Google, finding the award to be "entirely proper."

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Fla. Law Student Expelled For Antisemitic Post To Be Reenrolled

By David Minsky

A Florida federal judge has ordered the reinstatement of a law school student who was expelled after he was investigated over antisemitic posts on social media, saying the university didn't prove his speech "constituted a true threat." 

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Texas Law Firm, Atty Reach Tentative Deal In Age Bias Suit

By Rose Krebs

An attorney who sued a Houston-based law firm alleging she was fired in retaliation for having complained about age discrimination has reached "a tentative agreement" to resolve the matter, according to a filing in Illinois federal court.

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Husch Blackwell Blasts Ex-Firm Atty's ERISA Suit

By James Boyle

A former Husch Blackwell LLP partner's claim that the firm violated federal law by withholding monthly retirement account contributions misidentified the funds in question as participant contributions, when they were, in fact, contributions from the firm's year-end profit-sharing program.

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