Energy Law

Coal Miner Who Videotaped Seal Leaks Wins Discipline Reversal & Legal Fees

A Kentucky coal miner who videotaped leaking seals at work and showed the footage at a federal mine safety hearing has won a reversal of the subsequent disciplinary action taken by his employer and attorney fees. Federal mine-safety law protected Charles Scott Howard from retaliation, an administrative law judge ruled…

Aug 25, 2010 8:55 PM CDT

BP Oil Spill Litigation to Be Heard by Federal Judge in New Orleans

A federal panel of judges has decided that litigation concerning the massive undersea BP PLC oil spill that began in April will be heard by a federal judge in New Orleans. The decision to direct civil cases concerning the spill to U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier is likely to please…

Aug 10, 2010 9:57 PM CDT

The Price of Oil

Lawyers see both promise and problems in the $20 billion Gulf Coast compensation fund

Aug 1, 2010 9:17 AM CDT

Vermont Lawyer Criticized for Lifting Language from Utility Filing

The top lawyer for the Vermont Public Service Department is being criticized for copying long passages from utility company documents for her own filing with the Public Service Board. More than two pages of the six-page motion for summary judgment filed by government lawyer Sarah Hofmann were “word-for-word identical” to…

Jul 14, 2010 3:53 PM CDT

Bracewell Plants Flag in Pacific Northwest, Hires Ex-Davis Wright Energy Chief

Bracewell & Giuliani has expanded its footprint, taking a giant step from its established territory in Texas and New York to plant its flag in Seattle. Dave Domansky, who formerly headed the energy practice at Davis Wright Tremaine, will be a partner at Bracewell & Giuiliani’s new office, and Paul…

Jul 13, 2010 6:50 PM CDT

Law Firms Launch New Practice Groups in Effort to Roll with Roiling Economy

Arent Fox has launched a new insurance and reinsurance practice in New York, making it one among a number of law firms that are looking to refocus its practice areas to deal with the difficult economy. Others doing so include Howrey, which established a 25-lawyer energy technology group earlier in…

Jul 6, 2010 5:59 PM CDT

Judge Who Overturned Drilling Moratorium Had Oil Investments; US Plans New Ban

A federal judge who blocked the Obama administration’s effort to ban deepwater offshore drilling in the Gulf of Mexico yesterday has reported oil and gas investments on financial disclosure forms. U.S. District Judge Martin Feldman of New Orleans filed 2008 disclosure forms showing investments in Transocean Ltd., the owner of…

Jun 23, 2010 12:09 PM CDT

WilmerHale Lawyer Helped BP Negotiate a Few Concessions in White House Talks

WilmerHale partner Jamie Gorelick helped BP win some concessions in preliminary talks with White House lawyers and at the final well-publicized meeting in which the company agreed to pay $20 billion into an oil-spill compensation fund. Gorelick and White House lawyers had already discussed the $20 billion figure before the…

Jun 21, 2010 12:18 PM CDT

BP Agrees to Pay $20 Billion into Compensation Fund

Updated: The lawyer who oversaw the Sept. 11 victims compensation fund, Kenneth Feinberg, has a new job: He’ll be overseeing a $20 billion fund to compensate those harmed by the Gulf oil spill. BP has tentatively agreed to pay about $20 billion into the fund over several years, the New…

Jun 16, 2010 4:11 PM CDT

Meet Eduardo Leite: Brazil-Based Energy Lawyer Set to Lead Baker & McKenzie

In an unusual move for a United States-based law firm, Baker & McKenzie has appointed a Brazilian energy lawyer as its global chairman. Eduardo Leite will take up his position at the helm of the Chicago-based international megafirm at the end of October. He presently works out of the Sao…

Jun 3, 2010 5:19 PM CDT

Mass Recusal of 5th Circuit Kills Closely Watched Global-Warming Case

Eight judges on the New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals have recused themselves from hearing an en banc appeal of a provocative global-warming lawsuit. As a result, there’s no quorum, and the court is unable to hear the case. The class action suit, filed by property owners against…

Jun 2, 2010 8:11 PM CDT

Federal Criminal and Civil Probes into Gulf Oil Spill Are Under Way, Holder Says

U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder announced this afternoon that federal authorities have opened criminal and civil investigations into last month’s explosion of BP’s Deepwater Horizon drilling rig in the Gulf of Mexico, which killed 11 workers and has led to the worst oil spill in U.S. history. Holder declined to…

Jun 1, 2010 8:36 PM CDT

Sutherland Asbill to Represent Transocean in Oil Spill Litigation

Sutherland Asbill & Brennan has been tapped to handle litigation over the Gulf oil spill for Transocean Ltd., the owner of the BP oil rig that exploded. The litigation team will be headed by Rachel Clingman, who leaped to Sutherland Asbill from Fulbright & Jaworski in 2007, according to The…

May 27, 2010 2:18 PM CDT

BP Could Face Civil Fine as High as $4,300 for Each Leaked Barrel of Oil

The $75 million cap on civil liability for economic damages doesn’t limit the amount of fines that BP could pay for the Gulf oil spill. According to Reuters, “a clause buried deep in the U.S. Clean Water Act” authorizes the government to seek civil penalties of up to $4,300 for…

May 27, 2010 1:23 PM CDT

Frustration Over Uncontained Gulf Oil Spill—and Tort Claim Contingency Fees of Up to 50 Percent

As crude oil continues gushing into the Gulf of Mexico at a record-breaking rate from an undersea BP well, frustration with the situation is building. A little over a month after the Deepwater Horizon oil rig exploded and burned, killing 11 workers, it appears that a combination of factors ranging…

May 25, 2010 1:44 AM CDT