Environmental Law

Going green: Law firms see business benefits of B Corp certification

Attorneys like Allen Bromberger are making sustainable efforts to draw clients who embrace a greener lifestyle. B Corp certification documents a firm’s actions in job creation, corporate responsibility, effect on the community and impact on stakeholders.

Jul 1, 2018 1:05 AM CDT

Federal judge tosses nuisance suits seeking to hold oil companies liable for climate change

A federal judge in San Francisco has dismissed lawsuits by two California cities that seek to hold five of the nation’s largest oil companies liable for climate change.

Jun 26, 2018 4:29 PM CDT

9th Circuit cites judge’s anti-government views in reassigning case

A federal appeals court has overturned two water rights cases and reassigned one of them because of concerns about the trial judge’s expressed views about the federal government and its lawyers.

May 24, 2018 9:20 AM CDT

Former Volkswagen CEO is indicted in emissions scandal

Former Volkswagen CEO Martin Winterkorn has been charged with conspiracy and wire fraud in connection with the company’s use of software to cheat on diesel emissions tests, the U.S. Justice Department announced on Thursday. Winterkorn, 70, and five other Volkswagen executives were charged in a fifth superseding indictment unsealed on…

May 3, 2018 4:36 PM CDT

California leads multistate coalition in challenge to EPA’s planned rollback of auto emissions rules

Seventeen states and the District of Columbia are challenging a Trump administration plan to roll back auto emissions rules. California is leading the multistate coalition in the petition for review, filed Tuesday in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, report the New York Times, the Washington…

May 1, 2018 4:06 PM CDT

Prominent gay-rights lawyer sets himself on fire and dies in environmental protest

A prominent gay-rights lawyer died early Saturday in a Brooklyn, New York, park after he set himself on fire to protest pollution from fossil fuels. David Buckel, 60, was “an indefatigable attorney” and “a movement leader, a colleague and a friend,” according to a statement by Camilla Taylor, acting legal…

Apr 16, 2018 12:22 PM CDT

Lawyer’s failure to explain fine print nixes deal to stay silent on Trump, ex-Playboy model says

A former Playboy model has filed a lawsuit claiming she has no obligation to stay silent about her relationship with Donald Trump because of alleged failures by her own lawyer.

Mar 20, 2018 5:08 PM CDT

Did some agencies violate the Antideficiency Act by staying open during the shutdown?

Some legal experts are questioning whether the government violated the Antideficiency Act by keeping some parks open and some agencies operating during the three-day government shutdown that ended on Monday. Among those questioning those decisions was Elaine Kamarck, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution in Washington, Bloomberg Politics reports.…

Jan 23, 2018 10:02 AM CST

Supreme Court accepts case on endangered frog that tests reach of federal law

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday agreed to consider a case involving an endangered frog and regulations affecting private property.

Jan 23, 2018 8:30 AM CST

EPA chief announces rule to repeal Obama administration’s Clean Power Plan

Environmental Protection Agency administrator Scott Pruitt announced Monday that he will repeal the Obama administration’s Clean Power Plan through a proposed rule that will be published in the Federal Register. Pruitt told coal miners that “the war on coal is over” and he will begin efforts to withdraw the Clean…

Oct 10, 2017 12:18 PM CDT

Balch & Bingham partners are accused of bribing former state lawmaker to oppose Superfund plan

Two environmental partners with Balch & Bingham have been accused of bribing a former Alabama state lawmaker to oppose a Superfund priority cleanup of property linked to their corporate client. Partners Steven McKinney and Joel Gilbert are accused in a federal indictment along with Drummond Co. vice president David Roberson,…

Sep 29, 2017 10:47 AM CDT

California sues to stop construction of Trump’s border wall

California filed a lawsuit on Wednesday to stop construction of the border wall advocated by President Donald Trump as a key campaign promise. The suit claims the administration did not abide by laws requiring an environmental impact review and is acting without statutory authorization, report the Washington Post and the…

Sep 21, 2017 9:38 AM CDT

Who is responsible for hurricane damage? Suits could be based on climate-change science

Pioneering lawsuits based on climate-change science could blame hurricane damage on municipal planners, architects and engineers who failed to plan for foreseeable damages, some lawyers say.

Sep 7, 2017 7:40 AM CDT

Flint and pipeline cases become ‘harbingers of conflict in the future’ of water

Civil rights lawyer Daniel Sheehan wasn’t even listed as a speaker for a water-rights program at the ABA Annual Meeting on Sunday, but he managed to get a round of applause when he called for removal of President Donald Trump and the election of a progressive president. Filling in for…

Aug 13, 2017 4:37 PM CDT

American attorneys partner to save endangered African wildlife

Working with a public interest law firm in Namibia and the ABA Section of State and Local Government Law, American attorneys set out to improve the country’s wildlife laws—and strengthen their enforcement—with the aim of saving more Namibian animals.

Jul 1, 2017 12:50 AM CDT