Environmental Law

Environmental Lawyer Dies While Climbing Mountain in Cascades

An environmental lawyer apparently lost his footing and fell to his death last week while mountain climbing in Washington’s North Cascades National Park. John Arum, 49, was a respected environmental lawyer with a love of the outdoors, the Associated Press reports. His father, boxing promoter Bob Arum, had left a…

Sep 7, 2010 5:36 PM CDT

Littering Conviction Overturned for Man Who Supplied Water to Border Crossers

An Arizona man convicted of littering for leaving water in the desert for border-crossing illegal immigrants committed no crime, a federal appeals court has ruled. Daniel Millis, a member of the faith-based group No More Deaths, which provides humanitarian aid to illegal immigrants, was convicted of littering in a bench…

Sep 3, 2010 5:50 PM CDT

BP Tells Congress Drilling Moratorium Could Affect Spill Payouts

BP has warned Congress that it could have trouble funding its $20 billion oil spill compensation program if an offshore drilling moratorium is imposed. BP says a ban could affect both its restoration efforts and compensation programs, the New York Times reports. David Nagle, BP’s executive vice president for BP…

Sep 3, 2010 1:54 PM CDT

Seattle Environmental Lawyer Missing in Cascades Hiking Trip

A Seattle environmental lawyer described as an accomplished climber didn’t return Sunday from a hiking trip in the Cascade Mountains. Park rangers and volunteers are searching for the lawyer, 49-year-old John Arum of Ziontz, Chestnut, Varnell, Berley & Slonim, the Sky Valley Chronicle and the Associated Press report. His father…

Sep 2, 2010 11:35 AM CDT

Judge Refuses Va. AG’s Request for Records of Global Warming Scientist

A Virginia judge has blocked an attempt by Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli to obtain records of a global warming scientist. Cuccinelli is a global warming skeptic, and he wanted the records as part of a probe into possible fraud in taxpayer-funded research on the issue by former professor Michael…

Aug 31, 2010 12:50 PM CDT

Some Deferred Associates Shun BigLaw; Will They Have to Repay Stipends?

Some deferred associates are reconsidering their careers after taking on public interest work while awaiting jobs in BigLaw. One of them is Nathan Richardson, a deferred associate at Latham & Watkins who went to work for the nonprofit Resources for the Future where he researched climate change and the Gulf…

Aug 20, 2010 11:25 AM CDT

Bouncing Can Be Dangerous to Kids’ Health, Says Suit by California’s AG

California Attorney General Jerry Brown has filed a lawsuit that claims some inflatable bounce houses for kids have dangerous levels of lead. The suit seeks to force manufacturers to stop using vinyl that contains lead and to post warnings about high lead levels, the New York Times reports. “I certainly…

Aug 12, 2010 4:32 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

Insurance Guru Eugene Anderson Dies; Known for ‘Triple Trigger,’ Hitchhiking to Harvard

As a foster child growing up in Portland, Ore., in the 1930s, on farms and in an orphanage, Eugene Anderson must have seemed an unlikely prospect for success as a New York lawyer. However, he not only put himself through the University of California, Los Angeles, but with the help…

Aug 2, 2010 7:30 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

After Bar Complaint, Lawyer Caught on Camera Burglarizing Client’s Home, Police Say

Things have gone from bad to worse for an environmental and land use lawyer whose client complained to the Florida Bar that the attorney had taken $2,500 he wasn’t entitled to from an escrow account after a real estate deal. After the bar complaint, police say Albert E. Ford II…

Jul 23, 2010 4:57 PM CDT

Appeals Court Rules Against Obama Administration on Oil Drilling Moratorium

A federal appeals court has ruled against the Obama administration in its attempt to immediately reinstate a six-month moratorium on deepwater oil drilling. The New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals refused to reinstate the moratorium while the government appeals a trial judge’s ruling that the administration had failed…

Jul 9, 2010 12:19 PM CDT

Jenner Warns Corporate Clients Harmed by Oil Spill of Impending Pollution Claim Deadline

Jenner & Block is warning its corporate clients that they may be facing a deadline to file business interruption claims related to the Gulf oil spill. According to Jenner, some insurers assert that that 5 p.m. Thursday, Eastern Time, is the deadline for filing business-interruption claims tied to pollution. The…

Jul 7, 2010 4:17 PM CDT

Federal Judge Blocks Offshore Drilling Moratorium in Gulf of Mexico

A federal judge in New Orleans has blocked the Obama administration’s effort to ban deepwater offshore drilling in the Gulf of Mexico for six months in the wake of the BP oil spill. A CNN article provides additional details about the ruling, which the White House plans to appeal to…

Jun 22, 2010 5:56 PM CDT

Criminal Fines Could Boost BP’s Legal Costs to Nearly $63B, Analyst Says

Criminal fines against BP for violations of environmental laws for the Gulf oil spill could boost the company’s legal costs to $62.9 billion, a legal analyst says. The New York Times reports on the estimate by analyst Pavel Molchanov of Raymond James and the potential for environmental prosecutions. Yesterday BP…

Jun 17, 2010 12:54 PM CDT