Environmental Law

Hit and Miss

Your September cover story, “Midcareer Malaise,” hit me right between the eyes. I have been an attorney for almost 20 years and have found myself struggling to stay interested in my career. Last spring, in an effort to fight this condition, I studied for and took the Louisiana bar exam.…

Nov 2, 2008 3:25 AM CST

Whales Plaintiffs May Face Long Odds in High Court, Prof Says

A Georgetown law professor says environmental plaintiffs have not fared well in the U.S. Supreme Court when citing the National Environmental Policy Act, and plaintiffs who claim Navy sonar harms whales may be no different. The professor, Lisa Heinzerling, told the New York Times that plaintiffs have lost all 15…

Oct 9, 2008 4:01 PM CDT

Supreme Court Hears Whales Case Today

The U.S. Supreme Court is hearing arguments today in a case that pits the preservation of whales against the president’s powers in wartime. The administration contends the president has the power to override environmental laws cited by a federal appeals court in a ruling requiring the Navy to limit its…

Oct 8, 2008 3:46 PM CDT

Judge Tosses Doomsday Lawsuit for Lack of Jurisdiction

A federal judge in Honolulu has tossed a lawsuit that had contended a Swiss particle accelerator could produce a black hole and swallow the Earth. U.S. District Judge Helen Gillmor ruled the court had no jurisdiction in the case, the New York Times reports. The first test of the device…

Oct 2, 2008 3:53 PM CDT

Supreme Court to Decide Superfund Liability for Landlord, Chemical Maker

The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to decide whether a chemical maker and a landlord are responsible for cleanup costs of a site contaminated by a company that leased the land. The San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals had ruled Shell Oil Co. was liable for making and…

Oct 1, 2008 3:46 PM CDT

Ecuador Indicts Two Chevron Lawyers Over Environmental Certification

Ecuador has charged two lawyers for Chevron with a conspiracy to fraudulently certify an environmental cleanup of mines by its predecessor Texaco. The accused lawyers are in-house lawyer Ricardo Reis Veiga and outside counsel Rodrigo Perez Pallares, the American Lawyer reports. Chevron issued a statement saying the indictments are related…

Sep 15, 2008 2:21 PM CDT

Parties, Sex & Drugs Made Fed’l Office Much Like a Frat House, Probe Finds

A federal government office charged with overseeing the collection of some $4 billion in royalty payments by oil companies to the U.S. government allegedly operated more like an out-of-control fraternity than a regulatory agency. Sex, booze, drugs and parties among federal employees and representatives of the oil companies they were…

Sep 10, 2008 11:45 PM CDT

Lawsuit’s Doomsday Allegations Proven Wrong, So Far, in Collider Test

Allegations in a lawsuit that a Swiss subatomic particle accelerator could produce a black hole and swallow the Earth proved untrue in a first test of the device today. Scientists conducted the test by firing two beams of protons in opposite directions, the Associated Press reports. However, the bigger experiment…

Sep 10, 2008 3:29 PM CDT

Appeals Court Bars Planting of Genetically-Altered Alfalfa

A federal appeals court has ruled Monsanto Co. may not sell genetically altered alfalfa until a government environmental study determines whether the crop would contaminate farmers’ nearby fields. The San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a federal judge’s ban on further planting and sales in a 2-1…

Sep 3, 2008 12:53 PM CDT

Gulp

Litigation won’t end the battles over depleted water resources in several regions of the United States

Sep 1, 2008 1:00 PM CDT

Naked Naturists Win Another Round in California Park Case

Officials who have for years turned a blind eye to public nudity in an isolated area of San Onofre State Beach, unless someone complained, can’t change that enforcement policy now without a public hearing, a California judge ruled yesterday. Following complaints of lewd behavior, the California Department of Parks and…

Aug 28, 2008 5:31 PM CDT

Fla.‘s Python Problem Prompts Proposed National Ban on Imports

Burmese pythons aren’t native to Florida. But there apparently may be tens of thousands of them slithering around Florida’s Everglades National Park. Many or most seem to be descendants of a few pets that were released around 1979, or even earlier. The giant carnivorous constrictors are known for crushing and…

Aug 26, 2008 8:06 PM CDT

Law Firms Find Going ‘Green’ is Easy, and a Client-Pleaser

From sending rejection letters by e-mail instead of regular mail to eliminating bottled water and investigating alternative energy sources, a growing number of law firms throughout New Jersey are increasingly focused on “green” alternatives to traditional practices that waste resources. Doing so not only cuts costs over time but is…

Aug 18, 2008 4:11 PM CDT

Cooley Godward Installs Solar Panels at Palo Alto Office

Cooley Godward Kronish has installed 465 state-of-the-art rooftop solar panels at its Palo Alto, Calif., office. The law firm is only one of a handful nationwide that have installed solar panels, according to a press release. The firm estimates that the panels, installed by REC Solar, will over the course…

Aug 18, 2008 1:23 PM CDT

W. Va. Governor Reportedly Got DuPont’s Help Before Filing Amicus Brief

DuPont lawyers accommodated a request by West Virginia’s governor by supplying two draft briefs that he could use for the state’s amicus brief urging the state supreme court to hear a case involving the company, the New York Times reports. The brief urges the supreme court to hear an appeal…

Aug 13, 2008 3:15 PM CDT