Environmental Law

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

Alleged Fla. Lobster Poacher Freed on $1M Bond

A commercial fisherman arrested in what is believed to be the largest lobster-poaching case ever pursued in the Florida Keys has been freed after posting $1 million bail—far more than the $150,000 that the prosecution had sought. David Dreifort, 41, was arrested Wednesday—the first day of lobster season—after federal law…

Aug 8, 2008 7:14 PM CDT

Alaska Sues Feds Over Polar Bear Listing as Threatened Species

In a battle between environmental and business concerns, the state of Alaska has sued U.S. Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne, seeking to overturn his designation of the polar bear as a threatened species, under the Endangered Species Act. “Gov. Sarah Palin and other state officials fear a listing will cripple offshore…

Aug 5, 2008 6:33 PM CDT

Disaster’s Disciples

About a week after Rob Verchick began teaching his fall 2005 environmental law course at Loyola University New Orleans, Hurricane Katrina hit.

Aug 1, 2008 1:00 PM CDT

Alston & Bird Merges with L.A. Firm, Opens Office With Akin Gump Lawyers

Rumors of a potential merger between Atlanta-based Alston & Bird and an 83-lawyer Los Angeles law firm have proven true. The 800-lawyer Alston & Bird announced today (PDF) its acquisition of Weston Benshoof Rochefort Rubalcava & MacCuish. At the same time, Alston said it is opening a 12-lawyer office in…

Jul 30, 2008 3:24 PM CDT

Record $102M Settlement in California Forest Fire Case

A railroad company has settled with the government for a record $102 million in a case over a 2000 wildfire in a forest north of Sacramento, Calif., that was especially valuable because it was protected from logging. Over three weeks, it consumed 52,000 acres within the Lassen and Plumas national…

Jul 22, 2008 10:54 PM CDT

Judge Honors Donor’s Wishes, Blocks Drilling in Mich. Forest

Environmentalists, tourists and the descendants of public land donors in Michigan are celebrating a federal judge’s ruling that the U.S. Forest Service was wrong to allow a permit for oil and gas drilling in the state’s northern Lower Peninsula. U.S. District Judge David Lawson of Detroit ruled last week that…

Jul 15, 2008 7:49 PM CDT

Phone Call Launches N.Y. Solo’s Oil and Gas Practice

A phone call in 1999 changed the course of Chris Denton’s law practice. Denton was a solo practitioner in upstate New York when he got a call from an acquaintance in the petroleum industry who told him he needed to start studying oil and gas law, the New York Times…

Jul 3, 2008 1:22 PM CDT

The Good, the Bad, and the Tiny

ABA projects focus on legal issues relating to the increasing use of nanotechnology

Jul 1, 2008 7:01 AM CDT