SCOTUS Rulings Loom Over EPA Powers - Free Websites, Share News And Posts Publicly

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May 31, 2023

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Here’s a quick look at today’s top legal news. Plus, your weekly Career Tracker.

Additional reporting by Kuheli Biswas, R. Rohit and Maya Nandhini.

Afternoon Docket writer Caitlin Tremblay is on a Reuters assignment this spring and will return to the newsletter soon.

US Supreme Court rulings darken forecast for EPA powers

REUTERS/Chris Keane

In a span of 11 months, the U.S. Supreme Court has delivered a one-two punch against the Environmental Protection Agency’s ability to combat air and water pollution.

“It seems the court will seize opportunities to weaken regulatory protections and agency power even if forced to do so in legally questionable ways,” said Georgetown University Law Center environmental law professor William Buzbee, while many Republicans and conservatives have lauded the rulings as necessary checks on federal authority. Congress can more actively legislate to maintain or bolster environmental protections, but some experts said that given the high court’s conservative majority, even congressional action may not be safe.

More top news:

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Career Tracker

Law firm layoffs continue but equilibrium may be in sight

REUTERS/Toru Hanai

Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner last week laid off 47 business services professionals globally, becoming the latest firm to trim its employee ranks in recent months. Large firms have laid off lawyers and professional staff members since late last year as they adjust to declining demand for legal services.

But firms may be reaching a new equilibrium. A recent report from the Thomson Reuters Institute found slower expense growth among large and midsize firms in the first quarter of 2023 and an uptick in demand for countercyclical practices such as litigation and labor and employment. Read more.

More from the legal industry …

The U.S. Senate confirmed Darrel Papillion to a federal judgeship in Louisiana after he was backed by the state’s two Republican Senators. The California Supreme Court disbarred a San Diego lawyer wanted for arrest on charges that she stole from her clients. Steven Schwartz of Levidow, Levidow & Oberman faces potential sanctions after he admitted to using ChatGPT for a brief in his client’s personal injury case. David Boies in a speech lamented the process for confirming new federal judges as “toxic” and dominated by political considerations. Allen & Overy and Shearman & Sterling set a mid-July target for partners to vote on a proposed merger. A $180 million legal malpractice lawsuit against DLA Piper was dismissed. Democrats said they would introduce a bill designed to rein in “judge shopping,” where lawyers file in specific courts to get their cases assigned to sympathetic judges. The National Conference of Bar Examiners unveiled what the new bar exam will cover. Dechert partners Kimberly Branscome and Jay Bhimani on Wednesday won an appeal overturning sanctions against them.

Moves:

In Washington, D.C. …
Lowenstein Sandler tapped Melissa Wiley from Caplin & Drysdale as a partner in its tax group.
In New York …
Wachtell executive compensation partner Andrea Wahlquist Brown departed the firm to join Paul Weiss. Gibson Dunn added Joseph Zujkowski from O’Melveny & Myers as a restructuring partner.
In Houston …
Weil hired energy deal maker Chris Bennett from Simpson Thacher.
In Atlanta …
Dentons US chairman Jeff Haidet left the firm to join Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner as a partner.
In Los Angeles …
Susan Leader, a complex commercial litigator from Wilson Sonsini, joined rival firm Paul Hastings.
In San Diego …
Pillsbury hired trial lawyer Paul Fraidenburgh as a litigation partner from Buchalter.
In London …
Armstrong Teasdale welcomed a new UK head for the firm’s regulatory practice.
In Hong Kong …
Akin Gump added special situations partner Tarun Warriar from global investment firm Varde Partners.

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And finally…

US judge orders lawyers to sign AI pledge, warning ‘they make stuff up’

U.S. District Judge Brantley Starr warned lawyers in cases before him that AI platforms are “prone to hallucinations and bias,” and required them to certify that they have verified accuracy of their briefs if they have used the tools.