Expert Analysis

• Enviro Exemption For NYC Housing Looks Legally Dubious

  

  New York City Mayor Eric Adams' recently announced plan to exempt smaller residential developments from state environmental review may be a laudable attempt to expand the housing supply, but a review of applicable statutes suggests that the mayor lacks the authority to create this exemption, says Richard Leland at Akerman.

• Liquefied Natural Gas Outlook: Industry Under Pressure

  

  While last year saw a remarkable turnaround in the liquefied natural gas market, with strong demand for U.S. LNG projects, the industry must now confront problems including increased credit and construction costs, and the possibility of fewer LNG conversions due to higher prices, say Monica Hwang and Silvia Smith at O'Melveny.

• Bid Protest Spotlight: Lessons For Joint Ventures

  

  In this month's bid protest roundup, Alissandra McCann at MoFo examines recent decisions from the U.S. Government Accountability Office and the U.S. Court of Federal Claims of particular significance to joint ventures, concerning past performance evaluation and misrepresentation, and registration in the System for Award Management.

• Justices Leave Questions Open On Dual-Purpose Atty Advice

  

  The U.S. Supreme Court's recent dismissal of In re: Grand Jury on grounds that certiorari was improvidently granted leaves unresolved a circuit split over the proper test for deciding when attorney-client privilege protects a lawyer's advice that has multiple purposes, say Susan Combs and Richard Kiely at Holland & Hart.

• Tips For Tapping Into New DOE Carbon Capture Funding

  

  The U.S. Department of Energy's recent announcement of two funding opportunities for carbon capture and storage projects at industrial facilities and power plants should be good news for companies operating certain types of CO2-emitting facilities, says Pamela Wu at Morgan Lewis.

• DC Circ. Accepts FERC's Math — But High Court May Not

  

  The D.C. Circuit's recent decision in Solar Energy Industries Association v. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission affirms the way FERC has calculated a qualifying renewable energy facility's capacity since the 1980s — but the U.S. Supreme Court might not afford FERC the same level of deference if the case is appealed, says Linda Walsh at Husch Blackwell.

• India's Budget Proposals May Ease Entry For Certain Sectors

  

  India’s recently released budget includes proposals to facilitate doing business in Gujarat International Finance Tec-City and moderate thousands of compliance requirements, opening up new opportunities for foreign businesses in the digital infrastructure, manufacturing and renewable energy sectors, say Mukesh Butani and Seema Kejriwal at BMR Legal.

• Steps Lawyers Can Take Following Involuntary Terminations

  

  Though lawyers can struggle to recover from involuntary terminations, it's critical that they be able to step back, review any feedback given and look for opportunities for growth, say Jessica Hernandez at JLH Coaching & Consulting and Albert Tawil at Lateral Hub.

• High Court Ax Of Atty-Client Privilege Case Deepens Split

  

  The U.S. Supreme Court's recent dismissal of In re: Grand Jury as improvidently granted maintains a three-way circuit split on the application of attorney-client privilege to multipurpose communications, although the justices have at least shown a desire to address it, say Trey Bourn and Thomas DiStanislao at Butler Snow.

• 6 Labor Compliance Questions For Infrastructure Contractors

  

  Eric Leonard at Wiley provides a checklist to help both traditional and nontraditional government contractors identify and understand the enhanced labor and employment compliance obligations they assume by taking on a project funded under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.

• 3 Job Satisfaction Questions For Partners Considering Moves

  

  The post-pandemic rise in legal turnover may cause partners to ask themselves what they really want from their workplace, how they plan to grow their practice and when it's time to make a move, says Patrick Moya at Quaero Group.

• Enforcement Risks Of Carbon Offsets Are Growing

  

  Many companies are seeking to mitigate their greenhouse gas emissions by purchasing carbon offsets — but as recent comments from regulators make clear, such transactions will face increasing scrutiny for evidence of fraud or greenwashing, say Levi McAllister and Pamela Wu at Morgan Lewis.

• 4 Exercises To Quickly Build Trust On Legal Teams

  

  High-performance legal teams can intentionally build trust through a rigorous approach, including open-ended conversations and personality assessments, to help attorneys bond fast, even if they are new to the firm or group, says Ben Sachs at the University of Virginia School of Law.

• Clean Energy Tax Credits' Wage, Apprentice Rules: Key Points

  

  The Inflation Reduction Act's complicated prevailing wage and apprenticeship requirements for clean energy facility construction tax credits recently took effect — and the learning curve will be more difficult for taxpayers who are not already familiar with such programs, say attorneys at Shearman.

• How Biden's Climate Focus May Affect Gov't Contractors

  

  A recent proposal to require government contractors to disclose their greenhouse gas emissions, the effect of climate change considerations on award decisions, and recent carbon initiatives emphasize the need for contractors to align with government environmental goals and examine the potential impacts on their respective market sectors, say attorneys at DLA Piper.