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Inflation Reduction Act
Congress Enacts Major Overhaul to HSR Filing Fees for M&A Deals
On December 29, 2022, President Biden signed into law The Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023 (also known as The Omnibus Appropriations Bill), which includes the Merger Filing Fee Modernization Act. The Merger Filing Fee Modernization Act, which marks the most...
A Royal Pain: Contingent Royalties Held to Be Dischargeable in Mallinckrodt
In late December 2022, the United States District Court for the District of Delaware issued an opinion affirming the Mallinckrodt 1 bankruptcy court’s November 2021 decision that the debtor could discharge certain post-petition, post-confirmation royalty obligations for the sale of...
Biden Administration Finalizes Redefinition of "Waters of the United States"
On December 30, 2022, the Environmental Protection Agency and the United States Army Corps of Engineers announced their finalization of the agencies’ redefinition of the Clean Water Act’s “waters of the United States” phrase, or “WOTUS”, a key phrase in...
A Challenging Year for African M&A
The continent’s two biggest oil producing nations have made recent reforms to their upstream regulatory regimes, which have been long awaited and the changes largely well received.
Happy Holidays: Looking Back, Looking Ahead
In this holiday episode of the Environmental Law Monitor, Tim Wilkins , Jason Hutt , and Ann Navaro from Bracewell’s Environment, Lands and Resources Practice Group join host Daniel Pope to discuss the events of 2022 while looking ahead to...
DOJ to Prosecutors: Think Twice and Ask Permission Before Charging
Last week, Attorney General Merrick Garland issued a new DOJ charging and sentencing policy memorandum, replacing existing guidance to federal prosecutors in their exercise of prosecutorial discretion. The thrust of the extraordinary new policy is that prosecutors are no longer...
FERC Proposes Reforms to Backstop Transmission Siting Authority, Implementing Changes Required by 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill
On Thursday, December 15, 2022, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (“FERC” or “Commission”) issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (“NOPR”) proposing changes to FERC’s authority under section 216 of the Federal Power Act (“FPA”). Section 216 provides FERC with jurisdiction...
Bitcoin Mining, Renewable Energy and ESG – What You Learn Will Surprise You, With Special Guest Ben Kincaid, Founding Partner of Bridger Solutions
On this episode of Crypto Bits, Ben Kincaid, a founding partner of Bridger Solutions, joins hosts Seth DuCharme and David Shargel to discuss crypto mining, including public perceptions and its place in the future of the energy transition. I think...
Unintended Consequences: Legal Compliance Concerns With Long-Term Remote Work Arrangements
Bracewell’s Amber Dodds and Bob Nichols look at potential unforeseen compliance and legal concerns with long-term remote work arrangements, including practical steps to address those issues.
All I Want For Christmas Is....Permitting Reform
In this episode of the Environmental Law Monitor, Liam Donovan and Christine Wyman from Bracewell’s Policy Resolution Group join host Daniel Pope to discuss permitting reform and what that looks like during the lame duck session on the Hill. What...
IRS and Treasury Department Release Initial Guidance for Labor Requirements Under Inflation Reduction Act
On November 30, 2022, the IRS and the Treasury Department published Notice 2022-61 (the Notice) in the Federal Register. The Notice provides guidance regarding the prevailing wage requirements (the Prevailing Wage Requirements) and the apprenticeship requirements (the Apprenticeship Requirements and...
Commerce Unveils Preliminary Findings of Solar Tariff Probe
On December 2, 2022, the U.S. Department of Commerce unveiled the highly anticipated, preliminary findings of its solar tariff anti-circumvention investigation. The Commerce Department found that four leading Chinese solar cell and solar module manufacturers (BYD Hong Kong, Canadian Solar...
Assessing Risk in a Rapidly Evolving Digital and Physical World, With Guest Brian Mich of Control Risks
On this episode of The Bracewell Sidebar, hosts Matthew Nielsen and Seth DuCharme are joined by Brian Mich from Control Risk, a specialist risk consulting firm. Brian leads the regulatory risk and investigations practice for the Americas region, which includes...
FINRA Facts and Trends: November 2022
Welcome to the latest issue of Bracewell’s FINRA Facts and Trends, a monthly newsletter devoted to condensing and digesting recent FINRA developments in the areas of enforcement, regulation and dispute resolution. This month, we report on FINRA’s targeted sweep of...
Associates Break Down the Fall Environmental Law Seminar
In this episode of the Environmental Law Monitor, host Daniel Pope is joined by fellow Bracewell practice group associate Taylor Stuart to discuss highlights from the Environmental Law Seminar held in Houston on November 15. The first panel involved environmental...