
Inflation Reduction Act
Supreme Court Set to Resolve Impasse Over US Discovery in International Arbitration
The future of discovery in private international arbitration is in the Supreme Court’s hands following oral argument last month in two consolidated cases concerning the interpretation of 28 U.S.C. § 1782. A relatively arcane provision that has recently attracted headlines...
Tales From the Inside - Introducing Bracewell Colleague Suzanne Day
On this episode of Bracewell Covered, Vince Morgan welcomes Suzanne Day, who recently joined the firm from The Lubrizol Corporation where she worked for more than 20 years in their legal division, eventually serving as chief legal and ethics officer...
Environmental Enforcement, Suspension and Debarment With Robert Wagman, Jason Hutt and Kevin Collins
On this episode of the Bracewell Environmental Law Monitor, host Daniel Pope talks with Kevin Collins, Jason Hutt and Robert Wagman about current trends and environmental and federal enforcement. Kevin Collins is a partner in our Austin office. He is...
Knock-for-Knock Indemnities: Risk Allocation in Offshore Energy Contracts
What are knock-for-knock indemnities? A knock-for-knock clause is a reciprocal agreement to apportion liability for certain losses (usually, death or injury to personnel and damage to property) between contracting parties, supported by mutual indemnities. A knock-for-knock regime replaces the fault-based...
Litigation and Enforcement Impact of the SEC's Proposed Rules on Climate-Related Disclosure
The Securities and Exchange Commission’s Proposed Rules on Climate-Related Disclosure, released March 21, 2022, represent a significant change in public company disclosure requirements and, if adopted, will have far-reaching effects not only on all public companies but also on those...
FERC Issues Proposal to Overhaul Transmission Planning and Cost Allocation
On April 21, 2022, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (“FERC” or “Commission”) issued a much-anticipated Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (“NOPR”) proposing changes to its transmission planning and cost allocation policies that are intended to promote the more efficient and cost-effective...
Corporate Governance Considerations Under the SEC's Proposed Climate Disclosure Rules
As we have noted previously, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s recently proposed rules governing climate-related disclosures, if adopted as proposed, would represent a sea change to the existing public-company disclosure regime. We focus here on the corporate-governance aspects of...
CCS and the Role of Project Finance
The UN Climate Change Conference in 2021, known as “COP26”, highlighted the scale of global carbon emissions and the speed with which they must be addressed in order to meet net zero targets by 2050. Carbon capture and storage (“CCS”)...
The 411 on 420: Can Employers Still Test for Marijuana?
Manufacturers understandably are concerned about how new laws protecting employee off-duty marijuana use may undermine their efforts to avoid workplace injuries and deaths. Understanding the changing legal landscape and the tools still available to employers to protect against safety risks...
Hurdles Ahead for the SEC's New Climate Disclosure Proposal
On March 21, 2022, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) released its much-anticipated proposed rule on climate-related disclosure and accounting, “Enhancement and Standardization of Climate-Related Disclosures for Investors.” The scope and obligations of the 140-page proposal are gradually becoming clearer—and...
Attestation: Practical Reflections on What the SEC Climate Proposal Will Require
Among the many changes set forth in the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s proposed rules governing climate-related disclosures are the attestation requirements1 covering registrants’ greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions disclosures. This article provides a general overview of these attestation requirements and...
Hazardous Waste Update for Texas Facilities
Effective in February, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality finally adopted EPA’s Generator Improvements rule for generators of hazardous waste under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act. The most consequential piece of the new rule is the “episodic generator” standard...
Marijuana and Workplace Safety: Managing the Risk of Occupational Accidents as Cannabis Use Increases and Legal Prohibitions Are Relaxed
More Americans are smoking or ingesting marijuana in one form or another and the potency of the product in many instances is increasing. At the same time, many states are relaxing or repealing marijuana prohibitions. Additionally, more of these jurisdictions...
Summary Outline of SEC's Proposed Rule on Climate-Related Disclosure and Accounting
The SEC’s proposed rule on climate-related risks includes amendments to both the financial reporting requirements (Reg S-X) and the narrative disclosure requirements (Reg S-K). The proposal interlinks the new requirements, drawing aspects of the required narrative disclosures into the financial...
Going Green in the Brownfields: Michael Borkowski and the Community Power Group
On this episode of the Bracewell Environmental Law Monitor, host Daniel Pope talks with Jason Hutt, and Mike Borkowski about the development of renewable energy resources on properties that may have historical environmental liabilities. Jason Hutt is a partner in...