Native American Law Watch – Spring 2015
View as PDF Articles: Balancing Opposing Cultural and Religious Beliefs on a Shared Reservation: Agency consideration of “Native American culture” not enough to demonstrate narrowly tailored compelling interest In Northern Arapaho Tribe v. Ashe, the United States District Court for the District of…
Lorena Olmos Interview in Super Lawyers® Magazine
Lorena Olmos, a Modrall Sperling shareholder, was interviewed and featured in the 2015 edition of Southwest Super Lawyers® magazine. Lorena is a member of the firm’s Litigation Department and is Chair…
Revised Draft Guidance Regarding Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Climate Change in NEPA Reviews
Introduction: On December 18, 2014, the Council on Environmental Quality (“CEQ”) issued revised draft guidance (“Revised Draft Guidance”)[1. Available here.] for analyzing greenhouse gas (“GHG”) emissions and climate change impacts in National Environmental Policy Act (“NEPA”) analyses. CEQ’s Revised Draft Guidance replaces the CEQ’s 2010…
Roberta Cooper Ramo Receives Inaugural Harvard Honor
The Harvard Law School Center on the Legal Profession, a leading academic research institution studying the legal profession, announced that it will award its inaugural Award for Professional…
Modrall Sperling Obtains Defense Verdict in Wrongful Death Case
Following a week-long trial brought against one of the nation’s largest retail pharmacy chains, Alex C. Walker, Tiffany Roach Martin, and Tomas Garcia obtained a defense verdict in a wrongful death case alleging its pharmacists had improperly filled excessive levels of prescriptions…
Best Practices for Outside Counsel
Lawyers in private practice who represent corporate clients as outside counsel have regular dealings with their clients’ in-house legal teams. Outside counsel often work at the direction of in-house counsel and report directly to them on the status and developments of a…
New Mexico Oil Conservation Commission Adopts New Produced Water Regulations
On March 12, 2015, the New Mexico Oil Conservation Commission formally approved a revision to the Commission’s produced water regulations. The revised Rule repeals and replaces existing Rule 34, which regulates the disposition of produced water, and enacts a new rule regulating…
No Mora Moratorium on Drilling
United States District Court Judge James Browning issued a lengthy opinion on January 19, 2015 invalidating Mora County’s “Community Rights and Local Self-Government Ordinance”, enacted by the County in 2013, that prohibited oil and gas development by corporations in the county. See SWEPI,…
Energy & Resources Notes – Spring 2015
View as PDF No Mora Moratorium on Drilling United States District Court Judge James Browning issued a lengthy opinion on January 19, 2015 invalidating Mora County’s “Community Rights and Local Self-Government Ordinance,” which was enacted by the County in 2013 that prohibited…
BHP Billiton Sells Navajo Mine Coal Company to Navajo Nation
Working shoulder to shoulder with its client BHP Billiton New Mexico Coal, Inc. (BBNMC) and other co-counsel, Modrall Sperling completed a series of interrelated transactions between BBNMC and subsidiaries, Arizona Public Service Company, the Navajo Nation and Navajo Transitional Energy Company, LLC…