Government Affairs

Washington, D.C.-based Environment & Natural Resources Group partner, Thomas A. Lorenzen, speaks to E&E News TV host Monica Trauzzi regarding the implications of the D.C. Circuit Court’s ruling on Cross-State Air Pollution Rule (CSAPR). Lorenzen stated, "What the D.C. Circuit held yesterday is that certain states were being overregulated because the emission reductions required were more than necessary to get to attainment in all the linked downwind states." He added, "The agency's going to have to go back now and think about how you calculate goals for each of these affected states, and what that then does to the goals that are set for other states."

Thomas A. Lorenzen, a Washington, D.C.-based Environment & Natural Resources partner, discusses with Forbes the impact of the U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision in Michigan v. EPA, which rejected the Obama administration's stance that the EPA need not consider costs when it determines that a utility pollutant must be regulated. The case, considered a challenge by the utility industry and 23 states whose electricity rates would likely rise if coal-fired power plants close, will now return to the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals. "It means that EPA can really no longer take any comfort in the fact there is a Chevron doctrine out there," Lorenzen said. "The courts are going to look skeptically" at regulations that have a major effect on the economy, he said. Lorenzen was also quoted in  Bloomberg, Bloomberg BNA, Congressional Quarterly, Financial Times, Law360, and Greenwire for his analysis of this high-profile ruling.

Anchorage-based Legislative and Regulatory Advisor, Drue Pearce, is quoted in energy blog The Barrel from a recent Center for Strategic & International Studies panel. Pearce discussed the implications of extending the Alaska oil drilling season, noting, "If the real risk is during the transportation phase, it does not make sense to push … into two years where you've got to stage twice—up and back and up and back—because you've got more ships in the water and more opportunity to have one of those transportation accidents."

Newly elected Crowell & Moring chair Angela B. Styles, partner and co-chair of the Government Contracts Group, is profiled by The National Law Journal. Styles discusses her childhood, past experience in both the federal government and private practice, and how she arrived at Crowell & Moring. When referring to the firm's visions for the firm's future, Styles notes that she plans "not growing for growth's sake," and hopes to strengthen practices such as cybersecurity and health care while maintaining the firm's government contracts, regulatory, and litigation reputation.  

Newly-elected chair of Crowell & Moring, Angela B. Styles, is featured in The Washington Post's "Capital Business" section after assuming her new role. The article notes that Styles, who joined the firm in 2007, is the second woman to serve as chair in firm history. "I am honored to serve as chair of Crowell & Moring and to be part of a long tradition of firm leaders who have helped to build a truly unique firm over the past 35 years," Styles said.

The National Law Journal reports the news that Angela Styles, partner and co-chair of Crowell & Moring's Government Contracts Group, has been elected as the firm's new chair. Referring to her predecessor, Kent A. Gardiner, who stepped down due to term limits, Styles notes: "It's a pretty good foundation I have to start with. I'm sure I will change some things. But we're at such a good place right now, we just need to keep thinking forward," she said.

Washington, D.C.-based senior counsel in the firm's Environment & Natural Resources Group, Robert Meyers, talks with Law360 regarding Congress' approval of the Keystone XL pipeline, which is likely going to be vetoed by President Obama. With a veto looming, Meyers offers that Congress may look at other areas, such as transmission siting and grid reliability, that don’t have the political history of Keystone and could have some reasonable prospect of success in 2015. "I imagine the House will reach out in a bipartisan manner on the type of economic issues where you can get that, as opposed to those that boil down to environmental issues," Meyers said.

Elliott Laws, a Washington D.C.-based partner in the firm's Government Affairs and Environment & Natural Resources groups, shares his perspective on five questions about his own experiences breaking the glass ceiling in the legal industry. He also offers insight on the importance of diversity within law firms, and advice for firms looking to increase diversity within their ranks.

Washington, D.C.-based partners, Terry Rea, of Crowell & Moring's Intellectual Property Group, and Keith J. Harrison, of the firm's Labor & Employment and Litigation groups, weigh in on two important cases in the life sciences arena. Harrison discusses Teva Pharmaceuticals USA, Inc.'s challenge of a California appellate decision that a generic-drug manufacturer can be held liable for failing to warn consumers of the side effects listed on the equivalent brand-name drug, which may potentially be taken up by the U.S. Supreme Court. "This is going to be a case that is going to further define the scope of federal preemption," Harrison said. Additionally, Rea talks about the Cuozzo Speed Technologies LLC suit, which argues that the Patent Trial and Appeal Board uses the incorrect standard during America Invents Act (AIA) proceedings, making it difficult for inventors to retain their patents. "Everybody is going to be very, very careful how they handle this [case]," Rea said of the suit, which may upend new IPR standards.

Terry Rea, a Washington, D.C.-based partner in the firm's Intellectual Property Group, comments on patent reform legislation in Congress pertaining to fee-shifting and other issues. Rea notes that while Congress appears to be eager to take action to curb abusive litigation, "there's an increased awareness of the need to do it delicately and with a proper balance. Congress has an appreciation of the fact that any legislation cannot be overarching, because there will be unintended consequences," she said.

Robert Meyers, Washington, D.C.-based senior counsel in the firm's Environment & Natural Resources Group, discusses potential new fuel economy regulations after record Clean Air Act fines were levied last year for greenhouse gas emission and fuel economy reporting violations. "In broad brush, I think this is a signal of increasing scrutiny, and I would attribute some of it to the fact of the suggested rulemaking," Meyers said.

Thomas P. Gies, a Labor & Employment Group partner based in Crowell & Moring's Washington, D.C. office, talks to Law360 about the year's upcoming notable labor and employment legislation. In particular, Gies discusses the Department of Labor's efforts to revamp overtime standards under the Fair Labor Standards Act. "It would certainly generate another flood of lawsuits, and I think it's a big deal," Gies said of the overtime rule-making push.

Washington, D.C.-based Health Care Group partner, Troy A. Barsky, speaks with Report On Medicare Compliance regarding Medicare accountable care organizations (ACOs) receiving another year of relief from fraud-and-abuse laws with the recent extension of waivers from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Health & Human Services Office of Inspector General. Barsky, a former director of the CMS Division of Technical Payment Policy, stresses the importance of ACOs needing to comply with the anti-kickback statuses of these waivers. "If they use the waivers, it's an area of compliance they need to pay attention to," Barsky continues, "It can trip you up."