Insights

Washington – July 15, 2024: Crowell & Moring secured a victory on behalf of the National Mining Association in a longstanding dispute over a regulation governing mining on federal land.

Washington, D.C. – May 30, 2024: Crowell & Moring hosted its 25thannual George Bailey Public Service Awards ceremony. Named after the hero of the classic movie, “It’s a Wonderful Life,” these awards recognize the firm’s lawyers and staff who have made a substantial impact on the lives of others through their pro bono work.

In Trump v. CASA, the Supreme Court significantly constrained the equitable authority of federal district courts to grant universal or nationwide injunctive relief, clarifying that, with specific exceptions, a federal court’s power to grant relief is limited to the parties before it. When it was issued, many bemoaned CASA’s implications for preventing government overreach.

In October 2025, the Second Circuit addressed a recurring procedural issue: the standard of review district judges must apply to objections to magistrate judge reports and recommendations (“R&Rs”) on dispositive motions. In Nambiar v. The Central Orthopedic Group, LLP, the Second Circuit clarified that district judges are required to conduct a de novo review of any portion of an R&R to which a party has made timely and specific objections—even when those objections restate arguments previously made before the magistrate judge. This decision resolves confusion stemming from district courts that have limited de novo review to "new" arguments, and it sets clear expectations for how parties should challenge R&Rs going forward.

On December 8, 2025, the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts in State of New York v. Trump held unlawful and vacated the U.S. Department of the Interior’s “Wind Order” implementing President Trump’s January 20, 2025, “Temporary Withdrawal of All Areas on the Outer Continental Shelf From Offshore Wind Leasing and Review of the Federal Government’s Leasing and Permitting Practices for Wind Projects,” 90 Fed. Reg. 8363 (Wind Memo, discussed further in a prior alert). This lawsuit, brought by a coalition of states with Alliance for Clean Energy New York intervening on their behalf, challenges Interior’s implementation, through the Wind Order, of the Wind Memo’s direction to pause processing permits and other approvals necessary to onshore and offshore wind energy development. Notably, the lawsuit does not challenge the other element of the Wind Memo, which withdrew unleased offshore areas from future leasing under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA). (Note, even though the Wind Order indicates its effect is temporary, the Wind Memo instructs relevant agencies not to advance wind development projects until a “comprehensive assessment” is completed, and the district court’s order confirms that the affected agencies had no plans to restart permitting activities until that assessment was complete.)

As companies consider taking class actions to trial, a blockbuster decision from the U.S. Supreme Court instructing lower courts not to defer to federal agencies’ interpretations of the statutes Congress charged them with administering may prove useful. Companies should also be aware of a second decision holding agencies’ use of in-house judges to mete out civil penalties to be unconstitutional.

Crowell & Moring’s Tax Group invites you to join us for the 37th Annual Managing Tax Audits and Appeals. The seminar will provide an overview of everything you need to know about recent developments and hot topics in tax, from planning through litigation, including perspectives from the IRS.

The 2022 Occupational Safety and Health Law Committee Midwinter Meeting, held in Sarasota, FL March 8 – 11, will feature presentations by panelists representing management, union, employees and government perspectives on hot topics and cutting-edge issues in the field of workplace safety law.

This year's Energy & Mineral Law Foundation (EMLF) Annual Institute will be held at the Renaissance Nashville Hotel June 17-19th. The theme of this event is "An 'All of the Above' Approach to Energy."

Please join members of Crowell & Moring’s Labor & Employment and Government Contracts groups for a summary of the Biden Administration’s announcement of new COVID-19 vaccine mandates and related policies for federal workers, federal contractors, and private sector employers with more than 100 employees. 

In the second of a two part series on the impact of administrative law in the health care industry, hosts Payal Nanavati and Savanna Williams talk to Dan Wolff about the practicalities of seeking judicial review to challenge agency actions, the impact of Loper Bright, and the major questions doctrine.This podcast episode features the following speaker:

In the first of a two part series on the impact of administrative law in the health care industry, hosts Payal Nanavati and Savanna Williams talk to Dan Wolff about how administrative law manifests itself on a day-to-day basis and how to interact with agency officials in a heavily regulated industry.This podcast episode features the following speaker:

Continuing to focus on the Trump Administration tariffs, in this session, Crowell hosts Nicole Simonian and Dj Wolff, Co-Chairs of the International Trade Group, talk with Daniel Wolff, Crowell’s Litigation and Trial partner, as they review and consider the impact of the Court of International Trade's recent decision on the tariffs imposed pursuant to the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA). Global Trade Talks is a podcast that shares brief perspectives on key global issues on international trade, current events, business, law, and public policy as they impact our lives.