Insights

Jon Welner will be interviewing Larry Goldzband, the Executive Director of the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission (BCDC), on the Commission’s new plan to prepare the SF Bay Area for sea-level rise. BCDC is the agency responsible for permitting all development on the shoreline of San Francisco Bay. On December 5, 2024, the BCDC adopted the Regional Shoreline Adaptation Plan (RSAP). The RSAP is a region-wide plan for the San Francisco Bay shoreline that guides the creation of coordinated, locally planned sea level rise adaptation actions that work together to achieve a regional One Bay Vision. This includes BCDC’s guidelines for how local governments must meet the requirements of SB 272, a new State mandate that requires all local governments along the shoreline to prepare a Subregional Shoreline Adaptation Plan by 2034.

The Crisis of Investment Arbitration: What's Next? explores the challenges of protecting the environment within the current international investment law regime. It offers a comprehensive overview of International Investment Law, focusing on emerging trends that seek to integrate environmental values into arbitration between states and foreign investors. The panel will highlight key developments and challenges, while assessing potential pathways for harmonizing environmental protection with investment arbitration practices. It will also provide insights into how the evolving landscape might better accommodate environmental goals.

Led by Partners Tyler O'Connor and Sharmistha Das, the panel will discuss best practices for responding to Congressional oversight requests, key pitfalls to avoid, and how to productively work with staff to minimize risks for affected entities’ brands and their bottom lines. We expect Will and Peter to focus on issues affecting the industries within their Committees' respective jurisdictions, including energy, health care, transportation, technology, and consumer products, among others.

Federal climate policy in the United States is undergoing significant turmoil. But what is happening on the other side of the Atlantic? The European Union continues to pursue policies that address climate change, including through reporting requirements and carbon trading and border taxes. European judges are also seeing more and more litigation related to these and other policies, meaning that court cases are increasingly playing a role in shaping the future direction of European climate policy.

The U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”), various federal agencies, and Congress are all actively investigating recipients of federal funding for alleged waste, fraud and abuse—with a keen focus on recipients of hundreds of billions of dollars in grants, loans, and other funding through the Inflation Reduction Act and Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. Our experienced panel will discuss the potential legal and political exposure arising from those investigations, and how to mitigate that risk by establishing best practices for responding to agency and congressional investigations.