Insights Search

On September 30, 2025, U.S. District Judge Reed O’Connor entered final judgment following a bench trial in a class-action lawsuit against American Airlines and its Employee Benefits Committee (the “EBC”), finding the defendants breached their duty of loyalty under the Employee Retirement Security Act of 1974 (“ERISA”) by allowing an investment manager’s environmental, social and governance (“ESG”) objectives to influence its investment decisions with respect to the company’s retirement plans (the “Plan”).

On October 15, 2025, Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry issued an Executive Order (“Order”) halting the review of all new Class VI Underground Injection Control (“UIC”) well permits in the state and directed the state’s regulator, the Louisiana Department of Conservation and Energy (“LDCE”) to undertake a more careful review of pending Class VI permit applications.

The California Air Resources Board (“CARB”) hosted a public workshop on August 21, 2025 to provide information on Senate Bills 253, 261 and 219 (the “California climate laws”) and solicit feedback from consumers and investors.

The Texas Legislature was active this Session in proposing and passing bills that seek to restrict foreign ownership of real estate and businesses in Texas.

Over the last thirty years, Vinson & Elkins attorneys have played a leading role in some of the largest and most significant cartel matters worldwide.

On July 24, 2025, the two largest U.S. proxy advisory firms—Glass, Lewis & Co. (“Glass Lewis”) and Institutional Shareholder Services Inc. (“ISS”)—each separately filed suit against Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas challenging recently enacted Texas Senate Bill 2337 (“SB 2337”).

On August 15, 2025, the Department of Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) released guidance for wind and solar facilities under Sections 45Y and 48E (the “Tech-Neutral Tax Credits”) in the form of IRS Notice 2025-42 (the “Notice”).

On July 29, 2025, Attorney General Pam Bondi issued a memorandum offering specific examples of what the U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”) considers to be unlawful discriminatory policies and practices under federal civil rights laws, as well as recommendations on best practices for employers to avoid engaging in unlawful discrimination.

As part of our ongoing monitoring of international and domestic legal developments, this article provides an update on the International Seabed Authority’s (“ISA”) Council Part II of the 30th Session and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (“NOAA”) proposed updates to its regulations implementing the Deep Seabed Hard Mineral Resources Act (“DSHMRA”), which provides the U.S. framework for deep-sea mining.

On July 3, 2025, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (“FERC” or the “Commission”), the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (“Army Corps”), and the Departments of Energy (“DOE”), Interior (“DOI”), Transportation (“DOT”), Agriculture (“USDA”), and Defense (“DOD”) released sweeping updates to their regulations and procedures implementing the National Environmental Policy Act (“NEPA”).

On June 26, 2025, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) hosted a roundtable on executive compensation disclosure requirements.

On June 16, 2025, the Senate Finance Committee released its draft tax title for inclusion in the Senate’s version of the budget reconciliation bill, known as the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” (the “OBBBA”).