Recorded Webinar—Judicial Regulation of Climate Change?: Latest Developments in State-Based Litigation
Panelists:
The Honorable Alan Wilson, Attorney General, State of South Carolina
Philip S. Goldberg, Special Counsel, Manufacturers’ Accountability Project
Matthew Z. Leopold, Partner, Hunton, and former EPA General Counsel
Description:
Earlier this year, the U.S. Supreme Court denied energy companies’ latest petition asking it to review the viability of lawsuits that more than three dozen state and local governments have been pursuing against them over the changing climate. WLF has assembled three highly respected panelists to discuss these lawsuits and explain the mixed reception this litigation campaign has received in states around the country. In addition, the panelists will discuss the efforts of 22 states, including South Carolina, to push back against these lawsuits because of the adverse impact the lawsuits will have on their states’ residents, as well as the federal government’s concerns that the claims will hinder its regulatory authority for safeguarding the nation’s energy security.
Panelists
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Mr. Leopold is a partner in the Washington, DC office of Hunton. He previously served as General Counsel for the US Environmental Protection Agency was General Counsel for the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, and is a former environmental litigator at the US Department of Justice. Mr. Leopold's deep experience informs his work as a lawyer and strategist in every major area of environmental law and policy, from the Clean Air Act and Clean Water Act to hazardous waste laws like CERCLA and TSCA to the Endangered Species Act.
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Mr. Goldberg is Special Counsel to the Manufacturers' Accountability Project, a project of the National Association of Manufacturers that educates the public policy and legal community on why litigation against energy manufacturers over climate change is misguided. He is also office managing partner of Shook, Hardy & Bacon L.L.P.'s Washington, DC office and is co-chair of its Public Policy Practice Group. In 2015, Mr. Goldberg worked with the Progressive Policy Institute to establish its Center for Civil Justice, which provides a center-left voice on important civil justice issues. He also has been a member of the American Law Institute since 2012, providing input on several Restatement projects.
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Alan Wilson is the 51st Attorney General of the State of South Carolina. He is currently serving his fourth consecutive term in the office, having been elected to his initial term in 2010. Previously, General Wilson served in the South Carolina Attorney General's office as a prosecution division intern under Attorney General Charlie Condon and as an Assistant Attorney General under Attorney General Henry McMaster. In November 2013, and again in May 2021, General Wilson was elected as Chairman of the Republican Attorneys General Association (RAGA). He served his country in the National Guard after college and was sent to serve in Iraq, where he earned the Combat Action Badge.
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