Webinar: West Virginia v. The US Environmental Protection Agency and its Impact on the Banking Industry

West Virginia v. The US Environmental Protection Agency and its Impact on the Banking Industry

Please join Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP for a discussion of the US Supreme Court decision – West Virginia v. The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Panelists will address its impact on administrative law, separation of powers, statutory and regulatory interpretation, and principles of agency deference.

Wednesday, July 13, 2022
1:00 – 2:00 pm ET

In a term full of blockbuster decisions, the US Supreme Court’s final opinion in West Virginia v. EPA may be a game-changer for any industry subject to federal agency regulation. The 6-3 opinion by Chief Justice Roberts specifically concerns how the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) may regulate greenhouse gases under a particular provision of the Clean Air Act.  But its broader impact will come from the Court’s application of the Major Questions Doctrine—the principle that “extraordinary” or “major” assertions of agency authority must be clearly authorized by Congress.

Please join us for a discussion of the case and its impact on administrative law, separation of powers, statutory and regulatory interpretation, and principles of agency deference.  Judge Thomas Griffith, formerly of the US Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit and now special counsel at Hunton Andrews Kurth, and Elbert Lin, chair of the firm’s Issues and Appeals practice, will provide their insights into this most recent decision and others.

Hunton Andrews Kurth has been litigating these issues for decades, including in this case, which is the latest chapter in seven years of lawsuits.  Firm lawyers, led by Elbert Lin, represented one of the main parties in the litigation and filed a brief in the US Supreme Court focused solely on the Major Questions Doctrine and setting forth many of the arguments adopted by the Court.  And in a precursor to this case, the firm also represented one of the primary parties that succeeded in obtaining an unprecedented stay from the US Supreme Court of the EPA regulation ultimately found unlawful in this case.  At that time, Mr. Lin was still serving as the Solicitor General of West Virginia and led a coalition of more than 20 states alongside the firm’s client.  Hunton Andrews Kurth lawyers have also been involved in numerous other landmark administrative law cases at the US Supreme Court, including Utility Air Regulatory Group v. EPA and Kisor v. Wilkie, both of which will be discussed in the webinar.

Questions? Please contact Anna Carpenter at acarpenter2@HuntonAK.com.

About the Speakers:

Judge Thomas B. Griffith, special counsel to the firm, served as a federal judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit from 2005–2020. As a member of the DC Circuit, Judge Griffith was the author of approximately 200 opinions on a range of matters including administrative, environmental and energy law, and congressional investigations. The Washington Post has described him as “widely respected by people in both parties” and a “sober lawyer with an open mind.” Judge Griffith began his legal career in private practice before serving for four years as Senate Legal Counsel, the nonpartisan chief legal officer of the United States Senate (1995–1999). After a brief return to private practice, Judge Griffith served for five years as General Counsel of Brigham Young University, the largest religious university in the country.

The former Solicitor General of West Virginia, Elbert Lin chairs the firm’s Issues and Appeals practice. The “legal whiz” (E&E News 2017) has been described by clients as a “terrific oral advocate and good strategic thinker” (Chambers USA 2021) and “one of the best appellate brief writers” and “best appellate litigators I have worked with” (Chambers USA 2022). He has argued more than fifty cases in state and federal appellate courts, including before the US Supreme Court and several en banc courts of appeals. Earlier in his career, Elbert served as a trial attorney in the Federal Programs Branch of the US Department of Justice’s Civil Division, where he received a Special Service Award. He has also been a law clerk at all three levels of the federal judiciary, including for Justice Clarence Thomas on the US Supreme Court.