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August 05, 2024
Top Groups Lobbying The FCC
The Federal Communications Commission heard from advocates nearly 180 times in July on issues ranging from rural broadband to Wi-Fi hot spots for schools and libraries, new payment rates for phone call captioning, spectrum for the electric grid, and more.
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August 05, 2024
GOP Bill Would Claw Back Broadband Funds For Local Areas
When a company defaults on millions in Rural Digital Opportunity Fund money, those funds should go to the state to redistribute for broadband projects as it sees fit, according to a Republican senator who has introduced a bill that would do just that.
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August 05, 2024
Transportation Policies To Watch: Midyear 2024 Review
Rail and aviation safety reforms following recent incidents, stricter vehicle emission standards guiding automakers' gradual pivot to electrification, and the integration of new automation and drone technology are some of the transportation industry's top regulatory priorities to watch in the second half of 2024.
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August 02, 2024
Panel Says Co. Forfeited $12.7M Claim Over Rail Project
A Colorado Court of Appeals panel has found that a construction company overstated how much it was owed from a public project to build a new Denver rail line and can't seek any remedy for that $12.7 million claim, according to an opinion that applied provisions of a public works law for the first time.
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August 02, 2024
Shuttered Paper Mill Says NC Can't Claw Back $12M Incentive
Food and beverage packaging company Pactiv Evergreen has said it shouldn't have to repay the state of North Carolina $12 million in economic incentives after it shut down a local mill, arguing the underlying agreement is contradictory and the state is purely out for punishment.
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August 02, 2024
Cognizant Bribery Trial Delayed Again — Until 2025
Trial in a five-year-old case alleging two former Cognizant executives authorized a bribe to a government official in India has been delayed again, this time by six months, so prosecutors can complete necessary depositions in that country, according to a federal court order handed down Friday.
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August 01, 2024
Cos., Military Housing Lender Seek Early Wins In Loans Suit
Developers of military housing and a lender for such housing filed dueling summary judgment motions in New York federal court Wednesday, each seeking a quick win in a suit accusing the lender and others of defrauding the developers of hundreds of millions of dollars in project proceeds.
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August 01, 2024
Bill To Vet Cos. Seeking Broadband Aid Advances In Senate
A U.S. Senate panel has moved legislation that would put tighter controls on approval of companies that apply for federal aid to assist with broadband network deployment.
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August 01, 2024
Groups Say DC Circ.'s Toss Of FERC OK Boosts Their Case
Conservation groups and the city of Port Isabel, Texas, told the D.C. Circuit that its recent decision to vacate the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's approval of a Northeast pipeline expansion supports their challenge of the commission's decision to approve two Texas liquefied natural gas facilities.
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July 31, 2024
Bill To Revive FCC's Broadband Subsidy Clears Senate Panel
A Democratic bill to restart the Federal Communications Commission's defunct broadband subsidy passed a Senate committee Wednesday after a debate over how to pay for FCC-related spending priorities, as well as agency authority to start new spectrum auctions.
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July 30, 2024
FTX Users Say Sullivan & Cromwell Must Face Abetting Claims
FTX customers told a Florida federal judge on Tuesday that Sullivan & Cromwell LLP can't dismiss customer claims it aided and abetted the defunct cryptocurrency exchange's fraud as "speculative allegations" when the customers' complaint "paints a much more detailed and nefarious picture."
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July 30, 2024
Colo. Justices Step Into Boulder Climate Change Case
The Colorado Supreme Court has ordered a trial court to defend its decision greenlighting the bulk of municipalities' attempts to make Suncor subsidiaries and Exxon pay for damages allegedly caused by climate change.
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July 30, 2024
DC Circ. Tosses FERC's OK Of Northeast Pipeline Expansion
The D.C. Circuit on Tuesday threw out the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's approval of a Northeast pipeline expansion, ruling that the agency overlooked the project's "enormous" greenhouse gas emissions and failed to properly consider the lack of market need for the added natural gas capacity.
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July 30, 2024
Feds, SEC Say Creator Of Crypto Co. BitClout Misled Investors
Federal prosecutors and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission announced parallel actions Tuesday against the founder of crypto project BitClout for allegedly duping investors and spending millions of proceeds for his own benefit.
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July 30, 2024
Quinn Emanuel Must Prove Authority In $486M Award Fight
A divided D.C. Circuit panel ruled Tuesday that a lower court should have determined whether Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP had authority to represent Doraleh Container Terminal SA before deciding whether to enforce a $486 million arbitral award issued against Djibouti.
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July 29, 2024
Pole Owners Must Pay Half Of Upgrades, Advocacy Org. Says
School and library advocates are calling for the Federal Communications Commission to follow Canada's lead in mandating that utility pole owners cover half the cost of upgrades for broadband equipment, saying that because both pole owners and broadband equipment attachers benefit from upgrades, they should share in the costs.
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July 29, 2024
Clean Energy Tax Credit Sales Could Hit $25B, Report Says
Total sales of clean energy tax credits could reach as high as $20 billion to $25 billion this year, signaling a flourishing marketplace for credit sales authorized by the 2022 climate law, according to a midyear report released Monday by a climate tech startup firm.
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July 29, 2024
5th Circ. Takedown Prompts Call To Reform Universal Service
A major telecom trade association is telling Congress to get started reforming the Universal Service Fund quickly, saying that the Fifth Circuit's recent holding that the program's current setup is unconstitutional should bring an urgency to restructuring efforts.
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July 26, 2024
DC Circ. Vacates FERC Oil Pipeline Index Revision
The D.C. Circuit on Friday vacated a Federal Energy Regulatory Commission order that lowered the five-year index level governing oil pipeline transportation rates, ruling that the agency ran afoul of federal law when it failed to gather public input on the revision.
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July 26, 2024
FCC Kicks Off Rapid Response Team To Zap Pole Disputes
The Federal Communications Commission has launched a rapid response team to clear up disputes between utility pole owners and internet service providers over the cost of upgrading or replacing poles to allow for new broadband equipment.
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July 26, 2024
One Prosecutor's Quest To Carve Up Crypto's 'Pig Butchers'
A Silicon Valley-based prosecutor who's made it her mission to fight what are known as pig butchering cryptocurrency scams says it is time to start taking a closer look at the role financial institutions and social platforms should play in identifying and blocking bad actors.
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July 26, 2024
Feds Invest $240M In Pacific Tribal Fish Hatchery Efforts
Hatcheries that produce Pacific salmon and steelhead will get $240 million in federal funding as the U.S. Department of the Interior and the Commerce Department look to restore fish in the Columbia River Basin and mitigate the impacts of dams on tribes, the U.S. government said.
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July 26, 2024
Wait For Depositions May Delay Cognizant Bribe Trial Again
Trial in a five-year-old case alleging two former Cognizant executives authorized a bribe to a government official in India could be delayed again after New Jersey federal prosecutors said on Friday that the current Sept. 9 date is too soon to complete necessary depositions in that country.
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July 25, 2024
Insurer Can't Link Secrets Suit To $47M Claim, Ex-Worker Says
A former worker for British insurance company Beazley urged a Florida federal court Thursday to toss claims alleging trade secrets theft, saying the company's suit doesn't show how he supposedly caused it to incur $47 million in damages from an arbitration case over a Brazilian thermoelectric plant.
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July 25, 2024
Cable Group Says Funds May Cover Less Under BEAD Rules
The funds the Biden administration has put into the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment Program should be enough to get most eligible locations connected if the National Telecommunications and Information Administration doesn't set any mandates on how much that service will cost after it's there, a cable trade group says.
Expert Analysis
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New State Climate Liability Laws: What Companies Must Know
New legislation in Vermont and New York creating liability and compliance obligations for businesses deemed responsible for climate change — as well as similar bills proposed in California, Massachusetts and Maryland — have far-reaching implications for companies, so it is vital to remain vigilant as these initiatives progress, say Gregory Berlin and Jeffrey Dintzer at Alston & Bird.
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Despite Calif. Delays, Climate Disclosure Rules Are Coming
Progress continues on state, federal and international climate disclosure regimes, making compliance a key concern for companies — but the timeline for implementation of California's disclosure laws remains unclear due to funding and timing disputes, says David Smith at Manatt Phelps.
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Opinion
Now More Than Ever, Lawyers Must Exhibit Professionalism
As society becomes increasingly fractured and workplace incivility is on the rise, attorneys must champion professionalism and lead by example, demonstrating how lawyers can respectfully disagree without being disagreeable, says Edward Casmere at Norton Rose.
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Series
Serving In The National Guard Makes Me A Better Lawyer
My ongoing military experience as a judge advocate general in the National Guard has shaped me as a person and a lawyer, teaching me the importance of embracing confidence, balance and teamwork in both my Army and civilian roles, says Danielle Aymond at Baker Donelson.
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A Midyear Forecast: Tailwinds Expected For Atty Hourly Rates
Hourly rates for partners, associates and support staff continued to rise in the first half of this year, and this growth shows no signs of slowing for the rest of 2024 and into next year, driven in part by the return of mergers and acquisitions and the widespread adoption of artificial intelligence, says Chuck Chandler at Valeo Partners.
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California Adds A Novel Twist To State Suits Against Big Oil
California’s suit against Exxon Mobil Corp., one of several state suits that seek to hold oil and gas companies accountable for climate-related harms, is unique both in the magnitude of the alleged claims and its use of a consumer protection statute to seek disgorgement of industry profits, says Julia Stein at UCLA School of Law.
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Criminal Enforcement Considerations For Gov't Contractors
Government contractors increasingly exposed to criminal liability risks should establish programs that enable detection and remediation of employee misconduct, consider voluntary disclosure, and be aware of the potentially disastrous consequences of failing to make a mandatory disclosure where the government concludes it was required, say attorneys at Crowell & Moring.
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Opinion
States Should Loosen Law Firm Ownership Restrictions
Despite growing buzz, normalized nonlawyer ownership of law firms is a distant prospect, so the legal community should focus first on liberalizing state restrictions on attorney and firm purchases of practices, which would bolster succession planning and improve access to justice, says Michael Di Gennaro at The Law Practice Exchange.
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FERC Rule Is A Big Step Forward For Transmission Planning
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's recent electric transmission system overhaul marks significant progress to ensure the grid can deliver electricity at reasonable prices, with a 20-year planning requirement and other criteria going further than prior attempted reforms, say Tom Millar and Gwendolyn Hicks at Winston & Strawn.
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Series
Solving Puzzles Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Tackling daily puzzles — like Wordle, KenKen and Connections — has bolstered my intellectual property litigation practice by helping me to exercise different mental skills, acknowledge minor but important details, and build and reinforce good habits, says Roy Wepner at Kaplan Breyer.
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Texas Ethics Opinion Flags Hazards Of Unauthorized Practice
The Texas Professional Ethics Committee's recently issued proposed opinion finding that in-house counsel providing legal services to the company's clients constitutes the unauthorized practice of law is a valuable clarification given that a UPL violation — a misdemeanor in most states — carries high stakes, say Hilary Gerzhoy and Julienne Pasichow at HWG.
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Electrifying Transportation With Public-Private Partnerships
Many clean energy goals remain public policy abstractions that face a challenging road to realization — but public-private partnership models could be a valuable tool to electrify the transportation sector, says Michael Blackwell at Husch Blackwell.
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In Memoriam: The Modern Administrative State
On June 28, the modern administrative state, where courts deferred to agency interpretations of ambiguous statutes, died when the U.S. Supreme Court overruled its previous decision in Chevron v. Natural Resources Defense Council — but it is survived by many cases decided under the Chevron framework, say Joseph Schaeffer and Jessica Deyoe at Babst Calland.
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Expect The Unexpected: Contracts For Underground Projects
Recent challenges encountered by the Mountain Valley Pipeline project underscore the importance of drafting contracts for underground construction to account for unexpected site conditions, associated risks and compliance with applicable laws, say Jill Jaffe and Brenda Lin at Nossaman.
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How To Clean Up Your Generative AI-Produced Legal Drafts
As law firms increasingly rely on generative artificial intelligence tools to produce legal text, attorneys should be on guard for the overuse of cohesive devices in initial drafts, and consider a few editing pointers to clean up AI’s repetitive and choppy outputs, says Ivy Grey at WordRake.