Public Policy

  • September 18, 2024

    Chicago Slams Airline Group's Suit Against Sick Leave Law

    Chicago's recently enacted paid sick leave law doesn't clash with federal law because it doesn't affect airlines' prices or routes, the city said, urging an Illinois federal judge to toss a trade group's challenge to the ordinance.

  • September 18, 2024

    Ga. Justices Rebuke Local GOP For Delays In Ballot Challenge

    The Supreme Court of Georgia on Tuesday shot down a county Republican Party's bid to keep several candidates for local office off the ballot for an election that was already held this year, scorning the GOP chapter for its "failure to litigate this appeal with dispatch."

  • September 18, 2024

    Avangrid Unit Defends Counterclaim In Cleanup Battle

    An Avangrid Inc. unit has urged a Connecticut state judge not to throw out its counterclaim against the state's commissioner of energy and environmental protection in her suit accusing the utility of moving too slowly on an ordered cleanup of a shuttered power plant site, arguing the government is acting outside its authority.

  • September 18, 2024

    House Panel Members Question Legitimacy Of Axed Tip Rule

    A U.S. House panel chair criticized Wednesday a tip credit rule that the Fifth Circuit recently vacated, calling it burdensome and out of touch.

  • September 18, 2024

    Federal Judge Won't Abstain From Pot Payment Co. Dispute

    A Nevada federal judge has declined to abstain from a dispute between a pair of investment firms over the collapse of their joint venture, saying while one company is a subsidiary of a cannabis payment processing company, the dispute can be resolved without dipping into the murky waters of cannabis's federal illegality.

  • September 18, 2024

    Silvergate Bank Parent Co. Files Ch. 11, Plans Liquidation

    The parent company of shuttered cryptocurrency-focused bank Silvergate filed for Chapter 11 protection in Delaware on Tuesday with plans to wind down and liquidate its remaining assets.

  • September 17, 2024

    FDIC, OCC Cement New Bank-Merger Policy Guidelines

    Federal banking regulators on Tuesday approved plans to tighten their oversight of bank mergers, scoping out heightened scrutiny for deals that result in banks with $100 billion in assets among other things.

  • September 17, 2024

    Pa. Judge Confirmed As GOP Leader Bemoans Dems' Tactics

    The Senate voted 52-41 Tuesday to confirm Mary Kathleen Costello as U.S. district judge for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, but first the chamber's top Republican took time to blast judiciary policymakers for backing what he said were Democratic initiatives regarding the federal bench.

  • September 17, 2024

    Fla. Lawmakers Claim Deposition Immunity In Voter Map Case

    Several Florida lawmakers told an appellate panel Tuesday they shouldn't be compelled to testify about their legislative activities in a lawsuit brought by Black voters over a redistricted congressional map, arguing that the state constitution protects them from depositions in civil litigation.

  • September 17, 2024

    FDIC Proposes Rule On Bank-Fintech Partnership Risks

    The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.'s rulemaking board on Tuesday proposed new recordkeeping rules aimed at both shoring up consumer protections as more fintech firms enter the banking space, and preventing a repeat of account freezes that have occurred after fintech service provider Synapse entered into bankruptcy earlier this year.

  • September 17, 2024

    US Sanctions Georgians Engaged In Anti-Democratic Violence

    The United States imposed sanctions and visa bans Tuesday on several Georgians for their involvement in the violent response to peaceful protests against the foreign influence law that U.S. officials say has undermined Georgia's democracy and violated human rights.

  • September 17, 2024

    Ga. Bars NCAA From Prohibiting NIL Compensation

    The NCAA and other athletic organizations cannot prohibit Georgia colleges and universities from providing student-athletes with name, image and likeness compensation under an executive order signed by Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp on Tuesday.

  • September 17, 2024

    Fla. Should Get CWA Permitting Back, State Tells DC Circ.

    Florida should be allowed to keep administering its own Clean Water Act permitting program for dredging, the Sunshine State told the D.C. Circuit in an opening brief that noted the state had successfully run the program for three years, and that taking away its ability to do so calls into question a congressional promise.

  • September 17, 2024

    Biden's Asylum Policy Halved Illegal Crossings, CBP Says

    The number of migrants caught trying to cross the border between ports of entry has fallen by more than half since President Joe Biden barred asylum claims from those crossing illegally in June, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

  • September 17, 2024

    Brooklyn Feds Unveil Whistleblower Nonprosecution Plan

    The Brooklyn U.S. Attorney's Office on Tuesday announced an initiative to reward corporate whistleblowers with nonprosecution deals amid a broader effort by federal prosecutors to encourage voluntary disclosure of criminal activity.

  • September 17, 2024

    GC Base Salaries At Big Companies On The Rise

    General counsel base salaries at companies making $5 billion or more in revenue has increased from last year, while their total compensation has decreased, according to a report released Tuesday by the Association of Corporate Counsel and Empsight International LLC.

  • September 17, 2024

    Express Scripts Blasts 'Biased' FTC Drug Middlemen Report

    The Federal Trade Commission defamed Express Scripts and violated its constitutional rights with an inaccurate report that ripped the role pharmacy benefit managers play as middlemen between drugmakers and insurers, according to a lawsuit lodged Tuesday in Missouri federal court.

  • September 17, 2024

    Blumenauer Pushes House Speaker To Put Pot Bill To Vote

    U.S. Rep. Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore., on Monday urged House Speaker Mike Johnson to bring bipartisan cannabis legislation to a vote following revelations that Richard Nixon admitted privately that marijuana was "not particularly dangerous" while he publicly waged the war on drugs.

  • September 17, 2024

    Univ. Can Expand Coastal Campus, Mass. Appeals Court Says

    A Massachusetts university has no obligation to preserve for public use 12 acres of land in a coastal town just north of Boston, the state's intermediate-level appeals court ruled.

  • September 17, 2024

    Instagram Changing Teen Accounts As Pressure Mounts

    Instagram announced changes Tuesday to its user experience for those under age 18 as it faces increasing concern about children's online safety.

  • September 17, 2024

    Competitiveness Outranks Climate In New EU Commission

    European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen shifted her focus from climate change to boosting competitiveness as she proposed her team of commissioners for the next five-year mandate Tuesday, handing out key jobs covering everything from competition enforcement to trade policy.

  • September 17, 2024

    Conn. AG Balks At Avangrid's $2.55B Take-Private Deal

    Connecticut Attorney General William Tong and Consumer Counsel Claire E. Coleman want the state's utility watchdog to probe a Spanish energy firm's $2.55 billion proposal to take a Constitution State-based utility private, citing fears about reduced regulatory oversight amid soaring electricity and gas prices.

  • September 17, 2024

    Doctors To End UK Strikes After Accepting 22% Pay Rise

    Junior doctors in England have accepted a pay deal that will increase salaries by 22.3% over two years, ending 18 months of strikes.

  • September 16, 2024

    Senate Confirms Tenn, Prosecutor To 6th Circ.

    The U.S. Senate Monday confirmed federal prosecutor Kevin Ritz to join the Sixth Circuit bench along a 48-46 party line vote following vocal objections from the senior senator from Tennessee over the past few months.

  • September 16, 2024

    Pot Co. Execs Go To 9th Circ. In Investment Scam Case

    A California cannabis company and its co-founders on Monday appealed a federal court decision booting them from the securities industry and holding them liable for roughly $6 million tied to a medical marijuana investment scam, the same day that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission asked the court to order a third individual to pay up for his part in the alleged scam.

Expert Analysis

  • What Patent Litigators Should Know About CHIPS Act Grants

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    With the U.S. Department of Commerce now actively awarding grants under the CHIPS and Science Act, recipients should ensure they understand the implications of promises to construct new semiconductor manufacturing facilities, especially in jurisdictions with active patent litigation dockets, say Gabriel Culver and Peter Hillegas at Norton Rose.

  • Jarkesy's Impact On SEC Enforcement Will Be Modest

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    Though the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission v. Jarkesy decision found that fraud defendants have a constitutional right to a jury trial, the ruling will have muted impact on the agency’s enforcement because it’s already bringing most of its cases in federal court, say Jeremiah Williams and Alyssa Fixsen at Ropes & Gray.

  • Opinion

    Data Breach Reporting Requirements Must Change In AI Age

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    Outdated data breach reporting laws are inadequate to protect consumers in the age of artificial intelligence, as AI’s ability to determine relationships coupled with its improvements to deepfake technology mean that the very definitions used in breach reporting laws are no longer sufficient, says Collin Walke at Hall Estill.

  • Unpacking HHS' Opinion On Cell Therapy Refund Programs

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    A recent advisory opinion from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, determining that a biopharma company's refund program for its cell therapy will not be penalized, indicates an encouraging willingness to engage, but the regulator's assumptions about the program's limited term warrant a closer look, says Mary Kohler at Kohler Health.

  • Series

    Rock Climbing Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Rock climbing requires problem-solving, focus, risk management and resilience, skills that are also invaluable assets in my role as a finance lawyer, says Mei Zhang at Haynes and Boone.

  • What Chevron's End Means For How Congress Does Business

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    The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo decision, overturning the Chevron doctrine, will have a far-reaching impact across the entire public policy life cycle, beginning with how Congress writes its laws and extending through agency implantation and judicial review, say attorneys at K&L Gates.

  • How 5 States' Deal Notification Laws Are Guiding Healthcare

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    Healthcare transaction notification laws at various stages of implementation in California, Illinois, Indiana, Oregon and Washington are shaping sector mergers and acquisitions, with significant transparency, continuity of care and compliance implications as providers tackle complex regulatory requirements, says Melesa Freerks at DLA Piper.

  • Think Like A Lawyer: Dance The Legal Standard Two-Step

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    From rookie brief writers to Chief Justice John Roberts, lawyers should master the legal standard two-step — framing the governing standard at the outset, and clarifying why they meet that standard — which has benefits for both the drafter and reader, says Luke Andrews at Poole Huffman.

  • Examining Chancery's Relaxed New Confidential Filing Rules

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    The Delaware Court of Chancery’s overhauled Rule 5.1, which governs confidential filings, risks permitting nonconfidential information to be shielded from public review unless and until a challenge notice is filed — but several potential solutions could help to override this issue, says Delaware attorney Daniel J. McBride.

  • Recent Settlement Shows 'China Initiative' Has Life After Death

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    Though the U.S. Department of Justice shuttered its controversial China Initiative two years ago, its recent False Claims Act settlement with the Cleveland Clinic Foundation demonstrates that prosecutors are more than willing to civilly pursue research institutions whose employees were previously targeted, say attorneys at Benesch.

  • How Orange Book Antitrust Scrutiny Is Intensifying

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    Pharmaceutical patent holders should be reviewing Orange Book listing practices, as the Federal Trade Commission takes a more aggressive antitrust approach with actions such as the Teva listing probe, and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration calls attention to potentially improper listings, say attorneys at McDermott.

  • What To Know As Children's Privacy Law Rapidly Evolves

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    If your business hasn't been paying attention to growing state and federal efforts to protect children online, now is the time to start — there is no sign of this regulation slowing down, and more aggressive enforcement actions are to be expected in the coming year, says Susan Rohol at Willkie Farr.

  • Opinion

    OFAC Sanctions Deserve To Be Challenged Post-Chevron

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's Loper Bright decision opens the door to challenges against the Office of Foreign Assets Control's sanctions regime, the unintended consequences of which raise serious questions about the wisdom of what appears to be a scorched-earth approach, says Solomon Shinerock at Lewis Baach.

  • Behind The Delay Of Final HSR Premerger Filing Rules

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    Erin Toomey at Epiq discusses the wait for the final version of the revised Hart-Scott-Rodino premerger filing requirements that were first introduced in June 2023, the factors that might be behind the delay, and how to plan for the potential data-focused rule change

  • What Cos. Should Know About New Global Plastics Regs

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    As the global regulatory landscape for plastics and recycling changes rapidly — with new policies coming into effect in California, at the federal level, in the European Union and at the United Nations — businesses that operate across jurisdictions must stay informed to remain compliant, mitigate legal risk and achieve stewardship goals, say attorneys at O'Melveny.

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