Try our Advanced Search for more refined results
Public Policy
-
December 18, 2024
States, Green Groups Drop Suits Over USPS Vehicle Plan
A coalition of states and cities and several environmental groups moved to dismiss their lawsuits challenging the U.S. Postal Service's multibillion-dollar plan to acquire its next-generation delivery vehicles.
-
December 18, 2024
NC Lt. Gov. Wants Defamation Suit Kicked Back To State Court
North Carolina Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson has urged a federal judge to return his defamation suit against CNN to state court, arguing that his claims against the network are tied to those against a former porn store clerk such that the lower trial court is better suited to hear the case.
-
December 18, 2024
EPA Greenlights California's Race To 100% ZEVs By 2035
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Wednesday authorized California's plan to require that all new light cars and trucks sold in the state be zero-emission vehicles by 2035, a move that was instantly slammed by the fossil fuel industry.
-
December 18, 2024
Congress Passes $3B Funding For FCC's 'Rip And Replace'
The U.S. Senate cleared legislation Wednesday to fully fund the Federal Communications Commission's "rip and replace" telecom security program to the tune of $3.08 billion as part of a sweeping defense spending authorization.
-
December 18, 2024
Cherokee Chief Urges Senate To Block Federal Recognition Bill
The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians' principal chief is urging the U.S. Senate to reject legislation that would give federal recognition to a fellow North Carolina tribe, arguing that allowing the bill's passage would undermine the process to ensure that the decision is based on evidence and not politics.
-
December 18, 2024
Texas Says Border Wall Panel Sales May Violate Injunction
Missouri and Texas asked a federal judge to probe whether the Biden administration is violating an order to use $1.4 billion of congressional funds to build the southern border wall, pointing to media reports that wall materials are being sold off.
-
December 18, 2024
RJ Reynolds Asks Justices To Toss Forum Shopping Argument
R.J. Reynolds Vapor Co. is urging the U.S. Supreme Court to reject the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's argument that the vape company engaged in forum shopping when it challenged denial of one of its applications in the Fifth Circuit, saying its Texas- and Mississippi-based co-petitioners make the Fifth Circuit the proper venue.
-
December 18, 2024
Senate Sends $895B Defense Bill To Biden's Desk
The U.S. Senate on Wednesday easily passed an $895.2 billion defense policy and budget bill for 2025, despite criticism over a contentious clause effectively barring gender-affirming healthcare coverage for service members' transgender children.
-
December 18, 2024
Justices' Homes Would Get Security Funds Under Resolution
More than $25 million to fund security upgrades to U.S. Supreme Court justices' homes is included in a stopgap measure to fund federal agencies through mid-March — a proposed allocation that comes two years after the arrest of an armed man outside the home of Justice Brett Kavanaugh.
-
December 18, 2024
Connecticut AG Gets Remand Of 'Forever Chemicals' Suit
A Connecticut federal judge has shipped one of the state's PFAS "forever chemicals" lawsuits back to state court, siding with the state attorney general's argument that the case targeted pollution from consumer products and civilian industrial sources that were not "inextricably commingled" with chemicals produced to military specifications.
-
December 18, 2024
Raskin Elected To Head House Judiciary Democrats
Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., was unanimously elected to lead the Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee in the next Congress, it was announced on Wednesday.
-
December 18, 2024
Cuneo Gilbert & LaDuca Taps Ex-DOJ Official As Policy Chair
Cuneo Gilbert & LaDuca LLP has hired a former senior U.S. Department of Justice official and Capitol Hill pro as the leader of its newly formed public policy and legislative affairs practice.
-
December 18, 2024
Mont. High Court Cements Right To 'Stable Climate System'
The Montana Supreme Court on Wednesday ruled that the state's constitution guarantees the right to "a stable climate system" and affirmed a lower court's decision to strike down state law provisions that barred the consideration of greenhouse gas emissions in permitting decisions.
-
December 18, 2024
IRS Pushes Some Retirement Plan Min. Distributions To 2026
The Internal Revenue Service updated the effective date to January 2026 — instead of next year — for when some must start to withdraw the required minimum amount of funds from several types of individual retirement accounts that were amended by a December 2022 retirement savings law.
-
December 18, 2024
High Court To Review TikTok Sale-Or-Ban Law
The U.S. Supreme Court announced Wednesday that it will fully review TikTok's First Amendment challenge to a federal law requiring the wildly popular social media platform to divest from its Chinese parent company or face a nationwide ban, scheduling expedited oral arguments one week before the law's effective date.
-
December 18, 2024
Justices Will Decide If Medicaid Recipients Can Pick Providers
The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday partially granted the state of South Carolina's petition to review a Fourth Circuit decision blocking its Medicaid program from ending its provider agreement with Planned Parenthood, agreeing to determine if the Medicaid Act allows a beneficiary to choose a specific provider.
-
December 18, 2024
CFPB Says Credit Card Point Devaluation May Break The Law
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau warned Wednesday that credit card companies risk violating federal law when they or their merchant partners devalue rewards points and miles banked by their cardholders, casting it as a potential "bait-and-switch."
-
December 17, 2024
NC Panel Revives Negligence Suit Against State Health Dept.
An adult care center's constitutional claims accusing the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services of negligently asserting bogus penalties and unfairly suspending admissions at the facility are timely, a North Carolina state appellate panel ruled Tuesday, reviving a case that previously landed before the North Carolina Supreme Court.
-
December 17, 2024
These Attys Could Be Trump's Pick For Colo.'s Top Prosecutor
President-elect Donald Trump's previous U.S. attorney for the District of Colorado said he's not interested in the role again, but gave Law360 a glimpse at who he thinks could be on the transition team's list of contenders.
-
December 17, 2024
GOP Hill Leaders Pledge To Prioritize Crypto Bills Next Year
Lawmakers told crypto industry participants Tuesday that they plan to keep digital assets top of mind in the coming legislative session by prioritizing bills on a regulatory structure for stablecoins and digital asset markets, as well as digging into allegations bank regulators have unfairly targeted crypto businesses.
-
December 17, 2024
UNC Doctor Can't Shield Minor Transgender Patients' Records
A University of North Carolina doctor cannot assert privilege over medical records sought from the university by state Republicans fighting a suit by the physician and others seeking to enjoin a law imposing limits on transgender care for minors, a federal magistrate judge has ruled.
-
December 17, 2024
11th Circ. Urged To Block Abortion Clinic Buffer Zone Law
A Florida anti-abortion group urged the Eleventh Circuit on Tuesday to give it another shot at an injunction preventing the city of Clearwater from enforcing a buffer zone ordinance that blocks the group from getting within five feet of the driveway to the city's only abortion clinic.
-
December 17, 2024
Monsanto Owes $690M In Latest Wash. PCB Trial, Jurors Told
Fifteen people who say they were poisoned by Monsanto-made chemicals asked a Washington state jury to award them $690 million plus even more in punitive damages on Tuesday, rounding out a two-month trial as the company argued the request for "generational wealth" isn't backed by enough evidence to attribute their ailments to the toxins known as PCBs.
-
December 17, 2024
Copyright Officials Say Rest Of AI Report To Come Next Year
The U.S. Copyright Office says it won't be until early next year that it plans to submit the remainder of a report on the intersection of artificial intelligence and copyright law.
-
December 17, 2024
DOD Expands Data Rights For Small Biz R&D Program Cos.
The U.S. Department of Defense on Tuesday issued rules expanding the data rights retained by small business research and development program participants, and codifying that unique rules for architectural and engineering contracts cover orders under multiple-award contracts.
Expert Analysis
-
So You Want To Move Your Law Practice To Canada, Eh?
Google searches for how to move to Canada have surged in the wake of the U.S. presidential election, and if you’re an attorney considering a move to the Great White North, you’ll need to understand how the practice of law differs across the border, says David Postel at Henein Hutchison.
-
A Look At Similarities Between SOX And SEC's Cyber Rule
Just as the Sarbanes-Oxley Act paved the way for greater transparency and accountability in financial reporting, the SEC's cybersecurity rule is doing much the same for cybersecurity, ensuring that companies are resilient in the face of growing cyber threats, says Padraic O'Reilly at CyberSaint.
-
Opinion
Efficiency Dept. Should Consolidate Antitrust Enforcement
President-elect Donald Trump's planned Department of Government Efficiency should transfer the authority of the Federal Trade Commission's Bureau of Competition into the U.S. Department of Justice's Antitrust Division, because there is no justification for two federal entities to enforce antitrust and competition laws, says retired judge Susan Braden.
-
What To Expect Next From Federal Health Tech Regulation
Healthcare organizations should pay close attention to federal health information technology regulators' recent guidance concerning barriers to accessing electronic health information, which signals that more enforcement in this area is likely forthcoming, say attorneys at Ropes & Gray.
-
In SF Water Case, Justices Signal How Loper May Be Applied
Skeptical questions from U.S. Supreme Court justices during oral argument in San Francisco v. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency offer hints of how the court intends to apply limits on agency regulatory autonomy established last term in Loper Bright, says Karen Cullinane at Goldberg Segalla.
-
Trump Rollback Of Biden Enviro Policies: What To Expect
Donald Trump's upcoming second presidential term will usher significant shifts in U.S. environmental and natural resource law and policy — and while the Biden administration is racing to secure its legacy, the incoming Trump administration is making plans to dramatically roll back most, if not all, of Biden's environmental initiatives, say attorneys at Beveridge & Diamond.
-
5 Areas Congress May Investigate After GOP Election Wins
With Republicans poised to take control of Congress in addition to the executive branch next year, private companies can expect an unprecedented uptick in congressional investigations focused on five key areas, including cryptocurrency and healthcare, say attorneys at Cahill Gordon.
-
US Intellectual Property-Based Sanctions Could Be Imminent
A recent presidential delegation suggests that regulators may be ready to wield the sanctions authority found in the Protecting American Intellectual Property Act, which has been unutilized for the first 22 months of its life, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.
-
Philly's Algorithmic Rent Ban Furthers Antitrust Policy Trends
A Philadelphia bill banning the use of algorithmic software to set rent prices and manage occupancy rates is indicative of growing scrutiny of this technology, and reflects broader policy trends of adapting traditional antitrust principles to respond to new technology, say attorneys at Ballard Spahr.
-
Takeaways From State Votes On Abortion In The 2024 Election
Attorneys at Epstein Becker discuss how 10 states voted on ballot initiatives to either protect or restrict access to abortion in the 2024 general election, and analyze overarching trends.
-
Trump's 2nd Term May Be A Boost To Banking Industry
President-elect Donald Trump's personnel appointments could be instrumental in reshaping the financial regulatory landscape during his second administration, likely allowing for greater merger activity and halting or undoing some of the Biden administration's more restrictive financial services policies, say attorneys at Debevoise.
-
Loper Bright Offers New Materiality Defense To FCA Liability
The U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Loper Bight Enterprises v. Raimondo, ending Chevron deference, may have created a new defense to False Claims Act liability by providing the opportunity to argue that a given regulation is not material to the government's payment decision, says Tanner Cook at Husch Blackwell.
-
A Look At 2024 NIL Rights And Economies In College Sports
Permutations in the arena of name, image and likeness affecting collegiate athletics have continued unabated this year, and practitioners and industry representatives should anticipate significant activity at schools and continuing legal changes at the state level, say attorneys at Pillsbury.
-
How Expanded Birth Control Coverage May Affect Employers
Employers should consider the potential impact of recently proposed regulations that would expand group health plans' required coverage of preventive services and contraceptives, including questions about how the agencies would implement their plans to eliminate the prescription requirement and alter the exceptions process, says Jennifer Rigterink at Proskauer.
-
Unpacking CFPB's Unwieldy Buy Now, Pay Later Guidance
Both the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's recent interpretive rule regarding buy now, pay later transactions, and its FAQ guidance, place providers in murky waters with the unenviable position of attempting to place a square, closed-end product in a round, regulatory framework meant for open-end products, say attorneys at Troutman Pepper.