Public Policy

  • July 05, 2024

    Full 5th Circ. Will Hear Book Ban Case After Split Panel Ruling

    The full Fifth Circuit will weigh in on a divisive battle between librarygoers and Llano County, Texas, officials who removed books dealing with racism and sexuality from the shelves, following a contentious split panel decision that had the majority call the minority "the true library police."

  • July 05, 2024

    Trade Groups Sue Denver Over Gas Stove Ban

    A coalition of trade groups representing the restaurant, home construction, rental housing and propane gas industries have claimed in Colorado federal court that two Denver ordinances that restrict the use of gas appliances can't be enforced because they're preempted by federal law.

  • July 05, 2024

    Walmart Again Gets FTC's Money Transfer Suit Trimmed

    An Illinois federal judge has again pared down the Federal Trade Commission's allegations that Walmart violated consumer protection laws by knowingly processing more than $200 million in fraudulent money transfers, dismissing the FTC's Telemarketing Sales Rule allegations but keeping intact other claims under the FTC Act.

  • July 05, 2024

    Colo. Appeals Court Invalidates Sheriff's ICE Agreement

    The Colorado Court of Appeals has ruled that a state law prohibits an agreement between the Teller County Sheriff's Office and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement permitting state and local law enforcement to arrest and detain noncitizens.

  • July 05, 2024

    SEC Issues Guidance On Confidential IPOs

    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's Corporation Finance Division has issued updated guidance explaining how companies can file confidential registration statements when preparing go-public transactions such as initial public offerings and blank check company mergers.

  • July 05, 2024

    Full 5th Circ. Urged To Revisit Fight Over CFPB Payday Rule

    Payday lender trade groups have formally asked the Fifth Circuit to take another look at parts of their long-running challenge to a payday loan regulation issued by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, filing a petition that seeks to reopen the case after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned their prior win.

  • July 05, 2024

    Justices Told Revoked Visa Petition Is Reviewable

    A woman whose visa petition for her Palestinian husband was revoked two years after being approved urged the U.S. Supreme Court to rule that courts can review secondary decisions, saying that lower courts' refusal to do so creates an irrational system in which only initial decisions can be reviewed.

  • July 05, 2024

    Mich. Atty Ethics Board Moves Trump Allies' Cases Forward

    The Michigan Attorney Discipline Board has refused to dismiss misconduct claims against six attorneys for challenging the results of the 2020 election in the Great Lakes State and ordered their disciplinary proceedings to move forward.

  • July 05, 2024

    The Firms That Won Big At The Supreme Court

    This U.S. Supreme Court term featured high-stakes oral arguments on issues including gerrymandering, abortion and federal agency authority, and a hot bench ever more willing to engage in a lengthy back-and-forth with advocates. Here's a look at the law firms that argued the most cases and how they fared.

  • July 05, 2024

    Farmworkers Union Wins Partial Block Of DOL Wage Rules

    A Washington federal judge partly blocked U.S. Department of Labor rules on prevailing wage rates that a union claimed depressed farmworkers' wages, saying the agency failed to consider effects on workers and must reinstate wage rates from 2020.

  • July 05, 2024

    Georgia DAs Say Discipline Panel Already Harming Them

    A legal challenge to Georgia's new prosecutor disciplinary panel should move forward now that the panel has been cleared to begin investigating prosecutors, a bipartisan group of district attorneys told a Georgia state court.

  • July 05, 2024

    Trump-Appointed Alaska Judge Abruptly Resigns

    Judge Joshua Kindred of the District of Alaska informed President Joe Biden on Wednesday that he will be resigning Monday.

  • July 05, 2024

    Unilateral Climate Policies Threaten Trade, WTO Deputy Says

    Touting a new trade agreement between Costa Rica, Iceland, New Zealand and Switzerland, a World Trade Organization deputy director-general said the multilateral system is at a crossroads where more countries must work together to address the link between trade and climate change or risk harming progress on both fronts.

  • July 05, 2024

    Monthly Merger Review Snapshot

    A Federal Trade Commission loss became a win when a Fourth Circuit pause spurred Novant Health to walk away from its plans to purchase two North Carolina hospitals, Assa Abloy complained about the monitor observing its compliance with a U.S. Department of Justice merger clearance deal, and a Colorado judge preserved the state attorney general's challenge to Kroger-Albertsons.

  • July 05, 2024

    4 Benefits Policy Moves To Watch In 2024's 2nd Half

    The U.S. Department of Labor and other agencies are expected to issue a final rule implementing a mental health parity-in-coverage statute, and DOL regulations expanding who qualifies as a fiduciary under federal benefits law are set to take effect in the fall. Here are four policy developments benefits attorneys are watching out for in the second half of 2024.

  • July 05, 2024

    3rd Circ. Preview: Ponzi Scheme, Merck Vaccine Heat Up July

    The Third Circuit's July argument schedule is sizzling with several high-stakes cases, including two whistleblowers attempting to make drugmaker Merck answer for allegedly inducing the U.S. government to pay for substandard mumps vaccines.

  • July 05, 2024

    DOJ Says Ayahuasca Church Doesn't Deserve $2.2M Fees

    The U.S. government is urging an Arizona federal judge to deny a Phoenix church's request for $2.2 million in fees and costs following a settlement allowing it to use ayahuasca in its religious practices, saying no fees are warranted for an unnecessary suit that would've reached the same resolution through normal processes.

  • July 03, 2024

    HHS Scores Early Win In Boehringer's Medicare Pricing Suit

    A Connecticut federal judge on Wednesday sided with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in Boehringer Ingelheim's challenge to a new Medicare drug price negotiation program, rejecting the pharmaceutical company's claim that the program is unconstitutional.

  • July 03, 2024

    6 Things To Know About The Post-Chevron Finreg Impact

    The U.S. Supreme Court's decision to overturn the Chevron deference last week may make it tougher for financial regulators to defend a range of rules and regulations pursued by the Biden administration, although experts anticipate the ruling will have an uneven impact across the financial services industry.

  • July 03, 2024

    Menendez's Focus On Ally's Case Was Legitimate, Jury Told

    Sen. Robert Menendez rested his bribery defense Wednesday after a prominent criminal defense attorney testified that Menendez was not alone in finding a certain prosecution "abusive," rebutting the notion that the lawmaker's interest was part of a quid pro quo.

  • July 03, 2024

    Ex-Conn. Goodwill Exec Says Whistleblowing Ended His Job

    The former top executive at Goodwill of Western and Northern Connecticut Inc. has launched a state court lawsuit alleging he was fired for complaining about the nonprofit's governance, questioning statements on its IRS filings and expressing doubts about a proposed merger. 

  • July 03, 2024

    24 AGs Urge High Court To Preserve Ghost Gun Regs

    A coalition of 24 attorneys general urged the U.S. Supreme Court to uphold a new federal regulation regarding the weapon parts kits consumers can purchase and use to build ghost guns — firearms without serial numbers — treating them the same way preassembled firearms are, saying the new rule is "crucial to preventing and solving violent, firearm-related offenses."

  • July 03, 2024

    Alaskan Tribe Says It Can't Get Access To Burial Site

    The governing body of an Alaska Native Tribe is suing several state entities and the Federal Aviation Administration, claiming they are preventing the tribe from performing excavations of archaeological artifacts and ancestral remains found during construction of an airport runway.

  • July 03, 2024

    Chevron Irrelevant To Spouse Work Permit Case, Group Says

    The U.S. Supreme Court's ruling that courts don't have to defer to federal agencies' interpretations of ambiguous statutes doesn't pertain to a lawsuit challenging an Obama-era program allowing work permits for spouses of highly skilled foreign workers, a nonprofit group intervening in the case told the D.C. Circuit.

  • July 03, 2024

    SEC Says Apparel Co.'s Preemptive Crypto Suit Is Unripe

    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission told a Texas federal judge on Wednesday a crypto industry group and apparel company can't sue the regulator over its alleged "digital-asset policy" since the parties can't point to any rule or action to challenge.

Expert Analysis

  • Using A Children's Book Approach In Firm Marketing Content

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    From “The Giving Tree” to “Where the Wild Things Are,” most children’s books are easy to remember because they use simple words and numbers to tell stories with a human impact — a formula law firms should emulate in their marketing content to stay front of mind for potential clients, says Seema Desai Maglio at The Found Word.

  • A Changing Regulatory Landscape For Weight Loss Drugs

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    As drugs originally approved to treat diabetes become increasingly popular for weight loss purposes, federal and state regulators and payors are increasing their focus on how these drugs are prescribed, and industry participants should pay close attention to rapidly evolving compliance requirements, say attorneys at Goodwin.

  • The State Of Play In DEI And ESG 1 Year After Harvard Ruling

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    Almost a year after the U.S. Supreme Court decided Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard, attorney general scrutiny of environmental, social and governance-related efforts indicates a potential path for corporate diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives to be targeted, say attorneys at Crowell & Moring.

  • Compliance Considerations For New Data Protection Law

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    Sam Castic at Hintze Law discusses how to determine if your organization is covered by the newly enacted Protecting Americans' Data from Foreign Adversaries Act, the scope of the law's restrictions, and how to go about compliance as its June 23 effective date approaches.

  • Proposed Semiconductor Buy Ban May Rattle Supply Chains

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    The Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council's recent proposed rulemaking clarifies plans to ban government purchases of semiconductors from certain Chinese companies, creating uncertainty around how contractors will be able to adjust supply chains that are already burdened and contracted to capacity, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • CFPB Poised To Up The Ante After Supreme Court Victory

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    When the U.S. Supreme Court emphatically ruled last week that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's funding structure did not violate the Constitution, the agency boasted that it was "here to stay," signaling that it is moving full steam ahead with its regulatory, enforcement and supervisory agenda, says Jim Sandy at McGlinchey Stafford.

  • Opinion

    NEPA Final Rule Unlikely To Speed Clean Energy Projects

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    A recent final rule from the White House Council on Environmental Quality purports to streamline federal environmental reviews to accelerate the construction of renewable energy infrastructure — but it also expands consideration of climate change and environmental justice, creating vast new opportunities for litigation and delay, says Thomas Prevas at Saul Ewing.

  • Diving Deep Into Sweeping NY Financing Bill — And Its Pitfalls

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    A New York bill seeking to impose state usury limits onto a broader variety of financing arrangements and apply lender licensing requirements to more diverse entities would present near-insurmountable compliance challenges for lenders and retailers, say Kate Fisher and Tom Quinn at Hudson Cook.

  • Opinion

    USPTO's Proposed Disclaimer Rule Would Harm Inventors

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    The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s recently proposed rule on terminal disclaimers will make the patent system less available to inventors and will unfairly favor defendants in litigation, say Stephen Schreiner at Carmichael IP and Sarah Tsou at Omni Bridgeway.

  • What The FTC Report On AG Collabs Means For Cos.

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    The Federal Trade Commission's April report on working with state attorneys general shows collaboration can increase efficiency and consistency in how statutes are interpreted and enforced, which can minimize the likelihood of requests for inconsistent injunctive relief that can create operational problems for businesses, say attorneys at Kelley Drye.

  • New Crypto Reporting Will Require Rigorous Recordkeeping

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    The release of a form for reporting digital asset transactions is a pivotal moment in the Internal Revenue Service's efforts to track cryptocurrency activities that increases oversight by requiring brokers to report investor sales and exchanges, say Shaina Kamen and Max Angel at Holland & Knight.

  • A Comparison Of FDIC, OCC Proposed Merger Approaches

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    Max Bonici and Connor Webb at Venable take a closer look at the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.'s and Office of the Comptroller of the Currency's respective bank merger proposals and highlight certain common themes and important differences, in light of regulators continually rethinking their approaches to bank mergers.

  • Series

    Being An EMT Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    While some of my experiences as an emergency medical technician have been unusually painful and searing, the skills I’ve learned — such as triage, empathy and preparedness — are just as useful in my work as a restructuring lawyer, says Marshall Huebner at Davis Polk.

  • Behind Court Challenges To The FTC's Final Noncompete Rule

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    The Federal Trade Commission's recent final rule banning noncompetes may not go into effect any time soon amid a couple of Texas federal court challenges seeking to bar the rule's implementation, which will likely see appeals all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, says Michael Elkins at MLE Law.

  • Colo. Lending Law Could Empower State-Chartered Banks

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    Lending programs that rely on rate exportation by state banks should pay close attention to legislative activity and ongoing litigation surrounding Colorado's decision to opt out of rate exportation, which could set a precedent that state-chartered banks have power on par with national banks, says Tom Witherspoon at Stinson.

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