Public Policy

  • November 19, 2024

    Calif. Judge OKs Biggest Family Separation Settlement Yet

    A California federal judge has approved a final settlement for minors in a lawsuit seeking damages for emotional distress caused by family separations under the Trump administration's zero tolerance border policy, saying the settlements "appear to represent the largest amounts achieved thus far by plaintiffs in family separation cases."

  • November 19, 2024

    Doc Says Idaho Abortion Bans Sow 'Fear' In 2nd Week Of Trial

    In the trial over Idaho's strict abortion bans, a rural-based doctor testified Tuesday that the laws are leaving doctors stuck in "confusion and fear," leading to delayed care that's affecting patient safety. 

  • November 19, 2024

    Trump DOT Pick Puts Highway, Road Rebuilds Back In Focus

    President-elect Donald Trump's selection of former Wisconsin congressman Sean Duffy to serve as his secretary of transportation would send a savvy communicator to liaise with Capitol Hill and refocus the federal government's infrastructure investment priorities more on highways, roads and bridges and less on renewables and clean-energy initiatives, experts say.

  • November 19, 2024

    Senate Confirms 5th Lame-Duck Judge

    The Senate voted 50-44 on Tuesday evening to confirm Sarah French Russell, law professor and director of the Legal Clinic at Quinnipiac University School of Law, to become a judge in the District of Connecticut.

  • November 19, 2024

    Neb. AG Expands Electric Trucks Fight To Volvo, Daimler

    However a federal court challenge to California's phaseout of gasoline and diesel trucks plays out, Nebraska's attorney general wants to make sure that Volvo, Daimler and other semitruck giants don't eliminate traditional fossil fuel-powered vehicles, filing a Nebraska state court antitrust suit Tuesday describing phaseout commitments as anticompetitive collusion.

  • November 19, 2024

    Ex-US Attorneys See Risks In Working Under Gaetz

    Some prospective U.S. attorneys may think twice about joining the U.S. Department of Justice if Matt Gaetz ends up in charge, veterans of the position told Law360.

  • November 19, 2024

    DOJ Hits Pennsylvania With Bias Suit Over Building Code

    A Pennsylvania building code with an automatic sprinkler requirement for community homes for autistic people or those with intellectually disabilities is discriminatory, as it doesn't apply to "similarly sized" homes for people who aren't disabled, the federal government alleged Tuesday.

  • November 19, 2024

    32 State AGs Urge Congress To Back Kids' Online Safety Bill

    More than 30 state attorneys general urged federal lawmakers to back bipartisan legislation aimed at bolstering youth safety online, writing a letter Monday encouraging Congress to "act to aid our state-level efforts" which included opening investigations and commencing with litigation against social media companies like TikTok and Meta. 

  • November 19, 2024

    10th Circ. Iffy On Colo.'s Remedy To Generic EpiPen Takings

    A Tenth Circuit panel on Tuesday pressed Colorado regulators on whether requiring epinephrine auto-injector makers to repeatedly sue over the cost of complying with a state program provides an adequate legal remedy, with one judge saying that that route offers no finality for manufacturers.

  • November 19, 2024

    Fox TV Renewal Calls For Strict License Test, Advocates Say

    A media advocacy group said Tuesday that the Federal Communications Commission needs to act quickly to "establish a bright-line test" for broadcasters' fitness for a station license by setting up a hearing on the controversial renewal bid for Fox TV's Philadelphia station.

  • November 19, 2024

    Ill. Makes $1.8M Staffing Antitrust Deal After High Court Input

    Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul on Tuesday announced a $1.8 million settlement with one of three staffing agencies the state accused of unlawfully agreeing not to poach each other's employees and to offer below-market wages to those assigned to work for a client they shared.

  • November 19, 2024

    Feds Defend BLM Authority In States' Methane Rule Challenge

    The Biden administration has urged a North Dakota federal court to grant it a summary judgment win in five states' lawsuit challenging a new rule aimed at cracking down on natural gas waste, defending the rule's creation as being well within the Bureau of Land Management's statutory authority.

  • November 19, 2024

    DOJ Effort To Force Google Chrome Sale Draws Criticism

    Google's regulatory chief and at least one trade group are blasting a reported push from the U.S. Department of Justice to seek expansive remedies and potentially force a sale of Google Chrome in an ongoing court battle with the tech giant.

  • November 19, 2024

    FCC To Vote On More Credit Options To Back Broadband Aid

    The Federal Communications Commission is poised to allow more financial institutions to issue letters of credit that broadband providers can rely on to secure federal funding for high-speed infrastructure projects.

  • November 19, 2024

    After Biden-Era Rebuild, EPA Staff Brace For Trump Term 2

    Many U.S. Environmental Protection Agency employees are gearing up for President-elect Donald Trump's second term with a promise to fight any efforts to dramatically reduce staffing levels and pointing to new union contract protections to bolster claims that they're prepared.

  • November 19, 2024

    SF Urges Calif. Panel To Rethink Waymo City Approval

    The city and county of San Francisco urged a California appellate court Tuesday to find the California Public Utilities Commission abused its discretion in allowing Waymo to operate self-driving vehicles on city streets without imposing requirements, arguing "there are no guardrails" even though the cars pose serious safety hazards.

  • November 19, 2024

    Senators Blast Visa And Mastercard, Promise Action On Fees

    A bipartisan group of Senate Judiciary Committee members blasted executives from Visa and Mastercard on Tuesday over swipe fees charged to merchants, promising to rein in what the lawmakers called the companies' monopoly on credit card payments if they do not change their practices.

  • November 19, 2024

    LA Waterkeeper Sues Union Pacific Over Pollution Controls

    The Los Angeles Waterkeeper slapped Union Pacific Railroad Co. with a complaint in California federal court, alleging the company's failure to implement pollution controls at four industrial facilities has led to hazardous discharges of heavy metals and oils into the San Jose Creek, San Gabriel River and other bodies of water.

  • November 19, 2024

    Pa. Candidates Launch Litigation Blitz To Settle Tight Race

    With Republican U.S. Senate candidate Dave McCormick ahead of incumbent Democrat Bob Casey by fewer than 18,000 votes in Pennsylvania's unofficial count Tuesday, the candidates and their political parties have turned to filing lawsuits against individual counties over their decisions to include or exclude relatively small numbers of provisional ballots in their totals.

  • November 19, 2024

    Ga. Panel Says 190-Year-Old Marshland Grant Is Valid

    A Georgia appellate court has sided with a company seeking to retain ownership of 1,000 acres of Georgia coastal marshland by using an 1834 document in which the state granted the land to the company's predecessor-in-title.

  • November 19, 2024

    Utah Counties, Feds Ask Justices To Restore Rail Oil Project

    Utah counties and the federal government fired back at a Colorado county's attempt to affirm a D.C. Circuit ruling that overturned federal approval of a rail project intended to haul crude oil out of Utah's Uinta Basin, telling the U.S. Supreme Court in separate briefs the county's understanding of the National Environmental Policy Act is incorrect.

  • November 19, 2024

    NC Lt. Gov.'s Defamation Spat With CNN Tapped For Mediation

    North Carolina Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson, a 2024 gubernatorial candidate who sued CNN over a story about his alleged posts on a porn site, is having his defamation case moved to mediation, according to a Tuesday filing.

  • November 19, 2024

    Chicago Transit Authority Hit With Genetic Privacy Lawsuit

    The Chicago Transit Authority is facing a new lawsuit in Illinois state court that was brought by job applicants, who allege the agency's questions about family medical histories violated an Illinois law barring employers from asking about genetic information and using it to make employment decisions.

  • November 19, 2024

    G20 To Cooperate On Soft Law For Taxing Ultra-Wealthy

    Leaders of the world's largest economies intend to cooperate on taxing "ultra-high-net-worth individuals" through soft law approaches such as exchanging best practices and creating model policies that address tax avoidance, according to a Group of 20 Nations declaration.

  • November 19, 2024

    Recount Underway In Tight NC Supreme Court Race

    The votes for a North Carolina Supreme Court seat that Democratic incumbent Justice Allison Riggs has clinched by a narrow margin will be recounted starting Wednesday, at the behest of her Republican opponent, according to the state Board of Elections.

Expert Analysis

  • FDIC Guidance Puts Next-Gen ATMs In Regulatory Spotlight

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    The boring existence of ATMs is changing thanks to the emergence of new-age interactive teller machines, prompting the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. to sound off in a potentially influential August letter to branches on which services might need regulatory approval, says Thomas Walker at Jones Walker.

  • Opinion

    Tariffs' Economic Downsides Outweigh Potential Revenue

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    Import tariffs proposed by the campaign of former president Donald Trump would generate revenue like other taxes, but policymakers must consider the net-negative impact of associated consumer and downstream-industry costs, harm to exporters, potential foreign retaliation and reduction in economic output, says Erica York at the Tax Foundation.

  • Comments Show Need For Clarity On SBA Proposed Rule

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    The recent public comments period for the Small Business Administration's proposed rule on recertification and other regulations underscores the need for more precision, particularly on agreements in principle, which the SBA should address as it moves forward with this rulemaking, say attorneys at Covington.

  • Series

    Beekeeping Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    The practice of patent law and beekeeping are not typically associated, but taking care of honeybees has enriched my legal practice by highlighting the importance of hands-on experience, continuous learning, mentorship and more, says David Longo at Oblon McClelland.

  • Amazon Holiday Pay Case Underscores Overtime Challenges

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    The recent Hamilton v. Amazon.com Services LLC decision in the Colorado Supreme Court underscores why employers must always consult applicable state law and regulations — in addition to federal law — when determining how to properly pay employees who work more than 40 hours in a workweek, says James Looby at Vedder Price.

  • Understanding New ACH Network Anti-Fraud Rules

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    Many of the National Automated Clearing House Association’s recent amendments to ACH network risk management rules went into effect this month, so financial institutions and corporations must review and update their internal policies as needed, says Aisha Hall at Taft.

  • The OIG Report: Bad Timing For FEC To Be Underresourced

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    With less than two weeks to the election, the Federal Election Commission’s job has never been more urgent, but a report from its Office of the Inspector General earlier this year found that the agency is facing a resource squeeze that will only get worse without corrective action, says Diana Shaw at Wiley.

  • What To Know About New Employment Laws In Fla.

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    Florida employers should familiarize themselves with recent state laws, and also federal legislation, on retirement benefits, teen labor and heat exposure, with special attention to prohibitions against minors performing dangerous tasks, as outlined in the Fair Labor Standards Act, say Katie Molloy and Cayla Page at Greenberg Traurig.

  • The Key To Solving High Drug Costs Is Understanding Causes

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    One-sided views on who or what contributes to the high cost of pharmaceuticals render possible solutions much harder to discover and implement, and a better approach would be to examine history and learn why costs have increased and what legislation has and hasn't helped, says Nancy Linck at NJ Linck Consulting.

  • Election Unlikely To Overhaul Antitrust Enforcers' Labor Focus

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    Although the outcome of the presidential election may alter the course of antitrust enforcement in certain areas of the economy, scrutiny of labor markets by the Federal Trade Commission and the U.S. Department of Justice is likely to remain largely unaffected — with one notable exception, say Jared Nagley and Joy Siu at Sheppard Mullin.

  • How Immigration Attys Should Prep For A 2nd Trump Term

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    In light of the possibility of a drastic policy shift under a second Trump administration, immigration lawyers must review what Trump did during his first term, assess who would be most affected if those policies return and develop legal strategies to safeguard their clients' interests, says Adam Moses at Harris Beach.

  • Anticipating Jarkesy's Effect On Bank Agency Enforcement

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    Following the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission v. Jarkesy, federal courts may eventually issue decisions on banking law principles and processes that could fundamentally alter the agencies' enforcement action framework, and the relationship between banks and examiners, says Brendan Clegg at Luse Gorman.

  • CFTC Anti-Fraud Blitz Is A Warning To Carbon Credit Sellers

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    With its recent enforcement actions against a carbon offset project developer and its senior executives for reporting false information about the energy savings of the company's projects, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission is staking out its position as a primary regulator in the voluntary carbon credit market, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • Unpacking State AG Approaches To Digital Asset Enforcement

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    Attorneys at Cozen O'Connor survey recent digital asset enforcement by attorneys general nationwide driven by concerns over regulatory gaps where technological developments and market changes have outpaced legislation.

  • Opinion

    Legal Institutions Must Warn Against Phony Election Suits

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    With two weeks until the election, bar associations and courts have an urgent responsibility to warn lawyers about the consequences of filing unsubstantiated lawsuits claiming election fraud, says Elise Bean at the Carl Levin Center for Oversight and Democracy.

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