Public Policy

  • June 27, 2024

    Coinbase Says SEC, FDIC 'Stonewalled' Crypto Info Requests

    Crypto exchange Coinbase filed suits against both the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation on Thursday after it said the agencies "stonewalled" information requests for documents that could shed light on agencies' internal views on digital assets.

  • June 27, 2024

    CFTC Extends Comment Period For Election Betting Proposal

    The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission announced Thursday that it is extending the deadline for comment on its proposal to ban the trading of event contracts tied to things like election outcomes, sporting events and the Academy Awards.

  • June 27, 2024

    House Panel Cans Vote On Data Privacy, Kids' Safety Bills

    The House Energy and Commerce Committee unexpectedly scrapped plans to discuss nearly a dozen bills Thursday morning, including a closely watched proposal to create a federal data privacy framework that has faced backlash from House leadership, consumer advocates and other stakeholders. 

  • June 27, 2024

    DOL Benefits Chief Defends Fiduciary Rule Before GOP Panel

    The head of the U.S. Department of Labor's employee benefits agency on Thursday defended recently finalized policy expanding the definition of a fiduciary under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, drawing criticism from a Republican-controlled panel of House lawmakers at an oversight hearing.

  • June 27, 2024

    Feds Must Redo Tire Duties Again, After Writing Off One Co.

    The U.S. Court of International Trade ordered the U.S. Department of Commerce to again rework anti-dumping duties on Chinese tires, taking issue with how the department selected one of the mandatory respondents for the investigation.

  • June 27, 2024

    Free-Speech Orgs Tell DC Circ. TikTok Ban Is Prior Restraint

    A collection of free speech and press groups has urged the D.C. Circuit to strike down Congress' TikTok sale-or-ban law, calling the statute a "direct and serious threat" to First Amendment freedoms in an amicus brief.

  • June 27, 2024

    House Panel Votes To Hold Biden Ghostwriter In Contempt

    The House Judiciary Committee voted 13-11 along party lines on Thursday, to advance the contempt effort for Mark Zwonitzer, President Joe Biden's ghostwriter, for not turning over documents and recordings related to his work on the president's memoirs that were mentioned in a special counsel's report on the president's handling of classified documents.

  • June 27, 2024

    Fla. County Owes Tax To Other County, Fla. Justices Rule

    The Florida Supreme Court ruled Thursday that counties are not immune from being taxed on properties they own in other counties, affirming a decision that said Pinellas County cannot claim sovereign immunity to duck taxes on property it owns in neighboring Pasco County.

  • June 27, 2024

    CFPB Urged To Set Standards On Rooting Out AI Lending Bias

    The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau should give the financial industry more explicit instructions to minimize discrimination risk when harnessing artificial intelligence and other algorithmic technology for lending, a pair of prominent consumer advocacy groups told the agency.

  • June 27, 2024

    Ex-Mayoral Candidate Loses Law License For 1 Year In Fla.

    The Florida Supreme Court on Thursday suspended former Miami Beach mayoral candidate Michael Grieco's law license for one year after determining he had accepted an illegal campaign contribution and made misleading public statements about his involvement in a political committee.

  • June 27, 2024

    NTSB Rips Boeing For Blabbing About Blowout Probe

    The National Transportation Safety Board sanctioned Boeing on Thursday for sharing nonpublic details of an ongoing investigation into January's 737 Max 9 midair door plug blowout, deepening the American aerospace giant's regulatory troubles amid multiple probes into its safety culture and quality control.

  • June 27, 2024

    Ex-Deputy Mayor Of Newark Pleads Guilty In Bribery Scheme

    A former deputy mayor of Newark, New Jersey, has admitted in federal court that he conspired with two business owners in a bribery scheme involving the acquisition and redevelopment of various city-owned properties, federal prosecutors said.

  • June 27, 2024

    Fla. Judge Denies Trump's Bid To Toss Mar-A-Lago Warrant

    The Florida judge overseeing Donald Trump's federal criminal case involving allegations of illegally keeping classified documents after leaving the White House denied the former president's bid Thursday for a hearing on the validity of the Mar-a-Lago search, but said she'd consider an evidence suppression hearing.

  • June 27, 2024

    Conn. Banking Dept. Defends $25K Fine Against Legal Funder

    The Connecticut Department of Banking is urging a state judge to affirm a $25,000 fine levied on a legal funding business, saying the court should reject the company's contention that it has no authority over transactions at issue in the penalty.

  • June 27, 2024

    Spencer Fane Lobbying Pro Joins Holland & Knight In Austin

    Holland & Knight LLP has brought on a veteran lobbyist and lawyer in Austin, who previously led the government affairs group at Spencer Fane LLP, to helm the firm's new Texas government advocacy team.

  • June 27, 2024

    High Court Allows Idaho Emergency Abortions, For Now

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday allowed abortions in Idaho to continue in emergency situations under a federal law requiring doctors at Medicare-funded hospitals to provide emergency care, including abortions.

  • June 27, 2024

    Supreme Court Freezes EPA's 'Good Neighbor' Rule

    The U.S. Supreme Court stayed the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's plan to reduce cross-state pollution Thursday, finding several states and industry groups challenging it in court will likely prevail on the merits.

  • June 27, 2024

    Justices Limit SEC's Use Of In-House Courts

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday curtailed the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's use of its in-house court system, saying the accused have a right to a jury trial when financial penalties are on the table.

  • June 26, 2024

    5th Circ. Says SEC Must Reconsider Axing Proxy Regulations

    The Fifth Circuit on Wednesday vacated the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's decision to rescind a portion of Trump-era rules requiring proxy advisory firms to notify companies about their advice to investors, ruling that the agency didn't adequately explain the abrupt change.

  • June 26, 2024

    SEC Crypto Stance May Shift With Election, Rulemaking Suits

    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is likely to shift its cryptocurrency posture to some degree if a new chair is installed after the coming presidential election, but firms not content to wait for a change in the guard can consider challenging the agency's rulemaking process, experts said Wednesday.

  • June 26, 2024

    Menendez Pals 'Generous,' Jeweler Says In Joke-Filled Testimony

    A jeweler who helped Sen. Robert Menendez's wife sell gold bars that were supposedly bribes testified Wednesday the codefendants who gave Menendez the bars have always been generous, salting his testimony with so many droll comments that the New York federal judge — who initially bantered back — eventually gave a special instruction reinforcing that the trial is "very serious."

  • June 26, 2024

    Justices Leave Blurry Line In Place On Misinformation Fight

    The U.S. Supreme Court's decision Wednesday to reverse a Fifth Circuit order prohibiting the Biden administration from joining with social media platforms to fight misinformation leaves an important First Amendment question unanswered and left Missouri's attorney general promising a continuing fight against what he called a "censorship regime."

  • June 26, 2024

    Design Patent Attys Wary Of Applicant Disclosure Proposal

    Various intellectual property trade groups are expressing some skepticism toward a proposal over the United Nations using a new treaty to force design patent applicants to disclose more details in their applications.

  • June 26, 2024

    FCC Urged To Prevent Abuse Through High-Tech Cars

    Privacy and abuse survivor advocates have outlined ways the Federal Communications Commission could safeguard connected car technology to mitigate domestic and sexual abuse, urging the agency to expand and adapt existing rules to limit abusers from using joint cellphone plans to stalk or harass people to apply to data in vehicles with advanced wireless connectivity.

  • June 26, 2024

    Justices Chide 5th Circ. In Biden Social Media Case

    The Fifth Circuit relied on "clearly erroneous" facts and an overgeneralized view of standing when it ordered the Biden administration to stop working with social media platforms to combat COVID-19 and election misinformation, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled Wednesday as it threw out a challenge to the government's actions.

Expert Analysis

  • To Make Your Legal Writing Clear, Emulate A Master Chef

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    To deliver clear and effective written advocacy, lawyers should follow the model of a fine dining chef — seasoning a foundation of pure facts with punchy descriptors, spicing it up with analogies, refining the recipe and trimming the fat — thus catering to a sophisticated audience of decision-makers, says Reuben Guttman at Guttman Buschner.

  • What Junk Fee Law Means For Biz In California And Beyond

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    Come July 1, companies doing business in California must ensure that the price of any good or service as offered, displayed or advertised is inclusive of all mandatory fees and other charges in compliance with S.B. 478, which may have a far-reaching impact across the country due to wide applicability, say Alexandria Ruiz and Amy Lally at Sidley Austin.

  • EPA Heavy-Duty Vehicle GHG Rules Face Bumpy Road Ahead

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    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's new standards to reduce greenhouse gas emissions for owners and operators of heavy-duty vehicles are facing opposition from both states and the transportation industry, and their arguments will mirror two pending cases challenging the EPA's authority, says Grant Laizer at Adams and Reese.

  • 8 Steps Companies Should Take After An Internal Investigation

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    Given the U.S. Department of Justice’s increasing focus on corporate compliance and remediation of misconduct, companies must follow through in several key ways after an internal investigation to ensure history does not repeat itself, say Jonathan Aronie and Joseph Jay at Sheppard Mullin.

  • Circuit Judge Writes An Opinion, AI Helps: What Now?

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    Last week's Eleventh Circuit opinion in Snell v. United Specialty Insurance, notable for a concurrence outlining the use of artificial intelligence to evaluate a term's common meaning, is hopefully the first step toward developing a coherent basis for the judiciary's generative AI use, says David Zaslowsky at Baker McKenzie.

  • Opinion

    US Solar Import Probe's Focus On China Is Misguided

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    The U.S. Department of Commerce's recent anti-dumping and countervailing duty investigation focuses on the apparent Chinese ownership of solar device importers in four Southeast Asian countries — a point that is irrelevant under the controlling statute, says John Anwesen at Lighthill.

  • DC Circ. Ruling Heightens HHS Contract Pharmacy Challenges

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    The D.C. Circuit's recent ruling that the Section 340B program does not bar manufacturers from restricting deliveries of discounted drugs to contract pharmacies represents a second strike against the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' current contract pharmacy policy and raises the stakes surrounding an upcoming Seventh Circuit ruling on the same issue, say attorneys at Foley Hoag.

  • Ohio Tax Talk: The Legislative Push For Property Tax Relief

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    As Ohio legislators attempt to alleviate the increasing property tax burden, four recent bills that could significantly affect homeowners propose to eliminate replacement property tax levies, freeze property taxes for longtime homeowners, adjust homestead exemptions annually for inflation, and temporarily expand the homestead exemption, say Raghav Agnihotri and Rachael Chamberlain at Frost Brown.

  • Aviation Watch: Mostly Smooth Landing For New FAA Law

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    The recently signed Federal Aviation Administration Reauthorization Act enhances air safety in several key ways, including strengthened passenger rights and cockpit voice recorder requirements, but an expansion of slot exemptions at Reagan National Airport is a notable misstep, says Alan Hoffman, a retired attorney and aviation expert.

  • Series

    In The CFPB Playbook: Regulatory Aims Get High Court Assist

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    Newly emboldened after the U.S. Supreme Court last month found that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's funding is constitutional, the bureau has likely experienced a psychic boost, allowing its already robust enforcement agenda to continue expanding, say attorneys at Husch Blackwell.

  • NY Public Campaign Funding May Attract Scrutiny From Feds

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    The upcoming elections across New York this year will be the first under the state’s public campaign finance program — which may broaden federal prosecutors' purview to target state election fraud and corruption, says Jarrod Schaeffer at Abell Eskew.

  • FTC Theories Of Harm After Anesthesia Co. Ruling

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    As Federal Trade Commission litigation against U.S. Anesthesia Partners proceeds following a Texas federal court's recent decision to dismiss a private equity sponsor from the suit, the case attempts to incorporate and advance some of the commission's theories of competitive harm from the final 2023 Merger Guidelines, say attorneys at Mintz.

  • National Security And The Commercial Space Sector: Part 2

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    Strategy documents recently published by the U.S. Department of Defense and the U.S. Space Force confirm the importance of the commercial space sector to the DOD, but say little about achieving the institutional changes needed to integrate commercial capabilities in support of national security in space, say Jeff Chiow and Skip Smith at Greenberg Traurig.

  • FTC Hearing On Fake Review Rule Stressed Compliance Costs

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    The Federal Trade Commission is likely to finalize its proposed rule to prohibit marketers from using deceptive practices in their product reviews after an informal hearing covered arguments over whether costs of implementing the rule, such as review moderation and software maintenance, would be minimal, says Jeffrey Edelstein at Manatt.

  • FTC Focus: Exploring The Meaning Of Orange Book Letters

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    The Federal Trade Commission recently announced an expansion of its campaign to promote competition by targeting pharmaceutical manufacturers' improper Orange Book patent listings, but there is a question of whether and how this helps generic entrants, say Colin Kass and David Munkittrick at Proskauer.

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