Public Policy

  • June 24, 2024

    Justices Pass On Rutgers COVID-19 Vax Mandate Case

    The U.S. Supreme Court declined on Monday to review a split Third Circuit ruling that Rutgers University students cannot challenge the school's COVID-19 vaccine policy because, under the high court's 1905 precedent in Jacobson v. Massachusetts, there is no fundamental right to refuse vaccinations.

  • June 24, 2024

    Blumenauer Predicts Cannabis Rescheduling Before Year-End

    U.S. Rep. Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore., a longtime champion of cannabis reform in Congress who is retiring this year, told cannabis attorneys on Monday that he was optimistic marijuana would be moved to Schedule III under the federal Controlled Substances Act before the end of the year.

  • June 24, 2024

    High Court To Review State Gender Care Bans

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday agreed to review a Sixth Circuit decision that allowed Tennessee to keep in place a new ban on gender-affirming care for minors.

  • June 24, 2024

    Justices To Review If Ch. 7 Trustee Can Recover Tax Payments

    The U.S. Supreme Court said Monday it would review a Tenth Circuit decision that found that the Chapter 7 bankruptcy trustee of a defunct Utah company could recover $145,000 in tax payments from the IRS.

  • June 24, 2024

    Justices Will Review Request To Rein In NEPA Requirements

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday granted seven Utah counties' request that it review a D.C. Circuit decision revoking federal approval of a rail line to transport crude oil from Utah.

  • June 22, 2024

    Disciplinary Judge Hesitant To Oust Embattled Colo. DA

    A Colorado attorney disciplinary judge said Friday he was uncomfortable removing an elected local prosecutor facing various misconduct charges, telling the parties after closing arguments that voters' choices should carry some weight.

  • June 21, 2024

    Kaspersky Hit With Sanctions In Wake Of US Software Ban

    The U.S. Department of the Treasury on Friday sanctioned a dozen AO Kaspersky Lab executives, just a day after the U.S. Department of Commerce prohibited the sale of the Russia-based company's antivirus software and cybersecurity products in the United States.

  • June 21, 2024

    DOL Says Union's Farm Wage Challenge Too Late

    The U.S. Department of Labor has pushed back against a challenge to rules introduced in 2022 that a Washington union said are depressing farmworkers' wages, telling a federal judge Friday that the union should have objected during the rule-making period.

  • June 21, 2024

    Lawmakers Visit Imprisoned Ex-IRS Agent And Binance Exec

    Rep. French Hill, R.-Ark., and Rep. Chrissy Houlahan, D.-Pa., reiterated their calls for the release of Binance executive and former IRS agent Tigran Gambaryan after visiting with him in the Nigerian prison where he's being detained on money laundering charges levied against his employer.

  • June 21, 2024

    4 Big Banks Cited For 'Living Will' Weaknesses By Fed, FDIC

    Federal regulators said Friday that half of the nation's largest U.S. banks will need to shore up weaknesses identified in their most recent "living wills," plans that detail how they could be resolved quickly and safely in the event of severe distress or failure.

  • June 21, 2024

    FDIC Creates Offices To Investigate Workplace Misconduct

    The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.'s board of directors on Friday approved the creation of two new independent offices to investigate complaints of sexual harassment, discrimination and other misconduct within the agency, which was accused of fostering a toxic workplace culture.

  • June 21, 2024

    Live Nation Investor Sues Leaders Over DOJ Antitrust Claims

    Live Nation's executives and directors were hit with a shareholder derivative lawsuit Friday in California federal court that seeks damages in the wake of the U.S. Department of Justice's allegations that the company monopolized concert promotion and ticket sales following its 2010 merger with Ticketmaster.

  • June 21, 2024

    Manhattan DA Seeks To Retain Trump Gag Order, Amid Threats

    The Manhattan District Attorney's Office urged a New York state judge Friday to leave in place most restrictions of the gag order preventing Donald Trump from speaking publicly about witnesses, jurors and others tied to his criminal trial, citing a barrage of threats from his supporters in recent months — including "actionable" death threats before and after the verdict.

  • June 21, 2024

    Crypto Vet With FTX Ties Launches Fintech Policy Think Tank

    Former congressional hopeful and cryptocurrency veteran Michelle Bond announced her formation of fintech policy think tank Digital Future, making a return to financial services policy after the recent sentencing of her partner, former FTX executive Ryan Salame, and FTX-linked donations to her 2022 campaign.

  • June 21, 2024

    Trump Says AG Can't Appoint Prosecutor In Mar-A-Lago Case

    Attorney General Merrick Garland did not have the statutory authority to promote an independent special counsel to prosecute former President Donald Trump over his allegedly illegal retention of classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate, Trump's attorneys told a Florida federal judge Friday.

  • June 21, 2024

    SC Agency Asks 4th Circ. To Rethink Google Ad Subpoena

    South Carolina's parks and tourism department wants the Fourth Circuit to reconsider its order mandating the agency turn over documents about its own online advertising efforts to Google to aid the tech behemoth in a fight against several states accusing it of monopolization.

  • June 21, 2024

    NCAA Teams May Suffer Without Int'l Student Pay Regs

    The historic $2.77 billion settlement to address college athletes' alleged lost compensation on name, image and likeness deals could have an adverse effect on university team rosters if the federal government fails to level the playing field for international athletes.

  • June 21, 2024

    Treasury Unveils Rules Curtailing Outbound Tech Investments

    The U.S. Department of the Treasury on Friday proposed rules to implement President Joe Biden's executive order aimed at restricting American investments in certain technologies that China is developing, including artificial intelligence systems, that are deemed threats to national security.

  • June 21, 2024

    FDIC Approves 1st Industrial Bank Application In Years

    The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. said Friday that it has approved plans from Thrivent Financial to create Thrivent Bank, making it the first new industrial bank to receive a green light from the agency during the Biden administration.

  • June 21, 2024

    Texas Medical Board Adopts Abortion Records Requirement

    Texas doctors who determine that an abortion is necessary during a pregnant patient's health crisis will face new recordkeeping requirements under a final rule issued Friday by the state's medical board.

  • June 21, 2024

    Fed. Circ. Backs Subsidy Duties For Canadian Wind Towers

    A Canadian wind tower manufacturer can't get a break on countervailing duties despite being upfront about errors in its sales data, with the Federal Circuit ruling Friday that the errors raise the possibility of additional mistakes.

  • June 21, 2024

    NY Judge Says Feds, MTA Fully Vetted Congestion Pricing

    A Manhattan federal judge has said federal and New York transportation agencies meticulously analyzed congestion pricing's potential impacts on traffic, air quality and other factors, rejecting local residents and community groups' claims that the Big Apple's now-paused congestion pricing was improperly approved.

  • June 21, 2024

    Claims Trimmed In Neb. Tribe's Debt Collection Suit

    A federal judge partially dismissed a Nebraska tribe's challenge to the Indian Health Service that claims the federal government repeatedly tried to collect millions on an already paid debt, saying its allegations over the validity of the 2017 agreement are barred by the Contract Disputes Act's one-year statute of limitations.

  • June 21, 2024

    Union Tells 1st Circ. It's Fit To Bring Debt Cap Challenge

    A U.S. government workers' union challenging the constitutionality of the debt ceiling urged the First Circuit to ignore the Biden administration's argument that union members couldn't explain how it harms them, saying it's reasonable to expect their paychecks will be suspended when it is reimposed.

  • June 21, 2024

    Tube Co. Blames Denied Duty Refund Claim On CBP Error

    A steel importer told the U.S. Court of International Trade on Friday that customs officials refused to honor a waiver for $241,000 worth of national security tariffs based on an import classification issue that they allegedly created.

Expert Analysis

  • Managing Legal Risks After University Gaza Protests

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    Following the protests sparked by the war in Gaza, colleges and universities should expect a long investigative tail and take steps to mitigate risks associated with compliance issues under various legal frameworks and institutional policies, say Wiley's Diana Shaw and Colin Cloherty.

  • Live Nation May Shake It Off In A Long Game With The DOJ

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    Don't expect a swift resolution in the U.S. Department of Justice's case against Live Nation, but a long litigation, with the company likely to represent itself as the creator of a competitive ecosystem, and the government faced with explaining how the ticketing giant formed under its watch, say Thomas Kliebhan and Taylor Hixon at GRSM50.

  • How Act 126 Will Jump-Start Lithium Production In Louisiana

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    Louisiana's recent passage of Act 126, which helps create a legal and regulatory framework for lithium brine production and direct lithium extraction in the state, should help bolster the U.S. supply of this key mineral, and contribute to increased energy independence for the nation, say Marjorie McKeithen and Justin Marocco at Jones Walker.

  • 5 Steps For Gov't Contractor Affirmative Action Verification

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    As the federal contractor affirmative action program certification deadline approaches, government contractors and subcontractors should take steps to determine their program obligations, and ensure any required plans are properly implemented and timely registered, say Christopher Wilkinson at Perkins Coie and Joanna Colosimo at DCI Consulting.

  • Boeing Saga Underscores Need For Ethical Corporate Culture

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    In the wake of recent allegations about Boeing’s safety culture, and amid the U.S. Department of Justice’s new whistleblower incentives, business leaders should reinvigorate their emphasis on compliance by making clear that long-term profitability requires ethical business practices, says Maxwell Carr-Howard at Dentons.

  • A Closer Look At Feds' Proposed Banker Compensation Rule

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    A recently proposed rule to limit financial institutions' ability to award incentive-based compensation for risk-taking may progress through the rulemaking process slowly due to the sheer number of regulators collaborating on the rule and the number of issues under consideration, say attorneys at Troutman Pepper.

  • 2 Regulatory Approaches To Psychedelic Clinical Trials

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    Comparing the U.S. and Canada's regulatory frameworks for clinical trials of psychedelic drugs can be useful for designing trial protocols that meet both countries' requirements, which can in turn help diversify patient populations, bolster data robustness and expedite market access, say Kimberly Chew at Husch Blackwell and Sabrina Ramkellawan at AxialBridge.

  • Why Jurors Balk At 'I Don't Recall' — And How To Respond

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    Jurors often react negatively to a witness who responds “I don’t remember” because they tend to hold erroneous beliefs about the nature of human memory, but attorneys can adopt a few strategies to mitigate the impact of these biases, say Steve Wood and Ava Hernández at Courtroom Sciences.

  • How Federal And State Microfiber Pollution Policy Is Evolving

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    Growing efforts to address synthetic microfiber pollution may create compliance and litigation issues for businesses in the textile and apparel industries, so companies should track developing federal and state legislation and regulation in this space, and should consider associated greenwashing risks, says Arie Feltman-Frank at Jenner & Block.

  • Series

    Fishing Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Atop the list of ways fishing makes me a better lawyer is the relief it offers from the chronic stress of a demanding caseload, but it has also improved my listening skills and patience, and has served as an exceptional setting for building earnest relationships, says Steven DeGeorge​​​​​​​ at Robinson Bradshaw.

  • Best Practices For Responding To CBP's Solar Questionnaire

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    U.S. Customs and Border Protection's recently introduced questionnaire to solar importers imposes significant burdens, with the potential for supply chain disruptions and market consolidation, but taking certain steps can assist companies in navigating the new requirements, say Carl Valenstein and Katelyn Hilferty at Morgan Lewis.

  • Exploring Alternatives To Noncompetes Ahead Of FTC Ban

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    Ahead of the Sept. 4 effective date for the Federal Trade Commission's noncompete ban, employers should seek new ways to protect their proprietary and other sensitive information, including by revising existing confidentiality and nondisclosure agreements, says Harvey Linder at Culhane.

  • Parsing Controversial Del. General Corporation Law Proposals

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    In response to issues raised in three recent high-profile Delaware Court of Chancery decisions, many amendments to the Delaware General Corporation Law were quickly proposed that, if enacted, would bring significant changes likely to be hotly debated — and litigated — for the foreseeable future, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • A Look At US-EU Consumer Finance Talks' Slow First Steps

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    The unhurried and informal nature of planned discussions between the U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the European commissioner for justice and consumer protection suggests any coordinated regulatory action on issues like AI and "buy now, pay later" services is still a ways off, say attorneys at DLA Piper.

  • Opinion

    It's Time To Defuse The Ticking Time Bomb Of US Landfills

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    After recent fires at landfills in Alabama and California sent toxic fumes into surrounding communities, it is clear that existing penalties for landfill mismanagement are insufficient — so policymakers must enact major changes to the way we dispose of solid waste, says Vineet Dubey at Custodio & Dubey.

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