Public Policy

  • July 23, 2024

    Convicted Sen. Menendez Of NJ Resigning Aug. 20

    U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez has decided to resign as the U.S. Senate Ethics Committee was moving swiftly to consider whether he should be expelled or censured after his conviction last week on 16 corruption charges.

  • July 23, 2024

    Mass. Pig Farming Law Survives Pork Industry Challenge

    A Massachusetts federal judge on Tuesday shot down a suit from out-of-state hog farmers and food producers challenging a state law that bans the sale of pork from pigs that are kept in tightly confined spaces, saying nothing in the law conflicts with federal statutes.

  • July 23, 2024

    Wyoming Hemp Regulations Not Preempted By 2018 Farm Bill

    A Wyoming federal judge won't block enforcement of a newly enacted law regulating hemp-derived intoxicating products, saying the 2018 Farm Bill that legalized hemp products doesn't preempt the regulation.

  • July 23, 2024

    Northern District Of NY Judge To Take Senior Status

    U.S. District Judge Glenn Suddaby of the Northern District of New York will take senior status as of Sept. 1.

  • July 23, 2024

    Chemours Loses 3rd Circ. Fight Over EPA Water Advisories

    In a precedential ruling Tuesday, the Third Circuit shot down Chemours Co.'s challenge to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's health advisories over chemicals in drinking water, finding that the advisories couldn't be reviewed by a court.

  • July 23, 2024

    Secret Service Chief Out Amid Trump Rally Shooting Probes

    U.S. Secret Service Director Kimberly A. Cheatle resigned Tuesday, the day after lawmakers at a contentious congressional hearing demanded she step down following her agency's failure to stop the July 13 assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump in Pennsylvania.

  • July 23, 2024

    Chase, McKinsey Get FTC Inquiry Over 'Surveillance Pricing'

    The Federal Trade Commission has issued orders to eight companies — including Mastercard, Chase, Accenture and McKinsey & Co. — seeking more information about the potential impact their practices of "surveillance pricing" products and services have on privacy, competition and consumer protection, the FTC said Tuesday.

  • July 22, 2024

    AbbVie Challenges Mo. Drug Discount Program Requirements

    AbbVie Inc. on Monday asked a Missouri federal court to block a state law that adds requirements to participate in the federal drug discount program, claiming that the measure violates both the federal and Missouri constitutions.

  • July 22, 2024

    Conn. PFAS Judge Needs More Info Before Deciding Toss Bid

    A water utility and a proposed class of water customers agreed to submit additional briefs to a Connecticut state court judge tasked with determining whether those who claim to have experienced "subclinical cellular changes" after drinking water that allegedly contains "forever chemicals" have alleged an injury sufficient for judicial review.

  • July 22, 2024

    Verizon's TracFone Hit With $16M FCC Data Breach Penalty

    Verizon's prepaid service subsidiary TracFone Wireless has agreed to shell out a $16 million civil penalty to resolve Federal Communications Commission probes into whether it failed to protect customer information during three data breaches, the agency announced Monday.

  • July 22, 2024

    EPA Awards $4.3B In Grants For Climate Change Projects

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said it's steering $4.3 billion in grant funding to 25 projects that promise to help curb greenhouse gas pollution, advance environmental justice and transition the country to clean power.

  • July 22, 2024

    FCC, Industry Debate If Brand X Case Set Broadband In Stone

    Industry groups are pushing their case to the Sixth Circuit that the Federal Communications Commission's net neutrality rules should be tossed because the demise of the Chevron doctrine trimmed agency's legal authority, but the FCC argues that the recent paring back of federal regulators' discretion means nothing for the agency's restrictions on broadband providers.

  • July 22, 2024

    House Dems Urge Tai To End Investor-State Dispute Deals

    House Democrats are urging the U.S. Trade Representative to nix a mechanism allowing foreign investors to challenge government policies outside Western Hemisphere countries' judicial systems, saying corporations have used it as "ransom" to gain more industry-friendly results.

  • July 22, 2024

    Equifax Bracing For CFPB On Dispute-Handling, Coding Glitch

    Equifax said Monday that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau plans to pursue fines over the credit reporting giant's handling of consumer disputes and a separate, short-lived "coding issue" that affected some credit score calculations in 2022.

  • July 22, 2024

    Trade Court Nixes Steel Duty Case Filed Years Too Late

    The U.S. Court of International Trade dismissed an importer's efforts to escape a duty on Turkish steel, saying Monday it should have sued once the duty was greenlighted, even if the legal grounds to do so weren't yet available.

  • July 22, 2024

    FCC Blames AT&T Network Change For 'Sunny Day' Outage

    The Federal Communications Commission said Monday it will consider enforcement action after finding that an AT&T network change triggered a massive service outage in February, which blocked more than 92 million calls and 25,000 attempts to reach 911.

  • July 22, 2024

    Ex-Lawmaker Says Group Offered Campaign Cash For Vote

    A former Colorado state senator said Monday that an interest group once dangled campaign cash and an endorsement if she promised to support an upcoming bill, testifying as part of the state's attempt to rebut Republicans' attacks on individual campaign contribution limits that regulators say deter corruption.

  • July 22, 2024

    Michigan's Cases To Watch 2024: A Midyear Report

    Michigan's highest court is preparing to take on cases that could restore imperiled PFAS regulations, prevent employers from cutting short employees' window to file civil rights claims and expand the reach of Michigan's consumer protection law. Here are some of Michigan's most important cases to watch for the rest of the year.

  • July 22, 2024

    Rail Biz Asks 4th Circ. To Revive Va. Broadband Law Fight

    The Association of American Railroads is asking the Fourth Circuit to step in and put a stop to a Virginia law that allows broadband providers easier access to railroad property, calling it a "supercharged eminent-domain scheme."

  • July 22, 2024

    Iowa Defends New Hemp Law From CBD Cos.' Challenge

    A federal court should not interrupt Iowa as it continues to roll out new restrictions on consumables infused with hemp-derived THC, the state argued, saying there's been "no arbitrary enforcement" of the law, nor has its language proven to be "unconstitutionally vague."

  • July 22, 2024

    Price-Fixing Claims Against Par Pharma On Chopping Block

    A Connecticut federal judge has asked a coalition of states to explain why he shouldn't toss two price-fixing lawsuits against Par Pharmaceutical Companies Inc., noting that the defendant and its parent, Endo International PLC, recently filed Chapter 11 reorganization plans shielding them from the cases.

  • July 22, 2024

    Steward Health Care Finds Buyers For 2 Hospitals

    Steward Health Care has told a Delaware bankruptcy judge it has found buyers for two of the facilities in its first round of hospital sales in its Chapter 11 case, but three others had attracted no qualified bids.

  • July 22, 2024

    What Attorneys Need To Know About JD Vance

    Vice presidential nominee JD Vance's brief legislative record shows he is aligned with his fellow Republicans on hot-button issues like abortion and immigration, but it also indicates that the senator from Ohio may be willing to break with the GOP mainstream when it comes to regulating big business. Here's what attorneys should know about the vice presidential candidate.

  • July 22, 2024

    San Fran Tells Justices EPA Water Regs Are Like Bad Soup

    San Francisco compared the federal government to a bad chef on Friday, asking the U.S. Supreme Court to find that a water pollution permit must include specific numerical goals rather than narrative standards the city says are too vague.

  • July 22, 2024

    FTC Tells 5th Circ. Anesthesia Co. Can't Stop Antitrust Case

    The Federal Trade Commission is telling the Fifth Circuit to dismiss U.S. Anesthesia Partners Inc.'s appeal in the FTC's antitrust case against it, saying the circuit court has no jurisdiction in the appeal because the lower court ruling at issue falls outside the scope of the collateral order doctrine.

Expert Analysis

  • Opinion

    It's Time For Nationwide Race-Based Hair Protections

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    While 24 states have passed laws that prohibit race-based hair discrimination, this type of bias persists in workplaces and schools, so a robust federal law is necessary to ensure widespread protection, says Samone Ijoma and Erica Roberts at Sanford Heisler.

  • Series

    After Chevron: EEOC Status Quo Will Likely Continue

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    As the legal landscape adjusts to the end of Chevron deference, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s rulemaking authority isn’t likely to shift as much as some other employment-related agencies, says Paige Lyle at FordHarrison.

  • Series

    After Chevron: Impact On Indian Law May Be Muted

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    Agency interpretations of Indian law statutes that previously stood the test of judicial review ​are likely to withstand new challenges even after the end of Chevron deference, but litigation in the area is all but certain, say attorneys at Jenner & Block.

  • Opinion

    Trump Immunity Ruling Upends Our Constitutional Scheme

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    The U.S. Supreme Court’s Trump v. U.S. decision elevates the president to imperial status and paves the way for nearly absolute presidential immunity from potential criminal prosecutions — with no constitutional textual support, says Paul Berman at the George Washington University Law School.

  • High Court Paves Middle Ground For Proceedings Obstruction

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in Fischer sensibly leaves the door open for prosecutors to make more nuanced assessments as to whether defendants' actions directly or tangentially impair the availability or integrity of anything used in an official proceeding, without criminalizing acts such as peaceful demonstrations, say attorneys at Perry Law.

  • How High Court Approached Time Limit On Reg Challenges

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Corner Post v. Federal Reserve Board effectively gives new entities their own personal statute of limitations to challenge rules and regulations, and Justice Brett Kavanaugh's concurrence may portend the court's view that those entities do not need to be directly regulated, say attorneys at Snell & Wilmer.

  • Series

    Florida Banking Brief: All The Notable Legal Updates In Q2

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    The second quarter of 2024 brought two notable bills that will affect Florida's banking and finance community across many issues, including virtual currency abandonment, cancellation of financial services on the basis of political opinions, and the exemption amount of motor vehicles, say Joshua Prever and Andrew Balthazor at Holland & Knight.

  • Series

    After Chevron: FTC's 'Unfair Competition' Actions In Jeopardy

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    While the U.S. Supreme Court's decision ending Chevron deference will have limited effect on the Federal Trade Commission's merger guidelines, administrative enforcement actions and commission decisions on appeal, it could restrict the agency's expansive take on its rulemaking authority and threaten the noncompete ban, say attorneys at Baker Botts.

  • How To Clean Up Your Generative AI-Produced Legal Drafts

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    As law firms increasingly rely on generative artificial intelligence tools to produce legal text, attorneys should be on guard for the overuse of cohesive devices in initial drafts, and consider a few editing pointers to clean up AI’s repetitive and choppy outputs, says Ivy Grey at WordRake.

  • Series

    After Chevron: Opportunities For Change In FHFA Practices

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's overturning of the Chevron doctrine should lead to better cooperation between the Federal Housing Finance Agency and Congress, and may give the FHFA a chance to embrace transparency and innovation and promote sustainable housing practices, says Mehdi Sinaki at Michelman & Robinson.

  • Constitutional Protections For Cannabis Companies Are Hazy

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    Cannabis businesses are subject to federal enforcement and tax, but often without the benefit of constitutional protections — and the entanglement of state and federal law and conflicting judicial opinions are creating confusion in the space, says Amber Lengacher at Purple Circle.

  • Supreme Court's ALJ Ruling Carries Implications Beyond SEC

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    In its recent Jarkesy opinion, the U.S. Supreme Court limited the types of cases that can be tried before the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's in-house administrative law judges, setting the stage for challenges to the constitutionality of ALJs across other agencies, say Robert Robertson and Kimberley Church at Dechert.

  • Opinion

    A Tale Of 2 Trump Cases: The Rule Of Law Is A Live Issue

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    The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision this week in Trump v. U.S., holding that former President Donald Trump has broad immunity from prosecution, undercuts the rule of law, while the former president’s New York hush money conviction vindicates it in eight key ways, says David Postel at Henein Hutchison.

  • USPTO Disclaimer Rule Would Complicate Patent Prosecution

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    The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's proposed changes to terminal disclaimer practice could lead to a patent owner being unable to enforce a valid patent simply because it is indirectly tied to a patent in which a single claim is found anticipated or obvious in view of the prior art, say attorneys at Sterne Kessler.

  • 2nd Circ. ERISA Ruling May Help Fight Unfair Arb. Clauses

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    The Second Circuit recently held that a plaintiff seeking planwide relief under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act cannot be compelled to individual arbitration, a decision that opens the door to new applications of the effective vindication doctrine to defeat onerous and one-sided arbitration clauses, say Raphael Janove and Liana Vitale at Janove.

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