Public Policy

  • June 21, 2024

    Justices Strengthen Jury Trial Rights For Stiffer Sentences

    The constitutional rights to due process and trial by jury extend to a pivotal prong of a prominent sentencing enhancement for recidivism, the U.S. Supreme Court held in a Friday decision that casts doubt on many incarcerations and promises to reshape future trials.

  • June 21, 2024

    Justices Say No Feds, No Dice In Texas-NM Water Deal

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday ruled that Texas, New Mexico and Colorado improperly excluded the federal government from an agreement that resolved a Rio Grande water sharing dispute, rejecting the states' argument that the conflict was theirs alone to settle.

  • June 20, 2024

    TikTok Says Alternatives To 'Dangerous' Ban Were Ignored

    TikTok said Thursday that federal lawmakers likely didn't even consider its "exhaustive, multi-year efforts" to address national security concerns before deciding to ban the social media platform, slamming the law as "unprecedented" and warning that it sets "a dangerous precedent."

  • June 20, 2024

    Del. House Sends Controversial Corp. Law Changes To Gov.

    Delaware legislation that would allow corporate boards to cede some governance rights to chosen stockholders cleared the state's House by a wide margin late Thursday, heading to Gov. John Carney after debate that saw dire predictions for either outcome.

  • June 20, 2024

    Colo. Prosecutor Says Ex-DA Undermined Her Leadership

    An elected Colorado prosecutor facing disciplinary charges regarding her handling of a high-profile murder case pushed back on charges she was a negligent manager, telling a disciplinary panel Thursday she inherited a backlog of cases from a predecessor she said tried to undermine her office.

  • June 20, 2024

    Menendez Jury Sees Slides Lowell Presented To SDNY Brass

    Sen. Robert Menendez's lawyers grilled a witness in his bribery trial Thursday about a meeting in which Abbe Lowell, the politician's ex-lawyer, tried to convince U.S. Attorney Damian Williams not to indict Menendez — but were stymied by flurries of objections.

  • June 20, 2024

    Ex-DEA Heads Echo GOP AGs' Call For Pot Rescheduling Hearing

    A group of former U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration leaders and Republican attorneys general have formally requested administrative hearings on the U.S. attorney general's proposal to reschedule cannabis, according to separate letters sent this week that distinctly echo each other.

  • June 20, 2024

    Patent Owners, Challengers Spar Over PTAB Rule Proposal

    The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's scaled-back package of Patent Trial and Appeal Board rules has drawn a mixed reaction from legal and industry groups, which offered praise and concern about both the proposal and the topics it does not address.

  • June 20, 2024

    5th Circ. Starts Clock For Redo Bid In CFPB Payday Rule Case

    The Fifth Circuit said Wednesday that payday lender trade groups will have an opportunity to ask for another shot at litigating the validity of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's payday lending rule after their constitutional challenge fell flat at the U.S. Supreme Court.

  • June 20, 2024

    Trump Calls For Engoron's Recusal In Civil Fraud Case

    Former President Donald Trump and other defendants fighting a $465 million civil fraud judgment called on New York Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron to recuse himself Thursday in light of a once-suspended real estate attorney's recent judicial misconduct claims, which have since sparked a judicial investigation.

  • June 20, 2024

    FDIC Expands Requirements For Big-Bank Resolution Plans

    The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. on Thursday adopted expanded resolution-planning requirements for large banks and approved a measure intended to cut down on delays in the agency's handling of bank merger applications.

  • June 20, 2024

    Colo.'s Opt-Out Interest Rate Law Halted In Trade Group Suit

    A Colorado federal judge has temporarily barred the state from imposing more restrictive interest rate caps on consumer loans made by banks located outside of Colorado, siding with a coalition of lending groups seeking to invalidate a 2023 law aimed at reining in high-cost online loans.

  • June 20, 2024

    Wash. Justices Renew AG's Suit Over Police Eviction Claims

    Washington's highest court said the state attorney general could sue a city for allegedly letting police illegally evict vulnerable residents under the guise of a crime prevention program, ruling Thursday the case involved issues of public concern such as protecting residents' civil rights and preventing police misconduct.

  • June 20, 2024

    7th Circ. Won't Dig Excavator Out Of Kickback Conviction

    The Seventh Circuit ruled a former Illinois excavation company employee who was sentenced to five years in prison for paying a former commissioner kickbacks in exchange for inflated invoice payments was not prejudiced by the government's belated disclosure of notes from a cooperating witness.

  • June 20, 2024

    Web-Tracking Guidance Exceeded HHS' Authority, Judge Says

    A Texas federal judge ordered the Biden administration Thursday to rescind its new guidance restricting hospitals' use of online tracking technology, declaring that federal officials had overstepped their authority by redefining what they consider protected health information.

  • June 20, 2024

    Judge Flags Iowa's Blocked Immigration Law In Texas Battle

    The Texas federal judge overseeing the Biden administration's challenge to a state law authorizing the deportation of noncitizens urged the parties to inform the Fifth Circuit of an order blocking Iowa's similar law, anticipating an Eighth Circuit review of Iowa's defeat.

  • June 20, 2024

    GM's Cruise To Pay Calif. $112K Fine Over Robotaxi Crash

    Cruise LLC agreed to pay a $112,500 penalty for mishandling its response to an October accident involving a pedestrian and one of its autonomous vehicles, and promised to disclose additional data on any collisions to California regulators under a settlement agreement approved Thursday.

  • June 20, 2024

    Justices' Caution May Hold Key To New Sports Betting Efforts

    States overseeing feuds regarding the particulars of online sports betting may have been given a blueprint for peace after the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear a testy dispute over the Seminole Tribe's sports gambling compact in Florida.

  • June 20, 2024

    Sunset Review Redo Counter To Basic Principles, Says Judge

    A U.S. Court of International Trade judge on Thursday rebuffed a Turkish steel producer's call to reverse a sunset review that maintained its anti-dumping duties, a move he said would fray the procedural web that gives sense to trade remedies.

  • June 20, 2024

    Caltrans Tells FCC It's Against FirstNet Control Of 4.9 GHz

    California's Department of Transportation is adding its name to the list of public service entities lining up to tell the Federal Communications Commission that making AT&T's FirstNet the national manager of the 4.9 gigahertz safety band is a bad idea.

  • June 20, 2024

    FCC Slams Bid In 6th Circ. To Put Net Neutrality On Hold

    The Federal Communications Commission told the Sixth Circuit on Tuesday it should pay no heed to a collection of net neutrality challengers arguing that "dire consequences" will ensue if the appellate court doesn't stop the agency from reinstating open internet regulations while the two sides argue the matter out in court.

  • June 20, 2024

    Calif. High Court Strikes Anti-Tax Measure From Nov. Ballot

    A ballot measure that would make it more difficult to raise taxes in California would revise the state constitution and cannot be enacted by citizen initiative, the state's highest court held Thursday in an opinion that ordered the measure struck from the ballot.

  • June 20, 2024

    Catholic Diocese Can't Duck Sex Abuse Suit, NC Justices Told

    A Catholic diocese and a missionary organization can't escape child sex abuse claims by asserting a distinction between the perpetrators and enablers of such abuse under state law, a man suing over abuse he allegedly experienced as a teen has told North Carolina's top court.

  • June 20, 2024

    Cannabis-Infused Drink Cos. Sue Iowa Over New Potency Law

    Makers of canned drinks infused with hemp-derived THC are urging a federal judge to block an impending state statute that aims to regulate the Iowa cannabinoid market, saying it would swiftly outlaw "approximately 80%" of their current inventory.

  • June 20, 2024

    Competition Raids Don't Need Warrant For Emails, ECJ Told

    European Union law doesn't bar member states from permitting competition authorities to search emails without a warrant amid a so-called dawn raid, according to an advisory opinion submitted to the bloc's top appeals court Thursday.

Expert Analysis

  • Does Expert Testimony Aid Preliminary IPR Responses?

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    Dechert attorneys analyze six years of patent owners' preliminary responses to inter partes review petitions to determine whether the elimination of the presumption favoring the petitioner as to preinstitution testimonial evidence affected the usefulness of expert testimony in responses.

  • Fostering Employee Retention Amid Shaky DEI Landscape

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    Ongoing challenges to the legality of corporate diversity, equity and inclusion programs are complicating efforts to use DEI as an employee retention tool, but with the right strategic approach employers can continue to recruit and retain diverse talent — even after the FTC’s ban on noncompetes, says Ally Coll at the Purple Method.

  • Are Concessions In FDA's Lab-Developed Tests Rule Enough?

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    Although the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's new policy for laboratory-developed tests included major strategic concessions to help balance patient safety, access and diagnostic innovation, the new rule may well face significant legal challenges in court, say Dominick DiSabatino and Audrey Mercer at Sheppard Mullin.

  • 5 Climate Change Regulatory Issues Insurers Should Follow

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    The climate change landscape for insurers has changed dramatically recently — and not just because of the controversy over the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's climate-related risk disclosure rules, says Thomas Dawson at McDermott.

  • How New Rule Would Change CFIUS Enforcement Powers

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    Before the May 15 comment deadline, companies may want to weigh in on proposed regulatory changes to enforcement and mitigation tools at the disposal of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, including broadened subpoena powers, difficult new mitigation timelines and higher maximum penalties, say attorneys at Venable.

  • What's Extraordinary About Challenges To SEC Climate Rule

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    A set of ideologically diverse legal challenges to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's climate disclosure rule have been consolidated in the Eighth Circuit via a seldom-used lottery system, and the unpredictability of this process may drive agencies toward a more cautious future approach to rulemaking, say attorneys at Thompson Coburn.

  • 8 Questions To Ask Before Final CISA Breach Reporting Rule

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    The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency’s recently proposed cyber incident reporting requirements for critical infrastructure entities represent the overall approach CISA will take in its final rule, so companies should be asking key compliance questions now and preparing for a more complicated reporting regime, say Arianna Evers and Shannon Mercer at WilmerHale.

  • Series

    Swimming Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Years of participation in swimming events, especially in the open water, have proven to be ideal preparation for appellate arguments in court — just as you must put your trust in the ocean when competing in a swim event, you must do the same with the judicial process, says John Kulewicz at Vorys.

  • Key Priorities In FDIC Report On Resolving Big Bank Failures

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    The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.'s report last month on the resolvability of large financial institutions contains little new information, but it does reiterate key policy priorities, including the agency's desire to enhance loss-absorbing capacity through long-term debt requirements and preference for single-point-of-entry resolution strategies, say attorneys at Freshfields.

  • Best Practices For Space Security In Our Connected World

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    NASA's recently published space security guide is another indication that cyber-resilience has become a global theme for the space and satellite sector, as well as a useful reference for companies and organizations reviewing their cybersecurity frameworks or looking to partner with the U.S. agency, says Hayley Blyth at Bird & Bird.

  • Opinion

    SEC Doesn't Have Legal Authority For Climate Disclosure Rule

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    Instead of making the required legal argument to establish its authority, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's climate-related disclosure rule hides behind more than 1,000 references to materiality to give the appearance that its rule is legally defensible, says Bernard Sharfman at RealClearFoundation.

  • What 100 Federal Cases Suggest About Changes To Chevron

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    With the U.S. Supreme Court poised to overturn or narrow its 40-year-old doctrine of Chevron deference, a review of 100 recent federal district court decisions confirm that changes to the Chevron framework will have broad ramifications — but the magnitude of the impact will depend on the details of the high court's ruling, say Kali Schellenberg and Jon Cochran at LeVan Stapleton.

  • FTC Noncompete Rule May Still Face Historical Hurdles

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    The Federal Trade Commission's final rule banning noncompetes might face challenges that could have been avoided with more cautious consideration of the commission's long history of failed lawsuits that went beyond the agency's statutory authority, as well as the mountain of judicial precedent justifying noncompete agreements in employment contracts, say attorneys at BakerHostetler.

  • A Look At Subchapter V As Debt Limit Expiration Looms

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    If proposed legislation to extend Subchapter V’s debt eligibility ceiling sunset date in June is passed, bankruptcy professionals can seek ways to work with their local jurisdictions to advocate for code changes and guidance that bring more efficiencies and clarity to the process, say Matthew Brash at Newpoint Advisors and Melinda Bennett at Stretto.

  • Opinion

    SEC Should Be Allowed To Equip Investors With Climate Info

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    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's new rule to require more climate-related disclosures will provide investors with much-needed clarity, despite opponents' attempts to challenge the rule with misused legal arguments, say Sarah Goetz at Democracy Forward and Cynthia Hanawalt at Columbia University’s Sabin Center for Climate Change.

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