Public Policy

  • October 23, 2024

    No More Coverage For Paper Co.'s Pollution Claim, Panel Says

    A WestRock Co. subsidiary that owned a Montana paper mill later identified as a Superfund site isn't entitled to additional coverage from its AIG insurer, an Illinois state appeals court ruled, saying two pollution conditions on the property were related and subject to a single $5 million limit of liability.

  • October 23, 2024

    NM Pot Cos. Say Border Agents Wrongfully Seized Product

    A group of state-licensed New Mexico cannabis companies allege in a new lawsuit that federal agents have been unlawfully seizing inventory and cash in contravention of a long-held U.S. policy of not interfering with state-regulated marijuana entities.

  • October 23, 2024

    3 Things To Know About Proposed OTC Contraception Regs

    The Biden administration's proposal to require private health insurers to pick up the cost of over-the-counter contraception could increase access for an estimated 52 million women. Here are three things to know about the newly proposed regulations.

  • October 23, 2024

    Conn. Dispensary Can't Fight $500K Fee, State Agency Says

    Connecticut's consumer protection agency is urging a superior court to trash a suit accusing state officials of causing a marijuana dispensary to miss a deadline and costing it half a million dollars, arguing that the state law doesn't give the court the authority to second-guess the state-issued bill.

  • October 23, 2024

    1st Circ. Sets Oral Arguments In Boies' Cannabis Suit For Dec. 5

    The First Circuit has scheduled oral arguments in an appeal by a group of cannabis businesses, represented by litigator David Boies, challenging the federal prohibition on marijuana.

  • October 23, 2024

    Dems Urge DHS To Clear Immigrant Work Permit Backlog

    Democratic lawmakers on Tuesday pushed the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to eliminate a growing backlog of immigrant work permit applications by the end of President Joe Biden's term, saying DHS should "surge" resources and streamline the application process.

  • October 23, 2024

    DOJ Bolsters Defense In Pork Price-Fixing Case, Cos. Say

    Hormel, Tyson, JBS and other pork producers told a Minnesota federal court that a Justice Department intervention into a private price-fixing litigation actually backs their defense, even though the government took no position on the merits of the case.

  • October 23, 2024

    Dallas Judge Denies Nightclub's TRO, Citing 'Gamesmanship'

    An attorney who owns a Dallas nightclub shouldn't have waited until 6 a.m. Wednesday to alert the city attorney's office about a hearing in the club's effort to stall the city council's vote on zoning approval, a state judge said during the hearing, calling it "gamesmanship."

  • October 23, 2024

    Juvenile Court Judge, Atty Picked For Mass. Appeals Court

    A longtime Juvenile Court justice and a veteran criminal defense attorney are Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey's latest picks for the state's intermediate-level appellate court, her office announced Wednesday.

  • October 23, 2024

    NJ City Permitted Bigger Project To End Suit, Opponent Says

    A property owner's nonprofit has brought a new lawsuit claiming that the city of Hoboken, New Jersey, gave a developer more than $50 million in project benefits in a settlement that could nearly double the scope of a pair of mixed-use developments along the scenic Palisades cliffs.

  • October 23, 2024

    NYC Lawmakers Propose Giving Workers Sick Time For Pets

    Two New York City Council members introduced a bill Wednesday that would let workers use sick leave to care for pets and service animals, a novel move that one lawmaker said is meant to promote the health benefits of animal ownership.

  • October 23, 2024

    ICE, Nonprofits End FOIA Row Over Alleged Sterilization Docs

    Three nonprofits dismissed their Freedom of Information Act lawsuit against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement seeking records related to unnecessary and "nonconsensual" gynecological procedures performed on immigrant detainees at an ICE detention center in Georgia, according to a notice filed Wednesday in D.C. federal court.

  • October 23, 2024

    Telecom Group Sues To Cancel FTC's 'Click To Cancel' Rule

    A major cable and internet industry group and others sued the Federal Trade Commission Wednesday over its new "click to cancel" rule, asking the Fifth Circuit to vacate the regulation one week after it was adopted in a 3-2 commission vote.

  • October 23, 2024

    Southwest Union Wants 2nd Look At Colo. Sick Leave Deal

    A Transport Workers Union affiliate urged a Colorado court to rethink its recent decision dismissing the union's claims against the state challenging a settlement with Southwest Airlines over a sick leave law, arguing the judge wrongly analyzed the statute's exemption for workers covered by a labor contract.

  • October 23, 2024

    Colo. Justices Leery of Tossing Fraudster's Sentence

    Colorado Supreme Court justices appeared doubtful Wednesday that a convicted fraudster could avoid his sentence of 20 years probation after he served four years in prison, suggesting that while there was practically little difference from a previous sentence they threw out, it no longer violated state law.

  • October 23, 2024

    FCC To Probe Broadband, Cable And Phone Customer Service

    The Federal Communications Commission is looking to find out how well the broadband, video distribution and phone industries are doing when it comes to customer service.

  • October 23, 2024

    Religion Law Can't Save Sacred Worship Site, High Court Told

    A law designed to protect religious freedom can't help an Apache nonprofit's bid to save a sacred worship site in Arizona from destruction, the federal government said, arguing that the tribe is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to nullify a congressional statute crafted to allow federal third-party land transfers.

  • October 23, 2024

    Navarro Seeks Justices' Review Of Presidential Records Ruling

    Former Trump administration adviser Peter Navarro has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to review a circuit court's ruling that the federal government can use the Presidential Records Act to force Navarro to hand over emails from his tenure at the White House.

  • October 23, 2024

    NC Justices Scrutinize Scope Of Liability Shield In COVID Law

    An attorney for a doctor accused of medical malpractice faced sharp questioning Wednesday as North Carolina justices pushed him to define how much protection from liability was granted by an emergency law enacted to safeguard the state's healthcare providers during the COVID-19 pandemic.

  • October 23, 2024

    High Court Won't Pause Google's Subpoena Of State Agency

    The U.S. Supreme Court refused Wednesday to block Google's request for documents in a case accusing the tech giant of monopolizing key digital ad technology as a South Carolina agency challenges an order forcing it to comply with the subpoena.

  • October 23, 2024

    Russian Asylum Seeker Says ICE Is Unlawfully Detaining Her

    A disabled Russian asylum seeker hauled U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement into Louisiana federal court, alleging the agency repeatedly refused to release her based on a cursory conclusion that she was a flight risk despite barely being able to walk.

  • October 23, 2024

    GOP Says Dems Using FEC Suit To Silence Republicans

    The National Republican Senatorial Committee is seeking to intervene as a defendant in a lawsuit brought by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee against the Federal Election Commission that argues the agency should have stopped the Republicans from using a tactic that allegedly lets them bypass spending limits on advertising.

  • October 23, 2024

    Texas Sues Biden Admin. To Get Voter Citizenship Status Data

    Texas is hauling the U.S. Department of Homeland Security into court again, this time over allegations that the agency has refused to turn over information pertaining to the citizenship status of registered voters in the Lone Star State.

  • October 23, 2024

    Colo. Man Admits To Threatening Judge, Election Officials

    A Southern Colorado man pled guilty on Wednesday to making online threats against election officials, a state judge and federal law enforcement agents, acknowledging at a hearing that his social media posts, including one threatening to shoot the state judge, were motivated by "pure hate and anger."

  • October 23, 2024

    USDA Unveils $1.5B In Conservation, Climate-Smart Projects

    The U.S. Department of Agriculture on Wednesday revealed a $1.5 billion investment in 92 partner-driven conservation projects through the agency's Regional Conservation Partnership Program. 

Expert Analysis

  • Opinion

    Litigation Funding Disclosure Key To Open, Impartial Process

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    Blanket investor and funding agreement disclosures should be required in all civil cases where the investor has a financial interest in the outcome in order to address issues ranging from potential conflicts of interest to national security concerns, says Bob Goodlatte, former U.S. House Representative for Virginia.

  • Regulators Are Revamping Use Of Bank Service Company Act

    Excerpt from Practical Guidance
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    Though the Bank Service Company Act was written six decades ago, banks and service providers should be alert to the evolving ways financial regulators are using the law as a tool for scrutinizing bank-fintech partnerships and third-party service providers that could put consumers at risk, say James Bergin and Paul Lim at Arnold & Porter.

  • Series

    After Chevron: What To Expect In Consumer Protection At FTC

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    Although the Federal Trade Commission's bread-and-butter consumer protection law enforcement actions are unlikely to be affected, the Loper Bright decision may curb the FTC's bolder interpretations of the statutes it enforces, says Mary Engle at BBB National Programs.

  • Carbon Offset Case A Win For CFTC Enviro Fraud Task Force

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    An Illinois federal court's decision in Commodity Futures Trading Commission v. Ikkurty — earning the CFTC a sizeable monetary award that will likely incentivize similar enforcement pursuit — shows the impact of the commission's Environmental Fraud Task Force, say attorneys at Steptoe.

  • RealPage Suit Shows Growing Algorithm, AI Pricing Scrutiny

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    The U.S. Department of Justice's suit against RealPage for helping fix rental rates, filed last week, demonstrates how the use of algorithmic and artificial intelligence tools to assist with pricing decisions is drawing increasing scrutiny and action across government agencies, and specifically at the Federal Trade Commission and the DOJ, say Andre Geverola and Leah Harrell at Arnold & Porter.

  • Whistleblowers Must Note 5 Key Differences Of DOJ Program

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    The U.S. Department of Justice’s recently unveiled whistleblower awards program diverges in key ways from similar programs at other agencies, and individuals must weigh these differences and look first to programs with stronger, proven protections before blowing the whistle, say Stephen Kohn and Geoff Schweller at Kohn Kohn.

  • What NFL Draft Picks Have In Common With Lateral Law Hires

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    Nearly half of law firm lateral hires leave within a few years — a failure rate that is strikingly similar to the performance of NFL quarterbacks drafted in the first round — in part because evaluators focus too heavily on quantifiable metrics and not enough on a prospect's character traits, says Howard Rosenberg at Baretz+Brunelle.

  • Calif. Ruling Clarifying Paystub Compliance Is Win For Cos.

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    In rare good news for California employers, the state Supreme Court recently clarified that workers couldn’t win extra penalties in wage and hour cases by claiming their employer intentionally violated state paystub law if the employer believed it had complied in good faith, say Drei Munar and Kirk Hornbeck at Hunton.

  • Considering Noncompete Strategies After Blocked FTC Ban

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    A Texas district court's recent decision in Ryan v. Federal Trade Commission to set aside the new FTC rule banning noncompetes does away with some immediate compliance obligations, but employers should still review strategies, attend to changes to state laws and monitor ongoing challenges, say attorneys at Baker McKenzie.

  • Open Questions 3 Years After 2nd Circ.'s Fugitive Ruling

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    The Second Circuit’s 2021 decision in U.S. v. Bescond, holding that a French resident indicted abroad did not meet the legal definition of a fugitive, deepened a circuit split on the fugitive disentitlement doctrine, and courts continue to grapple with the doctrine’s reach and applicability, say attorneys at Lankler Siffert.

  • Replacing The Stigma Of Menopause With Law Firm Support

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    A large proportion of the workforce is forced to pull the brakes on their career aspirations because of the taboo surrounding menopause and a lack of consistent support, but law firms can initiate the cultural shift needed by formulating thoughtful workplace policies, says Barbara Hamilton-Bruce at Simmons & Simmons.

  • Series

    After Chevron: The Future Of AI And Copyright Law

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    In the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision to overrule the Chevron doctrine, leaders in the artificial intelligence industry may seek to shift the balance of power to courts to exercise more independent statutory interpretation without constraints from the U.S. Copyright Office, says Greg Derin at Signature Resolution.

  • Leveraging Policy Changes To Achieve AI Patent Eligibility

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    With the latest U.S. Patent and Trademark Office guidance in hand and legislation looming in Congress, innovators should file their artificial intelligence patent applications now — and five strategies can maximize their chances of success, says Nicholas Gallo at Troutman Pepper.

  • Crypto Regs Could See A Reset Under The Next President

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    Donald Trump has taken a permissive policy stance favoring crypto, while Kamala Harris has been silent on the issue, but no matter who wins the presidential election, we may see a more lenient regulatory climate toward the digital currency than from the Biden administration, says Liam Murphy at McKool Smith.

  • How DOJ May Change FARA Exemption In Forthcoming Rule

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    Any day now, the U.S. Department of Justice is expected to issue proposed revisions to the Foreign Agents Registration Act regulations, and signs suggest that it will likely narrow one of FARA's broadest exemptions, which may compound public confusion about the law's requirements, says Murad Hussain at Arnold & Porter.

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