Public Policy

  • July 18, 2024

    Police Dept. Beats Cop's Suit Over Political Rally Attendance

    A California police department defeated an officer's lawsuit alleging he was unlawfully fired after attending a "Stop the Steal" rally in early 2021, with a federal judge finding he was fired based on social media posts that violated department policies, not his political activities.

  • July 18, 2024

    Colo. Judge Ends Voter Intimidation Case Midtrial

    A Colorado federal judge on Thursday put an abrupt end to a bench trial in a lawsuit accusing members of a 2020 election denier group of illegal voter intimidation, concluding there was not enough evidence to back up the claims brought by voting rights groups.

  • July 18, 2024

    Ex-BigLaw Atty Gets Nearly 2 Years For Election Crimes

    A former BigLaw attorney was sentenced to 21 months in prison Thursday after being convicted of campaign finance violations tied to a failed run for U.S. Congress, with a Boston federal judge citing the defendant's legal acumen and experience as a law clerk as evidence he "should have known" better.

  • July 18, 2024

    CFPB Eyes Loan Treatment For 'Earned Wage' Cash Advances

    The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau moved Thursday to apply federal truth-in-lending requirements to the growing market for fintech cash advances, issuing a proposed rule that would classify many "earned wage access" products as consumer loans needing clear pricing disclosures.

  • July 17, 2024

    EPA Disputes High Court Link To Texas Clean Air Act Case

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency argued that the U.S. Supreme Court's recent ruling blocking a federal plan to reduce cross-state pollution does not impact the EPA's decision to reject state plans submitted by Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi.

  • July 17, 2024

    DOI Rejects Calif. Tribal Members' Lineal Descent Claims

    The U.S. Department of the Interior is backing its bid to dismiss a D.C. federal court lawsuit brought by family members who seek control of the California Valley Miwok Tribe, highlighting its argument that their claims have already been decided in several prior cases.

  • July 17, 2024

    PJM Jumps Into 3rd Circ. Row Over Transmission Project

    A Pennsylvania commission's request to have the Third Circuit reinstate its rejection of a power transmission project would impinge on PJM Interconnection's federally mandated planning process, the regional grid operator said in an amicus brief filed Wednesday.

  • July 17, 2024

    MTA Sued For Bus Service Cuts After Congestion Plan Nixed

    New York City's Public Advocate hit the Metropolitan Transportation Authority with a proposed state court class action Wednesday aimed at reversing bus service cuts implemented after Gov. Kathy Hochul abruptly canceled plans for congestion pricing, slashing billions in anticipated revenue for the MTA.

  • July 17, 2024

    SEC's Peirce Calls For Rule Agenda Reset After Court Rulings

    Hester Peirce, a member of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, called on the agency Wednesday to reconsider its rulemaking agenda given recent court rulings, saying it should "really think about hewing closely" to its statutory mandate, in comments made just weeks after the U.S. Supreme Court's decision to end Chevron deference.

  • July 17, 2024

    Special Counsel To Appeal Ax Of Trump Classified Docs Case

    Special Counsel Jack Smith told a Florida federal court Wednesday that he was challenging U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon's order earlier this week tossing the classified documents criminal case against Donald Trump, according to a notice of appeal.

  • July 17, 2024

    Calif. Asks 9th Circ. To Lift Injunction On Kids' Privacy Law

    California urged the Ninth Circuit on Wednesday to remove an injunction blocking a groundbreaking new law requiring social media platforms to bolster privacy protections for children, defending the protections and arguing that any unconstitutional provision should be severed following the U.S. Supreme Court's Moody v. NetChoice decision.

  • July 17, 2024

    Colo. Federal Judge Tells Attys To Focus On Fundamentals

    U.S. District Judge S. Kato Crews told a room of attorneys Wednesday he's concerned by the sloppiness of veteran lawyers he's witnessed in the past year, prompting him to be more of a stickler on procedure than when he was a magistrate judge.

  • July 17, 2024

    Top Florida Real Estate News In 2024 So Far

    Catch up on the hottest real estate news out of Florida so far this year, from alleged zoning abuse and bankruptcy to a brewing condo crisis and a seven-figure highway expansion. 

  • July 17, 2024

    FTC Cites 3rd Circ. In Defending Noncompete Ban

    The Federal Trade Commission has continued to argue against a preliminary injunction a tree services company wants against its noncompete ban, directing a Pennsylvania federal judge to look at a Third Circuit decision from the day before calling for a high bar on initial court blocks absent immediate and permanent harm.

  • July 18, 2024

    CORRECTED: Green Card Process For Mixed-Status Families Opens Aug. 19

    The Biden administration said Wednesday that unauthorized spouses and children of U.S. citizens can start applying on Aug. 19 for a new program that will allow them to get green cards without having to leave the country, in addition to other announcements aimed at increasing access to counsel in immigration courts and boosting noncitizens' ability to work. Correction: An earlier version of this story misstated the start date of the parole-in-place program for unauthorized spouses and children of U.S. citizens. The error has been corrected.

  • July 17, 2024

    Commerce Tees Up Dumping Duties On 4 Countries' Melamine

    The U.S. Department of Commerce preliminarily found that foreign producers of a compound used to create plastic dishware, utensils and countertops were receiving government subsidies that gave them an unfair edge in the U.S. market.

  • July 17, 2024

    Lawmakers Say Bid To Toss Monument Suit Is A 'Red Herring'

    The Arizona Legislature is fighting a bid by the Biden administration to dismiss a challenge to a presidential proclamation that established an Indigenous site as a national monument in the Grand Canyon region, arguing that the state's constitution gives the lawmakers power over state trust lands.

  • July 17, 2024

    FCC To Vote On Smart Car Technology's Use Of 5.9 GHz

    The Federal Communications Commission is ready to vote on rules that would bring advanced vehicle communications technology to the 5.9 GHz band, setting standards for the technology's use in the slice of spectrum and greenlighting the use of in-vehicle and roadside units running on the technology.

  • July 17, 2024

    Split 5th Circ. Allows Limits On Arlington Donation Boxes

    A split Fifth Circuit upheld an Arlington, Texas, ordinance regulating the placement of donation boxes, writing that the regulation is content-neutral and tailored in a way that gives local charities the ability to collect donations through other means, even if it limits box locations.

  • July 17, 2024

    Many AI Patent Eligibility Issues Still Hazy After Guidance

    The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's new guidance on patent eligibility for inventions involving artificial intelligence provides some helpful details for patent applicants, but attorneys say it leaves unanswered questions that will likely require court decisions or legislation to sort out.

  • July 17, 2024

    Judge Warns HHS It's Not In 'Reasonable Compliance'

    The Department of Health and Human Services appears not to be in "reasonable compliance" of an injunction ordering it to develop an avenue for Medicare beneficiaries to appeal their hospitalization status, a Connecticut federal judge said in a Tuesday notice.

  • July 17, 2024

    Del. Gov. Signs Hotly Contested Corp. Law Amendments

    Delaware Gov. John Carney signed into law on Wednesday state code amendments allowing corporations to cede some governance rights to stockholders, as well as some state corporate oversight to other jurisdictions.

  • July 17, 2024

    Pa. Justices OK Zoning Decision To Allow Suburban Hospital

    A zoning officer for a Pittsburgh suburb was within state law to issue a "use permit" that would allow the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center to build near a rival network's existing hospital, even if that permit punted on making sure the plan conformed with other zoning rules, the state Supreme Court ruled Wednesday.

  • July 17, 2024

    Nasdaq Seeks To Tighten Delisting Rules Governing SPACs

    Nasdaq is proposing to strengthen its rules governing delistings and trading suspensions of special-purpose acquisition companies that fail to complete mergers within 36-month deadlines or that violate other listing standards.

  • July 17, 2024

    DOE Says Challenge Of $1.1B Diablo Canyon Award Must Fail

    The U.S. Department of Energy is urging a California federal judge to throw out a suit challenging its award of $1.1 billion of credits to help Pacific Gas & Electric Co. keep two generation units running for now at the Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant.

Expert Analysis

  • How Congress Is Tackling The US Healthcare Shortage

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    With healthcare shortages continuing across the U.S. despite industry efforts to improve patient access to care, increased Medicare support for graduate medical education could be a crucial component of the solution, say Sarah Crossan and Miranda Franco at Holland & Knight.

  • How Justices' Chevron Ruling May Influence Wind Projects

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    Parties both for and against the development of East Coast offshore wind development are watching the U.S. Supreme Court closely for its anticipated ruling challenging long-standing principles of agency deference that may subject decision making based on that precedent to upheaval, say attorneys at Robinson & Cole.

  • Gov't Contractors Shouldn't Skip Steps In Rush To Adopt AI

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    Government contractors that may be tempted to deploy artificial intelligence in day-to-day operations like billing and data protection should first take time to consider and address the specific risks that come with using AI tools, say attorneys at Wiley.

  • 6 Tips For Maximizing After-Tax Returns In Private M&A Deals

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    With potential tax legislation likely to spur a surge in private business sales, sellers can make the most of after-tax proceeds with strategies that include price allocation and qualified investment options, say Isaac Grossman and Daniel Studin at Morrison Cohen.

  • Opinion

    Why The Patent Eligibility Restoration Act Can Spur Progress

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    Patent practitioners have long wrestled with the effects of U.S. Supreme Court decisions that have muddied the waters of what can be patented, but the Patent Eligibility Restoration Act can change that, and those not involved with patents on a day-to-day basis can help get this act passed, says John White at Harness IP.

  • Lower Courts May Finally Be Getting The Memo After Ciminelli

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    A year after the U.S. Supreme Court again limited prosecutors' overbroad theories of fraud in Ciminelli v. U.S., early returns suggest that the message has at least partially landed with the lower courts, spotlighting lessons for defense counsel moving forward, says Kenneth Notter at MoloLamken.

  • After A Brief Hiccup, The 'Rocket Docket' Soars Back To No. 1

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    The Eastern District of Virginia’s precipitous 2022 fall from its storied rocket docket status appears to have been a temporary aberration, as recent statistics reveal that the court is once again back on top as the fastest federal civil trial court in the nation, says Robert Tata at Hunton.

  • Protecting Trade Secrets In US, EU Gov't Agency Submissions

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    Attorneys at Mintz compare U.S. and European Union trade secret laws, and how proprietary information in confidential submissions to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the European Medicines Agency is protected in the face of third-party information requests under government transparency laws.

  • Big Banks Face Potential Broader Recovery Plan Rules

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    The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency's recent call for potentially subjecting more banks to recovery planning standards would represent a significant expansion of the scope of the recovery guidelines, and banks that would be affected should assess whether they’re prepared, say attorneys at Debevoise.

  • New Laws, Regs Mean More Scrutiny Of Airline Carbon Claims

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    Recent climate disclosure laws and regulations in the U.S. and Europe mean that scrutiny of airlines' green claims will likely continue to intensify — so carriers must make sure their efforts to reduce carbon emissions through use of sustainable aviation fuel, hydrogen and carbon offsets measure up to their marketing, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • Recruitment Trends In Emerging Law Firm Frontiers

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    BigLaw firms are facing local recruitment challenges as they increasingly establish offices in cities outside of the major legal hubs, requiring them to weigh various strategies for attracting talent that present different risks and benefits, says Tom Hanlon at Buchanan Law.

  • How Uyghur Forced Labor Law Affects Importing Companies

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    Amid a growing focus on forced labor in supply chains and a likely increase in enforcement under the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, companies may face costly import delays unless they develop and implement compliance best practices, say Thad McBride and Lauren Gammer at Bass Berry.

  • Series

    Glassblowing Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    I never expected that glassblowing would strongly influence my work as an attorney, but it has taught me the importance of building a solid foundation for your work, learning from others and committing to a lifetime of practice, says Margaret House at Kalijarvi Chuzi.

  • What Employers Need To Know About Colorado's New AI Law

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    The Colorado AI Act, enacted in May and intended to regulate the use of high-risk artificial intelligence systems to prevent algorithmic discrimination, is broad in scope and will apply to businesses using AI for certain employment purposes, imposing numerous compliance obligations and potential liability, say Laura Malugade and Owen Davis at Husch Blackwell.

  • What DOL Fiduciary Rule Means For Private Fund Managers

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    Attorneys at Ropes & Gray discuss how the U.S. Department of Labor's recently released final fiduciary rule, which revises the agency's 1975 regulation, could potentially cause private fund managers' current marketing practices and communications to be considered fiduciary advice, and therefore subject them to strict prohibitions.

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