Public Policy

  • January 01, 2025

    Top 4 Climate Change Cases to Watch in 2025

    The New Year could see federal appellate courts deciding cases with ramifications for the government’s approach to climate change regulations, including U.S. Supreme Court cases on the scope of environmental reviews and municipalities’ rights in suing fossil fuel companies. Here are the biggest climate change cases that environmental and energy lawyers must watch in 2025.

  • January 01, 2025

    Top Climate Change Policies To Watch in 2025

    The incoming Trump administration is expected to hit the ground running in the New Year to roll back Biden-era rules taking aim at climate change and industries that rely on fossil fuels. Here are key climate change policies to watch in 2025.

  • January 01, 2025

    Transportation Regulation & Legislation To Watch In 2025

    The Trump administration's expected rollback of rules intended to slash vehicle emissions and accelerate electric vehicle adoption, alongside a spate of new tariffs impacting the supply chain, are just some of the transportation industry's top regulatory priorities to watch in 2025.

  • December 28, 2024

    Trump Seeks High Court's Pause Of TikTok Sale-Or-Ban Law

    President-elect Donald Trump has urged the U.S. Supreme Court to freeze the impending deadline for TikTok to divest from its Chinese parent company or face a nationwide ban, suggesting his new administration could negotiate a deal that would end the need for the congressional mandate.

  • December 23, 2024

    Biden Vetoes Bill To Add New Judgeships

    President Joe Biden vetoed a bill Monday that would have added more federal judgeships, despite the judiciary's plea that more seats on the bench are needed desperately.

  • December 23, 2024

    HHS Can't Enforce Abortion Privacy Rule Against Texas Doctor

    A Texas federal judge has granted a Lone Star State doctor a reprieve from a new U.S. Department of Health and Human Services rule that aims to protect the privacy of abortion providers and patients, saying that the rule likely exceeds the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act's statutory authority.

  • December 23, 2024

    DOL Wants Full 9th Circ. Review Of Contractor Wage Ruling

    A split Ninth Circuit panel decision that blocked President Joe Biden from raising federal contractors' minimum wage to $15 an hour shrinks the president's power, the U.S. Department of Labor said, urging the full appellate court to step in.

  • December 23, 2024

    Google Counters DOJ's Proposed Chrome Sale

    Google has countered the Justice Department's proposed divestiture of the Chrome browser in a brief filed in D.C. federal court arguing the proper fix for its illegal search monopoly would be to allow Android phone makers and browser companies the ability to more readily pick rival engines.

  • December 23, 2024

    'Tragedy To Farce': Menendez Makes 3rd New Trial Bid

    Former U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez and two co-defendants, convicted of bribery in July, have made a third push for a new trial in Manhattan federal court, contending that the government's latest admission of an evidence gaffe bolstered their case.

  • December 23, 2024

    Trump Taps Ex-Homeland Security Atty As DOJ Chief Of Staff

    President-elect Donald Trump has tapped Chad Mizelle, who formerly held top legal roles at Trump's Department of Homeland Security and is married to Trump-appointed U.S. District Judge Kathryn K. Mizelle, as chief of staff at the Department of Justice.

  • December 23, 2024

    Treasury Proposes Contingent Fee Regs For Tax Pros

    Tax professionals who practice before the IRS and charge clients contingent fees in connection with preparing returns will be subject to sanctions for disreputable conduct under rules proposed by the U.S. Treasury Department that also require practitioners to be competent in new technology.

  • December 23, 2024

    Biden Targets Chinese Chip Industry In Sweeping Trade Probe

    The Biden administration opened an investigation into China's semiconductor industry Monday, setting the stage for potential new sanctions against Beijing over its purported use of unfair trade practices to dominate the global microchip market.

  • December 23, 2024

    House Report Says Gaetz Paid For Sex, Accepted Gifts

    Former U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz regularly paid women for sex, including with one 17-year-old girl, used illicit drugs and accepted a trip to the Bahamas in excess of permissible gift amounts, according to a report released Monday morning by the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Ethics.

  • December 20, 2024

    Banks, Not Credit Cos., Can Duck New Ill. Fee Law For Now

    An Illinois federal judge ruled Friday that credit card companies like Visa and Mastercard must comply with Illinois' landmark law restricting certain credit card fees; however, she also held that national banks and federal savings associations aren't subject to the law, at least for now.

  • December 20, 2024

    Another Texas Judge Exits X's Advertising Boycott Suit

    The second Texas judge to oversee litigation filed by Elon Musk's X Corp. accusing the World Federation of Advertisers and others of conspiring to withhold advertising revenue from the company has recused himself from the case.

  • December 20, 2024

    SEC's Dealer Rule Loss Is A Lesson To Regulators, Atty Says

    A Sullivan & Cromwell LLP attorney who successfully litigated a crypto industry challenge to vacate a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission rule expanding the definition of dealer said the Texas federal judge's decision is another block in the recent chain of court decisions warning federal agencies to refrain from stretching old statutory terms to reach new contexts that aren't clearly within their authority.

  • December 20, 2024

    Sens. Aim To Protect Generics With Skinny Labels In New Bill

    A bipartisan group of senators from Colorado, Arkansas, Vermont and Maine have introduced a bill that would shield generic-drug and biosimilar manufacturers from infringement liability when using approved "skinny labels."

  • December 20, 2024

    RealPage Can't Transfer Enforcers' Rent-Fix Case Out Of NC

    RealPage cannot get the government's antitrust case against it moved either to the Tennessee court overseeing similar civil litigation or to Texas, where the rental software maker is headquartered, a North Carolina federal judge ruled Friday.

  • December 20, 2024

    Texas AG Blocks Roberson Legislative Testimony

    Texas state representatives on Friday slammed Attorney General Ken Paxton's last-minute effort to block testimony from a man on death row after his 2-year-old daughter died from what was diagnosed as shaken baby syndrome.

  • December 20, 2024

    Litigator On The Roof: The Acting, Singing Mass. Solicitor

    The top appellate lawyer in the Massachusetts Office of the Attorney General will be ringing in the new year by performing a comical cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach, the latest show in a lengthy side career in music.

  • December 20, 2024

    Cable Org. Warns Members About FCC Robocall Enforcement

    Voice service providers need to make sure their Robocall Mitigation Database filings meet existing requirements, because if they aren't, the Federal Communications Commission is ready to start delisting companies and blocking them from providing voice service.

  • December 20, 2024

    Justice Reformers Wary Of Trump's Return, Yet Hope Persists

    While President-elect Donald Trump's impending return to the White House has many criminal justice reformers preparing for battle, given his scorched-earth rhetoric on crime and immigration on the campaign trail, hope for meaningful change persists in varying degrees among advocates after Trump's backing of reform legislation during his first term.

  • December 20, 2024

    A Look Back At 2024's Major Securities Litigation Moments

    The private securities litigation bar experienced a busy 2024, with meaningful and significant rulings in almost all of the nation's leading courts, and corporations, investors, government agencies and executives fighting over pay packages, disclosures, class certifications and mergers.

  • December 20, 2024

    3rd Circ. Denies Challenge To Pa. Autism Settlement

    A Third Circuit panel on Friday rejected claims a settlement requiring around-the-clock care for a woman with autism is too impractical to be enforced, reversing a lower-court decision and handing a victory to the Pennsylvania woman's family.

  • December 20, 2024

    TikTok Divestment Deadline Must Be Extended, Senators Say

    TikTok is set to be removed from app stores in the United States in less than a month, but two senators have urged President Joe Biden to kick the can down the road with an extension that would prevent "serious hardship" to both creators and users.

Expert Analysis

  • How Boards And Officers Should Prep For New Trump Admin

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    In anticipation of President-elect Donald Trump's proposed tariffs and mass deportation campaign, company officers and board members should pursue proactive, comprehensive contingency planning to not only advance the best interests of the companies they serve, but to also properly exercise their fiduciary duty of care, say attorneys at Winston & Strawn.

  • Implementing Human Rights Due Diligence

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    The Bureau of Industry and Security’s recent removal of a Canadian surveillance provider from its export blacklist, after just eight months, illustrates the importance of integrating human rights due diligence into the vetting process by asking a few targeted questions, say attorneys at Cravath.

  • California Supreme Court's Year In Review

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    Attorneys at Horvitz & Levy highlight notable decisions on major questions from the California Supreme Court's last term, including voter initiatives, hostile work environment and the economic loss rule.

  • 3 Changes Community Banks Should Expect Under Trump

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    A second Trump administration promises a sea change for regional and community banks, including shifts in the regulatory environment, Community Reinvestment Act rules and the M&A landscape, say attorneys at Manatt.

  • DC Circ. Decision Opens Door To NEPA Regulation Litigation

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    A recent D.C. Circuit decision in Marin Audubon Society v. Federal Aviation Administration could open the door to more litigation over the White House Council on Environmental Quality's National Environmental Policy Act regulations, and could affect how many agencies conduct and interpret environmental assessments, say attorneys at ArentFox Schiff.

  • The Challenges Of Abandoned Retirement Plans In Ch. 7

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    The Department of Labor's rule for unwinding retirement accounts when plan sponsors file for Chapter 7 bankruptcy was intended to alleviate trustees' administration issues, but practical challenges, like unresolved fee and identification matters, could hinder its implementation, say David Goodrich at Golden Goodrich and Nancy Simons at Stretto.

  • How CFIUS' Updated Framework Affects Global Investors

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    The recent change to the monitoring and enforcement regulations governing the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States will broaden administrative practices around nonnotified transaction investigations, increase the scope of information demands from the committee and accelerate its ability to impose mitigation on parties, say attorneys at Simpson Thacher.

  • 5 Ways SEC's Crypto Approach Could Change Under Trump

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    Given the Trump campaign's procrypto stance, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission could take a number of different approaches to crypto policy in the next administration, including pausing registration-only enforcement actions and proposing tailored rules that take into account the differences between crypto-assets and traditional securities, say attorneys at WilmerHale.

  • Health Policy Predictions For Trump's Second Administration

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    As President-elect Donald Trump's nominations for health policy and enforcement heads work their way through the confirmation process, healthcare organizations can look at nominee backgrounds, campaign statements and actions from Trump's previous presidency to predict incoming priorities, say attorneys at McDermott.

  • Opinion

    FTC Actions In Oil Cases Go Against Its Own Rulemaking

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    Two recent Federal Trade Commission actions concerning the oil and gas industry appear to defy its own merger guidelines, with allegations that fall far short of the commission's own standard — raising serious questions about the agency's current approach, say attorneys at Clifford Chance.

  • How Global Data Center Regs May Influence US Policies

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    As regulators around the world react to the growth of data centers, and their increasing consumption of energy, water and land, international policies in this area may influence how the incoming U.S. administration regulates data centers in this country, say attorneys at HWG.

  • Series

    Flying Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Achieving my childhood dream of flying airplanes made me a better lawyer — and a better person — because it taught me I can conquer difficult goals when I leave my comfort zone, focus on the demands of the moment and commit to honing my skills, says Ivy Cadle at Baker Donelson.

  • Key Points From New Maritime Oil Price Cap Advisory

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    The Price Cap Coalition's updated advisory regarding the maritime oil industry's compliance with the Russian oil price cap highlights the role of governmental authorities, additional areas warranting due diligence and the need for training programs, say attorneys at Miller & Chevalier.

  • Post-Election Implications For The EPA's Methane Rules

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    Amid the U.S. Supreme Court's recent denial of requests to halt implementation of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's methane rule in two suits, and given the outcome of the election, a complete reversal of the methane rule is expected, but state-level policymaking and enforcement will continue, says John Watson at Spencer Fane.

  • Opinion

    Justices Should Squash Bid To Criminalize Contract Breaches

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    In Kousisis v. U.S., the U.S. Supreme Court should reject the sweeping legal theory that breaches of contract can satisfy the property element of the mail and wire fraud statutes, which, if validated, would criminalize an array of ordinary conduct and violate basic constitutional principles, say attorneys at The Norton Law Firm.

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