Public Policy

  • October 25, 2024

    Feds Fight New Claim In Suit Over Dredged-Waste Disposal

    The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has urged an Illinois federal judge to throw out the latest claim from an environmental coalition and a community group in litigation challenging the agency's continued use of a disposal facility for dredged material on Lake Michigan's shoreline, saying the claim was tacked on too late.

  • October 25, 2024

    'NJWeedman' Claims Harassment For Using 'Batman' Signal

    A New Jersey cannabis advocate known as "NJWeedman" has launched a federal lawsuit against the mayor of Trenton, accusing him of unlawful retaliation after he projected a "Batman-like signal image" criticizing the municipal government on the side of City Hall.

  • October 25, 2024

    Biden Admin Puts Up $4B For Clean Energy, Grid Projects

    The Biden administration on Friday said it's handing out approximately $4 billion in combined grants and loans for clean energy purchases and grid upgrades for a slew of states, tribes and electricity co-operatives.

  • October 25, 2024

    Conn. Town Fights Lawmaker's Suit Over Assault Response

    The city of Hartford, Connecticut, and its police department asked a federal judge to throw out a Constitution State lawmaker's suit alleging that they "discounted" her reports of sexual assault and then provided misleading information to news outlets after the incident, arguing Friday that the suit fails to state a claim.

  • October 25, 2024

    High Court Bar's Future: Mitchell Law's Jonathan F. Mitchell

    The pantheon of U.S. solicitors general doesn't include many lawyers who've openly challenged the U.S. Supreme Court's authority or sought to undermine its landmark precedents. But there aren't many lawyers like Jonathan F. Mitchell, a crusading conservative who rescued former President Donald Trump's reelection run — and in the process positioned himself to become the government's top oral advocate.

  • October 25, 2024

    AI Researchers Lose Bid For DMCA Anti-Hacking Carveout

    Researchers who want to look into whether generative artificial intelligence was producing content that was discriminatory or explicit won't be exempt from a provision of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act that bars circumventing digital locks on copyrighted material, according to a new rule.

  • October 25, 2024

    FDA Says Tattoo Ink Makers Should Keep It Clean

    After receiving reports of tainted ink causing people to fall ill after getting tattoos, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is telling pigment makers and distributors they "should" update their cleaning processes.

  • October 25, 2024

    DC Circ. Won't Block EPA Emissions Rule For Steel Plants

    A split D.C. Circuit panel has denied bids by U.S. Steel Corp. and Cardinal-Cliffs Inc. to hit pause on a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency rule setting emission standards for integrated iron and steel manufacturing facilities.

  • October 25, 2024

    Hawkins Delafield Career Atty Moves To Nixon Peabody In SF

    Nixon Peabody LLP hired a Hawkins Delafield & Wood LLP partner who has spent his entire legal career with that firm working on public finance tax matters and a range of other tax-related matters, the firm has announced.

  • October 25, 2024

    Pa. House Advances State Bill To Protect Crypto Payments

    Pennsylvania's House of Representatives advanced a bill that would codify businesses' and individuals' ability to accept digital assets as payment, maintain personal control over their digital assets and protect them from additional taxes when paying in crypto.

  • October 25, 2024

    Election Records Law Needs Update, Mich. Justice Says

    The Michigan Supreme Court declined on Friday to revive criminal charges against an election worker who downloaded a copy of a voter list onto a personal thumb drive, prompting one justice to argue the law he was cleared of violating is out of touch in the digital age.  

  • October 25, 2024

    Pharmacy Must Pay $39.2M In Conn. Kickback Case

    A defunct compounding pharmacy must pay $39.2 million in damages and penalties for its role in a kickback scheme that made illegal payments to Connecticut state employees and retirees, a state court judge ruled Friday while letting the company's proprietor off the hook.

  • October 25, 2024

    Maritime Unions Tell EPA To Reject Calif. Workboat Rule

    Three maritime labor unions and a tugboat trade association called on U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Michael Regan to deny California's request for a Clean Air Act waiver to enforce its rule mandating the installation of diesel particulate filter technology on workboats.

  • October 25, 2024

    NY Won't Alter Date For Mascot Ban, Court Told

    The New York Board of Regents won't postpone a deadline for the state's public schools to get rid of any Indigenous names, mascots and logos, it told a federal district court in a challenge by three school districts over the ban.

  • October 25, 2024

    FCC Didn't Play Favorites For Soros In Audacy Deal, GOP Told

    The Federal Communications Commission's approval of radio station chain Audacy's recent ownership change mirrored the way it handled similar media deals in past years, the FCC's chief told critics alleging it fast-tracked the Audacy plan to benefit Democratic donor George Soros.

  • October 25, 2024

    GOP Groups Look To Speed Up Ga. Poll Worker Suit

    A trio of county, state and national Republican parties asked a Fulton County, Georgia, judge Thursday to pick up the pace on a suit alleging that the county's elections director has denied their efforts to place poll workers for the November election, arguing the emergency litigation needs to be heard before Nov. 5.

  • October 25, 2024

    Woman Accused Of Threatening To Kill Judge Kacsmaryk

    Prosecutors have indicted a woman who allegedly threatened death on a Texas federal judge a week after he blocked federal approval of the abortion drug mifepristone, saying the woman sent communications promising murder and assault around April 2023, according to an unsealed indictment.

  • October 25, 2024

    Ga. Court Admin Says Retaliation Suit Must Go Ahead In Full

    A former Georgia municipal court administrator who said she was forced out of her position after reporting corruption by a city council member has asked a federal judge to preserve her suit in full, arguing a federal magistrate misapplied a sexual harassment standard to what was better characterized as retaliation claims.

  • October 25, 2024

    Trump Co-Defendants Stuck In Ga. State Court, 11th Circ. Says

    The Eleventh Circuit on Thursday rejected attempts from four co-defendants of former President Donald Trump to have their Georgia election interference cases moved from state to federal court.

  • October 25, 2024

    Congress Urged To Further Inspect FBI's Kavanaugh Probe

    More than 50 civil rights groups have called on members of the U.S. Congress to further investigate the Trump White House's role in restricting the FBI's investigation into sexual misconduct allegations lodged against U.S. Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh during his 2018 confirmation process.

  • October 25, 2024

    IRS Agents To Appeal Exclusion From Biden Tax Privacy Case

    The IRS agents accused of improperly revealing Hunter Biden's tax return information in his privacy lawsuit against the U.S. government told a D.C. federal court Friday that they're planning to challenge a decision preventing them from personally intervening in the case.

  • October 25, 2024

    NCAA Creating Cloudy Future As It Clings To Control

    Experts speaking at a symposium from Temple University's Beasley School of Law in Philadelphia drove home the point that the NCAA's multibillion-dollar court settlement providing damages and revenue to past and future college athletes falls far short of settling the remaining challenges to its control of college sports.

  • October 25, 2024

    Adams Rips Feds, Calling Explanation For Leaks 'Far-Fetched'

    Attorneys for New York City Mayor Eric Adams on Friday renewed their claims that the prosecutors handling his bribery and corruption case leaked secret grand jury information to the press, arguing that the alternative explanation that either Adams or his co-defendants made the leaks was a "far-fetched claim."

  • October 25, 2024

    Ore. Church Rightly Denied Property Tax Break, Court Says

    An Oregon religious organization was correctly denied a property tax exemption after its lease to another tax-exempt organization ended and it failed to reapply for the break before a statutory deadline, the state's tax court ruled.

  • October 25, 2024

    EEOC Gets $110K Default Win In Fired Atty's Retaliation Suit

    A government contractor has been ordered to pay its former attorney more than $110,000 in back pay, interest and compensatory damages after a Maryland federal judge found the contractor's CEO retaliated against the lawyer after she turned down his sexual advances.

Expert Analysis

  • Vertex Suit Highlights Issues For Pharma Fertility Support

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    Vertex Pharmaceuticals' recent lawsuit challenging the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' interpretation of the Anti-Kickback Statute is influenced by a number of reproductive rights and health equity issues that the Office of Inspector General should address more concretely, including in vitro fertilization and fertility preservation programs, says Mary Kohler at Kohler Health Law.

  • Expect More Restaurant Ch. 11s As COVID Debt Comes Due

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    The wave of restaurant bankruptcies is likely to continue in the coming months as companies face the looming repayment of COVID-19 pandemic-era government loans, an uncertain economy and increased interest rates, says Isaac Marcushamer at DGIM Law.

  • Calif. Bill, NTIA Report Illustrate Open-Model AI Safety Debate

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    The National Telecommunications and Information Administration’s balanced recommendations for preventing misuse of open artificial intelligence models, contrasted with a more aggressive California bill, demonstrate an evolving regulatory debate about balancing democratic access to this powerful new technology against potential risks to the public, say Stuart Meyer and Fredrick Tsang at Fenwick.

  • Commerce Proposal Could Ease Trade Remedy Administration

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    Recently proposed international trade enforcement regulations could help the U.S. Department of Commerce more easily administer antidumping and countervailing duty remedies, in turn maximizing relief to American companies adversely affected by unfair trade, says Natan Tubman at Buchanan Ingersoll.

  • What To Know About Ill. Employment Law Changes

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    Illinois employers should review their policies in light of a number of recent changes to state employment law, including amendments to the state’s Human Rights Act and modifications to the Day and Temporary Labor Services Act, say attorneys at Kilpatrick.

  • Complying With FTC's Final Rule On Sham Online Reviews

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    The Federal Trade Commission's final rule on deceptive acts and practices in online reviews and testimonials is effective Oct. 21, and some practice tips can help businesses avert noncompliance risks, say Airina Rodrigues and Jonathan Sandler at Brownstein Hyatt.

  • 7 Takeaways For Investment Advisers From FinCEN AML Rule

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    With a new FinCEN rule that will require covered investment advisers to implement anti-money laundering programs and comply with extra recordkeeping requirements by 2026, companies should begin planning necessary updates to their policies and procedures by focusing on seven of the rule’s key requirements, identified by attorneys at Simpson Thacher.

  • What VC Fund Settlement Means For DEI Grant Programs

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    An unexpected settlement in American Alliance for Equal Rights v. Fearless Fund, based on specific details of an Atlanta venture capital fund's challenged minority grant program, leaves the legal landscape wide open for organizations with similar programs supporting diversity, equity and inclusion to chart a path forward, say attorneys at Moore & Van Allen.

  • Opinion

    A Fuzzy Label With Bite: FTC Must Define Surveillance Pricing

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    The Federal Trade Commission recently issued orders to eight companies — including Mastercard, McKinsey and Chase — seeking information on "surveillance pricing," but the order doesn't explain the term or make the distinction between legal and illegal practices, leaving any company that uses personalized pricing in the dark, says Chris Wlach at Huge.

  • Opinion

    CMS' New 'Breakthrough' Device Policy Shows Little Promise

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    The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ recent procedural notice outlining a new Medicare coverage pathway for breakthrough medical devices will, at best, be a failed experiment and, at worst, result in Medicare beneficiaries denied access to innovative treatments, say attorneys at King & Spalding.

  • Missouri Injunction A Setback For State Anti-ESG Rules

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    A Missouri federal court’s recent order enjoining the state’s anti-ESG rules comes amid actions by state legislatures to revise or invalidate similar legislation imposing disclosure and consent requirements around environmental, social and governance investing, and could be a blueprint for future challenges, say attorneys at Paul Hastings.

  • An Overview Of New Export Controls On Advanced Tech

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    With a new rule that took effect this month, the U.S. Department of Commerce's Bureau of Industry and Security continues to expand export controls on advanced technologies, including semiconductor, additive manufacturing and quantum computing, in coordination with international partners, say attorneys at Arnold & Porter.

  • Nuclear Waste Storage Questions Justices May Soon Address

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    The petition for the U.S. Supreme Court to review U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission v. Texas stands out for a number of reasons — including a deepening circuit split regarding the NRC's nuclear waste storage authority under the Atomic Energy Act, and broader administrative law implications, say attorneys at MoloLamken.

  • How States Are Approaching AI Workplace Discrimination

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    As legislators across the U.S. have begun addressing algorithmic discrimination in the workplace, attorneys at Reed Smith provide an overview of the status, applicability and provisions of 13 state and local bills.

  • SBA Proposal Materially Alters Contractor Recertification

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    The Small Business Administration's new proposed rule on recertification affects eligibility for set-aside contracts, significantly alters the landscape for mergers and acquisitions in the government contracts industry, and could have other unintended downstream consequences, says Sam Finnerty at PilieroMazza.

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