Public Policy

  • August 07, 2024

    CFPB Backs Homeowners In Nationstar Mortgage Fee Suit

    The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau asked a Washington federal court to allow it to file a brief in support of a proposed class action accusing Nationstar Mortgage of illegally charging fees whenever homeowners request payoff statements for their loans.

  • August 07, 2024

    FERC Defends Rejection Of Grid Operator's Project Cost Plan

    The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission is asking the D.C. Circuit to deny two electricity cooperatives' petitions challenging its decision to reject a Southwest Power Pool plan to regionally allocate the costs of some transmission projects within the grid operator's 14-state footprint.

  • August 07, 2024

    Quinn, Jenner Attys Tapped For Trump Shooting Inquiry

    The Republican staff on the newly formed bipartisan task force to investigate the assassination attempt of former President Donald Trump includes Capitol Hill and legal veterans, among them attorneys from Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP and Jenner & Block LLP.

  • August 07, 2024

    Missouri Voters Reject Exemption For Child Care Facilities

    Missouri will not allow local governments to exempt child care facilities from property tax after a constitutional amendment was rejected by voters Wednesday. 

  • August 07, 2024

    Pennsylvania Legislation Passed In 2024: A Midyear Report

    Despite a divided legislature in Pennsylvania — the parties have been trading a narrow majority in the House of Representatives and Republicans compose most of the state Senate — lawmakers have managed to send dozens of bills to Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro's desk in the first half of 2024, including tighter controls on a veterinary drug showing up in heroin, changes to business registrations with the state, and adding arbitration to the tools for family courts.

  • August 07, 2024

    Singapore's Carbon Tax Is Revenue-Neutral, Minister Says

    Singapore's carbon tax is expected to have a neutral impact on tax revenues over the next decade, even after accounting for a recent hike in the rate to SG$25 ($18.81) per metric ton of emissions, the country's environment minister said.

  • August 06, 2024

    Ex-US Atty, Mayor Poised To Face Off In Wash. AG Race

    Seattle's former U.S. attorney and an Eastern Washington mayor who's also a gun rights advocate were leading the statewide primary Tuesday night to become the state's next attorney general.

  • August 06, 2024

    Seattle Atty, Judge Lead Contested Wash. State Justice Race

    A Seattle attorney and a municipal judge were leading late Tuesday in a four-way primary race for a contested seat on the Washington State Supreme Court.

  • August 06, 2024

    From Vets To Labor: The Policies VP Pick Walz Has Backed

    Democratic U.S. presidential nominee Kamala Harris' pick of Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz to be her running mate pairs her with a state leader and former lawmaker who has advocated for veterans' rights and public education while also championing a more progressive agenda, from cannabis legalization to abortion care access to stronger union rights.

  • August 06, 2024

    Microsoft's Dechert Attys Slam Delta On Outage Suit Threat

    Microsoft's attorneys at Dechert LLP fired back Tuesday at Delta Air Lines' recent threat to pursue litigation to recoup hundreds of millions in losses from last month's global CrowdStrike outage, saying the airline repeatedly refused Microsoft's offer for technical assistance.

  • August 06, 2024

    Enviro Groups Seek Penalties For Suncor Refinery Pollution

    Environmental justice groups sued Suncor Energy USA Inc. on Tuesday seeking civil penalties on behalf of people exposed to air pollution near an oil refinery, contending that federal and state regulators have failed to stop the company's ongoing Clean Air Act violations.

  • August 06, 2024

    NTSB Door Plug Hearing Spotlights Boeing Production Gaps

    Boeing still hasn't pinpointed who removed and reinstalled the door plug that subsequently blew off a 737 Max 9 jet operated by Alaska Airlines in January, as the National Transportation Safety Board on Tuesday examined what employees described as disjointed protocols and high-pressure production lines.

  • August 06, 2024

    Fed. Circ. Told Edwards Filed Safe Harbor Suit With Bad Intent

    The Federal Circuit rightfully held Meril Life Sciences was protected by a patent safe harbor when bringing its preapproval transcatheter heart valve system to an industry conference and that Edwards Lifesciences' attempts to prove otherwise are just delay tactics, Meril told the full court.

  • August 06, 2024

    Ohio Judge Upholds Law Limiting Gender Care, Sports Access

    An Ohio judge on Tuesday allowed the state to begin enforcing a law that restricts gender-affirming care for minors and bans transgender girls' participation in female sports, siding with the state and determining that the law is a legitimate attempt to protect children.

  • August 06, 2024

    Wash. Again Sues GEO Group Over ICE Detention Inspections

    Washington state's health department has again sued The GEO Group, alleging that the private prison contractor has illegally blocked health officials from entering an ICE facility to investigate a rash of suicide attempts and hundreds of reports of unhealthy conditions.

  • August 06, 2024

    New Bill Would Create 400K-Acre National Monument In Ariz.

    A bill introduced by a ranking member of the House natural resources committee looks to protect 400,000 acres in southern Arizona while declaring the site with ties to at least 13 federally recognized tribes a national monument.

  • August 06, 2024

    EPA Seeks DC Circ. Remand Of Good Neighbor Plan

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency asked the D.C. Circuit to let it take a second look at its plan to reduce smog-forming emissions across several states, arguing a remand is necessary to solve issues recently identified by the U.S. Supreme Court.

  • August 06, 2024

    DC Circ. Says CIA Can No-Admit, No-Deny Gitmo Docs

    The D.C. Circuit ruled Tuesday that the CIA could refuse to confirm the existence of documents related to its control of detainees at Guantánamo Bay, rejecting a military lawyer's arguments that those records were already public knowledge.

  • August 06, 2024

    Colo. Judges Probe Broadcaster's Liability For On-Air Claims

    Colorado appellate judges on Tuesday asked a former executive for Dominion Voting Systems to explain how exactly a radio broadcaster is liable in a defamation suit over on-air statements alleging the former executive was responsible for rigging the 2020 election against former President Donald Trump.

  • August 06, 2024

    NYC Prof Found Guilty Of Acting As A Secret Chinese Spy

    A Brooklyn federal jury on Tuesday unanimously convicted an academic and author of secretly acting as an agent of the Chinese government by feeding information about Chinese dissidents and pro-democracy activists to China's intel service, following a weeklong jury trial, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York.

  • August 06, 2024

    Fox TV Knocks Media Group's Petition Against Philly License

    Fox TV pressed the Federal Communications Commission to reject an advocacy group's bid for a hearing on its Philadelphia station's license over claims it knowingly aired election falsehoods, arguing the petition still lacks merit despite a year of pressure on the agency.

  • August 06, 2024

    Cable Biz Likely To Oppose Cybersecurity Reporting Rules

    Cable providers bristled at federal agencies' plans to impose new requirements aimed at beefing up network security, arguing that rules for reporting cyberattacks within certain time frames and sharing detailed security plans would be overly burdensome.

  • August 06, 2024

    Conn. AG Says Utility Misconstrued Power Plant Cleanup Deal

    The Connecticut Attorney General's Office has told a state court that The United Illuminating Co., now part of Avangrid Inc., raised inapplicable defenses to an environmental cleanup lawsuit by misconstruing an earlier consent decree as a "contract" the government could breach as the utility remediated an abandoned New Haven power plant.

  • August 06, 2024

    EPA Emergency Bans Pesticide Chem Over Risks To Unborn

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said Tuesday it's imposing an emergency ban on all pesticide products that contain a chemical used since the 1950s that it says puts fetuses at risk of thyroid problems and a cascade of other health issues.

  • August 06, 2024

    NC Hospital Gets New Shot At Emergency Dept. Plan Approval

    A state appellate panel on Tuesday unraveled a decision overturning approval for a freestanding emergency department in rural North Carolina, ruling that an administrative law judge misapplied precedent when deciding whether a state agency's failure to hold a public hearing prejudiced the decision-making process. 

Expert Analysis

  • How To Clean Up Your Generative AI-Produced Legal Drafts

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    As law firms increasingly rely on generative artificial intelligence tools to produce legal text, attorneys should be on guard for the overuse of cohesive devices in initial drafts, and consider a few editing pointers to clean up AI’s repetitive and choppy outputs, says Ivy Grey at WordRake.

  • Series

    After Chevron: Opportunities For Change In FHFA Practices

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's overturning of the Chevron doctrine should lead to better cooperation between the Federal Housing Finance Agency and Congress, and may give the FHFA a chance to embrace transparency and innovation and promote sustainable housing practices, says Mehdi Sinaki at Michelman & Robinson.

  • Constitutional Protections For Cannabis Companies Are Hazy

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    Cannabis businesses are subject to federal enforcement and tax, but often without the benefit of constitutional protections — and the entanglement of state and federal law and conflicting judicial opinions are creating confusion in the space, says Amber Lengacher at Purple Circle.

  • Supreme Court's ALJ Ruling Carries Implications Beyond SEC

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    In its recent Jarkesy opinion, the U.S. Supreme Court limited the types of cases that can be tried before the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's in-house administrative law judges, setting the stage for challenges to the constitutionality of ALJs across other agencies, say Robert Robertson and Kimberley Church at Dechert.

  • Opinion

    A Tale Of 2 Trump Cases: The Rule Of Law Is A Live Issue

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    The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision this week in Trump v. U.S., holding that former President Donald Trump has broad immunity from prosecution, undercuts the rule of law, while the former president’s New York hush money conviction vindicates it in eight key ways, says David Postel at Henein Hutchison.

  • USPTO Disclaimer Rule Would Complicate Patent Prosecution

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    The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's proposed changes to terminal disclaimer practice could lead to a patent owner being unable to enforce a valid patent simply because it is indirectly tied to a patent in which a single claim is found anticipated or obvious in view of the prior art, say attorneys at Sterne Kessler.

  • 2nd Circ. ERISA Ruling May Help Fight Unfair Arb. Clauses

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    The Second Circuit recently held that a plaintiff seeking planwide relief under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act cannot be compelled to individual arbitration, a decision that opens the door to new applications of the effective vindication doctrine to defeat onerous and one-sided arbitration clauses, say Raphael Janove and Liana Vitale at Janove.

  • Series

    After Chevron: Various Paths For Labor And Employment Law

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    Labor and employment law leans heavily on federal agency guidance, so the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to toss out Chevron deference will ripple through this area, with future workplace policies possibly taking shape through strategic litigation, informal guidance, state-level regulation and more, says Alexander MacDonald at Littler.

  • Series

    Boxing Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Boxing has influenced my legal work by enabling me to confidently hone the skills I've learned from the sport, like the ability to remain calm under pressure, evaluate an opponent's weaknesses and recognize when to seize an important opportunity, says Kirsten Soto at Clyde & Co.

  • What NYC's Green Fast Track Means For Affordable Housing

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    New York City's Green Fast Track for Housing initiative, which went into effect last month, aims to speed up the environmental review process for modest residential developments and could potentially pave the way for similar initiatives in other cities, say Vivien Krieger and Rachel Scall at Cozen O'Connor.

  • Series

    After Chevron: No Deference, No Difference For SEC Or CFTC

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    The Chevron doctrine did not fundamentally alter the interplay between the courts and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission in the development of the securities and commodities laws — and its demise will not do so either, says Dan Berkovitz at Millennium Management.

  • Opinion

    Industry Self-Regulation Will Shine Post-Chevron

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's Loper decision will shape the contours of industry self-regulation in the years to come, providing opportunities for this often-misunderstood practice, says Eric Reicin at BBB National Programs.

  • Justices' Bribery Ruling: A Corrupt Act Isn't Necessarily Illegal

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    In its Snyder v. U.S. decision last week, the U.S. Supreme Court held that a bribery law does not criminalize gratuities, continuing a trend of narrowing federal anti-corruption laws and scrutinizing public corruption prosecutions that go beyond obvious quid pro quo schemes, say Carrie Cohen and Christine Wong at MoFo.

  • 3 Ways Agencies Will Keep Making Law After Chevron

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    The U.S. Supreme Court clearly thinks it has done something big in overturning the Chevron precedent that had given deference to agencies' statutory interpretations, but regulated parties have to consider how agencies retain significant power to shape the law and its meaning, say attorneys at K&L Gates.

  • Roundup

    After Chevron

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    In the month since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the Chevron deference standard, this Expert Analysis series has featured attorneys discussing the potential impact across 26 different rulemaking and litigation areas.

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