Public Policy

  • October 31, 2024

    Masimo Sues Ex-CEO Over 'Unprecedented' $450M Demand

    Masimo Corp. has sued its founder in Delaware Chancery Court, seeking a declaration that a $450 million payout triggered in part by the founder's loss of control or his ouster as CEO and chairman is unenforceable, saying the amount is "unprecedented" and shouldn't be paid by shareholders who were simply exercising their voting rights.

  • October 31, 2024

    Ex-Conn. Utility Execs Must Report To Prison, Judge Orders

    The former CEO of the Connecticut Municipal Electric Energy Cooperative and two ex-board members must report to prison by Dec. 4, a federal judge has ordered, after the Second Circuit upheld their convictions over their roles in the theft of hundreds of thousands of dollars.

  • October 31, 2024

    Madigan Ally Set Up Work For Speaker's Fired Aide, Jury Told

    An ex-lobbyist on trial alongside former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan made arrangements for a political operative that Madigan fired to receive monthly payments while he was unemployed, suggesting he enter into contracts with loyal lobbyists and write up reports on legislators "in case the IRS checks this out," a federal jury heard Thursday.

  • October 31, 2024

    Beverly Hills Agrees To Abortion-Rights Training In Settlement

    The city of Beverly Hills will develop training materials and take other steps to comply with California's reproductive health laws, as part of a stipulated judgment resolving the state's allegations that it illegally pressured an abortion clinic to stay out of the city, the parties announced Thursday.

  • October 31, 2024

    Judge Says White Worker's Seattle DEI Suit Lacks 'Specifics'

    A Washington federal judge hinted Thursday a former municipal employee's suit claiming Seattle's workplace diversity training discriminated against him as a white man might not have enough detail to survive, as the city's attorneys accused the plaintiff of trying to dismantle its racial justice initiative.

  • October 31, 2024

    Erie County Grappling With Missing, Mismatched Mail Ballots

    Election officials in Erie County, Pennsylvania, may open satellite offices and offer extended hours in the final days before the election to deal with an anticipated influx of voters who never got the mail-in ballots they requested or got someone else's ballot, a problem the county blamed on an Ohio-based vendor and the vendor pinned on the post office.

  • October 31, 2024

    Chicago Cubs To Boost Wheelchair Access To End DOJ Probe

    The Chicago Cubs and the U.S. government told an Illinois federal judge Thursday they have entered into a consent decree that will bring more accessible seating to Wrigley Field, ending litigation over claims that the ball field's $575 million renovation gave the worst seats to wheelchair users.

  • October 31, 2024

    Valero To Pay 'Historic' $82M Fine For Bay Area Air Pollution

    Valero Refining Co. will pay a record $82 million penalty to settle claims that it failed to report cancer-causing emissions from its Northern California petroleum refinery for nearly two decades, state and Bay Area air pollution regulators announced Thursday, saying nearly all of the fine will fund local community projects.

  • October 31, 2024

    Copyright Office Says Rest Of AI Report To Come By Year End

    The U.S. Copyright Office plans to submit the remainder of a report on the intersection of artificial intelligence and copyright law by the end of the year, the office told House lawmakers who expressed concern over what they said were late submissions.

  • October 31, 2024

    FCC's Senior Republican Blasts Bulk-Billing Restrictions

    One-half of the Federal Communicatiions Commission's Republican minority is coming out strong against the majority's plans to restrict bulk billing for broadband services, saying that the commission was under pressure by the Biden administration to "raise the price of Internet service for Americans living in apartments by as much as 50%."

  • October 31, 2024

    Enviros Call On EPA To Address Petcoke Plant Water Pollution

    A dozen environmental groups filed a petition Thursday demanding the EPA implement national water pollution standards for petroleum coke processing plants, which they said have slipped through the Clean Water Act's protections.

  • October 31, 2024

    Judge Trims Retaliation Suit Against Miami After Settlement

    A Florida federal judge on Thursday trimmed a suit brought by two businessmen accusing top-level Miami officials of weaponizing city resources against them after the city agreed to settle related claims in a similar lawsuit.

  • October 31, 2024

    Texas Says It Has Right To Stop Drivers Transporting Migrants

    The state of Texas told an El Paso federal judge that an executive order allowing officers to pull over drivers suspected of transporting unauthorized migrants is within the state's authority and doesn't conflict with federal law.  

  • October 31, 2024

    Exxon Entitled To Interest Deduction On Qatar Deal

    Exxon Mobil is entitled to an interest expense deduction on payments to Qatar under a natural gas deal, a Texas federal judge ruled, rejecting the U.S. government's classification of an underlying transaction as a royalty rather than a loan.

  • October 31, 2024

    Philly DA's Suit Over Musk's $1M Voter 'Lottery' Goes Federal

    A Pennsylvania federal judge is set to decide whether Elon Musk's $1 million daily giveaway to battleground state voters who sign a pledge from his PAC is an illegal lottery, as Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner claimed in a suit transferred to federal court on Thursday.

  • October 31, 2024

    Oversight GOP Reps. Take Big Swing At FTC Chair

    House Republicans on Thursday accused Federal Trade Commission Chair Lina Khan of becoming a "political tool" of the Biden administration, which they say has undermined the independent nature of the agency.

  • October 31, 2024

    FERC Unlawfully Rewrote Grid Hookup Policy, DC Circ. Told

    The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's revised policy on hooking up new power projects to the grid unlawfully imposes a punitive, one-size-fits-all system on transmission owners, regional grid operators and transmission companies told the D.C. Circuit Wednesday.

  • October 31, 2024

    Airbnb Insurance Providers Sued Over Undisclosed Fees

    A proposed class of Airbnb users sued two insurers for the rental platform in Washington federal court, alleging the providers violate state law by charging consumers who buy their travel insurance with an unavoidable "assistance fee."

  • October 31, 2024

    Ga. Election Worker Ties Firing To Accessible Voting Concerns

    White County, Georgia, was sued Thursday in federal court by a former elections supervisor, who alleged he was fired for repeatedly raising concerns that local polling locations weren't compliant with state and federal disability accessibility laws and regulations.

  • October 31, 2024

    Suit Against Indicted NJ Power Broker Sent To Biz Court 

    A New Jersey state court on Wednesday granted indicted Garden State power broker George E. Norcross III's request to transfer the civil racketeering suit brought against him and his attorney brother by a Philadelphia developer to the state's complex business litigation program.

  • October 31, 2024

    Pro Services Contract Nixes NJ Public Defender's Pension

    A New Jersey appellate court backed the Public Employees' Retirement System board's finding that a former municipal public defender is ineligible to receive pension benefits from 2008 onward, ruling that there was enough evidence to show the attorney's services were procured through a professional services contract.

  • October 31, 2024

    EU Expected To Close Final Digital VAT Deal Next Week

    The European Union is close to a final deal on its plan to bring the bloc's value-added tax rules more in line with the digital economy after representatives reached an agreement in principle, the Hungarian presidency of the Council of the EU confirmed Thursday.

  • October 31, 2024

    SBA Cries Foul On Globetrotters' $10M COVID Grant Suit

    The U.S. Small Business Administration has defended its denial of a $10 million COVID-19 relief grant to the Harlem Globetrotters, telling a D.C. federal judge that it had no legal obligation to hand over the money to the basketball entertainment organization.

  • October 31, 2024

    The 2024 Law360 Pulse Leaderboard

    Check out the Law360 Pulse Leaderboard to see which firms made the list of leaders in all-around excellence this year.

  • October 31, 2024

    Firms' Hiring Strategies Are Evolving In Fight For Top Spot

    Competition for top talent among elite law firms shows no signs of slowing down, even amid economic uncertainty, with financially strong firms deploying aggressive strategies to attract and retain skilled professionals to solidify their market position.

Expert Analysis

  • Opinion

    Tariffs' Economic Downsides Outweigh Potential Revenue

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    Import tariffs proposed by the campaign of former president Donald Trump would generate revenue like other taxes, but policymakers must consider the net-negative impact of associated consumer and downstream-industry costs, harm to exporters, potential foreign retaliation and reduction in economic output, says Erica York at the Tax Foundation.

  • Comments Show Need For Clarity On SBA Proposed Rule

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    The recent public comments period for the Small Business Administration's proposed rule on recertification and other regulations underscores the need for more precision, particularly on agreements in principle, which the SBA should address as it moves forward with this rulemaking, say attorneys at Covington.

  • Series

    Beekeeping Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    The practice of patent law and beekeeping are not typically associated, but taking care of honeybees has enriched my legal practice by highlighting the importance of hands-on experience, continuous learning, mentorship and more, says David Longo at Oblon McClelland.

  • Amazon Holiday Pay Case Underscores Overtime Challenges

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    The recent Hamilton v. Amazon.com Services LLC decision in the Colorado Supreme Court underscores why employers must always consult applicable state law and regulations — in addition to federal law — when determining how to properly pay employees who work more than 40 hours in a workweek, says James Looby at Vedder Price.

  • Understanding New ACH Network Anti-Fraud Rules

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    Many of the National Automated Clearing House Association’s recent amendments to ACH network risk management rules went into effect this month, so financial institutions and corporations must review and update their internal policies as needed, says Aisha Hall at Taft.

  • The OIG Report: Bad Timing For FEC To Be Underresourced

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    With less than two weeks to the election, the Federal Election Commission’s job has never been more urgent, but a report from its Office of the Inspector General earlier this year found that the agency is facing a resource squeeze that will only get worse without corrective action, says Diana Shaw at Wiley.

  • What To Know About New Employment Laws In Fla.

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    Florida employers should familiarize themselves with recent state laws, and also federal legislation, on retirement benefits, teen labor and heat exposure, with special attention to prohibitions against minors performing dangerous tasks, as outlined in the Fair Labor Standards Act, say Katie Molloy and Cayla Page at Greenberg Traurig.

  • The Key To Solving High Drug Costs Is Understanding Causes

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    One-sided views on who or what contributes to the high cost of pharmaceuticals render possible solutions much harder to discover and implement, and a better approach would be to examine history and learn why costs have increased and what legislation has and hasn't helped, says Nancy Linck at NJ Linck Consulting.

  • Election Unlikely To Overhaul Antitrust Enforcers' Labor Focus

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    Although the outcome of the presidential election may alter the course of antitrust enforcement in certain areas of the economy, scrutiny of labor markets by the Federal Trade Commission and the U.S. Department of Justice is likely to remain largely unaffected — with one notable exception, say Jared Nagley and Joy Siu at Sheppard Mullin.

  • How Immigration Attys Should Prep For A 2nd Trump Term

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    In light of the possibility of a drastic policy shift under a second Trump administration, immigration lawyers must review what Trump did during his first term, assess who would be most affected if those policies return and develop legal strategies to safeguard their clients' interests, says Adam Moses at Harris Beach.

  • Anticipating Jarkesy's Effect On Bank Agency Enforcement

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    Following the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission v. Jarkesy, federal courts may eventually issue decisions on banking law principles and processes that could fundamentally alter the agencies' enforcement action framework, and the relationship between banks and examiners, says Brendan Clegg at Luse Gorman.

  • CFTC Anti-Fraud Blitz Is A Warning To Carbon Credit Sellers

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    With its recent enforcement actions against a carbon offset project developer and its senior executives for reporting false information about the energy savings of the company's projects, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission is staking out its position as a primary regulator in the voluntary carbon credit market, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • Unpacking State AG Approaches To Digital Asset Enforcement

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    Attorneys at Cozen O'Connor survey recent digital asset enforcement by attorneys general nationwide driven by concerns over regulatory gaps where technological developments and market changes have outpaced legislation.

  • Opinion

    Legal Institutions Must Warn Against Phony Election Suits

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    With two weeks until the election, bar associations and courts have an urgent responsibility to warn lawyers about the consequences of filing unsubstantiated lawsuits claiming election fraud, says Elise Bean at the Carl Levin Center for Oversight and Democracy.

  • Peeling Back The Layers Of SEC's Equity Trading Reforms

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    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's recently adopted amendments lowering the tick sizes for stock trading and reducing access fee caps will benefit investors and necessitate broad systems changes — if they can first survive judicial challenges, say attorneys at Sidley.

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