Public Policy

  • October 29, 2024

    ByteDance's Sanctions Bid Against Ex-Worker Delays Trial

    A California federal judge delayed a trial in a wrongful termination lawsuit filed by an engineer formerly at TikTok's parent company ByteDance, directing the parties on Tuesday to instead submit briefing on the defendants' motion to terminate the case as a sanction for the plaintiff's alleged destruction of evidence and perjury.

  • October 29, 2024

    Merger Guides In Fashion As Court Pauses Handbag Deal

    The Federal Trade Commission scored a major win last week with a court order pausing the planned $8.5 billion merger between the owners of Coach and Michael Kors, but the ruling stopped short of fully embracing enforcers' recent attempts to influence merger law.

  • October 29, 2024

    Fla. Health Agency's All-Out Battle Against Abortion Measure

    Florida's health agencies are testing the limits of their power — and generating plenty of controversy in and outside of court — for their role in an aggressive effort to defeat a ballot measure that would enshrine abortion rights in the state constitution.

  • October 29, 2024

    US Finalizes Investment Ban On Chinese Emerging Tech

    The Biden administration finalized plans to ban U.S. investors from funding emerging Chinese technology, saying the restrictions are necessary to prevent Beijing from advancing technologies critical to its military modernization campaign. 

  • October 29, 2024

    Epic Urges 9th Circ. Not To Pause Google Play Store Fixes

    Epic Games Inc. has fired back against Google's request the Ninth Circuit issue an emergency stay pausing a lower court's antitrust injunction that would require Google to open up its Play Store to competing app stores, slamming Google's arguments as "scattershot," misleading and legally unfounded.

  • October 29, 2024

    Developer Can't Revive COVID-19 App Suit Against Apple

    A California federal judge declined to revive an antitrust suit against Apple for not distributing a COVID-19 tracking app on its app store, saying a Ninth Circuit denial of the app maker's appeal after the case was dismissed in district court "is the law" of the case.

  • October 29, 2024

    NJ Researcher Wants DNA Test On Lindbergh Baby Evidence

    A New Jersey woman pleaded with a state appellate panel on Tuesday to allow her to test evidence in the 1932 kidnapping and murder of the toddler son of aviator Charles Lindbergh, contending that new technology can determine whether anyone besides the man put to death for the crime was involved.

  • October 29, 2024

    Lawmakers Want Update On Copyright Office's AI Reports

    The U.S. Copyright Office is late in submitting reports on the intersection of artificial intelligence and copyright law, according to a recent letter from leadership on the House committee with jurisdiction over the matter.

  • October 29, 2024

    Ex-ComEd GC Calls Madigan's Interest In Law Firm 'Strange'

    A Jenner & Block LLP attorney and former Commonwealth Edison general counsel testified Tuesday that he found it "strange" to read ex-Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan was interested in the granular details of the utility's negotiations with Chicago law firm Reyes Kurson. Madigan's counsel, however, appeared to suggest a confidant and co-defendant had name-dropped the speaker in 2016 without actually talking to him. 

  • October 29, 2024

    Philly Cops Lose Free Speech Suit Over Facebook Posts

    A group of active and former Philadelphia Police Department officers disciplined for inflammatory Facebook activity have lost their First Amendment lawsuit against the city, with a Pennsylvania federal judge ruling Tuesday that the city had the right to terminate officers for making racist, violent and otherwise offensive posts.

  • October 29, 2024

    Republic First Bank Discriminated Before It Failed, NJ Says

    New Jersey authorities said Tuesday that they have concluded that the former Republic First Bank redlined local communities of color in the state in the years before it failed, findings they have taken up with the bank's receiver, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.

  • October 29, 2024

    4th Circ. Quizzes Drugmaker Challenging W.Va. Abortion Law

    An attorney arguing that West Virginia is preempted by federal law from restricting access to an abortion medication faced skeptical questions Tuesday from two judges who suggested it's entirely normal for states to regulate the practice of medicine.

  • October 29, 2024

    6th Circ. Judge Rejects Flint Comparison In Benton Harbor

    A Sixth Circuit judge asked during oral arguments Tuesday if Michigan's government could have done more to monitor the response to lead contamination in a city's water supply, as another judge seemed to doubt that the allegations against the state rose to the level of constitutional violations.

  • October 29, 2024

    Ga. Court Says Apt. Must Face Shooting Death Suit

    The Georgia Court of Appeals affirmed a trial court ruling holding that an apartment complex company's attempt to waive its liability for third-party crimes in a lease agreement with a tenant who was shot and killed is void and unenforceable under Peach State law.

  • October 29, 2024

    Ex-Cleveland Councilman Can't Cut 6-Year Fraud Sentence

    An Ohio federal judge will not allow a former Cleveland city councilman to get out of jail on compassionate release, ruling the ex-politician "has never demonstrated any remorse for his criminal conduct" and should serve the remainder of his six-year fraud sentence.

  • October 29, 2024

    NBCU Wants Trump's Immunity Arguments Broadcast

    NBCUniversal is asking the D.C. federal court to provide a live feed of the "historic oral argument" over whether Donald Trump is immune from prosecution on charges that he conspired to overturn the results of the 2020 election.

  • October 29, 2024

    ND Riverbed Fight Has Been Festering For 50 Years, Court Told

    A Native American tribe and the U.S. Department of the Interior are asking a federal court to deny a more than yearlong extension request by North Dakota to respond to a bid for a judgment that declares the state has no mineral rights beneath a portion of the Missouri River.

  • October 29, 2024

    Beyond Abortion, 7 Ballot Questions Set To Shape Care

    While reproductive rights have led the healthcare debate this election season, voters across the country will shape state policies on a number of other hot issues, including a Medicaid work requirement and coverage for IVF. Law360 Healthcare Authority looks at seven ballot measures that go beyond abortion.

  • October 29, 2024

    BOEM Holds Gulf Of Maine Wind Lease Sale

    An offshore wind lease sale held Tuesday for the Gulf of Maine saw two provisional winners for four lease areas with the potential to power some 2.3 million homes, according to the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management.

  • October 29, 2024

    FERC Botched Pacific NW Pipeline Approval, 5th Circ. Told

    The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission was wrong to approve a controversial TC Energy Corp. pipeline expansion project in the Pacific Northwest, Washington and Oregon officials and environmental groups told the Fifth Circuit.

  • October 29, 2024

    FCC Denies Another Bid To Shelve Prison Phone Rate Caps

    The Federal Communications Commission has rejected another bid to delay new prison phone rate caps, this time from a company that sought a narrow hold while the FCC weighs its request to reconsider certain limitations on provider revenue.

  • October 29, 2024

    Feds Tell High Court To Deny Va.'s Bid To Revive Voter Purge

    The U.S. Supreme Court must leave in place a court order prohibiting Virginia from removing suspected noncitizens from its voting rolls this close to Election Day, the federal government and advocacy groups argued Tuesday, contending the risk of erroneously stripping eligible voters of their rights outweighs any purported harm to the state.

  • October 29, 2024

    ICE Accused Of Withholding $300M In Nixed Immigrant Bonds

    A New York resident hit the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement with a proposed class action in New York federal court Tuesday, accusing the agency of systemically failing to return more than $300 million in bonds paid to secure the release of immigrants whose detention proceedings were later dismissed.

  • October 29, 2024

    Justice, Challenger Split On Backgrounds For The Bench

    Judge Patrick O'Grady, campaigning for the Michigan Supreme Court, says the current bench is sorely lacking the type of prior judicial experience he would bring. But sitting Justice Kyra Bolden argues the diversity of backgrounds among justices makes the court stronger.

  • October 29, 2024

    Ex-Development Director Asks 4th Circ. For Wage Ruling Redo

    A former development director for a North Carolina city urged the Fourth Circuit to rethink its opinion affirming the city's win on her unpaid overtime claims, saying it's not clear from the record that she was classified as exempt under the Fair Labor Standards Act.

Expert Analysis

  • To Report Or Not To Report Others' Export Control Violations

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    A recent Bureau of Industry and Security enforcement policy change grants cooperation credit to those that report violations of the Export Administration Regulations committed by others, but the benefits of doing so must be weighed against significant drawbacks, including the costs of preparing and submitting a report, says Megan Lew at Cravath.

  • Earned Wage Access Laws Form A Prickly Policy Patchwork

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    Conflicting earned wage access laws across the country, including the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's recently issued rule, mean providers must adopt a proactive compliance approach and adjust business models where needed, say attorneys at Sheppard Mullin.

  • What FDIC Expansion Of Change In Bank Control Could Mean

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    A recent Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. proposal pertaining to the Change in Bank Control Act has the potential to create uncertainty around investments by mutual fund complexes in banking organizations, which represent a stable source of capital for the banking industry, say attorneys at Sullivan & Cromwell.

  • HSR Amendments Intensify Merger Filing Burdens, Data Risk

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    The antitrust agencies' long-awaited changes to premerger notification rules under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act stand to significantly increase the time and cost involved in preparing an initial HSR notification, and will require more proactive attention to data issues, says Andrew Szwez at FTI Technology.

  • Deadline Extension Highlights PFAS Reporting Complexities

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    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's recent extension of reporting and recordkeeping timelines for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances under the Toxic Substances Control Act offers relief to the regulated community, but the unprecedented volume of data required means that businesses must remain diligent in their data collection efforts, say attorneys at Alston & Bird.

  • Can SEC's Consolidated Audit Trail Survive Post-Chevron?

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    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is currently in a showdown at the Eleventh Circuit over its authority to maintain a national market system and require that the industry spend billions to maintain its consolidated audit trail, a case that is further complicated by the Loper Bright decision, says Daniel Hawke at Arnold & Porter.

  • What's Inside Feds' Latest Bank Merger Review Proposals

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    Recent bank merger proposals from a trio of federal agencies highlight the need for banks looking to grow through acquisition to consider several key issues much earlier in the planning process than has historically been necessary, say attorneys at Simpson Thacher.

  • State Of The States' AI Legal Ethics Landscape

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    Over the past year, several state bar associations, as well as the American Bar Association, have released guidance on the ethical use of artificial intelligence in legal practice, all of which share overarching themes and some nuanced differences, say Eric Pacifici and Kevin Henderson at SMB Law Group.

  • Cos. Should Focus On State AI Laws Despite New DOL Site

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    Because a new U.S. Department of Labor-sponsored website about the disability discrimination risks of AI hiring tools mostly echoes old guidance, employers should focus on complying with the state and local AI workplace laws springing up where Congress and federal regulators have yet to act, say attorneys at Littler.

  • How Biden Admin Has Used Antitrust Tools, And What's Next

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    The last four years have been marked by an aggressive whole-of-government approach to antitrust enforcement using a broad range of tools, and may result in lasting change regardless of the upcoming presidential election result, say attorneys at Norton Rose.

  • Cos. Face Increasing Risk From Environmental Citizen Suits

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    Environmental citizen suits stepping in to fill the regulatory vacuum concerning consumer goods waste may soon become more common, and the evolving procedural landscape and changes to environmental law may contribute to companies' increased exposure, say J. Michael Showalter and Bradley Rochlen at ArentFox Schiff.

  • How BIS' Rule Seeks To Encourage More Voluntary Disclosure

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    Updated incentives, penalties and enforcement resources in the Bureau of Industry and Security's recently published final rule revising the Export Administration Regulations should help companies decide how to implement export control compliance programs and whether to disclose possible violations, say attorneys at Freshfields.

  • Series

    Florida Banking Brief: All The Notable Legal Updates In Q3

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    With the implementation of H.B. 989, the third quarter of 2024 has been transformative for banking law and regulation in Florida, and this new law places a strong emphasis on fair access to banking, and prohibits ideologically or politically motivated decisions by financial institutions, says Sha’Ron James at Gunster.

  • 8 Childhood Lessons That Can Help You Be A Better Attorney

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    A new school year is underway, marking a fitting time for attorneys to reflect on some fundamental life lessons from early childhood that offer a framework for problems that no legal textbook can solve, say Chris Gismondi and Chris Campbell at DLA Piper.

  • Navigating Complex Regulatory Terrain Amid State AG Races

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    This year's 10 attorney general elections could usher in a wave of new enforcement priorities and regulatory uncertainty, but companies can stay ahead of the shifts by building strong relationships with AG offices, participating in industry coalitions and more, say Ketan Bhirud and Dustin McDaniel at Cozen O’Connor.

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