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Public Policy
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September 12, 2024
Ex-Mass. State Sen. Tran Convicted Of Pandemic Aid Fraud
Former Massachusetts State Sen. Dean Tran was convicted Wednesday of fraudulently collecting pandemic unemployment benefits after he was voted out of office and of cheating on his taxes.
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September 12, 2024
House OKs Tightening Restrictions On Tax Credit For EVs
The U.S. House of Representatives voted in favor of a bill Thursday that would place further restrictions on qualifications for a tax credit for new electric vehicles amid concerns that current limits don't do enough to keep the benefits from flowing to foreign adversaries, including China.
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September 12, 2024
NY Top Court Rejects Trump's Latest Challenge To Gag Order
New York's highest court on Thursday rebuffed Donald Trump's latest effort to strike down a gag order in his hush money case, saying the appeal didn't involve a "substantial constitutional question."
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September 12, 2024
CFTC Can't Pause Decision To Allow Election Betting
A D.C. federal judge on Thursday refused to stay a ruling that found the Commodity Futures Trading Commission overstepped its bounds by blocking an online trading platform from allowing users to place bets on the outcome of U.S. congressional elections.
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September 12, 2024
IRS Lacked Way To Track CAMT Comments, TIGTA Finds
The IRS Office of Chief Counsel did not always track comments it received in response to guidance issued on the corporate alternative minimum tax and did not have detailed procedures in place for the pre-rulemaking guidance process, the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration reported Thursday.
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September 12, 2024
Treasury Floats Long-Awaited Rules For Corp. Minimum Tax
Treasury and the IRS released eagerly awaited rules Thursday on the new 15% corporate alternative minimum tax on corporations with reported profits of $1 billion or more, taking a step toward implementing a key provision of President Joe Biden's signature 2022 tax and climate law.
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September 11, 2024
Litigation Spending To Rise As Cases Grow More Aggressive
A substantial number of large companies are expecting to increase their litigation spending by double digits next year in the face of more complex and hard-fought cases — and they are more open to bringing in new legal talent to navigate the matters, according to a report released Thursday.
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September 11, 2024
Utah Social Media Law Blocked Amid 1st Amendment Fight
A Utah federal judge has blocked the state from enforcing a new law requiring social media companies to verify the ages of minor users and impose restrictions on their accounts, saying the state law likely violates tech companies' First Amendment rights.
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September 11, 2024
Atlanta Fed Chief Violated Trading Blackout Rule, OIG Says
The president and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, Raphael Bostic, violated internal rules and policies covering trading during blackout periods, financial disclosures, holding limits, and trading preclearances, but did not trade based on confidential information, according to a report issued by the Fed's internal watchdog.
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September 11, 2024
Top DC Real Estate News From Summer 2024
Catch up on the hottest real estate news out of Washington, D.C., this summer, including shifting office footprints and building conversion incentives.
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September 11, 2024
FTC Fights Pa. Noncompete Ban Challenger's Pause Bid
The Federal Trade Commission on Wednesday urged a Pennsylvania federal judge to reject a tree service company's bid to pause its challenge of the agency's noncompete ban, arguing that another district court's decision to set the ban aside nationwide doesn't justify a stay because the agency is mulling an appeal.
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September 11, 2024
Gender Care Hearing Centers On Ohio Bill Of Rights
Questions about potential conflicts between an Ohio gender care ban and a right to healthcare "freedom" enshrined in the state constitution dominated much of a Wednesday hearing in a state appellate court.
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September 11, 2024
Gov't Spent $236B In Fraud And Improper Payments In 2023
Federal agencies made $236 billion in improper payments in fiscal 2023, a drop of about $11 billion from the prior year, according to a report released Tuesday by the U.S. Government Accountability Office.
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September 11, 2024
Wisconsin Town Urges Court to Block Tribe's Road Barricades
The town of Lac Du Flambeau, Wisconsin, says it will continue suffering irreparable harm when temporary right-of-way permits expire Thursday if a neighboring Native American band again barricades four roadways that cut across tribal land.
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September 11, 2024
Top Calif. Biz Bills Sitting On Gov. Newsom's Desk
Among the hundreds of bills awaiting California Governor Gavin Newsom's signature are a number that would create new guidelines for Golden State employers, healthcare industry players, as well as artificial intelligence labeling, textile recycling and increasing criminal penalties for corporate malfeasance by tens of millions of dollars.
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September 11, 2024
Split 6th Circ. Backs SEC Win In Proxy Adviser Rule Change
A divided Sixth Circuit has upheld the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's decision to partially undo Trump-era rules governing proxy advisers, creating an apparent split with the Fifth Circuit on whether the agency's regulatory actions violated the Administrative Procedure Act.
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September 11, 2024
Watchdog Sues DOD Alleging 'Abbey Gate' FOIA Violations
Nonprofit watchdog Judicial Watch Inc. has asked a D.C. federal court to compel the U.S. Department of Defense to comply with a Freedom of Information Act request pertaining to communications among top officials about the 2021 suicide bombing at Kabul airport in Afghanistan known as "Abbey Gate."
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September 11, 2024
Department Of Homeland Security's Top Lawyer Steps Down
The Department of Homeland Security's top lawyer has resigned from his position in the administration, according to a LinkedIn post.
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September 11, 2024
House Tax Panel OKs Repeal Of $600 Reporting Threshold
The House Ways and Means Committee advanced several bills Wednesday, including one that would repeal a law requiring peer-to-peer payment platforms such as Venmo and PayPal to report aggregate payments of $600 or more.
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September 11, 2024
Mass. Jury Weighs Raft Of Fraud Charges Against Ex-Pol
A Boston federal jury resumed deliberations Wednesday in a criminal case alleging a former Massachusetts state senator lied on his taxes and an application for pandemic unemployment aid, after the ex-politico testified in his own defense.
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September 11, 2024
Rights Groups Urge DHS To Free Immigrants Granted Asylum
Immigrants granted fear-based protection from deportation are often held in detention, contrary to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement guidance, and should be freed, 80 civil rights organizations, legal services groups and law firms said in a Tuesday letter to U.S. Department of Homeland Security officials.
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September 11, 2024
Mastro Bows Out Of NYC Top Atty Nom After Council Hearing
Trial lawyer Randy Mastro is out of the running to serve as New York City's corporation counsel, two weeks after a contentious nomination hearing that called into question, among other things, the King & Spalding LLP attorney's ties to former mayor Rudy Giuliani.
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September 11, 2024
Sidley, Other Attys Get $850K In Fees For Migrant Family Suit
A California federal judge signed off on $850,000 in legal fees for Sidley Austin LLP's and Public Counsel's work advising plaintiffs in a class action that saw the federal government ordered to provide mental health treatment for migrant families separated at the border.
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September 11, 2024
EU Struggles With Setup Of G7 Use Of Frozen Russian Assets
European Union countries are struggling to agree on a legal solution to reassure the U.S. that windfall profits from frozen and immobilized Russian state assets will be used to repay a $50 billion loan to Ukraine over the entire length of the loan.
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September 11, 2024
Star Witness In Bankman-Fried Trial Seeks No Prison Time
Former FTX insider Caroline Ellison urged a Manhattan federal judge not to sentence her to prison for her part in the crypto exchange's massive fraud scheme, citing her remorse and the "devastating" trial testimony she gave against onetime romantic partner and company founder Sam Bankman-Fried.
Expert Analysis
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Opinion
Proposed Terminal Disclaimers Rule Harms Colleges, Startups
Universities and startups are ill-suited to follow the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s recently proposed rule on terminal disclaimers due to their necessity of filing patent applications early prior to contacting outside entities for funds and resources, say attorneys at Sterne Kessler.
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Series
After Chevron: Impact On CFPB May Be Limited
The U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo is likely to have a limited impact on the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's regulatory activities, and for those who value due process, consistency and predictability in consumer financial services regulation, this may be a good thing, says John Coleman at Orrick.
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A Midyear Forecast: Tailwinds Expected For Atty Hourly Rates
Hourly rates for partners, associates and support staff continued to rise in the first half of this year, and this growth shows no signs of slowing for the rest of 2024 and into next year, driven in part by the return of mergers and acquisitions and the widespread adoption of artificial intelligence, says Chuck Chandler at Valeo Partners.
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Series
After Chevron: 7 FERC Takeaways From Loper Bright
Following the U.S. Supreme Court's overturning of the Chevron doctrine, it's likely that the majority of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's orders will not be affected, but the commission has nonetheless lost an important fallback argument and will have to approach rulemaking more cautiously, says Norman Bay at Willkie Farr.
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Opinion
Discount Window Reform Needed To Curb Modern Bank Runs
We learned during the spring 2023 failures that bank runs can happen extraordinarily fast in light of modern technology, especially when banks have a greater concentration of large deposits, demonstrating that the antiquated but effective discount window needs to be overhauled before the next crisis, says Cris Cicala at Stinson.
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Opinion
Cell Tech Patent Holdup Is Stalling Automaker Innovation
Courts and Congress should seek to stem anticompetitive harm caused by standard-essential patent holders squeezing automakers with unfairly high royalties for cellular connectivity technology, says Charles Haake at Alliance for Automotive Innovation.
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Series
After Chevron: USDA Rules May Be Up In The Air
The Supreme Court's end of Chevron deference may cause more lawsuits against U.S. Department of Agriculture regulations, like the one redefining "unfair trade practices" under the Packers and Stockyards Act, or a new policy classifying salmonella as an adulterant in certain poultry products, says Bob Hibbert at Wiley.
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Mitigating Risks Amid 10-Year Sanctions Enforcement Window
In response to recent legislation, which doubles the statute of limitations for actions related to certain U.S. sanctions and provides regulators greater opportunity to investigate possible violations, companies should take specific steps to account for the increased civil and criminal enforcement risk, say attorneys at Freshfields.
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Series
After Chevron: Creating New Hurdles For ESG Rulemaking
The U.S. Supreme Court's Loper Bright decision, limiting court deference to agencies' statutory interpretations, could have significant impacts on the future of ESG regulation, creating new hurdles for agency rulemaking around these emerging issues, and calling into question current administrative actions, says Leah Malone at Simpson Thacher.
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A Timeline Of Antisemitism Legislation And What It Means
What began as hearings in the House of Representatives Committee on Education and the Workforce has expanded to a House-wide effort to combat antisemitism and related issues, with wide-ranging implications for education, finance and nonprofit entities, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.
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California Adds A Novel Twist To State Suits Against Big Oil
California’s suit against Exxon Mobil Corp., one of several state suits that seek to hold oil and gas companies accountable for climate-related harms, is unique both in the magnitude of the alleged claims and its use of a consumer protection statute to seek disgorgement of industry profits, says Julia Stein at UCLA School of Law.
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Criminal Enforcement Considerations For Gov't Contractors
Government contractors increasingly exposed to criminal liability risks should establish programs that enable detection and remediation of employee misconduct, consider voluntary disclosure, and be aware of the potentially disastrous consequences of failing to make a mandatory disclosure where the government concludes it was required, say attorneys at Crowell & Moring.
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Opinion
States Should Loosen Law Firm Ownership Restrictions
Despite growing buzz, normalized nonlawyer ownership of law firms is a distant prospect, so the legal community should focus first on liberalizing state restrictions on attorney and firm purchases of practices, which would bolster succession planning and improve access to justice, says Michael Di Gennaro at The Law Practice Exchange.
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New La. Managing Agent Law May Portend Growing Scrutiny
Recent amendments to Louisiana’s managing general agent regulations impose expansive new obligations on such agents and their insurer partners, which may be a sign of heightened regulatory, commercial and rating agency scrutiny, say attorneys at McDermott.
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Trending At The PTAB: Multiple Petitions In IPRs
Recent Patent Trial and Appeal Board decisions and a proposed rulemaking indicate the board’s intention to continue to take a tougher stance on multiple inter partes review petitions challenging the same patent, presenting key factors for petitioners to consider, like the necessity of parallel filings and serial petitions, say Yinan Liu and Cory Bell at Finnegan.