Public Policy

  • January 03, 2025

    4th Circ. Won't Revive Bias Suit Over SBA Small Biz Program

    A disabled veteran's constitutional challenge to a Small Business Administration contracting program over racial bias concerns must fail because the veteran didn't actually qualify for the program, the Fourth Circuit ruled Friday.

  • January 03, 2025

    Wash. City Fights Order To Keep ER Tribal Shelter Open

    The city of Toppenish, Washington, is asking a federal district court to withdraw an order allowing the Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation to operate a 24-hour emergency shelter, arguing that the criminal nature of regulations governing the facility preclude the tribe's arguments on the present situation.

  • January 03, 2025

    Biden Signs Bill To Stop Convicted Lawmakers' Pensions

    President Joe Biden has signed a law that would close a "loophole" to prevent former members of Congress convicted of certain crimes from receiving pensions during their appeals process.

  • January 03, 2025

    GOP Defends FEC Discretion To Ax Campaign Finance Cases

    The GOP is backing the Federal Election Commission's bid to preserve a line of D.C. Circuit cases barring judges from second-guessing the commission's refusal to take enforcement actions, urging the en banc appeals court to safeguard "the careful, conscious congressional plan for the agency."

  • January 03, 2025

    FCC Republicans Slam Marketplace Report As Falling Short

    Republicans who are set to take control of the Federal Communications Commission blasted an agency report on the state of the communications marketplace, saying it fails to take into account the convergence of various broadband technologies.

  • January 03, 2025

    Split NC Panel Says Video Sweepstakes Games Are Unlawful

    A split North Carolina appellate panel has ruled that a company's video sweepstakes kiosks violate state prohibitions on luck-based gambling and that a lower court should have allowed regulators to take the machines out of service.

  • January 03, 2025

    Calif. Captive Audience Meeting Ban Hit With Legal Challenge

    Two California business groups have filed a lawsuit challenging the state's new ban on so-called captive audience meetings, saying the statute is preempted by federal law and interferes with companies' constitutional rights to express their views on unionization.

  • January 03, 2025

    Treasury Unveils Flexible Final Regs For Hydrogen Tax Credit

    The U.S. Treasury Department released final rules Friday for hydrogen production tax credits that allow fuel produced using nuclear-generated electricity or methane to qualify for the incentive, making the regulations more flexible than what was proposed last year.

  • January 03, 2025

    NY Judge To Sentence Trump Jan. 10 But Says Prison Unlikely

    A New York state judge said Friday he will sentence Donald Trump on Jan. 10 after rejecting his motion to dismiss his hush money conviction in light of his status as president-elect, but suggested a prison term is highly unlikely.

  • January 03, 2025

    FCC Hits Broadband Co. With $56K Fine For Default

    The Federal Communications Commission has ordered an Illinois broadband provider to shell out more than $56,000 for allegedly defaulting on obligations under a federal program to expand high-speed internet service in unserved regions.

  • January 03, 2025

    Conn. Politician's Jail Dates Loom In Ballot Fraud Case

    A Connecticut ex-politician will be allowed to self-surrender for three upcoming weekends behind bars in Rhode Island after he admitted to running a ballot fraud scheme, a federal judge has ruled ahead of the first report-to-jail date, Jan. 10.

  • January 03, 2025

    Ore., Calif. Tribes Can't Stop Casino Project

    A D.C. federal district court judge denied a bid by three tribes to block the U.S. Department of the Interior from issuing a determination that would greenlight a casino project in Oregon, saying the environmental impact statement for the endeavor does not constitute a final agency action.

  • January 03, 2025

    FCC Says Cash On Way Soon For 'Rip And Replace'

    The Federal Communications Commission says the additional $3.08 billion for its "rip and replace" program to get Chinese telecommunications equipment out of the nation's networks is on its way and will soon close a wide gap between what was originally allocated for the program and what telecoms say they need.

  • January 03, 2025

    Menendez Cites 'Good Deeds' In Bid To Avoid Prison

    Former U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez has asked a Manhattan federal judge not to sentence him to prison after he was convicted of bribery and corruption in July, saying a "lifetime of good deeds and good character" and a low likelihood of future offenses merit leniency.

  • January 03, 2025

    Biden Honors Del. Jurist For Role In Brown V. Board Ruling

    President Joe Biden issued a top civilian award, posthumously, to former Chancellor Collins J. Seitz of Delaware Chancery Court, father of the state's current chief justice, for his role in decisions woven into the U.S. Supreme Court's landmark 1954 Brown v. Board of Education ruling.

  • January 03, 2025

    Calif. Panel Says PAGA Suits Always Have Individual Claims

    A delivery worker's individual claims against Target's shipping partner under California's Private Attorneys General Act belong in arbitration, a state appellate panel said, disagreeing with a trial court's decision that her suit only had representative claims.

  • January 02, 2025

    FTC Asks 5th Circ. To Revive Noncompete Ban

    The Federal Trade Commission told the Fifth Circuit on Thursday the agency is authorized to make rules like the one that would ban enforcement of most employee noncompetes, arguing that a Texas district court took a "cramped view" of the agency's authority to promulgate rules that define unfair competition methods.

  • January 02, 2025

    Calif. Judge Ices Social Media Addiction Law For 30 Days

    A California federal judge Thursday blocked the state from beginning its enforcement of a new law designed to bar online platforms from using algorithms to deliver addictive feeds to children, finding there was "great value" in giving the Ninth Circuit 30 days to consider his decision to largely uphold the measure. 

  • January 02, 2025

    Ex-Bank Chair Asks 7th Circ. To Halt FDIC Enforcement Order

    An Illinois community bank's onetime chairman has asked the Seventh Circuit for an emergency stay of professional sanctions ordered by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. after an in-house proceeding that he argues was unconstitutional and wrongly decided.

  • January 02, 2025

    Judicial Conference Closes Thomas Gift Probe With No Action

    The Judicial Conference of the United States will not refer ethics complaints accusing U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas of unlawfully failing to disclose decades of luxury gifts and travel to the U.S. Department of Justice for further investigation, according to letters released Thursday.

  • January 02, 2025

    DC Kept Disabled People In Restrictive Care Too Long: Ruling

    After 15 years of litigation, a D.C. federal judge ruled this week that the District of Columbia has been violating a federal law that prohibits the segregation of people with disabilities by refusing to remove people from Medicaid-funded nursing homes into less restrictive forms of care.

  • January 02, 2025

    Election Officials Push To Certify NC High Court Race Results

    The North Carolina State Board of Elections should be allowed to move forward with certifying the results of the state Supreme Court race after a Republican candidate sought to block copious ballots, state officials and incumbent state Supreme Court Justice Allison Riggs said Wednesday.

  • January 02, 2025

    Anchorage Residents Look To Block Tribal Casino Project

    A group of Anchorage residents has sued the acting chairwoman of the National Indian Gaming Commission and the Native village of Eklutna in Alaska federal court, claiming plans to build a 58,000-square-foot casino will ruin their rural neighborhood.

  • January 02, 2025

    NTIA Clarifies Use Of Broadband Funds For Alternative Techs

    The National Telecommunications and Information Administration has dropped more information to make the way forward clearer for states that want to use their federal broadband dollars to fund alternative means of connecting people, such as satellites.

  • January 02, 2025

    Issa Again Selected To Lead House IP Subcommittee

    Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., will again lead the House subcommittee overseeing intellectual property in the upcoming Congress, a role in which he has sponsored bills seeking to limit how many patents can be asserted in biosimilar cases and require disclosure of litigation funding.

Expert Analysis

  • So You Want To Move Your Law Practice To Canada, Eh?

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    Google searches for how to move to Canada have surged in the wake of the U.S. presidential election, and if you’re an attorney considering a move to the Great White North, you’ll need to understand how the practice of law differs across the border, says David Postel at Henein Hutchison.

  • A Look At Similarities Between SOX And SEC's Cyber Rule

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    Just as the Sarbanes-Oxley Act paved the way for greater transparency and accountability in financial reporting, the SEC's cybersecurity rule is doing much the same for cybersecurity, ensuring that companies are resilient in the face of growing cyber threats, says Padraic O'Reilly at CyberSaint.

  • Opinion

    Efficiency Dept. Should Consolidate Antitrust Enforcement

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    President-elect Donald Trump's planned Department of Government Efficiency should transfer the authority of the Federal Trade Commission's Bureau of Competition into the U.S. Department of Justice's Antitrust Division, because there is no justification for two federal entities to enforce antitrust and competition laws, says retired judge Susan Braden.

  • What To Expect Next From Federal Health Tech Regulation

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    Healthcare organizations should pay close attention to federal health information technology regulators' recent guidance concerning barriers to accessing electronic health information, which signals that more enforcement in this area is likely forthcoming, say attorneys at Ropes & Gray.

  • In SF Water Case, Justices Signal How Loper May Be Applied

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    Skeptical questions from U.S. Supreme Court justices during oral argument in San Francisco v. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency offer hints of how the court intends to apply limits on agency regulatory autonomy established last term in Loper Bright, says Karen Cullinane at Goldberg Segalla.

  • Trump Rollback Of Biden Enviro Policies: What To Expect

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    Donald Trump's upcoming second presidential term will usher significant shifts in U.S. environmental and natural resource law and policy — and while the Biden administration is racing to secure its legacy, the incoming Trump administration is making plans to dramatically roll back most, if not all, of Biden's environmental initiatives, say attorneys at Beveridge & Diamond.

  • 5 Areas Congress May Investigate After GOP Election Wins

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    With Republicans poised to take control of Congress in addition to the executive branch next year, private companies can expect an unprecedented uptick in congressional investigations focused on five key areas, including cryptocurrency and healthcare, say attorneys at Cahill Gordon.

  • US Intellectual Property-Based Sanctions Could Be Imminent

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    A recent presidential delegation suggests that regulators may be ready to wield the sanctions authority found in the Protecting American Intellectual Property Act, which has been unutilized for the first 22 months of its life, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • Philly's Algorithmic Rent Ban Furthers Antitrust Policy Trends

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    A Philadelphia bill banning the use of algorithmic software to set rent prices and manage occupancy rates is indicative of growing scrutiny of this technology, and reflects broader policy trends of adapting traditional antitrust principles to respond to new technology, say attorneys at Ballard Spahr.

  • Takeaways From State Votes On Abortion In The 2024 Election

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    Attorneys at Epstein Becker discuss how 10 states voted on ballot initiatives to either protect or restrict access to abortion in the 2024 general election, and analyze overarching trends.

  • Trump's 2nd Term May Be A Boost To Banking Industry

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    President-elect Donald Trump's personnel appointments could be instrumental in reshaping the financial regulatory landscape during his second administration, likely allowing for greater merger activity and halting or undoing some of the Biden administration's more restrictive financial services policies, say attorneys at Debevoise.

  • Loper Bright Offers New Materiality Defense To FCA Liability

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Loper Bight Enterprises v. Raimondo, ending Chevron deference, may have created a new defense to False Claims Act liability by providing the opportunity to argue that a given regulation is not material to the government's payment decision, says Tanner Cook at Husch Blackwell.

  • A Look At 2024 NIL Rights And Economies In College Sports

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    Permutations in the arena of name, image and likeness affecting collegiate athletics have continued unabated this year, and practitioners and industry representatives should anticipate significant activity at schools and continuing legal changes at the state level, say attorneys at Pillsbury.

  • How Expanded Birth Control Coverage May Affect Employers

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    Employers should consider the potential impact of recently proposed regulations that would expand group health plans' required coverage of preventive services and contraceptives, including questions about how the agencies would implement their plans to eliminate the prescription requirement and alter the exceptions process, says Jennifer Rigterink at Proskauer.

  • Unpacking CFPB's Unwieldy Buy Now, Pay Later Guidance

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    Both the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's recent interpretive rule regarding buy now, pay later transactions, and its FAQ guidance, place providers in murky waters with the unenviable position of attempting to place a square, closed-end product in a round, regulatory framework meant for open-end products, say attorneys at Troutman Pepper.

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