Public Policy

  • September 24, 2024

    Calif. Gov.'s Emergency Hemp Intoxicant Ban Wins Approval

    California retailers are no longer allowed to sell hemp products containing tetrahydrocannabinol after the Golden State's Office of Administrative Law on Monday approved Gov. Gavin Newsom's emergency ban, a move a leading hemp trade group has vowed to challenge.

  • September 24, 2024

    Red States Back Florida In CWA Permit Program Fight

    Nineteen red states have told the D.C. Circuit in a friends of the court brief that it should restore Florida's power to administer a Clean Water Act permitting program for dredging approved by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency but nixed by a D.C. federal judge.

  • September 24, 2024

    Eighth Circ. Poised To Weigh FCC's Anti-Redlining Rule

    The Federal Communications Commission is headed to court in St. Louis this week to defend new rules aimed at preventing discrimination in broadband deployment as industry groups opposing the rules fret that enforcement could begin any time.

  • September 24, 2024

    Texas Fair Gun Ban Stands, State Appeals Court Says

    A Texas appeals court has rejected Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton's bid for emergency relief prohibiting the State Fair of Texas from enforcing its new policy banning firearms on fairgrounds, handing the state a loss in a Tuesday order and keeping the ban in place ahead of the fair's opening Friday.

  • September 24, 2024

    Google Expert Targets DOJ's Ad Tech 'Mistakes And Omissions'

    A Nobel Economics Prize-winning auctions expert on Tuesday criticized the U.S. Justice Department's monopolization case targeting Google's online advertising placement technology, telling a Virginia federal court that it was based on a fundamental misunderstanding of how the allegedly harmful auctions work.

  • September 24, 2024

    Cox Sues RI Over Use Of Broadband Deployment Dollars

    Cox Communications is suing the state of Rhode Island over its plan for using federal Broadband, Equity, Access and Deployment Program funding, saying in a new complaint that the plan uses "flawed internet speed data" to justify providing redundant high-speed service in affluent areas that are already well-connected.

  • September 24, 2024

    DC Circ. Open To Industry Challenge To TSCA Reporting Rule

    A D.C. Circuit panel on Tuesday seemed receptive to two trade associations' challenge to new federal regulations aimed at increasing Toxic Substances Control Act transparency, pressing the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on a facet of the rule that opponents say would lead confidential chemical information to be divulged.

  • September 24, 2024

    Neb. Advocates Bash Effort To Upend Medical Cannabis Vote

    Marijuana advocates are urging a Nebraska state judge to toss a lawsuit aiming to block state residents from voting on measures that could legalize medical cannabis and establish a state regulatory system, calling the suit a baseless attack on the "integrity, credibility, and accuracy of Nebraska's election officials."

  • September 24, 2024

    1st Circ. Affirms Tossing Of IRS Crypto Doc Seizure Case

    A New Hampshire federal court correctly dismissed a bitcoin investor's claim that the IRS violated his privacy and property rights when it seized his records from the cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase, the First Circuit ruled Tuesday, agreeing that he lacked a reasonable expectation that his account information would be kept private.

  • September 24, 2024

    Conn. Officials Want Nursing School Students' Claims Nixed

    Pointing to the state's interests in regulating professions and the principle of sovereign immunity, Connecticut officials accused of "overreach" for withholding licenses from students at a shuttered nursing school say a federal judge must dismiss proposed class claims by affected students.

  • September 24, 2024

    Texas AG, County Officials Spar Over Voter Registration Suits

    Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is urging a federal judge to send his lawsuits challenging two counties' voter registration initiatives back to state courts, emphasizing that his office has learned one county sent an unsolicited registration application to a person who died more than 40 years ago.

  • September 24, 2024

    Novo Nordisk Tells Sens. Ozempic Costs Are Linked To PBMs

    Novo Nordisk's CEO argued Tuesday that the high prices of the company's diabetes and weight loss drugs Ozempic and Wegovy primarily stem from the actions of pharmacy benefit managers, earning support from many members of a Senate committee and frustrating others who wanted more direct answers on the Danish drugmaker's own responsibilities.

  • September 24, 2024

    NLRB Office Signs Off On Near $450K Deal With Musk Brother

    A Colorado nonprofit co-founded by Elon Musk's brother settled a union's unfair labor practice claims for close to $450,000, according to a National Labor Relations Board announcement Tuesday, with the organization agreeing to pay thousands to laid-off workers and make supervisors undergo federal labor law training.

  • September 24, 2024

    Dish Owner Tells FCC Device Unlocking Good For Competition

    Dish and its parent company EchoStar are leaning on the Federal Communications Commission to finalize requirements that mobile providers unlock a customer's device within 60 days of them signing up, so they can change carriers if they want.

  • September 24, 2024

    Justices' Immunity Ruling Could Foil Trump Charges, Sens. Told

    The U.S. Supreme Court's prohibition on judges considering a former president's motive when deciding if an act is official and therefore protected from criminal prosecution may present one of the biggest roadblocks in the criminal cases filed against Donald Trump, a former U.S. Department of Justice attorney told lawmakers Tuesday.

  • September 24, 2024

    Mich. Justices Wonder If Pot Smell's Strength Justifies Search

    Michigan's Supreme Court asked Tuesday whether a whiff of marijuana can justify searching a vehicle now that the drug is legal in the state, with one justice claiming his nose can distinguish between stale smells and more recent use, which could indicate impaired driving or illicit public consumption.

  • September 24, 2024

    Ala. Can Enforce Own Interstate Clean Air Plan, 11th Circ. Told

    Alabama told an Eleventh Circuit panel Tuesday that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency overstepped its authority when denying the state's plan to implement rules limiting harmful interstate emissions under the Clean Air Act, saying the law gives states the "primary" authority to combat air pollution.

  • September 24, 2024

    Haitian Group Seeks Criminal Charges Against Trump And Vance

    A Haitian advocacy organization filed an affidavit Tuesday seeking criminal prosecution of former President Donald Trump and his running mate, Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance, for their false claims that Haitian immigrants are eating pets in Springfield, Ohio, that have "wreaked havoc" on the city.

  • September 24, 2024

    11th Circ. Unleashes Swarm Of 'Hypos' In Fla. Pronoun Case

    An Eleventh Circuit panel on Tuesday peppered attorneys with hypothetical scenarios as they attempted to hammer out the bounds of public school teachers' free speech protections in the classroom, in a case by transgender and nonbinary Florida educators that could ultimately affect other state employees.

  • September 24, 2024

    Md. Says Shipowner Liable For $2B Baltimore Bridge Rebuild

    Maryland said the owner and manager of the cargo ship that slammed into Baltimore's Francis Scott Key Bridge must be held liable for the estimated $1.7 billion cost of rebuilding the bridge, claiming Tuesday that their negligence has caused "grievous impact" to Marylanders, the environment and the regional economy.

  • September 24, 2024

    FAA Chief Updates House Panel On Boeing Safety Culture Fix

    The Federal Aviation Administration's chief told a House panel Tuesday that the agency has "dramatically" increased its oversight of Boeing, as lawmakers raised concerns about the pace of Boeing's safety culture overhaul amid an ongoing labor dispute with 33,000 workers.

  • September 24, 2024

    Ga. Election Board To Investigate Voter Eligibility Challenges

    Georgia's increasingly tendentious State Election Board voted this week to open investigations into a handful of counties over their handling of voter registration challenges, at the urging of conservative activists who told the board that local election officials have ignored their calls for ineligible voters to be stricken from the rolls.

  • September 24, 2024

    'The Predators Are Back,' Mich. Tax Foreclosure Attys Warn

    Lawyers for a proposed class accusing Michigan counties of unlawfully keeping proceeds of their tax-foreclosed home sales urged a federal judge Monday to bar a third-party claims firm and a "conspiring" Michigan attorney from trying to snatch away class members using tactics they called abusive and illegal.

  • September 24, 2024

    Colo. Justices Float Limits For Litigants' Public Records Asks

    Colorado Supreme Court justices were skeptical Tuesday that litigants were blocked from using the state's public records law to request documents from agencies and boards they are suing, though they also expressed reservations about just how far such litigants could go.

  • September 24, 2024

    Dish Slams 'Entitled' Standard General Exec's Race Bias Suit

    Dish Network has called for sanctions against Soo Kim, his hedge fund Standard General and their attorneys, calling Kim's racial discrimination suit against Dish, the Federal Communications Commission and a collection of other media players "an expensive temper tantrum."

Expert Analysis

  • Assessing Whether Jarkesy May Limit FINRA Prosecutions

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    The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision in Jarkesy v. U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, holding that civil securities fraud defendants are entitled to jury trials, may cause unpredictable results when applied to Financial Industry Regulatory Authority prosecutions, say Barry Temkin and Kate DiGeronimo at Mound Cotton.

  • The Bank Preemption Ripple Effects After Cantero, Flagstar

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    The importance of federal preemption for financial institutions will only increase as technology-driven innovations evolve, which is why the U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision in Cantero v. Bank of America and vacatur of Kivett v. Flagstar Bank have real modern-day significance for national banks, say attorneys at WilmerHale.

  • Examining Patent Subject Matter Eligibility Of AI Inventions

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    In light of U.S. Patent and Trademark Office data showing that patent applications for artificial intelligence inventions are likelier to get rejected based on patent-ineligible subject matter, inventors seeking protection should be aware of the difficulties and challenges pertaining to patent eligibility, say Georgios Effraimidis at NERA and Joel Lehrer at Goodwin.

  • Series

    Being An Opera Singer Made Me A Better Lawyer

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    My journey from the stage to the courtroom has shown that the skills I honed as an opera singer – punctuality, memorization, creativity and more – have all played a vital role in my success as an attorney, says Gerard D'Emilio at GableGotwals.

  • What Cos. Need to Know About Battery Labeling Law

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    With new labeling requirements for button cell battery packaging taking effect in September, manufacturers and importers must review compliance, testing procedures, and necessary paperwork as the consequences of noncompliance can lead to costly penalties and supply chain woes, says Aasheesh Shravah at CM Law.

  • What Drug Cos. Must Know About NY Price Transparency Law

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    Drug manufacturers must understand the contours of New York's recently implemented law requiring self-reporting of drug price increases, as well as best practices for compliance and challenges against similar laws in other states, say Elizabeth Bierut and Angie Garcia at Friedman Kaplan.

  • Navigating The Uncertain Landscape Of Solar Tariffs

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    Solar cell and module manufacturers, exporters and importers must navigate an uncertain compliance landscape, given ongoing challenges to U.S. Department of Commerce antidumping and countervailing duty determinations, which have been mounted both by U.S. and non-U.S. manufacturers, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • Amid SEC Rule Limbo, US Cos. Subject To ESG Regs In EU

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    Though the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is facing legal challenges to its climate-disclosure rulemaking, the implementation of the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive in the European Union will force U.S. companies to comply with exactly the kinds of ESG disclosures that are not yet mandated in the U.S., say attorneys at Squire Patton.

  • Pros, Cons Of Disclosing Improper Employee Retention Credit

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    Employers considering the Internal Revenue Service’s second voluntary disclosure program, which allows companies to avoid penalties for erroneously claiming employee retention credits for the 2021 tax year by repaying the credits and naming the tax advisers who encouraged these abusive practices, should carefully weigh the program’s benefits against its potential drawbacks, say attorneys at Winston & Strawn.

  • Until Congress Acts, EDNY 'Insider Betting' Case Is Premature

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    The Eastern District of New York’s novel wire fraud conspiracy indictment in U.S. v. Pham may have prematurely heralded a new era in federal gambling enforcement, but in the absence of an “insider betting” statute, sportsbooks — not prosecutors — should be responsible for enforcing their terms of use, says attorney Jonathan Savella.

  • How Law Firms Can Avoid 'Collaboration Drag'

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    Law firm decision making can be stifled by “collaboration drag” — characterized by too many pointless meetings, too much peer feedback and too little dissent — but a few strategies can help stakeholders improve decision-making processes and build consensus, says Steve Groom at Miles Mediation.

  • Election Outlook: A Precedent Primer On Content Moderation

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    With the 2024 election season now in full swing, online platforms will face difficult and politically sensitive decisions about content moderation, but U.S. Supreme Court decisions from last term offer much-needed certainty about their rights, say Jonathan Blavin and Helen White at Munger Tolles.

  • Banking Compliance Takeaways From Joint Agency Statement

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    Federal bank regulatory agencies’ recent joint statement warning of risks associated with third-party fintech deposit services spotlights a fundamental problem that may arise with bank deposit products that are made through increasingly complex customer relationships, says Tom Witherspoon at Stinson.

  • Workday AI Bias Suit Suggests Hiring Lessons For Employers

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    As state laws and a federal agency increasingly focus on employment bias introduced by artificial intelligence systems, a California federal court's recent decision to allow a discrimination suit to proceed against Workday's AI-driven recruitment software, shows companies should promptly assess these tools' risks, say attorneys at Williams & Connolly.

  • What BIPA Reform Law Means For Biometrics Litigation

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    A recently signed Illinois law amending the Biometric Information Privacy Act limits defendants' liability exposure on a per-scan basis and clarifies that electronic signatures constitute a valid written release, establishing additional issues that courts will need to address in future BIPA litigation, say attorneys at Faegre Drinker.

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