Public Policy

  • January 15, 2025

    More IRS Partnership 'Soft Letters' Coming, Official Says

    The Internal Revenue Service will keep using an educational compliance tool called soft letters to prod taxpayers to comply with a centralized partnership audit regime that has recently turned its focus to larger and more complicated entities, an agency official said Wednesday.

  • January 15, 2025

    Oil Biz Must Face Action Alleging It Dodged Well Cleanup

    Oil and gas company HRM Resources cannot escape a lawsuit from Colorado landowners alleging the business transferred 200 oil and gas wells to a smaller oil company, which soon after declared bankruptcy, in order to shift cleanup obligations to the state, after a Colorado federal judge found the plaintiffs alleged they were injured by the scheme.

  • January 15, 2025

    3rd Circ. Preview: NFL Concussion Benefits Fight Tops January

    The case of late NFL players' family members who say they shouldn't have to exhume their loved ones' remains to receive benefits from the national concussion settlement takes center stage in the Third Circuit's January argument session.

  • January 15, 2025

    Legislators Say Transparency Act Defies First Amendment

    The Corporate Transparency Act is an unnecessary intrusion into the First Amendment rights of Americans, U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., and 13 House members told the Supreme Court in seeking to maintain an injunction issued in December.

  • January 15, 2025

    Noncompete Ban Has A Defender In Wings If Trump FTC Won't

    Entrepreneurs group Small Business Majority wants the Fifth and Eleventh circuits to let it intervene to defend the Federal Trade Commission's currently blocked noncompetes ban if FTC Republicans stop arguing for the rule as expected once they take power.

  • January 15, 2025

    Conn. Set To End Pollution Review On Property Transfers

    Connecticut regulators have finalized a set of new rules to catch environmental contamination that will replace a system of mandatory inspections on commercial and industrial property transfers, leaving New Jersey as the only U.S. state with such a policy.

  • January 15, 2025

    Australia Gives Guidance On Foreign-Funded Construction

    The Australian Taxation Office laid out a number of key areas that private companies receiving foreign funding from a related party for property or construction projects need to be aware of in order to not run afoul of the country's transfer pricing rules.

  • January 15, 2025

    Feds Float Safety Rule For Growing CO2 Pipeline Network

    Gas- and liquid-phase carbon dioxide pipelines would be subject to new safety standards including improved emergency response and public communications practices under a rule proposed Wednesday by the federal government.

  • January 15, 2025

    7th Circ. Wary Of New Bribery Trial Sought Over FBI Interview

    A Seventh Circuit panel appeared skeptical Wednesday of a sweepstakes machine business owner's argument that his roughly five-year bribery sentence should be vacated because his conviction was largely based on audio from an FBI interview that the original jurors shouldn't have been allowed to hear.

  • January 15, 2025

    Justices Struggle With Tech Advances In Texas Porn Law Row

    Several U.S. Supreme Court justices on Wednesday focused on how a decadesold brick-and-mortar precedent applies to a Texas law requiring age verification on porn websites while struggling to reconcile technological advancements with First Amendment protections.

  • January 15, 2025

    Pa. Malpractice Fund Can't Get Second Chance At 3rd Circ.

    The administrator of Pennsylvania's state-established medical malpractice insurance fund won't get a second chance to convince the Third Circuit that its funds are private, after the court on Wednesday declined to reconsider a December ruling that the state could access the money.

  • January 15, 2025

    Texas Court Unsure State Can Shutter Immigrant Nonprofit

    A Texas appellate court seemed doubtful Wednesday that the state attorney general has authority to shut down a nonprofit over its political speech, with the justices suggesting that Texas might be blurring the line between state and federal nonprofit oversight.

  • January 15, 2025

    9th Circ. Won't Review Nixed Deductions For Disbarred Atty

    The Ninth Circuit on Wednesday rejected a disbarred California attorney's requests to review its December decision to uphold a U.S. Tax Court ruling denying his bid to take business deductions for the cost of challenging his disbarment and a court's declaration that he is a "vexatious litigant."

  • January 15, 2025

    Fla. Man Says Gov't Miscalculated Forfeiture In PPP Fraud

    A Haitian man currently serving a 50-month prison sentence for concealing a COVID-19 loan fraud scheme from U.S. immigration officials to get citizenship urged the Eleventh Circuit on Wednesday to reverse a forfeiture judgment against him, arguing that the government miscalculated the amount of his ill-gotten gains from the scheme.

  • January 15, 2025

    SMU Can't Chuck 100-Year Ties To Church, Justices Suggest

    Texas Supreme Court justices piled questions on Southern Methodist University over its split with the United Methodist Church, saying during oral arguments Wednesday that the school seemingly used "clever lawyering" over a "hot button political issue" to wrestle control from the church.

  • January 15, 2025

    Connecticut Town Accused Of Fumbling Affordable Condo Plan

    The planning and zoning commission in Greenwich, Connecticut, attached conditions to a housing project that threaten the "viability" of the plan, which is meant in part to increase the availability of affordable units in the affluent town, a developer has said in an appeal to the state Superior Court.

  • January 15, 2025

    FCC Warns Convincing Mortgage Lender Scam Afoot

    The Federal Communications Commission is putting the word out about a new scheme aimed at tricking people into thinking their homes will be foreclosed on unless they make emergency payments into an account controlled by the scammers.

  • January 15, 2025

    SEC Announces Departure Of Top Economist And Accountant

    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's chief economist and chief accountant are stepping down, the agency has announced, marking the latest departures given the pending inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump.

  • January 15, 2025

    Former FDA Official Joins King & Spalding Life Sciences Team

    King & Spalding on Wednesday announced that a former U.S. Food and Drug Administration official has joined the firm's government matters and regulation practice group after an eight-year stint at the agency.

  • January 15, 2025

    Maine Chamber, Shipyard Challenge State Paid Leave Rule

    The Maine State Chamber of Commerce and U.S. shipyard Bath Iron Works told a state court that certain provisions of the rule for the state medical leave program are illegal, arguing that employers will shell out conspicuous amounts into a fund they won't use.

  • January 15, 2025

    Amex GBT Blasts Bid To Block $570M Travel Services Deal

    American Express Global Business Travel Inc. told a New York federal court Tuesday that the U.S. Department of Justice case seeking to block its planned $570 million purchase of CWT Holdings LLC ignores the competitive landscape of the corporate travel management industry.

  • January 15, 2025

    SpaceX Suit Must Fail, Calif. Coastal Commission Tells Judge

    The California Coastal Commission urged a federal judge to throw out a SpaceX lawsuit alleging it has unlawfully tried to stymie the company's rocket launches and engaged in "naked political discrimination" against CEO Elon Musk, arguing the company's claims don't pass muster.

  • January 15, 2025

    Trump's AG Pick Tries To Assure Congress On Independence

    President-elect Donald Trump's nominee for attorney general attempted to assuage uneasiness from Democrats on Wednesday, saying the U.S. Department of Justice will be free of politics and will not go after perceived enemies.

  • January 15, 2025

    Jackson Lewis Grows In Atlanta With E-Commerce Biz Atty

    Jackson Lewis PC has gained a new principal in Atlanta who formerly worked in-house for e-commerce company StockX and previously practiced with Ogletree Deakins Nash Smoak & Stewart PC.

  • January 15, 2025

    FDA Bans Red Dye No. 3, Citing Cancer Link In Animal Studies

    The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday said that it is banning the use of a red dye, Red No. 3, which gives food and drinks a bright red color but has also been linked to cancer in animals.

Expert Analysis

  • Top 10 Legal Issues This Year For Transportation Industry GCs

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    General counsel must carefully consider numerous legal and policy challenges facing the automotive and transportation industry in the year to come, especially while navigating new technologies, regulations and global markets, says Francesco Liberatore at Squire Patton.

  • Exploring Venue Strategy For Trump-Era Regulatory Litigation

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    Litigation will likely play a prominent role in shaping policy outcomes during the second Trump administration, and stakeholders have several tools at their disposal to steer regulatory litigation toward more favorable venues, say attorneys at Covington.

  • Searching For Insight On Requested Google Chrome Remedy

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    The potential for Google to divest its Chrome browser — a remedy requested by the Justice Department following a D.C. federal court’s finding the company is a monopolist — has drawn both criticism and endorsement, but legal precedent likely supports the former, say attorneys at Ballard Spahr.

  • Opinion

    3 New Year's Resolutions For Antitrust Agencies To Consider

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    James Fredricks at Skadden rings in 2025 with his wish list for the federal antitrust agencies, starting with a provision for a presumptive safe harbor for information sharing.

  • FTC Focus: A Changing Of The Guard

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    While rigorous antitrust enforcement is unlikely to slow down at the Federal Trade Commission, the focus will undoubtedly change, including when it comes to Big Tech, as Andrew Ferguson prepares to take the reins from Chair Lina Khan, say attorneys at Proskauer.

  • 5th Circ.'s Nasdaq Ruling Another Piece In DEI Policy Puzzle

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    The Fifth Circuit's recent en banc opinion vacating Nasdaq's board diversity listing rule wades into the hotly debated topic of diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives at a time when many public companies are navigating the attention that DEI commitments are drawing from activists and shareholders, say attorneys at Debevoise.

  • 8 Trends And Predictions Following PE's Late 2024 Surge

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    Private equity will remain at the forefront of value creation in 2025, and anticipated market trends include sponsors' desire to return capital to investors and a more business-friendly tack by the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice, say attorneys at Weil.

  • Series

    Playing Esports Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Competing in a global esports tournament at Wimbledon last year not only fulfilled my childhood dream, but also sharpened skills that are essential to my day job, including strategic thinking, confidence and networking, says AJ Schuyler at Jackson Lewis.

  • How Changes In State Gift Card Laws May Affect Cos. In 2025

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    2024 state legislative movements around the escheatment of unused gift card balances and consumer fraud protections should prompt issuers to consider whether changes in company domicile or blanket cash-back policies are needed in the new year, say attorneys at Alston & Bird.

  • Health Tech Regulatory Trends To Watch In 2025

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    With an upcoming change in administration and the release of some long-awaited rules, the healthcare industry should prepare for shifting trends, including a growing focus on health data and interest in technology-enabled delivery of healthcare, say attorneys at Orrick.

  • Expect Continued Momentum For Nuclear Power In 2025

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    With increasing electricity demand, growing interest in carbon-free energy and recent policy initiatives favoring atomic power, the future is looking bright for the U.S. nuclear energy industry — and the imminent switch of administrations in Washington is unlikely to change that, say attorneys at Venable.

  • An Associate's Guide To Career Development In 2025

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    As the new year begins, associates at all levels should consider establishing career metrics, fostering key relationships and employing other specific strategies to help move through the complexities of the legal profession with confidence and emerge as trailblazers, say EJ Stern and Amanda George at Fractional Law Firm.

  • The Securities Litigation Trends That Will Matter Most In 2025

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    2025 is shaping up to be a significant year for securities litigation, as plaintiffs and defendants alike navigate shifting standards for omission theories of liability, class certification, risk disclosure claims and more, say attorneys at Willkie.

  • Predicting The Lasting Changes CFPB May Face In 2025

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    President-elect Donald Trump and the incoming Republican-controlled Congress' likely attempts to reshape the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau could significantly alter its rulemaking, supervisory and enforcement abilities for years to come, says Jim Sandy at McGlinchey Stafford.

  • 5 Proactive Immigration Best Practices For Employers In 2025

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    Businesses that depend on foreign talent should take specific steps in anticipation of changes to federal immigration policies that could affect the H-1B visa and other programs, and likely require changes in organizational operations and compliance strategy, says Dustin O'Quinn at Ballard Spahr.

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