Public Policy

  • June 26, 2024

    VA Can't 'Short-Circuit' Racial Bias Suit With Appeal, Vet Says

    The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs should not be allowed to challenge a Connecticut federal judge's decision to let a Black Marine Corps veteran proceed with his systemic-discrimination suit against the department because it has not met the standards for lodging an interlocutory appeal, the plaintiffs have argued.

  • June 26, 2024

    States Say Revised EPA Water Rule Worse Than Original

    Two dozen states are seeking a quick win against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and several Native American tribes in their suit challenging a revised rule defining the Clean Water Act's reach, saying it doesn't solve many problems found in the original rule.

  • June 26, 2024

    FBI Beats Epstein FOIA Case Due To Ghislaine Maxwell Appeal

    A New York federal judge handed the FBI a win Tuesday in gossip site Radar Online's Freedom of Information Act lawsuit seeking the government's sex-trafficking investigation records into the late billionaire sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, finding that the documents could affect the ongoing appeal of Epstein's convicted co-conspirator, Ghislaine Maxwell.

  • June 26, 2024

    Artists Drum Up Support For Bill To Pay Music Royalties

    Congress needs to protect musical artists' intellectual property rights by requiring radio broadcasters to pay royalties for airing their sound performances, as most other countries do, the recording industry told lawmakers Wednesday.

  • June 26, 2024

    Bribery Ruling Could Disrupt ComEd Verdict, Madigan Trial

    The U.S. Supreme Court's ruling Wednesday narrowing the federal bribery law long relied upon to curb local corruption is expected to make waves in two prominent Chicago cases, attorneys say, with one likening it to a "nuclear bomb" exploding prosecutors' convictions of a former ComEd executive and lobbyists.

  • June 26, 2024

    FCC Threatens To Yank Texas AM Station License Over Fees

    A Spanish-language Christian radio station is about to have its license snatched away by the Federal Communications Commission if it doesn't do something about its delinquent regulatory fees, according to new proceedings initiated by the agency.

  • June 26, 2024

    'Tragic History' Can't Rewrite Law In Burial Row, Army Says

    The U.S. Army says the nation's "tragic history" of injustices done to children through the Indian Boarding School system does not give a federal district court license to rewrite a law aimed at protecting Indigenous burial sites, arguing that a Nebraska tribe's challenge over the repatriation of two children should be dismissed.

  • June 26, 2024

    SpaceX Beach Closure Challenge Is 'Illogical,' Texas Says

    Texas is asking its high court to review a decision that forces several government entities to face an environmental group's challenge to the closure of a beach for SpaceX activities, writing that the appellate court's adoption of the group's theory of open beach access "clashes" with state law and court precedent.

  • June 26, 2024

    Texas Moves To Bar DOJ Witness In Rio Grande Barrier Fight

    Texas has moved to disqualify one of the Biden administration's witnesses in litigation over the Lone Star state's 1,000-foot barrier in the Rio Grande to keep out migrants, arguing the witness has no relevant or reliable opinions to offer.

  • June 26, 2024

    FCC To Finalize Funding For School Wi-Fi Hot Spots

    The Federal Communications Commission plans to vote in July on final rules to help schools pay for Wi-Fi hot spots, part of a Democratic effort to address off-campus connectivity gaps through federal aid.

  • June 26, 2024

    Ex-Worker Says NC Justices Needn't Review Carcinogen Test

    A former graduate student worker for North Carolina State University has told the Tar Heel State's highest court that the school is trying to delay a potential lawsuit by continuing its fight to keep the ex-employee and cancer patient from investigating a campus building for carcinogens.

  • June 26, 2024

    NHTSA Declines Calls For 'More Robust' Truck Safety Guards

    Roadway safety advocates are chiding the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration after it rejected requests for stricter requirements on rear impact guards on semitruck trailers, used to protect passenger vehicles that crash into the back of trailers, calling the decision "indefensible."

  • June 26, 2024

    Unfinished Glycine Factory Supports Evasion, Says US Co.

    A U.S. glycine producer urged the U.S. Court of International Trade on Wednesday to affirm the government's renewed finding that importers dodged tariffs, pointing to photographs of an Indonesian factory still under construction while it was allegedly producing exports for the suppliers.

  • June 26, 2024

    Supreme Court Bribery Ruling Limits Government's 'Arsenal'

    The U.S. Supreme Court's decision Wednesday limiting the reach of a federal bribery law has removed a "novel" tool that prosecutors employed in a wide range of public corruption cases and could result in fewer prosecutions of state and local officials, experts say.

  • June 26, 2024

    Texas Uses Justices' Gun Ruling To Defend Deportation Law

    Texas has told the Fifth Circuit that a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision maintaining a ban on firearm ownership for domestic abusers supports its state law authorizing the arrest and deportation of migrants.

  • June 26, 2024

    Red Roof Trafficking Case Settled In Middle Of Trial

    The corporate owners of two Red Roof Inn locations in Atlanta and 11 women who claim they were trafficked there for years without intervention have reached a midtrial settlement ending the case.

  • June 26, 2024

    NJ Shore Town Asks Court To End Bar's Teen Night

    A Garden State beach town asked a New Jersey federal judge to put an end to a popular bar's Teen Night after the establishment said it will continue to hold the twice-weekly events despite a borough ordinance banning them, claiming the events lead to raucous and illegal behavior.

  • June 26, 2024

    Ex-Seattle Cancer Center Worker Settles Suit Over 'Woke' DEI

    A former clinical social worker for Seattle's Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center has agreed to drop her lawsuit accusing management of firing her for protesting diversity programming as laden with "woke" identity politics, according to a recent stipulation filed in Washington federal court.

  • June 26, 2024

    Fed. Circ. Says No Fees For HID Global In Patent Suit

    The Federal Circuit has backed a U.S. Court of Federal Claims finding that HID Global Corp. can't have attorney fees after being let out of patent litigation brought by Giesecke & Devrient, but it affirmed on different grounds.

  • June 26, 2024

    Big Banks Cleared Fed's Stress Tests, Despite 'Higher Losses'

    The Federal Reserve said Wednesday that the nation's big banks have enough capital on hand to ride out a simulated recession, giving them passing marks in the latest round of stress tests as regulators debate tougher rules that could raise capital requirements further.

  • June 26, 2024

    Judge Won't Free Texas Officials From Lengthy Detention Suit

    A Texas federal judge refused to toss four migrants' claims that state officials detained them for longer than allowed, saying they have pled enough misconduct that, if true, would show the officers were aware they were holding detainees for weeks past their release date.

  • June 26, 2024

    8th Circ. Won't Pause PWFA Regs During GOP States' Appeal

    The Eighth Circuit declined to block U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission regulations implementing the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act while several Republican state attorneys general challenge the dismissal of their suit targeting the rule's abortion coverage.

  • June 26, 2024

    Alaska Natives Call EPA Pebble Mine Veto Unconstitutional

    Two Alaska Native American groups are asking a federal court to strip the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency of its power to block projects — like a controversial mine in the state — under the Clean Water Act.

  • June 26, 2024

    House GOP Gears Up For The End Of Chevron Deference

    A new memo outlines how House Republicans are gearing up for the U.S. Supreme Court to potentially overturn the decades-old precedent that courts defer to agencies' interpretations of ambiguous statutes, as an opportunity to roll back the Biden administration's policies and reclaim Congress' power.

  • June 26, 2024

    Rep. Seeks Info On Sex Allegations Against Ex-GMU Law Prof

    The chair of the U.S. House Committee on Education and the Workforce has requested information in a letter to the president of George Mason University and its law school's dean regarding the institution's response to sexual misconduct allegations against former professor Joshua Wright, who is also a former Federal Trade Commission commissioner.

Expert Analysis

  • Using A Children's Book Approach In Firm Marketing Content

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    From “The Giving Tree” to “Where the Wild Things Are,” most children’s books are easy to remember because they use simple words and numbers to tell stories with a human impact — a formula law firms should emulate in their marketing content to stay front of mind for potential clients, says Seema Desai Maglio at The Found Word.

  • A Changing Regulatory Landscape For Weight Loss Drugs

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    As drugs originally approved to treat diabetes become increasingly popular for weight loss purposes, federal and state regulators and payors are increasing their focus on how these drugs are prescribed, and industry participants should pay close attention to rapidly evolving compliance requirements, say attorneys at Goodwin.

  • The State Of Play In DEI And ESG 1 Year After Harvard Ruling

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    Almost a year after the U.S. Supreme Court decided Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard, attorney general scrutiny of environmental, social and governance-related efforts indicates a potential path for corporate diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives to be targeted, say attorneys at Crowell & Moring.

  • Compliance Considerations For New Data Protection Law

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    Sam Castic at Hintze Law discusses how to determine if your organization is covered by the newly enacted Protecting Americans' Data from Foreign Adversaries Act, the scope of the law's restrictions, and how to go about compliance as its June 23 effective date approaches.

  • Proposed Semiconductor Buy Ban May Rattle Supply Chains

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    The Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council's recent proposed rulemaking clarifies plans to ban government purchases of semiconductors from certain Chinese companies, creating uncertainty around how contractors will be able to adjust supply chains that are already burdened and contracted to capacity, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • CFPB Poised To Up The Ante After Supreme Court Victory

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    When the U.S. Supreme Court emphatically ruled last week that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's funding structure did not violate the Constitution, the agency boasted that it was "here to stay," signaling that it is moving full steam ahead with its regulatory, enforcement and supervisory agenda, says Jim Sandy at McGlinchey Stafford.

  • Opinion

    NEPA Final Rule Unlikely To Speed Clean Energy Projects

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    A recent final rule from the White House Council on Environmental Quality purports to streamline federal environmental reviews to accelerate the construction of renewable energy infrastructure — but it also expands consideration of climate change and environmental justice, creating vast new opportunities for litigation and delay, says Thomas Prevas at Saul Ewing.

  • Diving Deep Into Sweeping NY Financing Bill — And Its Pitfalls

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    A New York bill seeking to impose state usury limits onto a broader variety of financing arrangements and apply lender licensing requirements to more diverse entities would present near-insurmountable compliance challenges for lenders and retailers, say Kate Fisher and Tom Quinn at Hudson Cook.

  • Opinion

    USPTO's Proposed Disclaimer Rule Would Harm Inventors

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    The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s recently proposed rule on terminal disclaimers will make the patent system less available to inventors and will unfairly favor defendants in litigation, say Stephen Schreiner at Carmichael IP and Sarah Tsou at Omni Bridgeway.

  • What The FTC Report On AG Collabs Means For Cos.

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    The Federal Trade Commission's April report on working with state attorneys general shows collaboration can increase efficiency and consistency in how statutes are interpreted and enforced, which can minimize the likelihood of requests for inconsistent injunctive relief that can create operational problems for businesses, say attorneys at Kelley Drye.

  • New Crypto Reporting Will Require Rigorous Recordkeeping

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    The release of a form for reporting digital asset transactions is a pivotal moment in the Internal Revenue Service's efforts to track cryptocurrency activities that increases oversight by requiring brokers to report investor sales and exchanges, say Shaina Kamen and Max Angel at Holland & Knight.

  • A Comparison Of FDIC, OCC Proposed Merger Approaches

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    Max Bonici and Connor Webb at Venable take a closer look at the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.'s and Office of the Comptroller of the Currency's respective bank merger proposals and highlight certain common themes and important differences, in light of regulators continually rethinking their approaches to bank mergers.

  • Series

    Being An EMT Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    While some of my experiences as an emergency medical technician have been unusually painful and searing, the skills I’ve learned — such as triage, empathy and preparedness — are just as useful in my work as a restructuring lawyer, says Marshall Huebner at Davis Polk.

  • Behind Court Challenges To The FTC's Final Noncompete Rule

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    The Federal Trade Commission's recent final rule banning noncompetes may not go into effect any time soon amid a couple of Texas federal court challenges seeking to bar the rule's implementation, which will likely see appeals all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, says Michael Elkins at MLE Law.

  • Colo. Lending Law Could Empower State-Chartered Banks

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    Lending programs that rely on rate exportation by state banks should pay close attention to legislative activity and ongoing litigation surrounding Colorado's decision to opt out of rate exportation, which could set a precedent that state-chartered banks have power on par with national banks, says Tom Witherspoon at Stinson.

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