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Compliance
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July 30, 2024
DC Circ. Must Block EPA Mercury Rule, Challengers Say
Challengers of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's new rule tightening mercury and other toxic metal emission standards for some coal-fired power plants are hitting back against arguments by the agency and its supporters that their requested stay of the rule isn't warranted.
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July 30, 2024
High Court Ruling Dooms EPA Smog Plan, DC Circ. Told
The U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision to halt the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's plan to reduce smog-forming emissions across several states is reason enough for the D.C. Circuit to invalidate the rule, several states, industry groups and energy companies argued.
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July 30, 2024
10th Circ. Shields Feds From Fire Mismanagement Suit
The U.S. Forest Service doesn't have to face allegations it mismanaged the response to two Utah wildfires in 2018, the Tenth Circuit said Tuesday.
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July 30, 2024
Exxon Loses Bid For Avangrid Docs In Mass. Climate Suit
ExxonMobil will not gain access to potentially millions of documents from wind energy company Avangrid as part of the Massachusetts attorney general's long-running climate change suit, after a state court judge found it "inconceivable" that the sought-after material could be relevant to the case.
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July 30, 2024
Low-Power TV Stations Seek More Latitude From FCC
Low-power television stations believe it's time for the Federal Communications Commission to allow them to start operating at higher levels of power as long as they remain in their service contours.
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July 30, 2024
Calif. Broker-Dealer To Pay FINRA $1.5M For Excessive Trades
Broker-dealer Western International Securities Inc. has agreed to pay more than $1.5 million to settle allegations from the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority that the firm failed to properly monitor potentially excessive trading in about 100 accounts, and it was hit with a separate cease-and-desist order from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Tuesday over Regulation Best Interest violations.
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July 30, 2024
Feds, SEC Say Creator Of Crypto Co. BitClout Misled Investors
Federal prosecutors and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission announced parallel actions Tuesday against the founder of crypto project BitClout for allegedly duping investors and spending millions of proceeds for his own benefit.
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July 30, 2024
DC Circ. Wants Chevron Ruling Addressed In GHG Case
The D.C. Circuit asked challengers of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's tighter greenhouse gas emissions standards for vehicles to discuss how the litigation is affected by recent court decisions, including the U.S. Supreme Court's blockbuster ruling that undid what is known as Chevron deference.
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July 30, 2024
SF Fed Tells 9th Circ. Banks Not Entitled To Master Accounts
The San Francisco Federal Reserve Bank told the Ninth Circuit that it was not obligated to give a master account to an Idaho trade finance fintech, arguing federal law does not make these payment system gateways available to everyone regardless of risk.
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July 30, 2024
SEC Asks To Amend Token Claims In Binance Complaint
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission told a D.C. federal court that it plans on amending its claims concerning third-party tokens that traded on crypto exchange Binance's platform, according to a Tuesday status update in the enforcement suit.
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July 30, 2024
AI Dominance In Startup Funding Has Small Biz Concerned
Except for funding for artificial-intelligence startups, early-stage companies are struggling to raise capital amid higher interest rates and lean markets for initial public offerings and mergers and acquisitions, members of a small business-focused panel advising the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission said Tuesday.
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July 30, 2024
Psychedelics And The Law: A Midyear Review
A groundbreaking effort to secure federal approval for a psychedelic medication hit an unexpected snag. Religious groups asserting the right to access controlled substances had mixed success in federal court. Physicians seeking to administer psilocybin to terminally ill patients will finally have their day in court. Here are the major developments in psychedelics law from the first half of 2024.
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July 30, 2024
Former Prosecutor 'Coming Back Home' To NJ Boutique
After prosecuting federal healthcare crimes in New Jersey, a former assistant U.S. attorney has returned to boutique firm Calcagni & Kanefsky LLP to guide clients as part of the firm's white collar criminal and regulatory defense and investigations practice with a focus on healthcare litigation and licensing, the firm announced Tuesday.
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July 30, 2024
Pot Cos. Can't Push RICO Claims Against Calif. City
A California federal judge has thrown out racketeering claims by six cannabis companies that accuse the city of Cudahy of illegally assessing fees, saying that because Congress listed cultivation and sale of cannabis under the definition of racketeering, they can't recover damages.
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July 30, 2024
Vista Delays Vote On CSG Deal To Review Alternative Paths
Vista Outdoor Inc. on Tuesday delayed its shareholder vote on the sale of its sporting products division, The Kinetic Group, to Czech defense company Czechoslovak Group AS to begin a review of strategic alternatives, which includes evaluating a competing bid from Dallas-based MNC Capital Partners LP.
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July 30, 2024
Houston Energy CEO Ran $21M Stock Scheme, SEC Says
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Monday sued the head of a Houston energy company in Texas federal court, alleging he raised more than $21 million from over 300 investors nationwide through a fraudulent and unregistered offering of preferred stock in his fuel-blending company.
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July 30, 2024
Fla.'s Workplace DEI Training Rules Get Permanently Blocked
A Florida federal judge made permanent a ban on a state law provision that prevents employers from promoting various sex- and race-based concepts in diversity training sessions after the state said it wouldn't challenge an Eleventh Circuit ruling upholding a preliminary injunction on the measure.
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July 30, 2024
Katten Adds Mayer Brown Practice Group Co-Chair In Chicago
Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP has added to its financial markets litigation and enforcement practice group an attorney who formerly co-chaired a similar practice at Mayer Brown LLP and also has previous in-house experience.
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July 30, 2024
FTC, Career Step Pitch $43.5M Deal For Alleged Bogus Claims
Career Step LLC, a for-profit online career training company, has struck a $43.5 million proposed settlement to resolve Federal Trade Commission claims it targeted servicemembers and their spouses with deceptive advertising about its programs and the successes of its students.
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July 30, 2024
Texas, Meta Reach Historic $1.4B Deal In Biometric Data Suit
The state of Texas has reached a historic $1.4 billion settlement with Meta Platforms Inc. in a lawsuit accusing the social media giant of illegally collecting Facebook users' biometric data through its now-discontinued facial recognition feature, attorneys for the state announced Tuesday.
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July 29, 2024
5th Circ. Pauses DOT's New 'Junk Fees' Rule Amid Review
The Fifth Circuit on Monday agreed to temporarily block a U.S. Department of Transportation rule requiring airlines to clearly disclose add-on fees upfront while the appellate court reviews the rule, which has been challenged by major airlines and airline associations.
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July 29, 2024
Live Nation Judge Tightens In-House Counsel's Access To Docs
A New York federal judge imposed new restrictions Monday on Live Nation in-house counsel's access to documents and testimony from witnesses from its rivals in the U.S. Department of Justice's antitrust lawsuit, tightening a days-old two-tiered system after hearing concerns from those competitors.
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July 29, 2024
11th Circ. Affirms Ga. Prison Officer Immunity For Strip Search
An Eleventh Circuit panel said that Georgia prison officers violated a woman's constitutional rights when they subjected her to a strip search and manual body cavity search during a visit to see her incarcerated husband, but precedent blocks it from overturning a ruling holding the officers were entitled to qualified immunity.
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July 29, 2024
Virtu Pushes For SEC Crackdown On 'Penny Stock' Listings
Virtu Financial Inc. is pressing the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to force Nasdaq and other exchanges to crack down on so-called penny stocks, petitioning the agency to initiate rulemaking that would stop companies struggling to stay above $1 per share from continuing to trade on the exchanges.
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July 29, 2024
Chemical Groups Say Chevron Sinks EPA Ethylene Oxide Rule
A chemical company and two chemical associations are telling the D.C. Circuit that a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision undermines the federal government's risk value for ethylene oxide, which they are challenging as being too high.
Expert Analysis
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A Closer Look At Feds' Proposed Banker Compensation Rule
A recently proposed rule to limit financial institutions' ability to award incentive-based compensation for risk-taking may progress through the rulemaking process slowly due to the sheer number of regulators collaborating on the rule and the number of issues under consideration, say attorneys at Troutman Pepper.
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Series
Fishing Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Atop the list of ways fishing makes me a better lawyer is the relief it offers from the chronic stress of a demanding caseload, but it has also improved my listening skills and patience, and has served as an exceptional setting for building earnest relationships, says Steven DeGeorge at Robinson Bradshaw.
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Best Practices For Responding To CBP's Solar Questionnaire
U.S. Customs and Border Protection's recently introduced questionnaire to solar importers imposes significant burdens, with the potential for supply chain disruptions and market consolidation, but taking certain steps can assist companies in navigating the new requirements, say Carl Valenstein and Katelyn Hilferty at Morgan Lewis.
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Exploring Alternatives To Noncompetes Ahead Of FTC Ban
Ahead of the Sept. 4 effective date for the Federal Trade Commission's noncompete ban, employers should seek new ways to protect their proprietary and other sensitive information, including by revising existing confidentiality and nondisclosure agreements, says Harvey Linder at Culhane.
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5th Circ. Venue-Transfer Cases Highlight Mandamus Limits
Three ongoing cases filed within the Fifth Circuit highlight an odd procedural wrinkle that may let district courts defy an appellate writ: orders granting transfer to out-of-circuit districts, but parties opposing intercircuit transfer can work around this hurdle to effective appellate review, says Charles Fowler at McKool Smith.
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A Healthier Legal Industry Starts With Emotional Intelligence
The legal profession has long been plagued by high rates of mental health issues, in part due to attorneys’ early training and broader societal stereotypes — but developing one’s emotional intelligence is one way to foster positive change, collectively and individually, says attorney Esperanza Franco.
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Navigating Self-Disclosures As A Regulated Financial Entity
As enforcement risks heat up for regulated financial institutions, such entities may be forced to weigh the potential advantages and disadvantages of self-disclosing potential compliance gaps, say attorneys at Jenner & Block.
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To Make Your Legal Writing Clear, Emulate A Master Chef
To deliver clear and effective written advocacy, lawyers should follow the model of a fine dining chef — seasoning a foundation of pure facts with punchy descriptors, spicing it up with analogies, refining the recipe and trimming the fat — thus catering to a sophisticated audience of decision-makers, says Reuben Guttman at Guttman Buschner.
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Takeaways From SEC's New Data Breach Amendments
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's recent amendment of its consumer privacy rules to require investment advisers and broker-dealers to put procedures in place to uncover data breaches and report them to customers evidences that protecting client records and information remains an SEC priority, say attorneys at Simpson Thacher.
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EPA Heavy-Duty Vehicle GHG Rules Face Bumpy Road Ahead
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's new standards to reduce greenhouse gas emissions for owners and operators of heavy-duty vehicles are facing opposition from both states and the transportation industry, and their arguments will mirror two pending cases challenging the EPA's authority, says Grant Laizer at Adams and Reese.
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8 Steps Companies Should Take After An Internal Investigation
Given the U.S. Department of Justice’s increasing focus on corporate compliance and remediation of misconduct, companies must follow through in several key ways after an internal investigation to ensure history does not repeat itself, say Jonathan Aronie and Joseph Jay at Sheppard Mullin.
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Circuit Judge Writes An Opinion, AI Helps: What Now?
Last week's Eleventh Circuit opinion in Snell v. United Specialty Insurance, notable for a concurrence outlining the use of artificial intelligence to evaluate a term's common meaning, is hopefully the first step toward developing a coherent basis for the judiciary's generative AI use, says David Zaslowsky at Baker McKenzie.
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A Look At M&A Conditions After FTC's Exxon-Pioneer Nod
The Federal Trade Commission's recent consent decree imposing several conditions on Exxon Mobil's acquisition of Pioneer Natural Resources helps illustrate key points about the current merger enforcement environment, including the probability of further investigations in the energy and pharmaceutical sectors, say Ryan Quillian and John Kendrick at Covington.
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'Food As Health' Serves Up Fresh Legal Considerations
The growth of food as medicine presents a significant opportunity for healthcare organizations and nontraditional healthcare players to improve patient outcomes and reduce costs, though these innovative programs also bring compliance considerations that must be carefully navigated, say attorneys at McDermott.
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Series
In The CFPB Playbook: Regulatory Aims Get High Court Assist
Newly emboldened after the U.S. Supreme Court last month found that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's funding is constitutional, the bureau has likely experienced a psychic boost, allowing its already robust enforcement agenda to continue expanding, say attorneys at Husch Blackwell.