Public Policy

  • November 21, 2024

    DOJ Search Fixes Would Remake Google, Break Off Chrome

    To give rival search engines a fighting chance against Google's illegal monopoly and its massive data and structural advantages, the Justice Department asked a D.C. federal judge Wednesday for sweeping changes that would divest the Chrome browser, open up Android devices and guarantee access to underlying search data.

  • November 21, 2024

    Trump Selects Ex-Fla. AG Pam Bondi As New AG Pick

    President-elect Donald Trump announced Thursday that he has selected Pam Bondi, a former attorney general of Florida, as his new pick for U.S. attorney general, just hours after former U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz withdrew his name from consideration amid allegations of sexual misconduct and drug use.

  • November 21, 2024

    EPA Announces National Strategy To Tackle Plastic Pollution

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday unveiled its national strategy outlining how government agencies, businesses, nonprofits and communities can prevent plastic pollution. 

  • November 21, 2024

    EPA Floats New Draft Framework On Cumulative Impacts

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday further fleshed out exactly what it means when it tells its employees to consider the "cumulative impacts" of pollution on particular communities.

  • November 21, 2024

    Immigration Group Seeks Say In 10th Circ. To Fight Okla. Law

    A Tulsa, Oklahoma-based nonprofit that advocates for immigrants has told the Tenth Circuit the state offered no good reason to lock the organization out from intervening in the federal government's lawsuit challenging an Oklahoma law barring unauthorized immigrants from residing in the state.

  • November 21, 2024

    In Tight Vote, Senate Panel OKs Bill To Set New PTAB Limits

    The Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday narrowly voted to advance a bill that would impose new restrictions on Patent Trial and Appeal Board challenges, with several members expressing concern that it could drive up the cost of prescription drugs.

  • November 21, 2024

    Unions, ACLU Throw Weight Behind EEOC Bostock Guidance

    The AFL-CIO, SEIU, American Civil Liberties Union, and several business groups and nonprofits have urged a Texas federal court not to scrap U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission guidance interpreting the U.S. Supreme Court's Bostock decision, arguing the guidelines provide critical advice on preventing workplace harassment.

  • November 21, 2024

    'Where Were You?': Judge Irked By Feds In $2B Fraud Case 

    A North Carolina magistrate judge said Thursday he was "appalled" by a system that left a convicted insurance mogul unable to communicate with his attorneys while he sat in a county jail for nearly a week following his guilty plea to a $2 billion fraud and money laundering scheme.

  • November 21, 2024

    Ex-Yale Student Can Submit Acquittal Files To DHS, Judge Says

    A Connecticut federal judge on Thursday allowed an expelled Yale student to send his sexual assault accuser's name to immigration officials, approving the submission of a mostly unredacted state criminal trial transcript under a narrow exception to a magistrate judge's ban on naming the woman.

  • November 21, 2024

    Texas Sues Dallas For Marijuana Amnesty Measure

    The Texas Office of the Attorney General sued the city of Dallas for adopting a ballot measure barring police from arresting people for misdemeanor marijuana possession, telling a state court Thursday the measure runs afoul of state law and is unconstitutional.

  • November 21, 2024

    Ill. Justices Give Marathon Chance To Avoid $15M Fuel Tax

    Marathon Petroleum presented enough evidence to rebut claims by officials of an Illinois county that it owed about $15 million in fuel taxes on transactions stemming from cash settlements for delivery contracts, the state Supreme Court ruled Thursday, reversing an appellate court.

  • November 21, 2024

    Howmet Accuses Wash. DOL Of Muscling Into Worker's Suit

    Howmet Aerospace slammed the Washington state labor department on Thursday for "interjecting" into a dispute with a former smelter employee who claims he developed cancer from asbestos exposure, urging the state's highest court not to relax the standard for workers to sue over job-related illnesses.

  • November 21, 2024

    Louisiana Defends New Hemp Law From Industry Challenge

    A Cannabis industry-led lawsuit seeking to block Louisiana from imposing new restrictions on consumables infused with hemp-derived THC should be squashed, the state told a federal judge, saying the legal theories the suit presents "have been tried and failed elsewhere."

  • November 21, 2024

    California Tribe Looks To Increase Trinity River Water Flows

    The Yurok Tribe slapped the Bureau of Reclamation with a complaint in California federal court, alleging its operation of the Trinity River Division provides only minimum flows to the Trinity River in the winter and early spring, modifying and harming salmon habitat and population.

  • November 21, 2024

    Nurse Staffing Exec Can't Trim Fraud Charge In Antitrust Case

    A Nevada federal court has refused to dismiss fraud charges against a home healthcare staffing executive accused of fixing nurses' wages and hiding a probe of the scheme when selling the business, and also refused to exclude statements the executive made during an FBI interview.

  • November 21, 2024

    Justices Urged To Uphold Alaska Beachfront Boundary Ruling

    Alaska and an Alaskan property owner told the U.S. Supreme Court to uphold an Alaska Supreme Court ruling that determined that the boundary between two beachfront properties owned by feuding neighbors is set by where a shoreline ended up in 1938.

  • November 21, 2024

    Calif. Politics Ace Joins McGuireWoods' Gov't Affairs As VP

    McGuireWoods LLP's consulting arm has brought on as vice president a former legislative director who worked for multiple members of the California State Assembly, the consulting firm announced this week.

  • November 21, 2024

    Data Co. Gets Remand Of Suits Over Judicial Privacy

    A federal judge sent 39 lawsuits alleging violations of a New Jersey judicial privacy law back to state courts, finding the district lacks subject matter jurisdiction.

  • November 21, 2024

    Feds Outline Next Steps For Colo. River Basin Agreement

    The U.S. Department of the Interior released five proposed alternatives for the Colorado River's post-2026 operations aimed at ensuring the long-term stability of the drought-stricken Colorado River Basin for the communities and habitats that rely on it. 

  • November 21, 2024

    Calif. Judge Says Dormant Commerce Inapplicable To Pot

    A California federal judge on Thursday tossed an out-of-state entrepreneur's challenge to Sacramento's cannabis social equity licensure program, asserting that the dormant commerce clause does not apply to federally illegal marijuana.

  • November 21, 2024

    Senate Deal Halts 4 Circuit Court Nominations

    Democrats and Republicans cut a deal Wednesday night to advance district court nominees before the year ends, while dropping four circuit court picks from confirmation efforts, Law360 has confirmed.

  • November 21, 2024

    New FCC Rules Pave Way For More FM Station Geotargeting

    The Federal Communications Commission adopted rules Thursday meant to make it easier for FM booster stations to broadcast brief segments of hyper-local content every hour.

  • November 21, 2024

    House Appropriations Deputy Staff Director Moves To H&K

    An attorney who most recently worked as the deputy staff director, budget director and counsel to the House Committee on Appropriations has joined Holland & Knight LLP's public policy and regulation group as a partner, the firm announced Thursday.

  • November 21, 2024

    Senate Approves Honeywell GC For Arizona Judge Seat

    The Senate voted 82-12 on Thursday to confirm Sharad H. Desai, a vice president and general counsel for Honeywell International, for a seat on the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona.

  • November 21, 2024

    Ex-Congressman And Other Judicial Nominees Advance

    Judicial nominees for U.S. district courts in New York, New Mexico, Georgia and Pennsylvania were sent to the full Senate on Thursday, after being approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee, all along party lines.

Expert Analysis

  • FDIC Guidance Puts Next-Gen ATMs In Regulatory Spotlight

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    The boring existence of ATMs is changing thanks to the emergence of new-age interactive teller machines, prompting the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. to sound off in a potentially influential August letter to branches on which services might need regulatory approval, says Thomas Walker at Jones Walker.

  • Opinion

    Tariffs' Economic Downsides Outweigh Potential Revenue

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    Import tariffs proposed by the campaign of former president Donald Trump would generate revenue like other taxes, but policymakers must consider the net-negative impact of associated consumer and downstream-industry costs, harm to exporters, potential foreign retaliation and reduction in economic output, says Erica York at the Tax Foundation.

  • Comments Show Need For Clarity On SBA Proposed Rule

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    The recent public comments period for the Small Business Administration's proposed rule on recertification and other regulations underscores the need for more precision, particularly on agreements in principle, which the SBA should address as it moves forward with this rulemaking, say attorneys at Covington.

  • Series

    Beekeeping Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    The practice of patent law and beekeeping are not typically associated, but taking care of honeybees has enriched my legal practice by highlighting the importance of hands-on experience, continuous learning, mentorship and more, says David Longo at Oblon McClelland.

  • Amazon Holiday Pay Case Underscores Overtime Challenges

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    The recent Hamilton v. Amazon.com Services LLC decision in the Colorado Supreme Court underscores why employers must always consult applicable state law and regulations — in addition to federal law — when determining how to properly pay employees who work more than 40 hours in a workweek, says James Looby at Vedder Price.

  • Understanding New ACH Network Anti-Fraud Rules

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    Many of the National Automated Clearing House Association’s recent amendments to ACH network risk management rules went into effect this month, so financial institutions and corporations must review and update their internal policies as needed, says Aisha Hall at Taft.

  • The OIG Report: Bad Timing For FEC To Be Underresourced

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    With less than two weeks to the election, the Federal Election Commission’s job has never been more urgent, but a report from its Office of the Inspector General earlier this year found that the agency is facing a resource squeeze that will only get worse without corrective action, says Diana Shaw at Wiley.

  • What To Know About New Employment Laws In Fla.

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    Florida employers should familiarize themselves with recent state laws, and also federal legislation, on retirement benefits, teen labor and heat exposure, with special attention to prohibitions against minors performing dangerous tasks, as outlined in the Fair Labor Standards Act, say Katie Molloy and Cayla Page at Greenberg Traurig.

  • The Key To Solving High Drug Costs Is Understanding Causes

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    One-sided views on who or what contributes to the high cost of pharmaceuticals render possible solutions much harder to discover and implement, and a better approach would be to examine history and learn why costs have increased and what legislation has and hasn't helped, says Nancy Linck at NJ Linck Consulting.

  • Election Unlikely To Overhaul Antitrust Enforcers' Labor Focus

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    Although the outcome of the presidential election may alter the course of antitrust enforcement in certain areas of the economy, scrutiny of labor markets by the Federal Trade Commission and the U.S. Department of Justice is likely to remain largely unaffected — with one notable exception, say Jared Nagley and Joy Siu at Sheppard Mullin.

  • How Immigration Attys Should Prep For A 2nd Trump Term

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    In light of the possibility of a drastic policy shift under a second Trump administration, immigration lawyers must review what Trump did during his first term, assess who would be most affected if those policies return and develop legal strategies to safeguard their clients' interests, says Adam Moses at Harris Beach.

  • Anticipating Jarkesy's Effect On Bank Agency Enforcement

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    Following the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission v. Jarkesy, federal courts may eventually issue decisions on banking law principles and processes that could fundamentally alter the agencies' enforcement action framework, and the relationship between banks and examiners, says Brendan Clegg at Luse Gorman.

  • CFTC Anti-Fraud Blitz Is A Warning To Carbon Credit Sellers

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    With its recent enforcement actions against a carbon offset project developer and its senior executives for reporting false information about the energy savings of the company's projects, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission is staking out its position as a primary regulator in the voluntary carbon credit market, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • Unpacking State AG Approaches To Digital Asset Enforcement

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    Attorneys at Cozen O'Connor survey recent digital asset enforcement by attorneys general nationwide driven by concerns over regulatory gaps where technological developments and market changes have outpaced legislation.

  • Opinion

    Legal Institutions Must Warn Against Phony Election Suits

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    With two weeks until the election, bar associations and courts have an urgent responsibility to warn lawyers about the consequences of filing unsubstantiated lawsuits claiming election fraud, says Elise Bean at the Carl Levin Center for Oversight and Democracy.

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