Public Policy

  • January 06, 2025

    Pa. Lawmaker's 'Defamatory' Memo Is Deemed Immune

    Legislative immunity protects a Pennsylvania state senator from an energy executive's claims that he was defamed with a memo about legislation to close a legal loophole associated with his name, according to a ruling from a state appellate court.

  • January 06, 2025

    Biden OKs Social Security Fix In Move Cheered By Unions

    Former government employees who have had their Social Security checks slashed because they receive a pension will see larger payouts this year now that President Joe Biden signed a bill repealing the decades-old benefit cuts, a move applauded by government employee unions.

  • January 06, 2025

    DOD Tells DC Circ. It's Pondering New Time-In-Service Regs

    The U.S. Department of Defense told the D.C. Circuit that litigation over its scrapped time-in-service requirements for immigrant soldiers to be eligible for naturalization is not moot, because it may issue new requirements — an assertion that soldiers who successfully challenged the policy panned.

  • January 06, 2025

    Monthly Merger Review Snapshot

    The Federal Trade Commission successfully blocked Kroger's purchase of Albertsons while continuing to battle with Tempur Sealy and its planned buy of Mattress Firm, and Novo Nordisk managed to finalize its purchase of Catalent. Here, Law360 takes a look at some of the major merger review developments from December.

  • January 06, 2025

    DOJ Backs Later 30-Day Window For Removal Appeals

    The federal government told the U.S. Supreme Court that a 30-day deadline for noncitizens to challenge removal orders only applies for purposes of judicial review when proceedings in lower tribunals conclude, not when the initial removal orders are issued.

  • January 06, 2025

    Ill. Bill Aims To Extend Affordable Housing Tax Break Deadline

    Illinois would allow some owners of affordable rental housing until the end of 2037 to apply for a reduction in their property's assessed value for tax purposes as part of a bill introduced in the state Senate.

  • January 06, 2025

    Frontier Tests DC Airport Slot Exemptions At DC Circ.

    Frontier Airlines Inc. is contesting a decision from federal transportation regulators to exclude the budget carrier from a list of airlines allowed to operate new long-distance flights out of Reagan National Airport, just outside Washington, D.C.

  • January 06, 2025

    NC Justices To Decide Ballot Challenge In High Court Race

    A Republican appellate judge looking to throw out more than 60,000 votes in his race for a seat on the North Carolina Supreme Court succeeded Monday in getting his legal challenge kicked back to the Tar Heel State's top court, with a federal judge finding it wasn't his place to decide the matter.

  • January 06, 2025

    On Capitol Riot Anniversary, DOJ Update Says 1,500 Charged

    On the fourth anniversary of the deadly attack on the U.S. Capitol and the day President-elect Donald Trump's victory was to be made official, the U.S. Department of Justice announced that over 1,500 defendants have been charged with federal crimes related to the insurrection.

  • January 06, 2025

    FCC Warns Of $2.3M Pirate Radio Fine In Boston

    The Federal Communications Commission on Monday warned a Dorchester, Massachusetts, property owner of a potential fine reaching more than $2.3 million for an alleged pirate radio operation.

  • January 06, 2025

    New Joint Bar Task Force To Tackle Indigent Defense In NYC

    The New York City Bar Association announced Monday that it has teamed up with the city's county bar associations to form a task force assessing the NYC Assigned Counsel Plan, which assigns lawyers to indigent people in criminal and family courts who can't be served by institutional legal service providers.

  • January 06, 2025

    Biden Closes Off Coastal Areas To Offshore Drilling

    President Joe Biden on Monday announced a ban on new offshore oil and gas drilling in more than 625 million acres of U.S. waters on the Atlantic and Pacific coasts and in Alaska after determining that the environmental and economic risks and harms outweigh the benefits of drilling.

  • January 06, 2025

    Jenner & Block Faces DQ Bid In Casino Project Dispute

    Three Native American tribes want Jenner & Block LLP disqualified from a lawsuit that seeks to block the construction of a new casino in Oregon, claiming the firm previously represented them in the same dispute.

  • January 06, 2025

    Insurance Execs Seek Defense Costs For Self-Dealing Suit

    Insurance company executives who were fired amid accusations they stole assets from their company to start a competing venture demanded coverage for the dispute from their new business's insurer in Georgia Federal Court.

  • January 06, 2025

    FTC Blasts Tempur Sealy's New Floor-Space Promise

    The Federal Trade Commission told a Texas federal court a revised commitment from Tempur Sealy to preserve floor space for rivals in Mattress Firm stores would not restore the competition lost by a merger of the companies because it cannot be enforced.

  • January 06, 2025

    NY Pot Agencies Want Hemp Regulations Challenge Tossed

    New York's state cannabis regulators are urging a federal court to throw out a challenge to its new hemp regulations, saying that the new rules are necessary to close a loophole through which retailers were selling products that were technically hemp, but are as intoxicating as cannabis.

  • January 06, 2025

    US Wants More Time To Counter Altria's $106M Tax Refund Bid

    Tobacco giant Altria's complaint seeking a $106 million tax refund related to its interests in beverage company Anheuser-Busch requires more research to counter in the event a Virginia federal court decides it can move forward, the U.S. government said in requesting time for potential discovery.

  • January 06, 2025

    Fed's Barr To Step Down As Supervision Head Next Month

    Federal Reserve Vice Chair for Supervision Michael S. Barr announced Monday that he will step down from his current role next month, a reversal that paves the way for President-elect Donald Trump to appoint his own head of the central bank's oversight of big banks and regulatory policymaking.

  • January 06, 2025

    Trudeau Steps Down As US-Canada Trade Tensions Simmer

    Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Monday that he will resign as the leader of the country's Liberal Party, setting off a process to replace him as head of state in the coming months.

  • January 06, 2025

    Judge Denies Trump's Request To Delay Jan. 10 Sentencing

    A New York state judge on Monday denied Donald Trump's request to suspend his Jan. 10 sentencing in his hush money case as the president-elect simultaneously appealed the court's refusal to throw out the charges based on presidential immunity.

  • January 06, 2025

    Satellite Co. Ligado Hits Ch. 11 With $8.6B Of Debt

    Satellite business Ligado Networks filed for Chapter 11 protection in Delaware bankruptcy court with about $8.6 billion of debt and a plan to hand control of the company to creditors after suffering what its chief executive called "catastrophic" losses allegedly caused in part by the U.S. Department of Defense.

  • January 06, 2025

    Connecticut US Attorney Avery To Resign Jan. 17

    The U.S. attorney for the District of Connecticut on Monday announced her resignation effective just before the stroke of midnight the Friday before the presidential inauguration.

  • January 03, 2025

    3rd Circ. Won't Hit Brakes On NY Congestion Toll Launch

    New York City's highly litigated congestion pricing toll program began Sunday morning after the Third Circuit denied an emergency motion for an injunction to delay it while an appeal by the state of New Jersey unfolds.

  • January 03, 2025

    George Santos Wants Fraud Sentencing Delayed For Podcast

    Expelled U.S. Rep. George Santos on Friday urged a New York federal judge to delay sentencing in his federal fraud case for six months, saying he needs time to earn money through his new "Pants On Fire" weekly gossip podcast to pay roughly $580,000 owed in restitution and forfeiture.

  • January 03, 2025

    Feds Fight Trump-Backed Bid For Justices To Stop TikTok Ban

    The Biden administration on Friday urged the U.S. Supreme Court to reject a call backed by President-elect Donald Trump to freeze the looming deadline for TikTok to divest from its Chinese parent company or face a nationwide ban, arguing that the video-sharing app's First Amendment claims continue to fall flat. 

Expert Analysis

  • The Future Of GLP-1 Policy After Drug Shortage Ends

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    If and when the U.S. Food and Drug Administration determines that GLP-1 RA drugs are no longer in short supply, regulators will face questions of how to balance access to GLP-1 RAs with statutory and policy considerations applicable to compounded drugs, say attorneys at Skadden.

  • Gov't Scrutiny Of Workplace Chat Apps Set To Keep Growing

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    The incoming Trump administration and Republican majorities in Congress are poised to open numerous investigations that include increasing demands for entities to produce communications from workplace chat apps, so companies must evaluate their usage and retention policies, say attorneys at Orrick.

  • Del. Dispatch: The 2024 Corporate Cases You Need To Know

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    The Delaware Court of Chancery in 2024 issued several decisions that some viewed as upending long-standing corporate practices, leading to the amendment of the Delaware General Corporation Law and debates at some Delaware corporations about potentially reincorporating to another state, say attorneys at Fried Frank.

  • 2024 Regulatory Developments For Bank-Fintech Partnerships

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    Joseph Silvia at Duane Morris reviews a handful of particularly noteworthy 2024 updates regarding bank-fintech partnerships, including federal banking agencies issuing a number of important pieces of guidance that reiterate and update previous guidance in the area of third-party risk management.

  • 2025's Midmarket M&A Terrain May Hold A Few Bright Spots

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    Attorneys at Stoel Rives assess middle-market merger and acquisition trends, and explain why many dealmakers have turned cautiously optimistic about the sector's 2025 prospects, despite potential inflation and new Federal Trade Commission rules.

  • Top 10 Whistleblowing And Retaliation Events Of 2024

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    From a Florida federal court’s ruling that the False Claims Act’s qui tam provision is unconstitutional to a record-breaking number of whistleblower tips filed with the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission, employers saw significant developments in the federal and state whistleblower landscapes this year, say attorneys at Proskauer.

  • The Implications Of 2024's AI Rules And Regs For Patent Attys

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    Christina Huang, John Smith and Devin Stein at Faegre Drinker review this year's new rules and regulations on the development and use of artificial intelligence — from the Biden administration, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, the American Bar Association and various states — as they apply to patent attorneys.

  • When US Privilege Law Applies To Docs Made Outside The US

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    As globalization manifests itself in disputes over foreign-created documents, a California federal court’s recent trademark decision illustrates nuances of both U.S. privilege frameworks and foreign evidentiary protections that attorneys must increasingly bear in mind, say attorneys at Hunton.

  • How Texas Bill Would Transform Noneconomic Damages

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    Large noneconomic damage awards in personal injury cases have grown exponentially in Texas in recent years, but newly introduced legislation would cap such damages, likely requiring both the plaintiff and defense bars to recalibrate their litigation strategies, say attorneys at Norton Rose.

  • Changes To Expect From SEC Under Trump Nominee

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    President-elect Donald Trump's nomination of Paul Atkins for U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission chair will likely lead to significant shifts in the Division of Enforcement's priorities, likely focused on protecting retail investors and the stability of the capital markets, say attorneys at Morrison Foerster.

  • Executive Orders That Could Affect Financial Services In 2025

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    The incoming Trump administration is likely to quickly revive or update a number of prior executive orders, and possibly issue new ones, that could affect financial services by emphasizing market discipline rather than regulatory initiatives to drive change in the industry, say attorneys at Davis Wright.

  • The State Of USPTO Rulemaking At The End Of Vidal's Term

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    As U.S. Patent and Trademark Office director, Kathi Vidal placed a particular emphasis on formal rulemaking — so as she returns to private practice this week, attorneys at Irell take stock of which of her proposals made it across the finish line, and where the rest stand on the cusp of a new administration.

  • How New Merger Filing Rules Will Affect Economic Advocacy

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    New rules from the antitrust agencies significantly change the Hart-Scott-Rodino premerger notification process and will necessitate rigorous economic analysis earlier in the merging process as the information provided in the filings reflects important antitrust considerations, says Andrea Asoni at Charles River.

  • What Loper Bright And Trump 2.0 Mean For New Transpo Tech

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's recent ruling in Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo, combined with the incoming Trump administration's deregulatory agenda, will likely lead to fewer new regulations on emerging transportation technologies like autonomous vehicles — and more careful and protracted drafting of any regulations that are produced, say attorneys at Venable.

  • 'Minimal Participant' Bar Is Tough To Clear For Whistleblowers

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    Under the U.S. Department of Justice’s corporate whistleblower pilot program, would-be whistleblowers will find it tough to show that they only minimally participated in criminal misconduct while still providing material information, but sentencing precedent shows how they might prove their eligibility for an award, say attorneys at MoloLamken.

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