Public Policy

  • June 25, 2024

    Norfolk Southern Torched In NTSB Final Derailment Findings

    Norfolk Southern used "reprehensible" tactics to interfere with the investigation into last year's derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, and pushed for an "unnecessary" controlled vent and burn of highly flammable vinyl chloride during the accident's chaotic aftermath, the National Transportation Safety Board said Tuesday.

  • June 25, 2024

    GOP Lawmakers Urge 8th Circ. To Quash SEC's Climate Rule

    A group of 35 Republican lawmakers on Tuesday moved to weigh in on the consolidated challenge to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's recently adopted climate disclosure rule, arguing that the Eighth Circuit should vacate the measure due to a lack of clear congressional authorization.

  • June 25, 2024

    Verizon To Pay $1M For Southeast 911 Outage, FCC Says

    Verizon has agreed to pay just more than $1 million and follow a compliance plan after a December 2022 breakdown of 911 connectivity throughout the Southeast, the Federal Communications Commission said Tuesday.

  • June 25, 2024

    Intl. Trade Commission Takes Up 2 New China Import Probes

    The U.S. International Trade Commission has initiated import injury investigations into allegedly dumped and subsidized golf carts from China and brake drums from China and Turkey, the agency announced in a pair of Federal Register notices Tuesday.

  • June 25, 2024

    Split DC Circ. Backs Bush-Era Mining Deregulation

    A divided D.C. Circuit panel on Tuesday upheld a Bush-era mining regulation that removed limits on how much land near a mining site can be used for secondary operations like waste disposal, ruling against environmental groups that accused regulators of illegally walking back a more restrictive interpretation of federal mining law.

  • June 25, 2024

    Flint Judge Wants To Keep City 'Motivated' To Fix Lead Pipes

    A Michigan federal judge on Tuesday all but approved a proposal from the state to step in and help the city of Flint finish replacing lead water service lines and restoring properties for residents, noting the city's repeated failures to meet its obligations under a 7-year-old settlement agreement.

  • June 25, 2024

    After Rahimi Win, Feds Set Sights On Felon Gun Ban

    In a bid to capitalize on last week's U.S. Supreme Court ruling upholding a federal law that prohibits domestic abusers from possessing firearms, the U.S. solicitor general has called on the justices to next tackle a slew of constitutional challenges to the separate, sweeping ban on people convicted of felonies owning guns.

  • June 25, 2024

    Ga. County Wants Battery Fire Suit Sent Back To State Court

    A Georgia county that sued an electric vehicle battery manufacturer for allegedly dumping hundreds of batteries that led to a massive fire at a local recycling plant asked a federal judge Monday to send the case back to state court.

  • June 25, 2024

    Judge Says Sales Discount Doesn't Justify Redoing Steel Duty

    The U.S. Court of International Trade refused to force the U.S. Department of Commerce to raise antidumping duties on Australian hot-rolled steel to account for a discount that an Australian producer offered its importer, saying the importer paid the duty when it took the steel from the producer.

  • June 25, 2024

    No Need To Ship Net Neutrality Appeals To DC, 6th Circ. Told

    The Sixth Circuit should stand up to the "concerted effort" to push administrative law matters out of other appellate courts and into the D.C. Circuit by refusing to transfer a bundled set of challenges to the FCC's new net neutrality rules, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce has said.

  • June 25, 2024

    Indiana U Settles Ricin-Carrying Fruit Fly Export Violations

    Indiana University has escaped fines, but it must instead educate the broader academic community at large on export controls under a settlement with the U.S. Department of Commerce after the institution sent unlicensed shipments overseas, of fruit flies carrying a subunit of ricin.

  • June 25, 2024

    FCC Says Anti-Redlining Rule 'Dutifully' Carries Out Law

    The Federal Communications Commission has urged the Eighth Circuit to toss multiple industry challenges to its rules against discrimination in broadband deployment, saying its use of a wide-reaching standard for prohibited bias fits the law's requirements.

  • June 25, 2024

    Dems Seek 'Honest Evaluation' Of New ICBM Program

    Thirteen Democrats, including the co-chairs of the Congressional Nuclear Weapons and Arms Control Working Group, are calling for an "honest evaluation" of the U.S. Air Force's new intercontinental ballistic missile program due to cost overruns.

  • June 25, 2024

    $3M Broker Commission Deal Stayed To Await NAR Settlement

    A Massachusetts federal court will not consider a $3 million settlement reached between home sellers and a multiple listing service over broker commission rules until after a decision on a much larger settlement in the separate sprawling case against the National Association of Realtors.

  • June 25, 2024

    NC Development Bill Violates UN Declaration, Tribe Says

    A North Carolina tribe is fighting state legislation that it says does not assure protections over one of the most significant archaeological Native American discoveries in recent years, arguing its language violates international law and centuries-old treaties.

  • June 25, 2024

    Russian Ferrosilicon Gets Preliminary Duties Topping 748%

    The U.S. Department of Commerce handed down preliminary duties of 283.27% and 748.58% in its anti-dumping and countervailing duty investigations, respectively, into Russian producers of ferrosilicon, a key input in steelmaking.

  • June 25, 2024

    Ariz. Lawmakers Say State Has No Interest In Monument Fight

    The Arizona State Legislature says Gov. Katie Hobbs and Attorney General Kris Mayes can't show that they have an interest in lawsuits against President Joe Biden's proclamation designating an Indigenous site in the Grand Canyon region a national monument and they shouldn't be allowed to intervene in the litigation.

  • June 25, 2024

    Medical Marijuana Bill Sent To NC House After Senate Sign-Off

    The North Carolina Senate has approved a bill that would legalize medical marijuana statewide as part of larger legislation boosting hemp regulations and outlawing the use of three other drugs in the Tar Heel state.

  • June 25, 2024

    Texas' Challenge To Biden Admin. Asylum Rule Survives

    A Texas federal judge ruled Tuesday that he got it right when he declined the federal government's attempt to end the state's suit challenging a Biden administration rule that broadens immigration officers' power over the asylum system, saying Texas did enough to withstand a motion to dismiss.

  • June 25, 2024

    Trump Atty Argues Feds Lied To Get Mar-A-Lago Warrant

    An attorney representing Donald Trump in his criminal case over retaining classified documents after leaving the White House urged a Florida federal judge Tuesday to toss evidence seized during the raid on Mar-a-Lago, arguing the government put false information on the warrant application to search the former president's estate.

  • June 25, 2024

    DC Council OKs Tax Hikes On High-End Property, Payroll

    Washington, D.C., would impose a special tax rate on high-end residential properties, boost the premium for the district's paid leave program and make other tax and spending changes under legislation passed Tuesday by the district council.

  • June 25, 2024

    Pot Cos. Push Back On Calif. City's Bid To Toss $5.4M Fee Suit

    Six cannabis companies are fighting the California city of Cudahy's bid to dismiss a suit alleging that the city reneged on a promise to waive $5.4 million in fees accrued during the COVID-19 shutdowns, saying the motion largely disputes allegations that the court has to accept as true under a motion to dismiss.

  • June 25, 2024

    Fintech Exec Gets 3 Yrs In Crypto Market Manipulation Plot

    The former head of financial engineering at fintech company Hydrogen Technology Corp. was sentenced Tuesday to nearly three years in prison for conspiring to manipulate the market for Hydrogen's digital assets.

  • June 25, 2024

    Drilling Permit Challenge Should Stay Dead, DOI Tells DC Circ.

    The U.S. Department of the Interior told the D.C. Circuit a federal judge correctly ruled environmental groups cannot challenge the federal approval of thousands of drilling permits in New Mexico and Wyoming because they failed to establish any particularized injury.

  • June 25, 2024

    Calif. Pot Co. Accused Of 'Lab Shopping' To Skirt Safety Rules

    A California marijuana cultivator has been accused of selling cannabis products with unacceptable levels of contaminants, getting around state requirements by seeking out laboratories that turned a "blind eye" to its crops' impurities, according to a proposed class action.

Expert Analysis

  • 2 Regulatory Approaches To Psychedelic Clinical Trials

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    Comparing the U.S. and Canada's regulatory frameworks for clinical trials of psychedelic drugs can be useful for designing trial protocols that meet both countries' requirements, which can in turn help diversify patient populations, bolster data robustness and expedite market access, say Kimberly Chew at Husch Blackwell and Sabrina Ramkellawan at AxialBridge.

  • Why Jurors Balk At 'I Don't Recall' — And How To Respond

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    Jurors often react negatively to a witness who responds “I don’t remember” because they tend to hold erroneous beliefs about the nature of human memory, but attorneys can adopt a few strategies to mitigate the impact of these biases, say Steve Wood and Ava Hernández at Courtroom Sciences.

  • How Federal And State Microfiber Pollution Policy Is Evolving

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    Growing efforts to address synthetic microfiber pollution may create compliance and litigation issues for businesses in the textile and apparel industries, so companies should track developing federal and state legislation and regulation in this space, and should consider associated greenwashing risks, says Arie Feltman-Frank at Jenner & Block.

  • Series

    Fishing Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    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.

  • Best Practices For Responding To CBP's Solar Questionnaire

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    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.

  • Exploring Alternatives To Noncompetes Ahead Of FTC Ban

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    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.

  • Parsing Controversial Del. General Corporation Law Proposals

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    In response to issues raised in three recent high-profile Delaware Court of Chancery decisions, many amendments to the Delaware General Corporation Law were quickly proposed that, if enacted, would bring significant changes likely to be hotly debated — and litigated — for the foreseeable future, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • A Look At US-EU Consumer Finance Talks' Slow First Steps

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    The unhurried and informal nature of planned discussions between the U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the European commissioner for justice and consumer protection suggests any coordinated regulatory action on issues like AI and "buy now, pay later" services is still a ways off, say attorneys at DLA Piper.

  • Opinion

    It's Time To Defuse The Ticking Time Bomb Of US Landfills

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    After recent fires at landfills in Alabama and California sent toxic fumes into surrounding communities, it is clear that existing penalties for landfill mismanagement are insufficient — so policymakers must enact major changes to the way we dispose of solid waste, says Vineet Dubey at Custodio & Dubey.

  • 5th Circ. Venue-Transfer Cases Highlight Mandamus Limits

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    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.

  • A Healthier Legal Industry Starts With Emotional Intelligence

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    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.

  • To Make Your Legal Writing Clear, Emulate A Master Chef

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    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.

  • What Junk Fee Law Means For Biz In California And Beyond

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    Come July 1, companies doing business in California must ensure that the price of any good or service as offered, displayed or advertised is inclusive of all mandatory fees and other charges in compliance with S.B. 478, which may have a far-reaching impact across the country due to wide applicability, say Alexandria Ruiz and Amy Lally at Sidley Austin.

  • EPA Heavy-Duty Vehicle GHG Rules Face Bumpy Road Ahead

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    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.

  • 8 Steps Companies Should Take After An Internal Investigation

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    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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