Public Policy

  • August 27, 2024

    Tour Bus Merger Claims Can't Save Antitrust Suit Redux

    Claiming a partnership between its rivals amounted to an anticompetitive merger wasn't enough Tuesday to save a New York City tour bus operator's second attempt at antitrust allegations that they locked it out of deals with key tourist destinations.

  • August 27, 2024

    Immigration Orgs Slam DHS' 'Tired Contentions' Over Asylum

    Immigration rights groups and asylum-seekers countered the Biden administration's "tired contentions" that new asylum restrictions at the southern border comport with federal immigration law, telling a D.C. federal judge that the policy is an attempted end-run around the law.

  • August 27, 2024

    Mich. Says Discovery Won't Save Dam Collapse Suits

    The state of Michigan has urged a judge to cut off discovery and end litigation over flooding caused by the collapse of the Edenville Dam, arguing that continuing to exchange information would be fruitless because it's already clear that the state didn't cause the disaster.

  • August 27, 2024

    Rescheduling Pot Unlikely To Fix Banking Issues, Report Says

    A pending proposal to loosen federal restrictions on marijuana is unlikely, on its own, to make it easier for state-regulated cannabis businesses to access financial services available to other industries, according to a recent report published by Capitol Hill's policy research arm.

  • August 27, 2024

    5th Circ. Holds Mandate In Subsidy Suit During FCC Appeal

    The Fifth Circuit has agreed to let the current subsidy for telecom services remain in place while the Federal Communications Commission seeks U.S. Supreme Court review of a ruling that upended the subsidy system.

  • August 27, 2024

    Split 5th Circ. Revives Tesla's Case Over La. Sales Ban

    A split Fifth Circuit panel revived Tesla's case accusing Louisiana car dealers and regulators of illegally excluding the direct-sale automaker from the state, finding Tesla had done enough to survive dismissal by alleging a regulatory board that included competitors is biased against it.

  • August 27, 2024

    CPSC Suit 'Makes A Mockery' Of Standing, SG Tells Justices

    The federal government is urging the U.S. Supreme Court to pass on a "highly artificial suit" that seeks to unravel removal protections for commissioners on the Consumer Product Safety Commission, saying the groups behind the suit have no standing to pursue the legal challenge.

  • August 27, 2024

    Trump-Linked Group Says OPM Delaying Union Comms Bid

    The Office of Personnel Management has delayed its response to information bids about agency communications with public sector unions, an organization led by former Trump administration officials alleged in Texas federal court, calling for an order to require the disclosure of requested details.

  • August 27, 2024

    6th Circ. Affirms HHS' Denial Of Title X Funds To Tenn.

    The Sixth Circuit has upheld the Biden administration's authority to end a family-planning grant awarded to Tennessee after the state refused to offer abortion referrals, saying the state knew the rules when it accepted the grant.

  • August 27, 2024

    Treasury Asked To Scrap Stock Buyback Tax's Funding Rule

    Business groups urged the U.S. Treasury Department on Tuesday to remove what's known as the funding rule in forthcoming final regulations on the stock buyback tax, saying the provision would go beyond Congress' intentions for the levy, which aims to deter companies from giving outsize rewards to shareholders.

  • August 27, 2024

    Broadcaster Settles With FCC For $8K Over Stock Transfers

    An Arkansas radio broadcaster will pay an $8,000 fine to settle a Federal Communications Commission probe into unauthorized changes in control of the company's stock that occurred over two years.

  • August 27, 2024

    FCC Urged To Include Streetlight Poles In Deployment Regs

    It's time for the Federal Communications Commission to clarify that streetlight poles are utility poles as far as the Communications Act's mandates on pole attachments are concerned, a trade group and the country's biggest mobile companies have teamed up to tell the agency.

  • August 27, 2024

    Randy Mastro, Gibson Dunn In Arbitration Over Departure

    Trial lawyer Randy Mastro is locked in closed-door arbitration with Gibson Dunn & Crutcher LLP over the terms of his 2022 departure for King & Spalding LLP, the litigator revealed Tuesday as part of his controversial nomination to serve as New York City's top lawyer.

  • August 27, 2024

    DC Grand Jury Returns New Trump Indictment In Jan. 6 Case

    A federal grand jury in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday returned a superseding indictment accusing Donald Trump of conspiring to subvert the results of the 2020 election, maintaining the same four criminal counts contained in the original indictment after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that former presidents possess immunity from prosecution related to official acts.

  • August 27, 2024

    3rd Circ. Axes Kavanaugh Classmate's HuffPo Defamation Suit

    A lower court was right to nix a defamation lawsuit by a former classmate of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh against The Huffington Post because the suit is time-barred no matter which state's law governs it, the Third Circuit ruled Tuesday.

  • August 27, 2024

    Top Trial Atty Engages Critics Of His NYC Counsel Nomination

    Renowned trial lawyer Randy Mastro of King & Spalding LLP has pledged to work for New York City in a "truly innovative and transformative" way as city council members challenged his record during a Tuesday nomination hearing that came one month after Mayor Eric Adams chose him to serve as corporation counsel over the objection of some city leaders.

  • August 27, 2024

    NY-Licensed Atty Tells Appeals Court NC Bar Can't Touch Him

    An immigration attorney has told the North Carolina Court of Appeals he can't be disciplined in a state where he was never licensed, saying the state bar's decision to disbar him should be reversed.

  • August 27, 2024

    SpaceX, T-Mobile Seek Speedy Action On Mobile 'Dead Zones'

    SpaceX and T-Mobile last week continued to push the Federal Communications Commission to approve Starlink's planned direct-to-cellular service in light of the agency's approval of rules allowing satellite companies to join with terrestrial mobile providers to fill gaps in wireless service.

  • August 27, 2024

    NTIA Gathers Info On Best Techs For Reaching Remote Areas

    As the government continues rolling out a $42.5 billion spending program to deploy broadband to unserved areas, the U.S. Department of Commerce has asked the public to help identify technologies suitable for connecting the most remote and hard-to-reach areas.

  • August 27, 2024

    Return Of Venezuela Sanctions Reignites Criminal Probes

    Criminal investigations into Venezuela-related sanctions violations appear to be ramping back up since the U.S. government reimposed crushing trade penalties on the South American country's oil and gas sectors in response to an allegedly sham presidential election, according to experts.

  • August 27, 2024

    Connecticut Litigation To Watch In The 2nd Half Of 2024

    The Connecticut state and federal courts will grapple with a number of closely watched cases during the second half of 2024, including three key lawsuits by state Attorney General William Tong.

  • August 27, 2024

    Ex-Teacher Says District Forced Her To Resign Over COVID

    A former Fulton County School District teacher sued the district in Georgia federal court Monday, alleging she was denied reasonable accommodations and forced to resign from her job after contracting COVID-19 in 2020.

  • August 27, 2024

    New Jersey Laws Attorneys Need To Know In 2024

    New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy has signed contentious new bills into law recently that attorneys and business owners are adjusting to, including updates to the state's Open Public Records Act that make "fee shifting" more difficult, and a new wage requirement for temporary workers.

  • August 27, 2024

    Georgia Court Says Ride-Hailing Cos. Are 'Motor Carriers'

    The Georgia Court of Appeals said a trial court erred when it held that the ride-hailing service Lyft is not considered a motor carrier under Peach State law, and that its insurer could not be directly named in a lawsuit a woman filed after a crash involving one of its drivers.

  • August 27, 2024

    11th Circ. Allows Fla. Law Banning Trans Care To Take Effect

    The Eleventh Circuit has said a Florida law can take effect that bans gender-affirming care for transgender minors and restricts it for adults, granting the state's bid to scrap an injunction barring the law while it appeals a lower court ruling that found the statute unconstitutional.

Expert Analysis

  • Opinion

    Data Breach Reporting Requirements Must Change In AI Age

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    Outdated data breach reporting laws are inadequate to protect consumers in the age of artificial intelligence, as AI’s ability to determine relationships coupled with its improvements to deepfake technology mean that the very definitions used in breach reporting laws are no longer sufficient, says Collin Walke at Hall Estill.

  • Unpacking HHS' Opinion On Cell Therapy Refund Programs

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    A recent advisory opinion from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, determining that a biopharma company's refund program for its cell therapy will not be penalized, indicates an encouraging willingness to engage, but the regulator's assumptions about the program's limited term warrant a closer look, says Mary Kohler at Kohler Health.

  • Series

    Rock Climbing Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Rock climbing requires problem-solving, focus, risk management and resilience, skills that are also invaluable assets in my role as a finance lawyer, says Mei Zhang at Haynes and Boone.

  • What Chevron's End Means For How Congress Does Business

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    The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo decision, overturning the Chevron doctrine, will have a far-reaching impact across the entire public policy life cycle, beginning with how Congress writes its laws and extending through agency implantation and judicial review, say attorneys at K&L Gates.

  • How 5 States' Deal Notification Laws Are Guiding Healthcare

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    Healthcare transaction notification laws at various stages of implementation in California, Illinois, Indiana, Oregon and Washington are shaping sector mergers and acquisitions, with significant transparency, continuity of care and compliance implications as providers tackle complex regulatory requirements, says Melesa Freerks at DLA Piper.

  • Think Like A Lawyer: Dance The Legal Standard Two-Step

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    From rookie brief writers to Chief Justice John Roberts, lawyers should master the legal standard two-step — framing the governing standard at the outset, and clarifying why they meet that standard — which has benefits for both the drafter and reader, says Luke Andrews at Poole Huffman.

  • Examining Chancery's Relaxed New Confidential Filing Rules

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    The Delaware Court of Chancery’s overhauled Rule 5.1, which governs confidential filings, risks permitting nonconfidential information to be shielded from public review unless and until a challenge notice is filed — but several potential solutions could help to override this issue, says Delaware attorney Daniel J. McBride.

  • Recent Settlement Shows 'China Initiative' Has Life After Death

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    Though the U.S. Department of Justice shuttered its controversial China Initiative two years ago, its recent False Claims Act settlement with the Cleveland Clinic Foundation demonstrates that prosecutors are more than willing to civilly pursue research institutions whose employees were previously targeted, say attorneys at Benesch.

  • How Orange Book Antitrust Scrutiny Is Intensifying

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    Pharmaceutical patent holders should be reviewing Orange Book listing practices, as the Federal Trade Commission takes a more aggressive antitrust approach with actions such as the Teva listing probe, and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration calls attention to potentially improper listings, say attorneys at McDermott.

  • What To Know As Children's Privacy Law Rapidly Evolves

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    If your business hasn't been paying attention to growing state and federal efforts to protect children online, now is the time to start — there is no sign of this regulation slowing down, and more aggressive enforcement actions are to be expected in the coming year, says Susan Rohol at Willkie Farr.

  • Opinion

    OFAC Sanctions Deserve To Be Challenged Post-Chevron

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's Loper Bright decision opens the door to challenges against the Office of Foreign Assets Control's sanctions regime, the unintended consequences of which raise serious questions about the wisdom of what appears to be a scorched-earth approach, says Solomon Shinerock at Lewis Baach.

  • Behind The Delay Of Final HSR Premerger Filing Rules

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    Erin Toomey at Epiq discusses the wait for the final version of the revised Hart-Scott-Rodino premerger filing requirements that were first introduced in June 2023, the factors that might be behind the delay, and how to plan for the potential data-focused rule change

  • What Cos. Should Know About New Global Plastics Regs

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    As the global regulatory landscape for plastics and recycling changes rapidly — with new policies coming into effect in California, at the federal level, in the European Union and at the United Nations — businesses that operate across jurisdictions must stay informed to remain compliant, mitigate legal risk and achieve stewardship goals, say attorneys at O'Melveny.

  • How Calif. Ruling Alters Worker Arb. Agreement Enforcement

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    The California Supreme Court’s recent ruling in Ramirez v. Charter Communications should caution employers that while workers’ arbitration agreements will no longer be deemed unenforceable based on their number of unconscionable provisions, they must still be fair and balanced, says Sander van der Heide at CDF Labor.

  • Opinion

    After Jarkesy, IRS Must Course-Correct On Captive Insurance

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    The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent Securities and Exchange Commission v. Jarkesy decision has profound implications for other agencies, including the IRS, which must stop ignoring due process and curtailing congressional intent in its policing of captive insurance arrangements, says Peter Dawson at the 831(b) Institute.

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