Try our Advanced Search for more refined results
Public Policy
-
July 05, 2024
The Firms That Won Big At The Supreme Court
This U.S. Supreme Court term featured high-stakes oral arguments on issues including gerrymandering, abortion and federal agency authority, and a hot bench ever more willing to engage in a lengthy back-and-forth with advocates. Here's a look at the law firms that argued the most cases and how they fared.
-
July 05, 2024
Farmworkers Union Wins Partial Block Of DOL Wage Rules
A Washington federal judge partly blocked U.S. Department of Labor rules on prevailing wage rates that a union claimed depressed farmworkers' wages, saying the agency failed to consider effects on workers and must reinstate wage rates from 2020.
-
July 05, 2024
Georgia DAs Say Discipline Panel Already Harming Them
A legal challenge to Georgia's new prosecutor disciplinary panel should move forward now that the panel has been cleared to begin investigating prosecutors, a bipartisan group of district attorneys told a Georgia state court.
-
July 05, 2024
Trump-Appointed Alaska Judge Abruptly Resigns
Judge Joshua Kindred of the District of Alaska informed President Joe Biden on Wednesday that he will be resigning Monday.
-
July 05, 2024
Unilateral Climate Policies Threaten Trade, WTO Deputy Says
Touting a new trade agreement between Costa Rica, Iceland, New Zealand and Switzerland, a World Trade Organization deputy director-general said the multilateral system is at a crossroads where more countries must work together to address the link between trade and climate change or risk harming progress on both fronts.
-
July 05, 2024
Monthly Merger Review Snapshot
A Federal Trade Commission loss became a win when a Fourth Circuit pause spurred Novant Health to walk away from its plans to purchase two North Carolina hospitals, Assa Abloy complained about the monitor observing its compliance with a U.S. Department of Justice merger clearance deal, and a Colorado judge preserved the state attorney general's challenge to Kroger-Albertsons.
-
July 05, 2024
4 Benefits Policy Moves To Watch In 2024's 2nd Half
The U.S. Department of Labor and other agencies are expected to issue a final rule implementing a mental health parity-in-coverage statute, and DOL regulations expanding who qualifies as a fiduciary under federal benefits law are set to take effect in the fall. Here are four policy developments benefits attorneys are watching out for in the second half of 2024.
-
July 05, 2024
3rd Circ. Preview: Ponzi Scheme, Merck Vaccine Heat Up July
The Third Circuit's July argument schedule is sizzling with several high-stakes cases, including two whistleblowers attempting to make drugmaker Merck answer for allegedly inducing the U.S. government to pay for substandard mumps vaccines.
-
July 05, 2024
DOJ Says Ayahuasca Church Doesn't Deserve $2.2M Fees
The U.S. government is urging an Arizona federal judge to deny a Phoenix church's request for $2.2 million in fees and costs following a settlement allowing it to use ayahuasca in its religious practices, saying no fees are warranted for an unnecessary suit that would've reached the same resolution through normal processes.
-
July 03, 2024
HHS Scores Early Win In Boehringer's Medicare Pricing Suit
A Connecticut federal judge on Wednesday sided with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in Boehringer Ingelheim's challenge to a new Medicare drug price negotiation program, rejecting the pharmaceutical company's claim that the program is unconstitutional.
-
July 03, 2024
6 Things To Know About The Post-Chevron Finreg Impact
The U.S. Supreme Court's decision to overturn the Chevron deference last week may make it tougher for financial regulators to defend a range of rules and regulations pursued by the Biden administration, although experts anticipate the ruling will have an uneven impact across the financial services industry.
-
July 03, 2024
Menendez's Focus On Ally's Case Was Legitimate, Jury Told
Sen. Robert Menendez rested his bribery defense Wednesday after a prominent criminal defense attorney testified that Menendez was not alone in finding a certain prosecution "abusive," rebutting the notion that the lawmaker's interest was part of a quid pro quo.
-
July 03, 2024
Ex-Conn. Goodwill Exec Says Whistleblowing Ended His Job
The former top executive at Goodwill of Western and Northern Connecticut Inc. has launched a state court lawsuit alleging he was fired for complaining about the nonprofit's governance, questioning statements on its IRS filings and expressing doubts about a proposed merger.
-
July 03, 2024
24 AGs Urge High Court To Preserve Ghost Gun Regs
A coalition of 24 attorneys general urged the U.S. Supreme Court to uphold a new federal regulation regarding the weapon parts kits consumers can purchase and use to build ghost guns — firearms without serial numbers — treating them the same way preassembled firearms are, saying the new rule is "crucial to preventing and solving violent, firearm-related offenses."
-
July 03, 2024
Alaskan Tribe Says It Can't Get Access To Burial Site
The governing body of an Alaska Native Tribe is suing several state entities and the Federal Aviation Administration, claiming they are preventing the tribe from performing excavations of archaeological artifacts and ancestral remains found during construction of an airport runway.
-
July 03, 2024
Chevron Irrelevant To Spouse Work Permit Case, Group Says
The U.S. Supreme Court's ruling that courts don't have to defer to federal agencies' interpretations of ambiguous statutes doesn't pertain to a lawsuit challenging an Obama-era program allowing work permits for spouses of highly skilled foreign workers, a nonprofit group intervening in the case told the D.C. Circuit.
-
July 03, 2024
SEC Says Apparel Co.'s Preemptive Crypto Suit Is Unripe
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission told a Texas federal judge on Wednesday a crypto industry group and apparel company can't sue the regulator over its alleged "digital-asset policy" since the parties can't point to any rule or action to challenge.
-
July 03, 2024
NYC Pensions Defeat Challenge To Fossil Fuel Divestments
A trio of New York City pension plans on Wednesday beat a lawsuit claiming they'd damaged public employees' retirement funds by removing $3.9 billion from investments in fossil fuels, with a New York state judge ruling the workers hadn't shown they'd been harmed by the divestments.
-
July 03, 2024
Vietnam Wood Circumvention Duties Are Sound, Feds Say
The U.S. Department of Commerce urged the U.S. Court of International Trade to uphold its circumvention duties on Vietnamese plywood found to contain materials from China, saying that importers and producers failed to provide timely evidence disproving the allegations, despite having ample opportunity.
-
July 03, 2024
Rochester Says Chevron Ruling May Impact Telecom Fee Deal
The city of Rochester is clashing with Verizon Wireless, Crown Castle and Extenet in New York federal court over the impact of the U.S. Supreme Court's recent ruling overturning the Chevron deference amid litigation over how much the city can charge telecoms to do business.
-
July 03, 2024
Red States Get ACA Trans Discrimination Rule Blocked
Federal judges in Mississippi and Texas granted conservatives states' requests Wednesday to freeze a new rule protecting access to healthcare for the LGBTQ+ community, with both judges ruling that states are likely to succeed in showing that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services overstepped when it created the regulations.
-
July 03, 2024
FCC Says No To Rethink Of $25M Aid Denial For Cell Towers
The Federal Communications Commission says it's not going to rethink its decision to say no to $25.5 million in aid to build 16 cell towers, because even though it's a group of California school districts that is asking, the funds are earmarked for schools, and it was never explained how the towers would benefit the students or staff.
-
July 03, 2024
FTC Warns Cos. Over Warranties That Limit Right To Repair
The Federal Trade Commission is warning a group of air purifier sellers, treadmill makers and gaming tech companies not to scare their customers from using independent dealers to repair their products, saying their use of "warranty void" notices might be in violation of federal right-to-repair laws.
-
July 03, 2024
California Tribe Sues Over 'Princeology' RICO Scheme
A California tribe is suing its former council chairwoman and two members of her nonprofit's board of directors, alleging they devised a scheme to funnel hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal fees and insurance costs to cover her Prince memorabilia collection and continue to "squat" on its property to block its sale.
-
July 03, 2024
5 Argument Sessions Benefits Attys Should Watch For In July
Republican state attorneys general will try to convince the Fifth Circuit to knock down a U.S. Department of Labor rule covering how retirement plan managers can consider environmental and social factors when picking investments, while Kellogg workers will challenge class action waivers at the Sixth Circuit. Here are five argument sessions coming up this month that benefits attorneys should keep an eye on.
Expert Analysis
-
Ecuador Ruling Marks Significant Step For Arbitral Certainty
The Constitutional Court of Ecuador's recent holding that a foreign arbitral award did not require homologation before local enforcement is a positive step toward fostering greater certainty in international business dispute resolution in the region, say Luis Perez and Ildefonso Mas at Akerman.
-
A Look At Calif. Contract Considerations In Fiji Water Ruling
A California appellate court's recent decision in Carolina Beverage v. Fiji Water, that a party may not seek contractual recovery on the basis of constructive termination, offers a look at contract construction and other considerations on negotiating distribution agreements, says Michael Laszlo at Clark Hill.
-
Making Plans For BNPL Consumer Protection Compliance
With an interpretive rule from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau set to require buy-now, pay-later providers to implement credit card-like consumer safeguards by the end of July, loan providers must solidify their federally compliant customer dispute resolution and disclosure procedures before the newly emboldened bureau's deadline, say attorneys at Steptoe.
-
Fla. HOA Reforms Bring Major Wins For Homeowners
A recently signed law brings broad changes for homeowners associations in Florida, alleviating some pressure imposed by overly restrictive rules and potentially setting up litigation surrounding how HOAs enforce their governing documents, says Christopher Miller at Varnum.
-
How Congress Is Tackling The US Healthcare Shortage
With healthcare shortages continuing across the U.S. despite industry efforts to improve patient access to care, increased Medicare support for graduate medical education could be a crucial component of the solution, say Sarah Crossan and Miranda Franco at Holland & Knight.
-
How Justices' Chevron Ruling May Influence Wind Projects
Parties both for and against the development of East Coast offshore wind development are watching the U.S. Supreme Court closely for its anticipated ruling challenging long-standing principles of agency deference that may subject decision making based on that precedent to upheaval, say attorneys at Robinson & Cole.
-
Gov't Contractors Shouldn't Skip Steps In Rush To Adopt AI
Government contractors that may be tempted to deploy artificial intelligence in day-to-day operations like billing and data protection should first take time to consider and address the specific risks that come with using AI tools, say attorneys at Wiley.
-
6 Tips For Maximizing After-Tax Returns In Private M&A Deals
With potential tax legislation likely to spur a surge in private business sales, sellers can make the most of after-tax proceeds with strategies that include price allocation and qualified investment options, say Isaac Grossman and Daniel Studin at Morrison Cohen.
-
Opinion
Why The Patent Eligibility Restoration Act Can Spur Progress
Patent practitioners have long wrestled with the effects of U.S. Supreme Court decisions that have muddied the waters of what can be patented, but the Patent Eligibility Restoration Act can change that, and those not involved with patents on a day-to-day basis can help get this act passed, says John White at Harness IP.
-
Lower Courts May Finally Be Getting The Memo After Ciminelli
A year after the U.S. Supreme Court again limited prosecutors' overbroad theories of fraud in Ciminelli v. U.S., early returns suggest that the message has at least partially landed with the lower courts, spotlighting lessons for defense counsel moving forward, says Kenneth Notter at MoloLamken.
-
After A Brief Hiccup, The 'Rocket Docket' Soars Back To No. 1
The Eastern District of Virginia’s precipitous 2022 fall from its storied rocket docket status appears to have been a temporary aberration, as recent statistics reveal that the court is once again back on top as the fastest federal civil trial court in the nation, says Robert Tata at Hunton.
-
Protecting Trade Secrets In US, EU Gov't Agency Submissions
Attorneys at Mintz compare U.S. and European Union trade secret laws, and how proprietary information in confidential submissions to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the European Medicines Agency is protected in the face of third-party information requests under government transparency laws.
-
Big Banks Face Potential Broader Recovery Plan Rules
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency's recent call for potentially subjecting more banks to recovery planning standards would represent a significant expansion of the scope of the recovery guidelines, and banks that would be affected should assess whether they’re prepared, say attorneys at Debevoise.
-
New Laws, Regs Mean More Scrutiny Of Airline Carbon Claims
Recent climate disclosure laws and regulations in the U.S. and Europe mean that scrutiny of airlines' green claims will likely continue to intensify — so carriers must make sure their efforts to reduce carbon emissions through use of sustainable aviation fuel, hydrogen and carbon offsets measure up to their marketing, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.
-
Recruitment Trends In Emerging Law Firm Frontiers
BigLaw firms are facing local recruitment challenges as they increasingly establish offices in cities outside of the major legal hubs, requiring them to weigh various strategies for attracting talent that present different risks and benefits, says Tom Hanlon at Buchanan Law.