Try our Advanced Search for more refined results
Public Policy
-
November 25, 2024
FCC To Bar Fla. Telecom From Aid After Fraud Conviction
The Federal Communications Commission is looking to block a Florida-based wireless service provider from participating in any universal service programs for at least three years after it was convicted of conspiring to defraud the federal government through the agency's Lifeline Program for low-income phone users.
-
November 25, 2024
Hemp Sellers Say Conn. Cannabis Laws Violate Constitution
A dozen Connecticut hemp retailers filed a federal lawsuit against the governor and attorney general challenging a number of state laws meant to regulate so-called high-THC hemp products, claiming the statutes are so vague they are unconstitutional.
-
November 25, 2024
Calif. Gov. Promises EV Tax Credit If Trump Axes Federal
California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Monday said that he's preparing to save electric vehicle tax credits — at least for residents of his state — if the Trump administration and a Republican Congress eliminate federal ones.
-
November 25, 2024
TMX Moves For Emergency Block On $52M Pa. Fine Hearing
An affiliate of TMX Finance asked a Texas federal court to pause Pennsylvania regulators' efforts to enforce the state's anti-usury laws against it, claiming it faced a "Hobson's choice" of responding to an enforcement proceeding whose legality was being questioned, or waiving its arguments and facing a $52.7 million fine.
-
November 25, 2024
Colo. Justices Take Up Political Donor Secrecy Case
The Colorado Supreme Court on Monday agreed to consider whether election officials were allowed to fine a conservative political group for refusing to disclose its donors after it spent millions of dollars on state ballot questions in 2020.
-
November 25, 2024
Calif. Board Seeks Comment On AI Rules Amid Pushback
The California Privacy Protection Agency on Friday opened the public comment period for its latest rulemaking package proposing expansive draft rules regulating technologies fueled by artificial intelligence — including in the employment, education, healthcare, consumer protection, banking and insurance contexts — which business groups have already criticized as being overly broad and burdensome.
-
November 25, 2024
Judge Vacates Minnesota Mediation Order In Land Dispute
A federal district court judge on Monday vacated a mediation order in a dispute over more than 3,000 acres of land taken into trust for a Minnesota tribe after parties involved in the litigation said any settlement would require compromise on their legal positions or a voluntary remand.
-
November 25, 2024
NJ Judge Allows Nonprofit To Join Affordable Housing Fight
A New Jersey nonprofit is aligned with the state's government in a challenge to a new affordable housing obligation framework it adopted, but that alignment of goals does not mean the nonprofit should not also be allowed to intervene on the case, a Garden State judge said in an order.
-
November 25, 2024
5th Circ. Upholds Miss. Ban On Medical Pot Ads
Marijuana dispensaries do not have protections under the First Amendment to advertise their products because the drug is still illicit under federal law, the Fifth Circuit ruled, tossing a lawsuit that sought to upend the state's tight regulations on cannabis ads.
-
November 25, 2024
4th Circ. Stands By HELOC 'Offset' Ruling Against PNC
The full Fourth Circuit has declined to reconsider a panel decision that extended protections under the Truth In Lending Act by barring banks from dipping into a cardholder's deposit account to cover outstanding payments on a home equity line of credit without the borrower's consent.
-
November 25, 2024
Commerce Limits Nuclear Program-Tied Exports To Pakistan
The U.S. Department of Commerce on Monday issued a final rule imposing new licensing requirements on exports, reexports and transfers of certain items intended for Pakistan that the Middle Eastern country may be able to use for its nuclear weapons program.
-
November 25, 2024
DC Circ. Won't Rehear Allowing H-1B Spousal Work Permits
The District of Columbia Circuit has denied a petition to reconsider its decision upholding an Obama-era program allowing some spouses of highly skilled foreign workers to obtain work permits.
-
November 25, 2024
Payments To Exxon Unit Taxable, Australian Panel Says
Exxon Mobil unit Esso is liable for tax on monthly payments it received for processing its Australian business partners' petroleum and on an AU$23.4 million ($15.5 million) lump sum payment, a panel at the Federal Court of Australia said, overturning an earlier judgment at the same court.
-
November 25, 2024
Housing Project Will Pollute Public Water, Conn. City Says
The construction of 16 houses in Ledyard, Connecticut, will contaminate the groundwater and endanger the drinking water supply for people living on the site, the city of Groton's water department said in an appeal of the project's approval to the state court.
-
November 25, 2024
Condo Boards Likely Safe From Corporate Transparency Law
New corporate reporting requirements under an anti-money laundering law likely do not apply to condominium associations, a Massachusetts federal judge ruled.
-
November 25, 2024
Jack Smith Drops Trump's Federal Cases
Special counsel Jack Smith on Monday moved to drop the federal prosecutions of President-elect Donald Trump in D.C. and Florida, citing long-standing Justice Department policy barring the prosecution of a sitting president while insisting that the government "stands fully behind" the merits of the charges.
-
November 25, 2024
Insurance Mogul Denied 'Custom Detention' After Plea Deal
A convicted insurance mogul who pled guilty to a $2 billion fraud scheme has lost his bid for a temporary reprieve from county jail after turning himself in, with a federal magistrate judge citing concerns about equity if he were to grant such a "custom detention order" for the billionaire.
-
November 25, 2024
Trump 2.0 Expected To Maintain Tech Antitrust Cases
President-elect Donald Trump has promised dramatic changes with his pending second term, but antitrust practitioners are anticipating a return to normal after four years of an aggressive Biden administration that's seemed skeptical of big business on the whole, though they also don't expect enforcement to be lax.
-
November 25, 2024
CNN Calls NC Lt. Gov.'s Defamation Suit 'Political Theater'
The defamation suit against CNN brought by Mark Robinson, North Carolina's lieutenant governor and an unsuccessful gubernatorial candidate, must be thrown out for being simply "political theater," the news outlet said.
-
November 25, 2024
Justices Pass On Ex-Atty's Puerto Rico Bribery Appeal
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to review the bribery convictions of a former attorney who solicited and accepted payments from an environmental contractor to influence three Puerto Rican mayors and helped the contractor secure government contracts worth millions of dollars.
-
November 25, 2024
Tax Hikes Will Make It Harder To Hire, UK Industry Chief Says
Businesses will hire fewer workers as a result of raising employers' National Insurance contributions, a payroll levy, that was introduced in the autumn budget, the chief of one of Britain's most influential industry groups said Monday.
-
November 25, 2024
SDNY's Williams To Resign Before Trump Takes Office
Manhattan U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said Monday he will resign Dec. 13, clearing the way for President-elect Donald Trump's nominee, former U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission chair Jay Clayton, to run the office next year.
-
November 25, 2024
High Court Refuses To Review FDA Cigarette Warning Rule
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday said that it won't take up a challenge to a U.S. Food and Drug Administration rule requiring larger warnings on cigarette boxes, in a suit brought by tobacco companies.
-
November 25, 2024
Justices Reject Patent Case Challenging Newman Suspension
The U.S. Supreme Court refused Monday to hear an appeal by a company that owns a background check patent invalidated for claiming only an abstract idea and that argued it was deprived of a fair hearing at the Federal Circuit due to the suspension of U.S. Circuit Judge Pauline Newman.
-
November 25, 2024
Justices Won't Review Mich. Gun Range Ban
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday rejected a proposed gun range's challenge to a Michigan town's zoning denial, denying its petition over Second Amendment protections for firearm training.
Expert Analysis
-
How D&O Coverage Can Aid Against Increased AI Scrutiny
The recent increase in regulatory enforcement and securities class actions stemming from corporate use of artificial intelligence should prompt companies to ensure that their directors and officers liability insurance coverage is appropriately tailored to AI-related risks, say attorneys at Reed Smith.
-
When Investigating An Adversary, Be Wary Of Forged Records
Warnings against the use of investigators who tout their ability to find an adversary’s private documents generally emphasize the risk of illegal activity and attorney discipline, but a string of recent cases shows an additional danger — investigators might be fabricating records altogether, says Brian Asher at Asher Research.
-
Crypto Cos. Add New Play In Their Offense Against SEC
Consensys and Crypto.com have adopted a novel strategy of preempting U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission enforcement actions by moving to crypto-friendly Texas and filing declaratory lawsuits challenging the SEC's jurisdiction to regulate crypto-assets — an aggressive approach that may pay off, say attorneys at Herrick Feinstein.
-
FTC Focus: Zeroing In On Post-Election Labor Markets
The presidential election and the push-and-pull of the administrative state's reach are likely to affect the Federal Trade Commission's focus on labor markets, including the tenor of noncompete rule enforcement, say attorneys at Proskauer.
-
3 Ways To Train Junior Lawyers In 30 Minutes Or Less
Today’s junior lawyers are experiencing a skills gap due to pandemic-era disruptions, but firms can help bring them up to speed by offering high-impact skill building content in bite-sized, interactive training sessions, say Stacey Schwartz at Katten, Diane Costigan at Winston & Strawn and Lauren Tierney at Freshfields.
-
Opinion
Why States Should Adopt ABA's 'Duty To Inquire'
State bars should codify the American Bar Association's proposed rule on a lawyer's duty to scrutinize each representation as it provides guardrails for lawyers, supports self-regulation of the profession, and helps avert money laundering and other crimes, says Deborah Winokur at Cozen O'Connor.
-
$3B TD Bank AML Settlement Is A Wake-Up Call For All Banks
TD Bank’s historic settlement over anti-money laundering violations, resulting in over $3 billion in penalties, reminds banks of all shapes and sizes why they need to take financial crime compliance seriously, and highlights three areas that may be especially vulnerable to enforcement, says Jack Harrington at Bradley Arant.
-
What Trump Presidency May Mean For Climate Reporting
While the Trump administration will likely take a hands-off approach to climate-related disclosures and rescind regulations promulgated under the Biden administration, state and international ESG laws mean the private sector may not reverse course on such disclosures, say attorneys at Seyfarth.
-
Expect Surging Oil And Gas Industry Under New Trump Admin
Throughout his recent campaign, President-elect Donald Trump promised increased oil and natural gas production and reduced reliance on renewables — and his administration will likely bring more oil and gas dealmaking, faster federal permitting and attempts to roll back incentives for green energy, say attorneys at Sidley.
-
Timing Of An NLRB Power Shift Hinges On Biden Nominees
President-elect Donald Trump seems certain to shake up the National Labor Relations Board's prounion Democrat majority, but the incoming president's timing depends on whether the current Senate confirms two pending nominees to board positions, say attorneys at Fox Rothschild.
-
Opinion
The Right Kind Of Deregulation In Commercial Airline Industry
Similar to the economic deregulation that occurred more than four decades ago during the Carter administration, the incoming Trump administration should restore the very limited federal regulatory role in the economics of the airline industry, says former U.S. transportation secretary James Burnley at Venable.
-
Medicare Overpayment Rules Are A Mixed Bag For Providers
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services' updated rules for handling agency overpayments adopt a more reasonable definition of what it means to have "identified" an overpayment, which is a win for providers, but their new time frame for investigating related overpayments is unrealistic, says Susan Banks at Holland & Knight.
-
FERC's Reactive Power Compensation Cutoff Is No Shock
While the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's recent final rule ending compensation for reactive power provided within the standard power factor range will mean less revenue for some generators, it should not come as a surprise, since FERC has long signaled its interest in this shift, says Linda Walsh at Husch Blackwell.
-
Navigating Decentralized Clinical Trials With FDA's Guidance
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration's recently finalized guidance on conducting decentralized clinical trials, while not legally binding, can serve as a road map for sponsors, investigators and others to ensure trial integrity and participant safety, say attorneys at Phillips Lytle.
-
Unpacking The CFPB's Personal Financial Data Final Rule
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's personal financial data rights rule includes several important changes from the proposed rule, and hundreds of pages of supplementary information that provide important insights into the manner in which the bureau will enforce the final rule, say attorneys at Sidley.