Public Policy

  • December 04, 2024

    Mass. Justices Probe Extent Of State Immunity In 2 Cases

    The Massachusetts high court on Wednesday mulled how far immunity extends for public employees and state agencies, with one justice questioning why the state is proposing that children in foster care should face the same legal standard as prison inmates.

  • December 04, 2024

    LPGA, USGA Restrict Trans Golfer Eligibility

    Golfers who were not "assigned female at birth" or who transitioned after going through male puberty have been banned from competition by the Ladies Professional Golf Association and the United States Golf Association under new policies governing transgender players announced by the organizations Wednesday.

  • December 04, 2024

    Trump Chooses Vance Adviser To Lead Army

    President-elect Donald Trump on Wednesday nominated Daniel Driscoll, a former soldier, venture capitalist and adviser to incoming Vice President JD Vance, to lead the U.S. Army.

  • December 04, 2024

    EPA Finalizes Changes To Chemical Review Process

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Wednesday finalized a rule to improve the efficiency of its new chemical review process that also makes per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, also known as "forever chemicals," ineligible for exemptions that allow for shorter, less robust chemical reviews.

  • December 04, 2024

    Pitt, UPMC Say Fired Doctor Didn't State How DEI Broke Law

    A fired University of Pittsburgh medical school program director's article criticizing diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives isn't protected activity, since he did not specify in suing that Pitt or the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center used DEI initiatives to discriminate, the institutions' lawyers told a federal judge Wednesday.

  • December 04, 2024

    Ex-Trump Atty Chesebro Looks To Invalidate Ga. Plea Deal

    Kenneth Chesebro, a former attorney for President-elect Donald Trump and one of four Trump co-defendants to strike a plea deal with Georgia prosecutors, sought to overturn his agreement in a filing on Wednesday.

  • December 04, 2024

    Treasury Finalizes Broad Energy Investment Tax Credit Regs

    The U.S. Treasury Department released final regulations Wednesday for the clean energy investment tax credit, which includes notable changes to the proposed energy property definition to include functional components in calculating the incentive's value, such as a biogas facility's upgrading equipment.

  • December 04, 2024

    DuPont Asks Court For Pause In $1 Billion Pollution Suit

    Chemours and E.I. du Pont de Nemours urged a New Jersey state court to pause a small town's billion-dollar lawsuit over pollution from the former DuPont Chambers Works facility in order to appeal a recent ruling, arguing clarity from the Appellate Division is necessary.

  • December 04, 2024

    Reed Smith Adds State Tax Partner To San Francisco Office

    Reed Smith LLP added a partner to its national state tax practice who will work out of its San Francisco office, according to the firm.

  • December 04, 2024

    Justices Seem To Back Ban On Transgender Youth Care

    The U.S. Supreme Court's conservative majority on Wednesday seemed poised to greenlight a Tennessee ban on minors receiving gender-affirming care, despite arguments from the court's liberal block that finding the law constitutional would fly in the face of the court's equal-protection precedents.

  • December 04, 2024

    Fulton County DA Must Produce Trump Election Probe Docs

    A Georgia state court judge has ordered the Fulton County District Attorney's Office to turn over documents from its election interference investigation that were sent to or received from special counsel Jack Smith and the U.S. House Jan. 6 Committee to conservative nonprofit Judicial Watch.

  • December 04, 2024

    Jan. 6 Rioter Unlikely To Succeed On Appeal, Judge Says

    A District of Columbia federal judge ordered a convicted rioter from the Jan. 6, 2021, assault on the U.S. Capitol to serve the remainder of his more than four-year prison term while he appeals, saying his legal arguments are substantial but unlikely to result in a reduced sentence.

  • December 04, 2024

    Trump Changes Course On Pick For WH Counsel

    President-elect Donald Trump announced on Wednesday he was naming a Dhillon Law Group Inc. partner who has represented his campaign to serve as White House counsel, replacing the ex-Jones Day attorney he'd previously picked as the top lawyer in his new administration.

  • December 04, 2024

    Crypto Groups Hail Trump's SEC Pick Paul Atkins

    President-elect Donald Trump on Wednesday said he will nominate former U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission member Paul Atkins to lead the agency next year, a decision that cryptocurrency advocates praised as opening a path for greater acceptance of an industry that has faced a slew of lawsuits under the current SEC.

  • December 04, 2024

    Trump Names Slater To DOJ Antitrust Against 'Wild' Big Tech

    President-elect Donald Trump signaled a full steam ahead approach to reining in major technology platforms with the announced nomination Wednesday of former Federal Trade Commission staffer and Trump administration economic adviser Gail Slater to run the U.S. Department of Justice's Antitrust Division.

  • December 04, 2024

    Trump Brings Navarro Back Into White House Trade Fold

    President-elect Donald Trump tapped longtime adviser Peter Navarro for a new White House trade post Wednesday, bringing back one of the most influential voices of his tariff-heavy first term months after he was released from prison following a contempt of Congress charge.

  • December 03, 2024

    Texas Judge Blocks 'Quasi-Orwellian' Anti-Laundering Law

    A Texas federal judge on Tuesday halted the Biden administration's roll-out of new reporting requirements aimed at unmasking anonymous shell companies, granting a nationwide preliminary injunction sought by business interests challenging their constitutionality.

  • December 03, 2024

    Monsanto Expert Says No PCB Link To Kids' Conditions

    Monsanto began its defense case Tuesday in the latest PCB trial with an OB/GYN who said he didn't believe that any of three sisters' skin problems or premature puberty stemmed from exposure to the chemical.

  • December 03, 2024

    Feds, Nuke Storage Co. Ask Justices To Nix Bar On Waste Site

    The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission and Interim Storage Partners LLC are urging the U.S. Supreme Court to reverse a Fifth Circuit ruling barring a license for the company to temporarily store spent nuclear fuel at a site in Texas's Permian Basin.

  • December 03, 2024

    Ex-Braves Blast Tax Court's 'Disregard' In Easement Fight

    Two former Atlanta Braves players penalized for allegedly overstating the value of a conservation easement donation urged the Eleventh Circuit to toss the costly ruling against them, saying the U.S. Tax Court's decision showed "blatant disregard" for the appeal court's precedent in deciding the matter.

  • December 03, 2024

    Calif. Unveils Reproductive Rights Bills To Prep For Trump

    California lawmakers plan to introduce a pair of bills aimed at protecting access to abortion in the Golden State as Donald Trump returns to office, according to an announcement made Monday, the first day of a special legislative session called by Gov. Gavin Newsom.

  • December 03, 2024

    ND Calls Tribes' Bid For Riverbed Mineral Rights 'Irrational'

    North Dakota has hit back against the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation's attempt to win a federal court declaration that it owns mineral rights beneath a portion of the Missouri River, arguing that the three tribes' claim of riverbed ownership is "irrational."

  • December 03, 2024

    ​​​​​​​Trump-Era Rule On Genetically Engineered Crops Tossed

    A California federal judge on Monday vacated a 2020 Trump-era rule that a group of agricultural and environmental organizations alleged significantly reduced government oversight over genetically engineered crops, grasses and trees, granting the groups a partial summary judgment win due to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's inadequate explanations for the rule.

  • December 03, 2024

    Former Officials Target DOJ, FTC Position In Epic V. Google

    The U.S. Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission drew criticism Tuesday from former officials who targeted the agencies' stance on Google's Ninth Circuit fight against the mandated opening of the Android Play Store, with the officials warning in an amicus brief against "compulsory sharing obligations."

  • December 03, 2024

    Chamber Backs T-Mobile, Sprint's Challenge To FCC Fine

    The U.S. Chamber of Commerce told the D.C. Circuit that recent U.S. Supreme Court rulings make clear that the Federal Communications Commission overstepped its authority when it levied a combined $92 million in fines on T-Mobile and Sprint for selling users' location data.

Expert Analysis

  • FTC Focus: How Scrutiny Of PBMs And Insulin May Play Out

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    Should Express Scripts' recent judicial challenge to the Federal Trade Commission succeed, any new targets could add litigation and choice of forum to their playbooks, and potential FTC court action on insulin could be forced to parallel venues as the issues between the commission and PBMs evolve, say attorneys at Proskauer.

  • Opinion

    AI May Limit Key Learning Opportunities For Young Attorneys

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    The thing that’s so powerful about artificial intelligence is also what’s most scary about it — its ability to detect patterns may curtail young attorneys’ chance to practice the lower-level work of managing cases, preventing them from ever honing the pattern recognition skills that undergird creative lawyering, says Sarah Murray at Trialcraft.

  • A Look At How De Minimis Import Rules May Soon Change

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    The planned implementation of executive actions focused on the de minimis rule as it applies to shipments means companies should use this interval to evaluate the potential applicability and impact of Section 301, Section 201 or Section 232 duties on their products, say attorneys at Holland & Knight.

  • Key Takeaways From DOJ's New Corp. Compliance Guidance

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    The U.S. Department of Justice’s updated guidance to federal prosecutors on evaluating corporate compliance programs addresses how entities manage new technology-related risks and expands on preexisting policies, providing key insights for companies about increasing regulatory expectations, say attorneys at Debevoise.

  • What's In The Cards For CFTC's Election Betting Case

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    A D.C. federal judge's Sept. 12 ruling, allowing KalshiEx to offer derivative contracts trading on the outcome of the U.S. congressional elections over objections from the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission, could mark a watershed moment in the permissibility of election betting if upheld on appeal, say attorneys at BakerHostetler.

  • What To Know About Latest Calif. Auto-Renewal Law Update

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    While businesses have about nine months to prepare before the recently passed amendment to California's automatic renewal law takes effect, it’s not too early to begin working on compliance efforts, including sign-up flow reviews, record retention updates and marketing language revisions, say Gonzalo Mon and Beth Chun at Kelley Drye.

  • The Key Changes In Revised FDIC Hiring Regulations

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    Attorneys at Ogletree break down the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.'s new rule, effective Oct. 1, that will ease restrictions on financial institutions hiring employees with criminal histories, amend the FDIC's treatment of minor offenses and clarify its stance on expunged or dismissed criminal records.

  • FDIC's Cautious Approach To Industrial Banks, Reaffirmed

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    Although the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. recently approved an industrial loan company's deposit insurance application and proposed new rules regarding parent companies, these developments do not represent a liberalization or modernization of the FDIC's regulatory framework, say Max Bonici and Andrew Bigart at Venable.

  • How Lucia, Jarkesy Could Affect Grocery Merger Challenge

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    While the Federal Trade Commission is taking a dual federal court and administrative tribunal approach to block Kroger's merger with Alberstons, Kroger's long-shot unconstitutionality claims could potentially lead to a reevaluation of the FTC's reliance on administrative processes in complex merger cases, say attorneys at Saul Ewing.

  • How NLRB Memo Balances Schools' Labor, Privacy Concerns

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    Natale DiNatale at Robinson & Cole highlights the recent National Labor Relations Board advice memorandum that aims to help colleges reconcile competing obligations under the National Labor Relations Act and the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act as university students flock toward unionization.

  • Taking Stock Of FCC's New Spectrum Rule For Drones

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    While an order recently adopted by the Federal Communications Commission is intended to provide drones with rapid access to a limited amount of spectrum in the 5030-5091 megahertz band, the commission envisions an incremental approach to full usage that will play out over the course of the coming months and years, say attorneys at Wiley.

  • Basel Endgame Rules: A Change Is Coming

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    The Federal Reserve Board's recently announced recalibration of the Basel endgame proposal begins a critical chapter in the evolution of not only the safety and soundness of U.S. banks, but also of banks' abilities to lend and support American businesses and consumers, say attorneys at Davis Wright.

  • Ruling On Foreign Dividend Break Offers 2 Tax Court Insights

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    In Varian v. Commissioner, the U.S. Tax Court allowed a taxpayer's deduction for dividends from foreign subsidiaries, providing clarity on how the U.S. Supreme Court’s Loper Bright decision may affect challenges to Treasury regulations, and revealing a potential disallowance of foreign tax credits, say attorneys at Davis Polk.

  • How Loper Bright Is Affecting Pending FCC Litigation

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    Pending challenges against Federal Communications Commission orders at the Sixth and Eleventh Circuits following the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Loper Bright highlight that counsel must be familiar with the statutes, regulations and precedent relevant to the FCC to best navigate the rapidly changing compliance landscape, say attorneys at Davis Wright.

  • What PCOAB's Broadened Liability Rule Means For Auditors

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    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s recent vote agreeing to lower the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board's liability standard, allowing the board to charge individual auditors whose mere negligence leads firms into PCOAB violations, may erode inspection cooperation, shrink the talent pool and have anticompetitive outcomes, say attorneys at BakerHostetler.

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