Public Policy

  • December 11, 2024

    Texas Sues 3M And DuPont Over Forever Chemicals

    Texas launched a suit against 3M and DuPont for "misrepresentations and key omissions" the companies made about so-called forever chemicals, telling a state court on Wednesday that the companies lied to the public about the harmful chemicals for over 50 years.

  • December 11, 2024

    Pot Farmer Opposes Sanctions In Suit Over Mistaken Raid

    An Oklahoma medical marijuana cultivator whose property was destroyed when state drug enforcers mistakenly raided his legal farm is pushing back on efforts to hit him with sanctions for allegedly being belligerent during a deposition, telling a federal court that he's offered to sit down for a second round of questioning.

  • December 11, 2024

    Dems, GOP Agree That China Cyberspying Is A Problem

    For all their disagreements, Republicans and Democrats were largely singing the same tune Wednesday afternoon at a Senate hearing on the security of the nation's communications networks — that they're worried, and the government needs to get to work on a solution.

  • December 11, 2024

    Montana Justices Uphold Temporary Block On Trans Care Ban

    Montana's highest court delivered a key victory for transgender youths and healthcare practitioners on Wednesday in a decision finding that privacy rights afforded by Montana's constitution favor a halt to the state's ban on gender-affirming care while litigation against it proceeds.

  • December 11, 2024

    Bipartisan Bill Would Sunset Afghan Oversight Office

    Congressional representatives Jason Crow and Young Kim introduced a bipartisan bill Wednesday geared at sunsetting the office responsible for keeping Congress up to date with reconstruction activities in Afghanistan for the past 16 years.

  • December 11, 2024

    Seminole Tribe Can't Intervene In Gaming Ad Suit, Court Told

    A class action party is objecting to the Seminole Tribe of Florida's proposed intervention in the lawsuit, saying the tribe's interests are adequately protected by vendor Seminole Hard Rock Digital, which has already raised the tribe's defenses in successive motions to dismiss.

  • December 11, 2024

    Ex-Rep. TJ Cox Reaches Plea Deal On Fraud Charges

    Former U.S. Rep. T.J. Cox reached a deal with California federal prosecutors and agreed to plead guilty to two charges and pay up to a $3.5 million fine over allegations he stole from his companies and took illegal campaign contributions, according to a plea agreement filed Wednesday. 

  • December 11, 2024

    Split 9th Circ. Nixes Trump-Era Hospital Reimbursement Rule

    A split Ninth Circuit on Wednesday struck down a U.S. Department of Health and Human Services policy that boosted the Medicare reimbursement rate for hospitals in lower-income communities, saying the agency's former secretary lacked authority to issue the policy despite his "laudable goal" of helping lower-wage hospitals.

  • December 11, 2024

    NRA Ordered To Reform Policies After NY Misconduct Verdict

    A New York judge ordered changes to the National Rifle Association's board structure and organizational policies Wednesday to "prevent future violations of law," following a jury verdict that found widespread financial misconduct and whistleblower retaliation within the gun group.

  • December 11, 2024

    Calif. Judge Approval Puts Biden One Shy Of Trump's Record

    The Senate voted 50-47 on Wednesday evening to confirm Judge Noël Wise for the Northern District of California, making her the 233rd lifetime federal judge confirmed under President Joe Biden and putting him one shy of former President Donald Trump's total and making him likely to surpass it with additional confirmations in coming days.

  • December 11, 2024

    Justices Won't Block EPA Coal Ash Rule During Court Case

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday rejected a Kentucky electric utility's effort to halt implementation of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's rule strengthening federal regulations for the safe management of coal ash.

  • December 11, 2024

    Dem Senators Urge Biden To Extend Immigrant Protections

    Several Democratic senators on Wednesday urged President Joe Biden to use his final days in office to bolster temporary protected status protections for several countries and expedite the renewal process for Deferred Action of Childhood Arrivals recipients.

  • December 11, 2024

    Wash. Port Asks Justices To Review 9th Circ. CWA Ruling

    The Port of Tacoma urged the U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday to answer what it calls a "longstanding circuit split" over whether private suits seeking to enforce state permit conditions that go beyond the Clean Water Act can proceed in federal court.

  • December 11, 2024

    Justices Question Affiliates' Liability In $47M TM Judgment

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday questioned why lower courts ordered affiliates of a real estate company to pay a $47 million trademark infringement judgment against it when they were not defendants, with Justice Clarence Thomas asking counsel for the prevailing party why they did not include the affiliates in the case.

  • December 11, 2024

    DOJ Tells Justices To Preserve Antitrust Probe Into NAR

    The U.S. Department of Justice told the U.S. Supreme Court that it made no commitment not to reopen its investigation into the National Association of Realtors as part of its 2020 consent decree with the company, urging the justices to reject the association's bid for a day before the high court.

  • December 11, 2024

    Anti-SLAPP Protections Passed By Michigan House

    The Michigan House of Representatives voted Tuesday to approve legislation to make it easier to quickly defeat meritless defamation lawsuits, sending the bipartisan-backed proposal to the state Senate.

  • December 11, 2024

    Group Targets Air Force Academy Over Race In Admissions

    Conservative advocacy group Students for Fair Admissions filed a lawsuit in Colorado federal court on Tuesday challenging the U.S. Air Force Academy's consideration of race in admissions decisions.

  • December 11, 2024

    LA Fitness Fights To End DOJ's Gym Accessibility Suit

    LA Fitness urged a California federal judge to toss the U.S. Department of Justice's civil enforcement lawsuit alleging the gym chain failed to accommodate patrons with disabilities at its nearly 700 locations across the country, arguing the lawsuit relies on "isolated" incidents and doesn't show "a pattern and practice."

  • December 11, 2024

    NC Elections Board Rejects GOP Protests To 60,000 Votes

    A divided North Carolina State Board of Elections on Wednesday voted to deny a consortium of election protests filed by Republican candidates seeking to discount more than 60,000 ballots from the Nov. 5 election, further cementing incumbent Supreme Court Justice Allison Riggs' victory in her contested race with Judge Jefferson Griffin.

  • December 11, 2024

    Doctors Group Asks DC Circ. To Pause Pot Hearings

    A group of doctors who advise their patients on medical cannabis is asking the D.C. Circuit to put a stay on hearings set for January over whether to reschedule cannabis under the Controlled Substances Act, saying they were unfairly denied the chance to participate in those hearings.

  • December 11, 2024

    Lawmakers Push For Syria Sanctions Pause After Assad's Fall

    Two state representatives have asked federal government higher-ups to suspend certain sanctions on Syria after the recent collapse of Bashar al-Assad's government, saying the regime's fall shows the potential effectiveness of the targeted sanctions.

  • December 11, 2024

    More Facts Needed In RJ Reynolds Tax Row, Mich. Court Says

    More facts are needed on whether part of a $4.9 billion sale of trademarks by R.J. Reynolds to a Japanese company should be taxable in Michigan, a state court said Wednesday, declining to rule immediately.

  • December 11, 2024

    Border Protection Says It's Swamped With FOIA Requests

    U.S. Customs and Border Protection told a judge it is working to hand over records Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton requested months ago, but said a spike in document requests has made it "almost impossible" to meet Freedom of Information Act deadlines.

  • December 11, 2024

    Neb. Medical Pot Legalization Hit With New Legal Challenge

    A Republican former Nebraska state senator and opponent of cannabis reform has launched a new lawsuit aiming to invalidate a pair of ballot measures legalizing and regulating medical marijuana which supermajorities of Nebraskans approved on Election Day.

  • December 11, 2024

    EPA Gives States, Tribes Clearer Path To Water Permit Power

    States and Native American tribes have a clearer path to gaining the authority to set water pollution standards that may be even stronger than federal ones under a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency rule finalized Wednesday.

Expert Analysis

  • US Intellectual Property-Based Sanctions Could Be Imminent

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    A recent presidential delegation suggests that regulators may be ready to wield the sanctions authority found in the Protecting American Intellectual Property Act, which has been unutilized for the first 22 months of its life, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • Philly's Algorithmic Rent Ban Furthers Antitrust Policy Trends

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    A Philadelphia bill banning the use of algorithmic software to set rent prices and manage occupancy rates is indicative of growing scrutiny of this technology, and reflects broader policy trends of adapting traditional antitrust principles to respond to new technology, say attorneys at Ballard Spahr.

  • Takeaways From State Votes On Abortion In The 2024 Election

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    Attorneys at Epstein Becker discuss how 10 states voted on ballot initiatives to either protect or restrict access to abortion in the 2024 general election, and analyze overarching trends.

  • Trump's 2nd Term May Be A Boost To Banking Industry

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    President-elect Donald Trump's personnel appointments could be instrumental in reshaping the financial regulatory landscape during his second administration, likely allowing for greater merger activity and halting or undoing some of the Biden administration's more restrictive financial services policies, say attorneys at Debevoise.

  • Loper Bright Offers New Materiality Defense To FCA Liability

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Loper Bight Enterprises v. Raimondo, ending Chevron deference, may have created a new defense to False Claims Act liability by providing the opportunity to argue that a given regulation is not material to the government's payment decision, says Tanner Cook at Husch Blackwell.

  • A Look At 2024 NIL Rights And Economies In College Sports

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    Permutations in the arena of name, image and likeness affecting collegiate athletics have continued unabated this year, and practitioners and industry representatives should anticipate significant activity at schools and continuing legal changes at the state level, say attorneys at Pillsbury.

  • How Expanded Birth Control Coverage May Affect Employers

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    Employers should consider the potential impact of recently proposed regulations that would expand group health plans' required coverage of preventive services and contraceptives, including questions about how the agencies would implement their plans to eliminate the prescription requirement and alter the exceptions process, says Jennifer Rigterink at Proskauer.

  • Unpacking CFPB's Unwieldy Buy Now, Pay Later Guidance

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    Both the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's recent interpretive rule regarding buy now, pay later transactions, and its FAQ guidance, place providers in murky waters with the unenviable position of attempting to place a square, closed-end product in a round, regulatory framework meant for open-end products, say attorneys at Troutman Pepper.

  • 9 Considerations Around Proposed Connected Vehicle Ban

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    Stakeholders should consider several aspects of the U.S. Department of Commerce's recent proposal to ban U.S. imports and sales of vehicles incorporating certain connectivity components made in China or Russia, including exempted transactions and vehicle hardware imports, say attorneys at Blank Rome.

  • Legislation Most Likely To Pass In Lame Duck Session

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    As Congress begins its five-week post-election lame duck session, attorneys at Greenberg Traurig break down the legislative priorities and which proposals can be expected to pass.

  • Predicting Shareholder Activism Trends In New Trump Admin

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    While President-elect Donald Trump has promised tax policies, deregulation and lax antitrust enforcement — which all fuel shareholder activism — a closer look at his first administration's track record suggests that his second presidency might be a mixed bag for activist investors and companies alike, say attorneys at Sidley.

  • What Trump's 2nd Presidency Could Mean For Crypto Sector

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    Trump's second term will bring a fundamental shift from the Biden administration's approach to crypto-asset regulation and banking supervision, with the most significant changes likely taking effect in the first two quarters of 2025 and broader policy shifts emerging over the next year, say attorneys at Cahill.

  • Promoting Diversity In The Selection Of ADR Neutrals

    Excerpt from Practical Guidance
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    Choosing neutrals from diverse backgrounds is an important step in promoting inclusion in the legal profession, and it can enhance the legitimacy and public perception of alternative dispute resolution proceedings, say attorneys at Lowenstein Sandler.

  • Opinion

    Preserving The FCA Is Crucial In Trump's 2nd Term

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    While the Trump administration may pursue weaker False Claims Act enforcement, it remains an essential tool in safeguarding public funds and maintaining corporate accountability, so now is not the time to undermine ethical behavior, or reduce protections and incentives for whistleblowers, says Adam Pollock at Pollock Cohen.

  • Series

    Playing Ultimate Makes Us Better Lawyers

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    In addition to being fun, ultimate Frisbee has improved our legal careers by emphasizing the importance of professionalism, teamwork, perseverance, enthusiasm and vulnerability, say Arunabha Bhoumik and Adam Bernstein at Regeneron. 

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