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Public Policy
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December 12, 2024
Trump Vows Immediate Jan. 6 Pardons As DOJ Doubles Down
President-elect Donald J. Trump said he plans to issue swift pardons for people accused or convicted of rioting at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, in an effort to keep him in power, as prosecutors said in one case that accepting such a pardon would amount to an admission of guilt.
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December 12, 2024
NY Courts Defy Watchdog, Won't Release Judicial Ethics Data
Counsel for the New York State Unified Court System told the state transparency watchdog Wednesday it has no obligation to release judges' and court officials' financial disclosure data under public records law.
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December 12, 2024
Senate Judiciary Committee Sends Last Nominees To Floor
The Senate Judiciary Committee sent the names of two judicial nominees for California to the full Senate for confirmation on Thursday along party-line votes.
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December 12, 2024
Ex-OMB GC Mark Paoletta Returns To Role In Trump Admin
The attorney who served as the general counsel of the Office of Management & Budget in President-elect Donald Trump's first administration has been tapped by the incoming president to once again take the reins of that agency's legal work.
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December 12, 2024
Fla. Justices Call For 50 More Judgeships
The Florida Supreme Court on Thursday certified a need for 48 new trial judges in the state and two appellate judges in the Sixth District Court of Appeal after a statewide judicial workload assessment found judges straining to keep up with increasingly complex litigation.
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December 12, 2024
US Expands Tariffs On Chinese Tungsten, Polysilicon Imports
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative has announced additional tariff increases for imports on certain tungsten products, wafers and polysilicon from the People's Republic of China as part of a review process in an investigation of the country's acts, policies and practices related to technology transfer, intellectual property and innovation.
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December 12, 2024
Ex-FBI Informant Admits To False Accusations In Biden Case
A former FBI informant accused of making fake criminal accusations against President Joe Biden and his son, Hunter Biden, will plead guilty to tax evasion and falsifying records in a federal investigation, according to a deal filed Thursday in a California federal court.
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December 12, 2024
Treasury Seeks To Pause Anti-Laundering Law Injunction
The U.S. Treasury Department asked a Texas federal judge to pause his nationwide preliminary injunction of the Corporate Transparency Act pending an appeal of his recent decision that found Congress likely overstepped its constitutional authority when it wrote the anti-money laundering law.
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December 12, 2024
Calif. Man Indicted In $8.8M Phishing Scheme
A California man was indicted on charges he participated in a phishing email scheme that stole about $8.8 million from bank accounts belonging to businesses, individuals and the town of Bristol, Rhode Island.
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December 12, 2024
NC Republicans Override Veto Of Bill Curbing Dems' Power
Republican lawmakers have used the final days of their supermajority in the North Carolina General Assembly to override Gov. Roy Cooper's veto of a Hurricane Helene disaster relief bill that strips his and other Democrat-controlled offices of certain powers.
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December 12, 2024
NTIA's Davidson Stepping Down Jan. 20
The head of the U.S. Department of Commerce branch in charge of managing federal use of the airwaves as well as a sprawling broadband deployment program confirmed Thursday he will leave the role in January when the Biden administration ends.
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December 12, 2024
Advocacy Group Says NCAA's NIL Deal Not 'Illegal' After All
The advocacy group National College Players Association retracted its condemnation of the NCAA's $2.78 billion settlement of a class action over name, image and likeness compensation, admitting six days after claiming that it broke several states' laws that it "has not been deemed illegal in any way."
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December 12, 2024
FTC Dusts Off Price Bias Law In Booze Distributor Suit
The Federal Trade Commission sued Southern Glazer's Wine and Spirits LLC in California federal court on Thursday, dusting off a long-dormant price discrimination law with allegations that the country's largest alcohol distributor offered dramatic and unjustified discounts to large retailers that left smaller stores in the lurch.
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December 12, 2024
JUDGES Act Passes House But Biden Veto Looms
The House voted 236-173 on Thursday to pass a bill to add more judgeships, which tees it up for a likely veto by the president, as many Democrats have soured on the measure after Donald Trump's victory at the polls.
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December 12, 2024
Banks Sue As CFPB Rolls Out $5 Overdraft Fee Rule
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said Thursday that it has adopted a general $5 fee cap for overdraft programs at larger banks and credit unions, finalizing it as part of a new rule that banking industry groups have rapidly mobilized to block with a lawsuit.
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December 11, 2024
5th Circ. Tosses SEC's OK Of Nasdaq's Board Diversity Rule
A split Fifth Circuit ruled Wednesday that Nasdaq cannot implement U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission-approved rules requiring that companies listed on the exchange disclose board diversity data, finding that the stock exchange's rules run afoul of federal securities law.
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December 11, 2024
Feds Fire Back At TikTok's Bid To Halt Sale-Or-Ban Law
The federal government Wednesday urged the D.C. Circuit to reject TikTok's bid to pause legislation poised to bar the app from the U.S. market next month while it takes its First Amendment fight to the Supreme Court, arguing TikTok is "downplaying" national security concerns that prompted the law.
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December 11, 2024
FTC, DOJ Pull Antitrust Competitor Collaboration Guidelines
The Federal Trade Commission and the U.S. Department of Justice announced Wednesday that they are withdrawing Clinton-era antitrust guidelines for collaborations among competitors, saying they "no longer provide reliable guidance" about how collaborations are assessed.
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December 11, 2024
Big Tech, 'Censorship' Animate Trump FTC Picks
President-elect Donald Trump's picks Tuesday to lead and join the Federal Trade Commission show he plans to continue Washington's focus on antitrust enforcement against major technology platforms, while also signaling a potential shift toward more populist Republican concerns alleging that Big Tech censors conservative voices.
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December 11, 2024
Grocery Store Rulings Back Enforcers' Merger Approach
Federal and state enforcers scored key victories Tuesday with a pair of court rulings blocking the planned $24.6 billion merger between Kroger and Albertsons that largely adopted their allegations about the deal and rejected a proposal to unload nearly 600 stores to save it.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
Expert Analysis
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Navigating Complex Regulatory Terrain Amid State AG Races
This year's 10 attorney general elections could usher in a wave of new enforcement priorities and regulatory uncertainty, but companies can stay ahead of the shifts by building strong relationships with AG offices, participating in industry coalitions and more, say Ketan Bhirud and Dustin McDaniel at Cozen O’Connor.
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How A Trump Win Might Affect The H-1B Program
A review of the Trump administration's attempted overhaul of the H-1B nonimmigrant visa program suggests policies Donald Trump might try to implement if he is reelected, and specific steps employers should consider to prepare for that possibility, says Eileen Lohmann at BAL.
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Challenge To Ill. Card Fee Law Explores Compliance Hurdles
A recent federal lawsuit challenging an Illinois law that will soon forbid electronic payment networks from charging fees for processing the tax and tip portions of card transactions, fleshes out the glaring compliance challenges and exposure risks financial institutions must be ready to face next summer, says Martin Kiernan at Amundsen Davis.
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How The 2025 Tax Policy Debate Will Affect The Energy Sector
Regardless of the outcome of the upcoming U.S. election, 2025 will bring a major tax policy debate that could affect the energy sector more than any other part of the economy — so stakeholders who could be affected should be engaging now to make sure they understand the stakes, say attorneys at Mayer Brown.
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Compliance Considerations For Calif. Child Labor Audit Law
California employers will need to conduct a fact-intensive analysis to determine whether a new state law that imposes transparency rules for child labor audits applies to their operations, and should look out for regulatory guidance that answers open questions about deadlines and penalties, says Sylvia St. Clair at Faegre Drinker.
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Harris Unlikely To Shelve Biden Admin's Food Antitrust Stance
A look at Vice President Kamala Harris' past record, including her actions as California attorney general, shows why practitioners should prepare for continued aggressive antitrust enforcement, particularly in the food and grocery industries, if Harris wins the presidential election, says Steve Vieux at Bartko.
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Opinion
Barrett Is Right: Immunity Is Wrong Framework In Trump Case
Justice Amy Coney Barrett’s concurrence in Trump v. U.S., where the majority opinion immunized former presidents almost entirely from criminal prosecution for official actions, rests on a firmer constitutional foundation than the majority’s immunity framework, says Matthew Brogdon at Utah Valley University.
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Opinion
This Election, We Need To Talk About Court Process
In recent decades, the U.S. Supreme Court has markedly transformed judicial processes — from summary judgment standards to notice pleadings — which has, in turn, affected individuals’ substantive rights, and we need to consider how the upcoming presidential election may continue this pattern, says Reuben Guttman at Guttman Buschner.
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The Complex Challenges Facing Sustainable Food Packaging
More and more states are requiring recycled content to be used in product packaging, creating complex technological and regulatory considerations for manufacturers who must also comply with federal food safety requirements, say Peter Coneski and Natalie Rainer at K&L Gates.
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Navigating HHS' New Reproductive Healthcare Privacy Rule
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' new final rule regarding protections for the privacy of reproductive health information will require regulated entities to grapple with difficult questions about whether to comply with state law requirements or federal privacy prohibitions, says Christine Chasse at Spencer Fane.
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Illinois May Be Gearing Up To Ban E-Verify
Recently passed amendments to the Illinois Right to Privacy in the Workplace Act appear to effectively ban the use of E-Verify in the state, but ambiguity means employers will have to weigh the risks of continued use while also taking note of other work authorization requirements imposed by the updates, say Julie Ratliff and Elizabeth Wellhausen at Taft.
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Int'l Agreements Are Key For Safe Nuclear Waste Disposal
By replacing fossil fuels, nuclear energy has the potential to offer a major contribution to the global fight against climate change — but ensuring that nuclear power is safe and sustainable will require binding, multinational agreements for safe nuclear waste disposal, say Ryan Schermerhorn and Christopher Zahn at Marshall Gerstein.
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Mental Health Parity Rules: Tips For Plans And Issuers
Following federal agencies' release of final mental health parity rules, plan sponsors and health insurance issuers should develop protocols for preparing compliant nonquantitative treatment limitation comparative analyses, say attorneys at Ropes & Gray.
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Series
Playing Diplomacy Makes Us Better Lawyers
Similar to the practice of law, the rules of Diplomacy — a strategic board game set in pre-World War I Europe — are neither concise nor without ambiguity, and weekly gameplay with our colleagues has revealed the game's practical applications to our work as attorneys, say Jason Osborn and Ben Bevilacqua at Winston & Strawn.
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5th Circ. Shows Admin Rules Can Survive Court Post-Chevron
The Fifth Circuit's textual analysis of the Fair Labor Standards Act, contributing to its recent affirming of the U.S. Department of Labor’s authority to set an overtime exemption salary threshold, suggests administrative laws can survive post-Chevron challenges, say Jessi Thaller-Moran and Erin Barker at Brooks Pierce.