Public Policy

  • August 05, 2024

    SEC, Other Regulators Propose Joint Data Standards

    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and six other regulators are crafting joint standards required by bipartisan legislation aiming to modernize the collection and publication of those agencies' financial data, the SEC announced Friday.

  • August 05, 2024

    Music, Movie Orgs. Address Deepfake Proposals

    Representatives from the music, movie and video game industries were among the speakers Monday at a U.S. Patent and Trademark Office roundtable regarding what legislation may be needed to address the explosion of deepfakes created with the growing power of artificial intelligence.

  • August 05, 2024

    Top Groups Lobbying The FCC

    The Federal Communications Commission heard from advocates nearly 180 times in July on issues ranging from rural broadband to Wi-Fi hot spots for schools and libraries, new payment rates for phone call captioning, spectrum for the electric grid, and more.

  • August 05, 2024

    FTC Looks To End Noncompete Ban Challenge In Texas

    The Federal Trade Commission defended its noncompete ban to a Texas federal judge, arguing in a new motion for summary judgment that its rule is well within the bounds of the FTC Act's plain language.

  • August 05, 2024

    Marriott Says NYC Hotels' Housing Of Migrants Violated Deal

    Marriott International Inc. has accused a hotel company in Jamaica, Queens, of breaching a contract by repurposing two properties for migrant housing while refusing to "de-identify" itself with the global hotel brand.

  • August 05, 2024

    Mich. Says HHS Can't Get Back $195M Medicaid Payments

    The state of Michigan is asking a D.C. federal judge to bar the federal government from seeking repayment for $195 million in Medicaid payouts made to two state-operated hospitals that provided psychiatric services to state criminal defendant inmates, saying the government's payment withdrawal decision was made years too late and without proper notice.

  • August 05, 2024

    Tribe Says DOI Must Finalize New Recognition Rule

    A Michigan tribe wants a D.C. federal district court to enforce a Nov. 1 deadline on the U.S. Department of the Interior to complete the process for a new rule that would address eligibility to reapply for federal recognition or otherwise hold Secretary Deb Haaland in contempt.

  • August 05, 2024

    AT&T Chief Pushes FCC To Make FirstNet 4.9 GHz Manager

    AT&T Inc. CEO John Stankey met with Federal Communications Commission members to lobby for the company's first responder network to lead the national public safety band, despite band users' concerns that AT&T could control the band for its own self-serving interests.

  • August 05, 2024

    Mich. AG Defends Judge's Block Of Abortion Waiting Period

    A Michigan judge's suspension of several state abortion regulations should be upheld, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel told appellate judges, saying the restrictions don't pass constitutional muster because they don't serve to protect women's health.

  • August 05, 2024

    GOP Bill Would Claw Back Broadband Funds For Local Areas

    When a company defaults on millions in Rural Digital Opportunity Fund money, those funds should go to the state to redistribute for broadband projects as it sees fit, according to a Republican senator who has introduced a bill that would do just that.

  • August 05, 2024

    BCBS Asks 9th Circ. To Undo Trans Patients' Win In Bias Suit

    Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois urged the Ninth Circuit to reverse summary judgment in favor of trans patients who argued its exclusions for gender-affirming treatments violated the Affordable Care Act's anti-discrimination mandate, arguing Friday it is a third-party administrator that didn't design the exclusion nor exercised any control over it.

  • August 05, 2024

    Patreon To Pay $7.25M To End Subscribers' Video Privacy Suit

    Patreon has agreed to pay $7.25 million to settle a proposed class action on behalf of 1.2 million users who claim the content subscription-based platform violated the Video Privacy Protection Act by sharing their video-watching data with Facebook-owner Meta Platforms Inc. without their consent, according to court documents filed Friday.

  • August 05, 2024

    Del. Court Declines To Reopen Biden Documents Case

    Delaware's Superior Court on Monday declined to reopen litigation from two conservative organizations that sued for access to a trove of documents U.S. President Joe Biden donated to the University of Delaware in 2012, concluding that newly discovered evidence wasn't relevant enough to change the case.

  • August 05, 2024

    Ohio To Launch Legal Recreational Marijuana Sales

    Ohio is set to see its first legal recreational marijuana sales on Tuesday after the state's cannabis regulator announced that close to 100 locations were about to be qualified to sell products to customers 21 and over.

  • August 05, 2024

    High Court Rulings Doom Texas Suit Over DHS Asylum Limits

    A federal judge has dismissed Texas' challenge to a May 2023 rule limiting asylum at the southern border, finding that the Lone Star State has no standing to sue over the policy in light of several recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions.

  • August 05, 2024

    BIPA Reform Becomes Law, But Damages Concerns Persist

    The Illinois Legislature heeded a call from the state's Supreme Court to shield business from potentially ruinous damages under the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act, but lawyers say the new protections can still leave large employers facing hefty verdicts.

  • August 05, 2024

    GM Slams Investors' Suit Alleging AV Tech Lapses

    General Motors has asked a Michigan federal court to dismiss a proposed securities fraud class action alleging it downplayed safety concerns about its autonomous vehicle technology, arguing the investors have contorted definitions of safety terms to bolster the suit.

  • August 05, 2024

    Feds, Immigration Orgs Say Texas Can't Join Asylum Suit

    The U.S. government and immigration advocacy groups are pushing back on Texas' bid to participate in litigation over a new Biden administration policy restricting asylum at the southern border, telling a D.C. federal judge the state lacks both standing and a "legally protectable interest" in the lawsuit.

  • August 05, 2024

    Washington, Tribes Back EPA's Health Criteria For The State

    The state of Washington and five Native American tribes have argued that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency rightly restored more than 140 human health criteria aimed at protecting the state's residents from toxic pollutants, urging a D.C. federal judge to reject several business groups' attempt to overturn the agency's rule.

  • August 05, 2024

    CrowdStrike Slams Delta Over Outage Lawsuit Threats

    CrowdStrike has fired back at Delta Air Lines' recent threat to haul the cybersecurity firm to court to recoup hundreds of millions in losses from last month's global IT outage, saying the airline refused CrowdStrike's offer for technical assistance, then botched its own operational recovery.

  • August 05, 2024

    Latest Draft Widens Scope Of UN Tax Convention

    Diplomats would gain flexibility on the scope, commitments and source material of a United Nations convention on international tax cooperation under a revised guidance for negotiators released ahead of a debate Monday as preliminary talks inch closer to finishing.

  • August 05, 2024

    Sen. Urges CFPB To Investigate Banks' Zelle Dispute Practices

    U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., has urged the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to investigate the nation's three largest banks and the operator behind payments network Zelle after he said the firms gave "circuitous answers" to lawmakers during a hearing on their handling of fraud and dispute resolutions on the platform.

  • August 05, 2024

    Judge Mostly Preserves Md. Firearm Restrictions

    A Maryland federal judge has granted a permanent injunction blocking some provisions of a Maryland law restricting where residents can publicly carry firearms, while allowing the bulk of its restrictions to remain in effect.

  • August 05, 2024

    Catching Up With Delaware's Chancery Court

    Sunken treasure, rock band discord, a wrestling competition, and more news about Elon Musk — all in all, a colorful week in Delaware's Court of Chancery. The First State's famous court of equity also pushed forward on disputes involving a famous social media app, Delaware's largest hospital system, an artificial intelligence company and a budding commodity futures exchange.

  • August 05, 2024

    5th NYC Housing Worker Gets Prison In Anti-Corruption Bust

    A Manhattan federal judge hit a retired public housing worker with 20 months in prison on Monday for taking over $83,000 of bribes, showing that prison is the most likely outcome for those convicted of felonies in the anti-bribery sweep.

Expert Analysis

  • Justices' Intent Witness Ruling May Be Useful For Defense Bar

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    At first glance, the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent Diaz v. U.S. decision, allowing experts to testify to the mental state of criminal defendants in federal court, gives prosecutors a new tool, but creative white collar defense counsel may be able to use the same tool to their own advantage, say Jack Sharman and Rachel Bragg at Lightfoot Franklin.

  • How To Grow Marketing, Biz Dev Teams In A Tight Market

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    Faced with fierce competition and rising operating costs, firms are feeling the pressure to build a well-oiled marketing and business development team that supports strategic priorities, but they’ll need to be flexible and creative given a tight talent market, says Ben Curle at Ambition.

  • Considerations For Federal Right Of Publicity As AI Advances

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    Amid rapid advances in generative artificial intelligence technology, Congress should consider how a federal right of publicity would interact with the existing patchwork of state name, image and likeness laws, as well as other issues like scope, harm recognized and available relief, says Ross Bagley at Pryor Cashman.

  • FTC Focus: Private Equity Investments In Healthcare

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    As the Federal Trade Commission is tightening its scrutiny of private equity investment in healthcare, the agency is finding novel grounds to challenge key focus areas, including rollup acquisitions, the flip-and-strip approach and minority investments in rival providers, say attorneys at Proskauer.

  • What Patent Litigators Should Know About CHIPS Act Grants

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    With the U.S. Department of Commerce now actively awarding grants under the CHIPS and Science Act, recipients should ensure they understand the implications of promises to construct new semiconductor manufacturing facilities, especially in jurisdictions with active patent litigation dockets, say Gabriel Culver and Peter Hillegas at Norton Rose.

  • Jarkesy's Impact On SEC Enforcement Will Be Modest

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    Though the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission v. Jarkesy decision found that fraud defendants have a constitutional right to a jury trial, the ruling will have muted impact on the agency’s enforcement because it’s already bringing most of its cases in federal court, say Jeremiah Williams and Alyssa Fixsen at Ropes & Gray.

  • Opinion

    Data Breach Reporting Requirements Must Change In AI Age

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    Outdated data breach reporting laws are inadequate to protect consumers in the age of artificial intelligence, as AI’s ability to determine relationships coupled with its improvements to deepfake technology mean that the very definitions used in breach reporting laws are no longer sufficient, says Collin Walke at Hall Estill.

  • Unpacking HHS' Opinion On Cell Therapy Refund Programs

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    A recent advisory opinion from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, determining that a biopharma company's refund program for its cell therapy will not be penalized, indicates an encouraging willingness to engage, but the regulator's assumptions about the program's limited term warrant a closer look, says Mary Kohler at Kohler Health.

  • Series

    Rock Climbing Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Rock climbing requires problem-solving, focus, risk management and resilience, skills that are also invaluable assets in my role as a finance lawyer, says Mei Zhang at Haynes and Boone.

  • What Chevron's End Means For How Congress Does Business

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    The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo decision, overturning the Chevron doctrine, will have a far-reaching impact across the entire public policy life cycle, beginning with how Congress writes its laws and extending through agency implantation and judicial review, say attorneys at K&L Gates.

  • How 5 States' Deal Notification Laws Are Guiding Healthcare

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    Healthcare transaction notification laws at various stages of implementation in California, Illinois, Indiana, Oregon and Washington are shaping sector mergers and acquisitions, with significant transparency, continuity of care and compliance implications as providers tackle complex regulatory requirements, says Melesa Freerks at DLA Piper.

  • Think Like A Lawyer: Dance The Legal Standard Two-Step

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    From rookie brief writers to Chief Justice John Roberts, lawyers should master the legal standard two-step — framing the governing standard at the outset, and clarifying why they meet that standard — which has benefits for both the drafter and reader, says Luke Andrews at Poole Huffman.

  • Examining Chancery's Relaxed New Confidential Filing Rules

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    The Delaware Court of Chancery’s overhauled Rule 5.1, which governs confidential filings, risks permitting nonconfidential information to be shielded from public review unless and until a challenge notice is filed — but several potential solutions could help to override this issue, says Delaware attorney Daniel J. McBride.

  • Recent Settlement Shows 'China Initiative' Has Life After Death

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    Though the U.S. Department of Justice shuttered its controversial China Initiative two years ago, its recent False Claims Act settlement with the Cleveland Clinic Foundation demonstrates that prosecutors are more than willing to civilly pursue research institutions whose employees were previously targeted, say attorneys at Benesch.

  • How Orange Book Antitrust Scrutiny Is Intensifying

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    Pharmaceutical patent holders should be reviewing Orange Book listing practices, as the Federal Trade Commission takes a more aggressive antitrust approach with actions such as the Teva listing probe, and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration calls attention to potentially improper listings, say attorneys at McDermott.

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