Public Policy

  • July 31, 2024

    Copyright Office Warns Of 'Urgent Need' For Deepfakes Law

    The U.S. Copyright Office said Wednesday that "there is an urgent need" for new federal legislation to tackle the proliferation of deepfakes created through artificial intelligence, saying in a long-awaited report with recommendations to Congress that "an era of sophisticated digital replicas has arrived."

  • July 31, 2024

    Ex-Chicago Alderman Should Serve Full Supervision, Feds Say

    A former Chicago alderman and attorney convicted of tax crimes should not be allowed an early reprieve from his court-ordered supervision because it has become his main form of punishment following his compassionate release from prison, the government has told an Illinois federal court.

  • July 31, 2024

    Attys Can Seek Security Clearance In Cuellar Bribery Case

    Attorneys for U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar can apply for a security clearance to facilitate potential discussions of classified information in connection with bribery charges against the congressman, a Texas federal judge said Wednesday, remarking multiple times that federal prosecutors had taken "inconsistent" positions on classified material connected to the case.

  • July 31, 2024

    NC Sens. Continue Fight Against 4th Circ. Nom

    Ryan Young Park, the solicitor general of North Carolina and nominee for the Fourth Circuit, defended his record and commitment to the law on Wednesday amid attacks from North Carolina's U.S. senators, who oppose his nomination and claim they were not properly consulted on his selection.

  • July 31, 2024

    5 Trials To Watch In The 2nd Half Of 2024

    Upcoming high-profile trials over star lawyer Tom Girardi's alleged fraud, Hunter Biden's taxes and Washington state's "patent troll" law are among the cases to watch in the latter half of the year.

  • July 31, 2024

    Judge Won't Undo IRS' Pause On Worker Retention Credits

    An Arizona federal judge rejected a tax advisory firm's request to lift the IRS' pause on processing claims for the pandemic-era employee retention credit, saying he wasn't eager to stop the agency from addressing the fraud it alleges has been widespread.

  • July 31, 2024

    Mich. High Court Restores Strengthened Wage, Leave Laws

    The Michigan Supreme Court put back in place higher minimum wage and broader paid sick leave laws on Wednesday, finding the laws were unlawfully amended by the state Legislature in a controversial move to keep a $12 minimum wage law off the ballot.

  • July 31, 2024

    5th Circ. Slams Injunction Against Texas In Buoy Fight

    The majority of the full Fifth Circuit ruled that a Texas federal court abused its discretion by ordering Texas to move a 1,000-foot buoy barrier meant to deter migrants in the Rio Grande to its own riverbank.

  • July 31, 2024

    Biden's Latest Judicial Noms Include Ex-Congressman

    President Joe Biden announced on Wednesday judicial nominees for district courts in New York, Georgia and Pennsylvania, one of whom is a former congressman.

  • July 30, 2024

    DOJ Says Norfolk Southern To Blame For Amtrak Delays

    The U.S. Department of Justice on Tuesday accused Norfolk Southern Corp. of illegally refusing to give passenger trains preference over freight trains, leading to widespread delays for Amtrak passenger trains on the route between New York and Louisiana last year.

  • July 30, 2024

    11th Circ. Upholds Geofence Warrant In Carjacking Case

    The Eleventh Circuit on Tuesday rejected a convicted carjacker's attempt to quash a geofence warrant that allowed law enforcement to obtain information from cellphones within a certain geographic area, finding that the man lacked standing to challenge a search that revealed no information from his own electronic device. 

  • July 30, 2024

    Pa. House Majority Leader Fights Robocall Suit At 3rd Circ.

    The Democratic majority leader of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives on Tuesday asked the Third Circuit to undo a ruling that his automated calls informing constituents about government programs violated the Telephone Consumer Protection Act.

  • July 30, 2024

    Texas Border Buoy Trial Must Go On, Judge Says

    A Texas federal judge denied an attempt by Texas to stall an upcoming trial over the state's use of a buoy barrier meant to prevent illegal border crossings, saying in a Tuesday order that the state didn't explain why it had a "sudden emergency" that warranted a stay. 

  • July 30, 2024

    Tribe Says Sovereignty 'Sea Change' At Stake In Tobacco Row

    A California tribe has opposed the U.S. government's bid to toss its suit fighting placement on a "non-compliant list" under a law that targets tobacco trafficking, telling a federal judge that forcing it to stop sales would cause a "sea change" in tribal sovereignty.

  • July 30, 2024

    FDIC Moves To Revamp Brokered Deposit Regs In Policy Push

    The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. on Tuesday unveiled a proposal that would subject more bank deposits to heightened regulation as "brokered" funds, outlining new rules that the agency pitched as addressing risks highlighted by failures of firms like First Republic Bank and Voyager, a crypto lender.

  • July 30, 2024

    Immunity Bars Most Vaccine Challenges, Conn. Justices Rule

    The Connecticut Supreme Court on Tuesday narrowed a challenge to a law that eliminated religious exemptions to the state's school vaccination mandates, ordering a trial judge to dismiss two parents' constitutional claims while leaving open for future proceedings a free exercise claim filed under a state statute.

  • July 30, 2024

    Texas' Meta Deal Signals Future Data Privacy Actions

    While the announcement of an "astronomical" $1.4 billion settlement between Texas and Meta Platforms Inc. on Tuesday won't lead to a flood of consumer suits, it's "absolutely" a signal of future enforcement actions by the Lone Star State in the data privacy sphere, experts told Law360.

  • July 30, 2024

    FTC Seeks Temporary Kroger-Albertsons Block In Oregon

    The Federal Trade Commission is formally seeking a temporary block against Kroger's proposed purchase of Albertsons, arguing in an Oregon federal court brief unsealed Tuesday that the planned divestiture of 579 stores to a "failed" supermarket boss won't adequately protect consumers or union labor facing dramatically increased concentration.

  • July 30, 2024

    SEC Ruling Calls For FCC Revamp, Ex-Agency Lawyer Says

    Although the U.S. Supreme Court's recent ruling that civil defendants must be allowed jury trials to contest government fines was focused on securities law, the ruling will also upend the Federal Communications Commission's in-house enforcement and require new legislation, warns an appellate lawyer and former FCC attorney.

  • July 30, 2024

    Prosecutors Say Bribery Ruling Won't Disrupt Madigan Trial

    Prosecutors accusing former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan of corruption said Monday night his case is unaffected by the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling limiting the reach of a bribery statute that once criminalized gratuities, saying the government's allegations do not rely on gratuities, so "this dog will not hunt."

  • July 30, 2024

    Miami Must Face Ex-Police Chief's Retaliation Suit

    A Florida federal judge has denied Miami officials' bids to toss a retaliation lawsuit brought by the city's former police chief, rejecting claims that he hadn't exhausted his administrative remedies before filing his complaint and saying his attempts to do so would be considered futile.

  • July 30, 2024

    FTX Exec Gets Prison Report Date Delayed After Dog Attack

    A New York federal judge on Tuesday allowed ex-FTX executive Ryan Salame to delay his surrender date to begin his prison term from August to October, as he was forced to undergo medical treatment and surgery after being mauled by a German shepherd while visiting a friend's house last month.

  • July 30, 2024

    Colo. Justices Step Into Boulder Climate Change Case

    The Colorado Supreme Court has ordered a trial court to defend its decision greenlighting the bulk of municipalities' attempts to make Suncor subsidiaries and Exxon pay for damages allegedly caused by climate change.

  • July 30, 2024

    Sens. Look To Break Down Federal Barriers To Broadband

    Three senators think they have the solution for speeding up the broadband permitting process in the form of a bill that they say will cut red tape and ensure applications are dealt with within the nine-month window the federal government has to do so.

  • July 30, 2024

    Senate Sends Kids' Online Safety, Privacy Bills To House

    The U.S. Senate on Tuesday easily approved a pair of bipartisan bills claiming to put more responsibility on social media platforms to ensure children's safety online and enhance data privacy protections for teens, although one of the proposals continues to face First Amendment opposition from consumer advocates as the measures move to the House.

Expert Analysis

  • Reading Between The Lines Of Justices' Moore Ruling

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's recent Moore v. U.S. decision, that the Internal Revenue Code Section 965 did not violate the 16th Amendment, was narrowly tailored to minimally disrupt existing tax regimes, but the justices' various opinions leave the door open to future tax challenges and provide clues for what the battles may look like, say Caroline Ngo and Le Chen at McDermott.

  • Series

    After Chevron: A Sea Change For Maritime Sector

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    The shipping industry has often looked to the courts for key agency decisions affecting maritime interests, but after the U.S. Supreme Court's Loper Bright ruling, stakeholders may revisit important industry questions and coordinate to bring appropriate challenges and shape rulemaking, say attorneys at Holland & Knight.

  • Opinion

    Post-Chevron, Good Riddance To The Sentencing Guidelines

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    The U.S. Supreme Court’s overturning of the Chevron doctrine may signal the end of the U.S. sentencing guidelines, which is good news given that they have accomplished the opposite of Congress’ original intent to bring certainty, proportionality and uniformity to sentencing, say attorneys Mark Allenbaugh, Doug Passon and Alan Ellis.

  • Opinion

    Proposed Terminal Disclaimers Rule Harms Colleges, Startups

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    Universities and startups are ill-suited to follow the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s recently proposed rule on terminal disclaimers due to their necessity of filing patent applications early prior to contacting outside entities for funds and resources, say attorneys at Sterne Kessler.

  • Series

    After Chevron: Impact On CFPB May Be Limited

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo is likely to have a limited impact on the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's regulatory activities, and for those who value due process, consistency and predictability in consumer financial services regulation, this may be a good thing, says John Coleman at Orrick.

  • A Midyear Forecast: Tailwinds Expected For Atty Hourly Rates

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    Hourly rates for partners, associates and support staff continued to rise in the first half of this year, and this growth shows no signs of slowing for the rest of 2024 and into next year, driven in part by the return of mergers and acquisitions and the widespread adoption of artificial intelligence, says Chuck Chandler at Valeo Partners.

  • Series

    After Chevron: 7 FERC Takeaways From Loper Bright

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    Following the U.S. Supreme Court's overturning of the Chevron doctrine, it's likely that the majority of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's orders will not be affected, but the commission has nonetheless lost an important fallback argument and will have to approach rulemaking more cautiously, says Norman Bay at Willkie Farr.

  • Opinion

    Discount Window Reform Needed To Curb Modern Bank Runs

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    We learned during the spring 2023 failures that bank runs can happen extraordinarily fast in light of modern technology, especially when banks have a greater concentration of large deposits, demonstrating that the antiquated but effective discount window needs to be overhauled before the next crisis, says Cris Cicala at Stinson.

  • Opinion

    Cell Tech Patent Holdup Is Stalling Automaker Innovation

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    Courts and Congress should seek to stem anticompetitive harm caused by standard-essential patent holders squeezing automakers with unfairly high royalties for cellular connectivity technology, says Charles Haake at Alliance for Automotive Innovation.

  • Series

    After Chevron: USDA Rules May Be Up In The Air

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    The Supreme Court's end of Chevron deference may cause more lawsuits against U.S. Department of Agriculture regulations, like the one redefining "unfair trade practices" under the Packers and Stockyards Act, or a new policy classifying salmonella as an adulterant in certain poultry products, says Bob Hibbert at Wiley.

  • Mitigating Risks Amid 10-Year Sanctions Enforcement Window

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    In response to recent legislation, which doubles the statute of limitations for actions related to certain U.S. sanctions and provides regulators greater opportunity to investigate possible violations, companies should take specific steps to account for the increased civil and criminal enforcement risk, say attorneys at Freshfields.

  • Series

    After Chevron: Creating New Hurdles For ESG Rulemaking

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's Loper Bright decision, limiting court deference to agencies' statutory interpretations, could have significant impacts on the future of ESG regulation, creating new hurdles for agency rulemaking around these emerging issues, and calling into question current administrative actions, says Leah Malone at Simpson Thacher.

  • A Timeline Of Antisemitism Legislation And What It Means

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    What began as hearings in the House of Representatives Committee on Education and the Workforce has expanded to a House-wide effort to combat antisemitism and related issues, with wide-ranging implications for education, finance and nonprofit entities, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • California Adds A Novel Twist To State Suits Against Big Oil

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    California’s suit against Exxon Mobil Corp., one of several state suits that seek to hold oil and gas companies accountable for climate-related harms, is unique both in the magnitude of the alleged claims and its use of a consumer protection statute to seek disgorgement of industry profits, says Julia Stein at UCLA School of Law.

  • Criminal Enforcement Considerations For Gov't Contractors

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    Government contractors increasingly exposed to criminal liability risks should establish programs that enable detection and remediation of employee misconduct, consider voluntary disclosure, and be aware of the potentially disastrous consequences of failing to make a mandatory disclosure where the government concludes it was required, say attorneys at Crowell & Moring.

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