Public Policy

  • July 25, 2024

    Edible Cannabis Co. Can't Revive RFID Tag Case

    A Colorado state judge has said he won't let a company that makes edible cannabis continue to challenge the state's mandated use of radio frequency identification tracking tags, concluding that a senior enforcement official's statement at a rulemaking hearing was not a final action the company could appeal.

  • July 25, 2024

    DA Says Trump Immunity Ruling Doesn't Affect NY Convictions

    Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg told a New York judge Thursday that the U.S. Supreme Court's presidential immunity ruling has no bearing on Donald Trump's conviction in his hush-money case since the charges relate to unofficial acts.

  • July 25, 2024

    Conn.'s Added Tax On Warranties Called Double Taxation

    The Connecticut state tax commissioner's levy of an additional tax on extended vehicle warranties connected to out-of-state vehicle sales is double taxation because the warranties are already taxed by the buyer's home state, a Connecticut-based auto wholesaler told a state trial court.

  • July 25, 2024

    Justices Urged To Hear Red State Bid To End Climate Torts

    Industry groups and conservative think tanks urged the U.S. Supreme Court to take up a novel request by 19 Republican-led states to nix climate change torts brought by rival state governments against fossil fuel companies, arguing the rival states' claims violate the constitutional bounds of state authority.

  • July 25, 2024

    Advocacy Group Pushes FCC For Hearing On Fox TV License

    An advocacy group accusing a Philadelphia Fox television station of knowingly airing harmful conspiracy theories following the 2020 election has told the Federal Communications Commission the group has collected more than 25,000 signatures from people saying the agency should grant a hearing on the subject of yanking the station's license.

  • July 25, 2024

    Alaska Sues To Block Federal Land Conservation Rule

    The state of Alaska is challenging a Bureau of Land Management rule that aims to conserve and protect public lands, saying the "vast majority" of the rule isn't allowed under state and federal law because of how it prioritizes "ecosystem resilience" over longtime policies.

  • July 25, 2024

    ​​​​​​​Justices Urged To Revisit FCC Fund After 5th Circ. Ruling

    Free-market groups asked the U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday to take another look at their challenge to the Federal Communications Commission's low-income and rural subsidy programs after the Fifth Circuit ruled the system was unconstitutional.

  • July 25, 2024

    GOP States Win Reprieve From Title IX Gender Identity Rule

    The U.S. Department of Education can't enforce its new interpretation of Title IX expanding LGBTQ+ rights against six states challenging the regulations, a Missouri federal judge ruled, saying the federal agency's interpretation of the statute isn't owed any deference under recent U.S. Supreme Court precedent.

  • July 25, 2024

    Dems' Bill Looks To Prevent Collusion With OPEC

    A pair of Democrats in the House and Senate on environmental committees introduced a bill Wednesday to punish fossil fuel companies that collude with OPEC to increase prices.

  • July 25, 2024

    Pot Rescheduling Could 'Compromise' Transit Drug Testing

    Federal traffic investigators are urging the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration to tread carefully should it move forward with rescheduling marijuana, saying any policy change must allow for drug testing of airline pilots, truck drivers and other "safety-sensitive" transportation jobs.

  • July 25, 2024

    Warren Slams Fed Chief For Inaction On Bank Exec Pay

    Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., urged the Federal Reserve's top official to support rulemaking that would restrict incentive-based pay for executives at big banks, a long-overdue policy change that Congress required in the 2010 Dodd-Frank Act.

  • July 25, 2024

    CFPB Wary Of 'Junk Fees' As Lunch Money Goes Digital

    The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau on Thursday flagged concerns about "junk fees" that school-contracted payment processors are charging parents to put money on their children's cafeteria accounts, casting it as part of a broader trend toward more digital payments in school settings.

  • July 25, 2024

    Copyright Office OKs Group Registration For News Websites

    The U.S. Copyright Office has created a new group registration option for news websites that are updated frequently, allowing publications to register a group of updates as a collective work with portions of the work rather than all the website's content, according to the federal register.

  • July 25, 2024

    USDA Drops Push To Certify Contractors' Labor Compliance

    The U.S. Department of Agriculture on Thursday scrapped from a proposed rule requirements for federal contractors to attest that they were following federal and state labor laws, tossing President Barack Obama's efforts an earlier version of the rule revamped.

  • July 25, 2024

    Calif. Appeals Court Revives Roadside Attraction Challenges

    A California state appeals court revived two suits targeting San Benito County approvals for a roadside attraction proposed to be built along Highway 101, holding that the Center for Biological Diversity and the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band filed timely challenges to the so-called Betabel Road project.

  • July 25, 2024

    Texas Can Pursue 'Invasion' Defense In River Barrier Row

    Texas can pursue an "invasion" defense in the Biden administration's suit over an anti-migrant barrier in the Rio Grande, a federal judge has ruled, saying the state could ultimately show migration at the southern border actually constitutes an invasion.

  • July 25, 2024

    Divided FCC Floats AI Disclosure Rule For Political Ads

    The Federal Communications Commission is moving forward with a proposal to require that radio and television broadcasters disclose when political advertising uses artificial intelligence.

  • July 25, 2024

    USPTO No Longer Wants To Change TM Response Deadlines

    The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office said Thursday it has decided to keep current post-registration response deadlines after the agency concluded that many trademark owners would not be subject to the proposed shorter response period.

  • July 25, 2024

    Dems, And Now Biden, Contemplate Supreme Court Reform

    On the heels of President Joe Biden saying he will push for U.S. Supreme Court reform in the final months of his presidency, two Democratic lawmakers on Thursday rallied to promote a bill that would increase the number of seats on the court from nine to 13.

  • July 25, 2024

    Ex-Conn. Tax Official Cites 'Just Cause' To Challenge Firing

    A former high-level legal director at the Connecticut Department of Revenue Services has asked the state's intermediate appellate court to reverse her termination, saying the agency, an employment review board and a state trial court judge all failed to apply "just cause" standards to her firing as a managerial worker.

  • July 25, 2024

    3rd Circ. Enters Fray On Venue For Immigration Appeals

    The Third Circuit has transferred an immigration case to the Sixth Circuit, finding that court to be the appropriate venue for an appeal stemming from an immigration case involving virtual appearances from multiple remote locations, because the complaint underlying the matter was filed in Ohio.

  • July 25, 2024

    EPA OIG Says Texas, Calif. Pollution Sources Need Oversight

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has, since at least 2006, failed to keep tabs on air pollution sources in California and Texas that might require more stringent control measures, the EPA's internal watchdog said Wednesday.

  • July 25, 2024

    Senate Confirms First Tax Court Judge Since 2020

    The U.S. Senate on Thursday confirmed a U.S. Tax Court judge for the first time since 2020.

  • July 25, 2024

    Ex-Defender Says Judiciary Reform Study Buoys Bias Suit

    A former public defender who accused the federal judiciary of flubbing its investigation of her sexual harassment claim has doubled down on her request for the court to take notice of a recent study promoting judiciary workplace reforms, hitting back at her opponent's attempt to discredit the report's relevance.

  • July 25, 2024

    DP World Wins OK Of $194M Award Against Djibouti

    A D.C. federal judge entered a $194.3 million judgment against the Republic of Djibouti, enforcing an arbitration award secured by a Dubai-based port terminal operator in a long-running legal battle over an international container terminal in the East African country.

Expert Analysis

  • Managing Legal Risks After University Gaza Protests

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    Following the protests sparked by the war in Gaza, colleges and universities should expect a long investigative tail and take steps to mitigate risks associated with compliance issues under various legal frameworks and institutional policies, say Wiley's Diana Shaw and Colin Cloherty.

  • Live Nation May Shake It Off In A Long Game With The DOJ

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    Don't expect a swift resolution in the U.S. Department of Justice's case against Live Nation, but a long litigation, with the company likely to represent itself as the creator of a competitive ecosystem, and the government faced with explaining how the ticketing giant formed under its watch, say Thomas Kliebhan and Taylor Hixon at GRSM50.

  • How Act 126 Will Jump-Start Lithium Production In Louisiana

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    Louisiana's recent passage of Act 126, which helps create a legal and regulatory framework for lithium brine production and direct lithium extraction in the state, should help bolster the U.S. supply of this key mineral, and contribute to increased energy independence for the nation, say Marjorie McKeithen and Justin Marocco at Jones Walker.

  • 5 Steps For Gov't Contractor Affirmative Action Verification

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    As the federal contractor affirmative action program certification deadline approaches, government contractors and subcontractors should take steps to determine their program obligations, and ensure any required plans are properly implemented and timely registered, say Christopher Wilkinson at Perkins Coie and Joanna Colosimo at DCI Consulting.

  • Boeing Saga Underscores Need For Ethical Corporate Culture

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    In the wake of recent allegations about Boeing’s safety culture, and amid the U.S. Department of Justice’s new whistleblower incentives, business leaders should reinvigorate their emphasis on compliance by making clear that long-term profitability requires ethical business practices, says Maxwell Carr-Howard at Dentons.

  • A Closer Look At Feds' Proposed Banker Compensation Rule

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    A recently proposed rule to limit financial institutions' ability to award incentive-based compensation for risk-taking may progress through the rulemaking process slowly due to the sheer number of regulators collaborating on the rule and the number of issues under consideration, say attorneys at Troutman Pepper.

  • 2 Regulatory Approaches To Psychedelic Clinical Trials

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    Comparing the U.S. and Canada's regulatory frameworks for clinical trials of psychedelic drugs can be useful for designing trial protocols that meet both countries' requirements, which can in turn help diversify patient populations, bolster data robustness and expedite market access, say Kimberly Chew at Husch Blackwell and Sabrina Ramkellawan at AxialBridge.

  • Why Jurors Balk At 'I Don't Recall' — And How To Respond

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    Jurors often react negatively to a witness who responds “I don’t remember” because they tend to hold erroneous beliefs about the nature of human memory, but attorneys can adopt a few strategies to mitigate the impact of these biases, say Steve Wood and Ava Hernández at Courtroom Sciences.

  • How Federal And State Microfiber Pollution Policy Is Evolving

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    Growing efforts to address synthetic microfiber pollution may create compliance and litigation issues for businesses in the textile and apparel industries, so companies should track developing federal and state legislation and regulation in this space, and should consider associated greenwashing risks, says Arie Feltman-Frank at Jenner & Block.

  • Series

    Fishing Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Atop the list of ways fishing makes me a better lawyer is the relief it offers from the chronic stress of a demanding caseload, but it has also improved my listening skills and patience, and has served as an exceptional setting for building earnest relationships, says Steven DeGeorge​​​​​​​ at Robinson Bradshaw.

  • Best Practices For Responding To CBP's Solar Questionnaire

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    U.S. Customs and Border Protection's recently introduced questionnaire to solar importers imposes significant burdens, with the potential for supply chain disruptions and market consolidation, but taking certain steps can assist companies in navigating the new requirements, say Carl Valenstein and Katelyn Hilferty at Morgan Lewis.

  • Exploring Alternatives To Noncompetes Ahead Of FTC Ban

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    Ahead of the Sept. 4 effective date for the Federal Trade Commission's noncompete ban, employers should seek new ways to protect their proprietary and other sensitive information, including by revising existing confidentiality and nondisclosure agreements, says Harvey Linder at Culhane.

  • Parsing Controversial Del. General Corporation Law Proposals

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    In response to issues raised in three recent high-profile Delaware Court of Chancery decisions, many amendments to the Delaware General Corporation Law were quickly proposed that, if enacted, would bring significant changes likely to be hotly debated — and litigated — for the foreseeable future, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • A Look At US-EU Consumer Finance Talks' Slow First Steps

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    The unhurried and informal nature of planned discussions between the U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the European commissioner for justice and consumer protection suggests any coordinated regulatory action on issues like AI and "buy now, pay later" services is still a ways off, say attorneys at DLA Piper.

  • Opinion

    It's Time To Defuse The Ticking Time Bomb Of US Landfills

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    After recent fires at landfills in Alabama and California sent toxic fumes into surrounding communities, it is clear that existing penalties for landfill mismanagement are insufficient — so policymakers must enact major changes to the way we dispose of solid waste, says Vineet Dubey at Custodio & Dubey.

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