Public Policy

  • November 04, 2024

    Debt Collectors Sue Over CFPB's Guidance On Medical Debt

    A debt collection trade group has sued the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau in Washington, D.C., federal court to overturn recent guidance that warned collectors about seeking payment on potentially inflated or unverified medical bills, slamming it as an "overtly political" end-run around proper rulemaking.

  • November 04, 2024

    Amazon Says DC Antitrust Suit Full Of 'Mischaracterizations'

    Amazon hit back Friday against the District of Columbia's amended antitrust complaint, arguing that the business practices the city claims are diminishing competition and inflating prices for consumers are actually doing the opposite — rewarding competition — and claiming that retail competition is "vigorous" both online and in person.

  • November 04, 2024

    Judge Tosses Michigan Clerk's Election DQ Lawsuit

    A Michigan clerk's lawsuit claiming he was wrongfully barred from administering Tuesday's presidential election over his plan to hand-count ballots was quickly shot down Monday for failure to comply with procedural filing requirements. 

  • November 04, 2024

    Colo. AG Underestimates Tenants, Rental Home Group Says

    A trade group has argued that Colorado's attorney general views tenants as "unsophisticated consumers" when he told the state Supreme Court that a group of tenants should be able to sue Blackstone subsidiaries over lease terms exchanging maintenance work for a rent discount.

  • November 04, 2024

    Colo. Justices Say Expert Testimony OK Without Formalities

    The Colorado Supreme Court held Monday that the formal offer and acceptance of an expert isn't required for that expert's testimony to be admissible, finding in a published opinion that there's no actual state requirement for courts to use such a practice.

  • November 04, 2024

    DC Circ. Won't Block Coal Ash Rule During Challenge

    The D.C. Circuit has denied East Kentucky Power Cooperative Inc.'s effort to block the implementation of a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency rule that strengthened the federal regulations requiring safe management of coal ash dumped at operating and retired power plants.

  • November 04, 2024

    High Court Questions If False Claims Act Covers FCC's E-Rate

    Multiple justices seemed unconvinced Monday that the federal government plays such a limited role in requiring companies to pay fees for supporting telecom subsidies in schools that it can't seek to recover excess payouts from the fund under the False Claims Act.

  • November 04, 2024

    Wash. Tribe Inks Relationship Pact With State Commerce Dept.

    The Cowlitz Indian Tribe and the Washington State Department of Commerce have signed a memorandum of understanding formally establishing their government-to-government relations, the fourth such MOU in the state that affirms tribal sovereignty.

  • November 04, 2024

    Crypto Industry Hopes Election Will Bring SEC Shake-Up

    The White House is poised to take a fresh approach to the digital asset industry regardless of who wins the presidency, but experts said the crypto industry's hopes for more rules and fewer enforcement cases ultimately depend on a new head of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and a renewed push from Congress to pass crypto legislation.

  • November 04, 2024

    Harris' 'SNL' Sketch Didn't Break Rules, FCC Spokesman Says

    A Republican on the Federal Communications Commission is pushing NBC to follow equal airtime rules following Vice President Kamala Harris' appearance on "Saturday Night Live" just days before Election Day, but a spokesperson for the FCC chair says there is no foul play here.

  • November 04, 2024

    Conn. Justice Warns Against 'Amelia Bedelia' Tax Law Reading

    Whether a Connecticut judge properly restored a batch of tax appeals after dismissing them could center on the meaning of the word "may," a state Supreme Court justice said Monday, while also cautioning against an "Amelia Bedelia" approach to statutory construction, citing a children's book character known for her hyper-literalism.

  • November 04, 2024

    Coinme Crypto ATMs Suspended By Conn. Banking Chief

    Connecticut's banking commissioner has suspended cryptocurrency ATM company Coinme Inc.'s ability to transfer money in the Constitution State and has hinted toward possible fines, citing violations of know-your-consumer laws, complaints of scams, a negative multistate investigation and failures to meet minimum capitalization laws.

  • November 04, 2024

    DC Makes Housing Tax Break Competitive Process Permanent

    The District of Columbia made permanent its temporary authorization of a competitive process for tax abatements for housing developments under legislation signed by the mayor, though the measure is subject to congressional review before it becomes law.

  • November 04, 2024

    Philly DA Can't Stop Elon Musk's $1M Giveaway To Voters

    A Pennsylvania judge on Monday denied Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner's bid to halt Elon Musk's $1 million giveaway to registered voters leading up to the 2024 presidential election, issuing a one-page order ending the prosecutor's claims that the tech mogul was operating an illegal lottery.

  • November 04, 2024

    Navajo President Signs Nearly $1M Election Funding Bill

    Navajo Nation President Buu Nygren approved emergency legislation that allocates nearly $1 million to pay poll workers who are manning its voting precincts with just days left before the presidential election, as the tribe continues without a full 2025 fiscal year budget.

  • November 04, 2024

    Worker Says Ga. City Fired Him For Opposing Mayor's Fraud

    The former finance director of Norcross, Georgia, has slapped the city, its mayor and a city council member with a complaint in Georgia federal court alleging he was subjected to "vicious retaliation" and fired after disclosing the mayor's "fraud, waste, abuse and violations of the law."

  • November 04, 2024

    Wash. Barred From Enforcing Anti-Bias Law Against Nonprofit

    A Washington federal judge paused the state from enforcing its anti-discrimination statute against a Christian nonprofit, saying the organization is likely to succeed in a lawsuit revived by the Ninth Circuit claiming it has a constitutional right to hire only like-minded employees who abstain from sex outside of heterosexual marriage.

  • November 04, 2024

    Texas Border Buoy Trial Delayed After En Banc Ruling

    An Austin federal judge paused an impending bench trial between the Biden administration and the state of Texas over a 1,000-foot buoy barrier in the Rio Grande, reopening discovery Monday in the wake of an en banc circuit court opinion that slammed the judge for ordering the removal of the buoys.

  • November 04, 2024

    US Must Pay Legal Fees To Challenger Of IRS Guidance

    A Michigan federal judge ordered the U.S. to pay roughly $220,000 in attorney fees to a construction company that won its challenge to Internal Revenue Service penalties and overturned underlying agency guidance, rejecting a magistrate judge's recommendation that the company foot its own bill.

  • November 04, 2024

    Developer And Mich. Township Reach Deal In FOIA Suit

    A developer and a Michigan township resolved the developer's nearly $18 million suit that accused the township of wrongfully blocking its industrial development project.

  • November 04, 2024

    Colo. Urges Appeals Court To Toss Netflix Sales Tax Ruling

    Netflix subscriptions in Colorado are tangible personal property subject to sales tax under long-standing state law, the state tax department told an appeals court, urging it to reverse a trial court ruling.

  • November 04, 2024

    Atty Moves To Oust DA Who Cleared Cops In Brother's Death

    A Littler Mendelson PC shareholder's effort to remove the Massachusetts district attorney who absolved officers in the 2021 fatal shooting of his brother left justices on the state's highest court grappling with the reach of a seldom-used state statute allowing them to oust government officials for "the public good."

  • November 04, 2024

    Texas Rips Feds' 5th Circ. Bid To Revive Highway GHG Rule

    Texas is telling the Fifth Circuit there's no reason to disturb a district court's decision to vacate a Federal Highway Administration rule that called on states to set targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from federally funded highway projects.

  • November 04, 2024

    IRS Finalizes Seized Property Rules To Include Online Sales

    The Internal Revenue Service issued final rules Monday meant to modernize regulations governing the seizure of property by levy, including facilitating the online sale of a property and the agency's ability to maximize sale proceeds for the property owner's benefit.

  • November 04, 2024

    Justices To Review 30-Day Appeal Window In Removal Case

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday accepted a case that could resolve a circuit split on whether noncitizens with final removal orders must appeal to courts within 30 days of the order, or 30 days after administrative appeals conclude.

Expert Analysis

  • Enviro Policy Trends That Will Continue Beyond The Election

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    Come October in a presidential election year, the policy world feels like a winner-take-all scenario, with the outcome of the vote determining how or even whether we are regulated — but there are several key ongoing trends that will continue to drive environmental regulation regardless of the election results, say J. Michael Showalter and Samuel Rasche at ArentFox Schiff.

  • Series

    NY Banking Brief: All The Notable Legal Updates In Q3

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    In a relatively light few months for banking legal updates in New York, the state Department of Financial Services previewed its views on banking sector artificial intelligence use via insurer guidance, and an anti-money laundering enforcement action underscored the importance of international monitoring processes, say Eric McLaughlin and Dana Bayersdorfer at Davis Polk.

  • Series

    Collecting Art Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    The therapeutic aspects of appreciating and collecting art improve my legal practice by enhancing my observation skills, empathy, creativity and cultural awareness, says attorney Michael McCready.

  • Plan Sponsors Must Prep For New Mental Health, Drug Rules

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    To comply with newly published health insurance rules requiring parity between access to mental health and substance use services compared to medical and surgical services, employers with self-insured plans will need to update third-party administrator agreements and collect data, among other compliance steps, say attorneys at Kilpatrick.

  • The Trade And Tax Issues Behind US-Canada Digital Tax Clash

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    The new Canadian digital services tax recently went into effect despite objections from the U.S., a controversy that represents an unusual mix of trade and tax policy, and many companies have been pondering how it will affect their e-commerce businesses, says Damon Pike at BDO.

  • Aviation Watch: Boeing Plea Agreement May Not Serve Public

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    The proposed plea agreement between the U.S. Department of Justice and Boeing — the latest outgrowth of the company's 737 Max travails — is opposed by crash victims' families, faces an uncertain fate in court, and may ultimately serve no beneficial purpose, even if approved, says Alan Hoffman, a retired attorney and aviation expert.

  • Opinion

    Bill Is Key To Protecting US Economy From Patent Piracy

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    It is critical that Congress pass a recently introduced bill that would protect U.S. investors from intellectual property theft by restoring court-ordered injunctions as the default remedy in patent infringement cases to ensure inventors get the justice they deserve, says Andrei Iancu at Sullivan & Cromwell.

  • Managing Sanctions Defense Across Multiple Jurisdictions

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    Companies called before multiple regulators to account for the same conduct in this era of increased global sanctions and import-control enforcement should consider national differences in law and policy, and proactively coordinate their responses in certain key areas, say attorneys at Baker McKenzie.

  • Series

    Colorado Banking Brief: All The Notable Legal Updates In Q3

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    In the third quarter of 2024, Colorado's banking and financial services sector faced both regulatory updates and changes to state law due to recent federal court decisions — with consequences for local governments, mortgage lenders, state-chartered trust companies and federally chartered lenders serving Colorado consumers, says Sarah Auchterlonie at Brownstein Hyatt.

  • Building US-Japan Relationships In The M&A Market

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    The prospect of U.S.-Japanese mergers and acquisitions presents stronger competition to U.S. investors in the global M&A markets, while also opening up an additional exit route for sellers looking to offload strategic assets, says Nick Wall at A&O Shearman.

  • Litigation Inspiration: Honoring Your Learned Profession

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    About 30,000 people who took the bar exam in July will learn they passed this fall, marking a fitting time for all attorneys to remember that they are members in a specialty club of learned professionals — and the more they can keep this in mind, the more benefits they will see, says Bennett Rawicki at Hilgers Graben.

  • 4 Ways To Prepare For DOD Cyber Certification Rule

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    Given the U.S. Department of Justice's increased scrutiny of contractor compliance with cybersecurity requirements, it is critical that contractors take certain steps now in response to the U.S. Department of Defense's proposed Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification implementation rule, say Townsend Bourne and Lillia Damalouji at Sheppard Mullin.

  • FTC Focus: How Scrutiny Of PBMs And Insulin May Play Out

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    Should Express Scripts' recent judicial challenge to the Federal Trade Commission succeed, any new targets could add litigation and choice of forum to their playbooks, and potential FTC court action on insulin could be forced to parallel venues as the issues between the commission and PBMs evolve, say attorneys at Proskauer.

  • Opinion

    AI May Limit Key Learning Opportunities For Young Attorneys

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    The thing that’s so powerful about artificial intelligence is also what’s most scary about it — its ability to detect patterns may curtail young attorneys’ chance to practice the lower-level work of managing cases, preventing them from ever honing the pattern recognition skills that undergird creative lawyering, says Sarah Murray at Trialcraft.

  • A Look At How De Minimis Import Rules May Soon Change

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    The planned implementation of executive actions focused on the de minimis rule as it applies to shipments means companies should use this interval to evaluate the potential applicability and impact of Section 301, Section 201 or Section 232 duties on their products, say attorneys at Holland & Knight.

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