Public Policy

  • August 28, 2024

    Wash. AG Fears Kroger Will Move Goalposts For Merger Trial

    The Washington Attorney General's Office told a state court Wednesday that Kroger refuses to commit to sticking with the current terms of its divestiture package in its merger with Albertsons, which the state fears would unfairly "move the goalposts" less than three weeks before a trial on the state's merger challenge kicks off.

  • August 28, 2024

    The Biggest Enviro Cases To Watch In 2024: Midyear Report

    Environmental attorneys can expect to see several developments in pending litigation during the remainder of 2024, including two cases that the U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear about Clean Water Act regulations for San Francisco and the extent of the federal government's authority as part of environmental reviews for projects. Here are some of the biggest cases to watch in the rest of 2024.

  • August 28, 2024

    NY Biz Group Rips FTC Suit Over $8.5B Luxury Handbags Deal

    A New York City business group is urging Empire State Democratic lawmakers to oppose the Federal Trade Commission's "ideologically motivated litigation" to block an $8.5 billion deal that would bring together brands including Michael Kors, Kate Spade and Coach.

  • August 28, 2024

    Covering Up For Mayor Not Fire Chief's Job, 6th Circ. Says

    Covering up alleged misconduct to help a Michigan mayor pursue reelection was not part of an ex-fire chief's official job duties, a Sixth Circuit panel said Tuesday, finding the fire chief's refusal to lie was protected speech and denying the mayor immunity.

  • August 28, 2024

    Judge Stays Enbridge's Bid For Quick Win In Pipeline Fight

    Enbridge Energy's bid for a quick win in its challenge to Michigan over the company's Line 5 pipeline must wait until Michigan officials' appeal of a ruling to the Sixth Circuit that seeks to overturn an immunity order is resolved, a federal district court judge said.

  • August 28, 2024

    For Native Voters, Mail Delivery Is A Big Obstacle, Reports Say

    Despite a modest uptick in turnout, Native American voters' participation in elections trails other racial and ethnic groups, two new reports say, most likely due to the unavailability of reliable mail delivery services in areas with large Indigenous populations.

  • August 28, 2024

    SEC Omits 'Swing Pricing' Plan From Fund Disclosure Rules

    A divided U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Wednesday agreed to require more detailed and frequent disclosures from mutual funds, though regulators dropped plans — at least for now — to implement a controversial "swing pricing" provision.

  • August 28, 2024

    Ga. Appeals Court Says Worker Should Get Pandemic Aid

    The Georgia Court of Appeals overturned a superior court order affirming the denial of pandemic unemployment assistance benefits to a college student who worked part-time at a Chick-fil-A, saying both the trial court and the Georgia Department of Labor's review board wrongly found he quit his job for personal reasons.

  • August 28, 2024

    TikTok Lawsuit, Kids' Privacy Bills Push Cos. 'Back To Basics'

    The federal government's lawsuit challenging TikTok's policing of kids on its platform and mounting efforts to boost online protections for teens is ramping up pressure on a broad range of website operators, highlighting the importance for companies to think beyond existing legal frameworks to avoid growing legal scrutiny.

  • August 28, 2024

    Trump Prosecutor Restarts Precarious Road To DC Trial

    The revised federal indictment accusing Donald Trump of scheming to overturn his 2020 presidential election loss is crafted in a way that experts say should allow it to survive scrutiny under the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling granting broad immunity to former presidents for official acts, but the justices could have the final say.

  • August 28, 2024

    Biden's Latest Judge Nominees Include Pick For Northern NY

    President Joe Biden announced judicial nominees on Wednesday for federal district courts in New York, New Mexico and Arizona.

  • August 28, 2024

    DC Circ. Rejects Challenges To Nuke Waste Storage Site

    A D.C. Circuit panel rejected a slew of challenges to federal regulators' approval of a temporary nuclear waste storage site in New Mexico, ruling that the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission was right to include forward-looking terms about federally owned spent nuclear fuel in the license.

  • August 28, 2024

    Trim Advised In White Homeowners' Claims Against NC City

    A magistrate judge in North Carolina recommended that a federal court trim a discrimination claim from a lawsuit lodged by white homeowners challenging Asheville's Human Relations Commission appointments, ruling that the relevant statute only applies to people who are members of minorities.

  • August 28, 2024

    Pa. Ex-Cop Faces Feb. Trial On Trimmed Jan. 6 Charges

    A D.C. federal judge set a February date for Joseph Fischer's Jan. 6 Capitol attack trial, clearing the way for the former Pennsylvania cop to be tried by prosecutors after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the obstruction of Congress charge in his case.

  • August 28, 2024

    Justices Won't Revive Student Debt Relief Plan Right Now

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday refused to reinstate President Joe Biden's latest student loan debt relief program, leaving the $475 billion plan on ice until the Eighth Circuit decides whether the administration has the authority to continue its new push to reduce student loan bills for millions of people.

  • August 28, 2024

    Farella Braun Can Pursue Unpaid SVB Fees From FDIC

    Farella Braun & Martel LLP can go after the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. for $49,000 in legal fees owed by Silicon Valley Bank's parent after the agency was appointed as the bank's receiver, a California federal judge ruled Wednesday.

  • August 28, 2024

    Congress Urged To Address Trump Financial Conflicts

    After possible financial conflicts of interest caused consternation during President Donald Trump's first term, an ethics watchdog is calling for a series of legislative reforms to prevent them from recurring if he's reelected.

  • August 28, 2024

    DOL Backs IBM Retirees' Bid To Revive Suit At 2nd Circ.

    The U.S. Department of Labor urged the Second Circuit to revive a proposed class action alleging IBM shorted retirees on pension payments through the use of outdated mortality data, stating the lower court's ruling tossing the case "flies in the face" of U.S. Supreme Court precedent.

  • August 28, 2024

    Ex-Defender Opposes Bid To Fix Record In Harassment Case

    A former assistant public defender in North Carolina who lost her suit accusing the judiciary of botching her sexual harassment complaint has called out mistakes in the trial transcripts but opposed the government's method for correcting them, calling the proposal "fundamentally unfair."

  • August 28, 2024

    Tenn. High Court Says Pot Smell A Factor In Probable Cause

    Tennessee's highest court has ruled that notwithstanding the federal legalization of hemp, which smells like marijuana, a drug-sniffing police dog's signal that cannabis odor is present can still be a factor in giving law enforcement probable cause for a vehicle search.

  • August 28, 2024

    DLA Piper Adds Williams & Jensen Public Policy Ace In DC

    DLA Piper has continued its recent expansion of the firm's government affairs and public policy practice with the addition of another Williams & Jensen PLLC attorney.

  • August 28, 2024

    Palin Wins New NYT Libel Trial As 2nd Circ. Chides Rakoff

    The Second Circuit granted Sarah Palin a new trial Wednesday in her defamation suit against The New York Times, holding that U.S. District Judge Jed S. Rakoff biased the verdict in favor of the newspaper and "usurped" the jury's role by erroneously tossing the case during deliberations.

  • August 27, 2024

    No Section 230 Shield For TikTok's Algorithm, 3rd Circ. Says

    The Third Circuit Tuesday revived a lawsuit alleging TikTok's algorithms recommended a "blackout challenge" to a 10-year-old Pennsylvania girl that led to her unintentional hanging death, saying the social media platform curates recommendations through its "For You Page" algorithm, which is not protected by a law shielding traditional publishers.

  • August 27, 2024

    Wells Fargo Says 'Good Faith' Efforts Ax Investors' Bias Suit

    Wells Fargo & Co. urged a California federal judge Tuesday to toss a derivative lawsuit filed by a putative class of shareholders claiming the bank's board of directors failed to address its discriminatory lending and hiring practices, saying there's evidence of "good-faith" efforts to monitor compliance in those areas.

  • August 27, 2024

    CFPB Late Fee Rule Has Slim Ties To Fort Worth, Judge Says

    A Texas federal judge had stern words for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce during a Tuesday hearing over a lawsuit challenging the CFPB's new credit card late fee rule in Fort Worth, saying that if judges' impartiality is in question "we need to just turn it in" as a country.

Expert Analysis

  • A Closer Look At New SDNY And EDNY Local Rules

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    New local rules in the U.S. District Courts for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York went into effect earlier this month, and include both stylistic changes to make legal writing more accessible, and substantive changes to make processes and filings more efficient, say Andrew Van Houter and Jennifer Montan at Faegre Drinker.

  • Avoiding Legal Ethics Landmines In Preindictment Meetings

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    U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez's recent bribery conviction included obstruction charges based on his former lawyer's preindictment presentation to prosecutors, highlighting valuable lessons on the legal ethics rules implicated in these kinds of defense presentations, say Steve Miller and Hilary Gerzhoy at HWG.

  • Series

    Being A Luthier Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    When I’m not working as an appellate lawyer, I spend my spare time building guitars — a craft known as luthiery — which has helped to enhance the discipline, patience and resilience needed to write better briefs, says Rob Carty at Nichols Brar.

  • Series

    After Chevron: Uncertainty In Scope Of ITC Oversight

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    The U.S. International Trade Commission's long-standing jurisprudence on some of the most disputed and controversial issues is likely to be reshaped by the Federal Circuit, which is no longer bound by Chevron deference in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s Loper Bright decision, say Kecia Reynolds and Madeleine Moss at Paul Hastings.

  • Half-Truths Vs. Omissions: Slicing Justices' Macquarie Cake

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's recent ruling in Macquarie v. Moab provides a road map for determining whether corporate reports that omit information should be considered misleading — and the court baked it into a dessert analogy that is key to understanding the guidelines, say Daniel Levy and Pavithra Kumar at Advanced Analytical Consulting Group.

  • FDA's Multifaceted Role On Display In MDMA Therapy Scrutiny

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    Ongoing deliberations at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration regarding MDMA-assisted therapy for post-traumatic stress disorder serves as a window into the intricate balance of scientific innovation and patient safety oversight, and offers crucial insights into regulatory nuances, say Kimberly Chew at Husch Blackwell and Kevin Lanzo at Pharmaka Clinical Consulting.

  • Lead Like 'Ted Lasso' By Embracing Cognitive Diversity

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    The Apple TV+ series “Ted Lasso” aptly illustrates how embracing cognitive diversity can be a winning strategy for teams, providing a useful lesson for law firms, which can benefit significantly from fresh, diverse perspectives and collaborative problem-solving, says Paul Manuele at PR Manuele Consulting.

  • Preparing For Increased Scrutiny Of Tech Supply Chains

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    The U.S. Department of Commerce's recent action prohibiting sales of a Russia-based technology company's products in the U.S. is the first determination under the information technology supply chain rule, and signals plans to increase enforcement of protections that target companies in designated foreign adversary jurisdictions, say attorneys at Debevoise.

  • Chevron's End Puts Target On CFPB's Aggressive BNPL Rule

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    A recent interpretative rule by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, subjecting buy-now, pay-later loans to the same regulations as credit cards, is unlikely to survive post-Chevron challenges of the rule's partisan and shaky logic, say Scott Pearson and Bryan Schneider at Manatt.

  • Boeing Plea Deal Is A Mixed Bag, Providing Lessons For Cos.

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    The plea deal for conspiracy to defraud regulators that Boeing has tentatively agreed to will, on the one hand, probably help the company avoid further reputational damage, but also demonstrates to companies that deferred prosecution agreements have real teeth, and that noncompliance with DPA terms can be costly, says Edmund Vickers at Red Lion Chambers.

  • Keeping Up With Carbon Capture Policy In The US And EU

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    Recent regulatory moves from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the European Commission in the carbon capture, sequestration and storage space are likely to further encourage the owners and operators of fossil fuel-fired power plants to make decisions on shutdowns or reconfiguration to meet the expanding requirements, say Inosi Nyatta and Silvia Brünjes at Sullivan & Cromwell.

  • New State Climate Liability Laws: What Companies Must Know

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    New legislation in Vermont and New York creating liability and compliance obligations for businesses deemed responsible for climate change — as well as similar bills proposed in California, Massachusetts and Maryland — have far-reaching implications for companies, so it is vital to remain vigilant as these initiatives progress, say Gregory Berlin and Jeffrey Dintzer at Alston & Bird.

  • EU Investor-State Dispute Transparency Rules: Key Points

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    The European Union's recent vote to embrace greater transparency for investor-state arbitration will make managing newly public information more complex for all parties in a dispute — so it is important for stakeholders to understand the risks and opportunities involved, say Philip Hall, Tara Flores and Charles McKeon at Thorndon Partners.

  • Analyzing FDA Draft Guidance On Clinical Trial Diversity

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    In light of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's draft guidance on clinical trial diversity action plans, there are several important considerations for sponsors and clinical researchers to keep in mind to prevent delay in a drug or device application, say attorneys at Crowell & Moring.

  • Justices' Criminal Law Decisions: The Term In Review

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    Each of the 11 criminal decisions issued in the U.S. Supreme Court’s recently concluded term is independently important, but taken together, they reveal trends in the court’s broader approach to criminal law, presenting both pitfalls and opportunities for defendants and their counsel, says Kenneth Notter at MoloLamken.

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