Public Policy

  • July 29, 2024

    NRA Avoids Compliance Monitor In NY AG Case

    A Manhattan judge on Monday rejected the New York attorney general's request for a compliance monitor to oversee the National Rifle Association, saying such relief would "result in a long, awkward and potentially speech-chilling government involvement in a political organization."

  • July 29, 2024

    Legalization Org Taps Cannabis Atty As New Treasurer

    The pro-legalization advocacy organization Marijuana Policy Project announced Monday that a preeminent member of the cannabis bar had been tapped as the group's newest treasurer.

  • July 29, 2024

    DeSantis Wants To Ax Suit Over Fla. Prosecutor Suspension

    Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis moved on Friday to dismiss an amended complaint regarding his suspension of elected prosecutor Monique Worrell, arguing that voters have no right to see an elected official serve an entire term.

  • July 29, 2024

    Election Atty's NJ Courts Bid To Boot RFK From Ballot Denied

    A New Jersey state judge on Monday tossed an election lawyer's attempt to remove Robert F. Kennedy Jr. from the state ballot as an independent presidential candidate, ruling the attorney must file an objection to Kennedy's presidential bid with the Garden State's secretary of state.

  • July 29, 2024

    Utilities Seek 8th Circ. Freeze Of Power Plant Effluent Rule

    Utility companies, trade groups and nearly two dozen states are urging the Eighth Circuit to pause a challenged rule setting new wastewater limitations for coal-fired power plants, arguing that it will otherwise force utilities to commit to unreasonable investments or plant retirements.

  • July 29, 2024

    Mich. Justices Uphold Power To Pause Pandemic Deadlines

    The Michigan Supreme Court affirmed Monday that it had the power to suspend case filing deadlines for three months at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, ruling the temporary measure was not an overreach of the judiciary's authority.

  • July 29, 2024

    Defense Attys Fight Proposal To Favor Virtual Testimony

    A legal advocacy group of defense-side attorneys has come out against a proposal by several plaintiffs firms to allow live virtual testimony in civil trials, calling it a "thinly veiled attempt" to put CEOs and other top executives "on the stand in every federal trial."

  • July 29, 2024

    Clean Energy Tax Credit Sales Could Hit $25B, Report Says

    Total sales of clean energy tax credits could reach as high as $20 billion to $25 billion this year, signaling a flourishing marketplace for credit sales authorized by the 2022 climate law, according to a midyear report released Monday by a climate tech startup firm.

  • July 29, 2024

    Biden Support Adds Heat To Calls For Supreme Court Reform

    President Joe Biden endorsed significant U.S. Supreme Court reform on Monday, calling on Congress to pass legislation that would impose term limits and an enforceable code of conduct on the justices and to adopt a constitutional amendment that would reverse the court's decision granting former presidents broad immunity for crimes committed in office.

  • July 29, 2024

    3rd Circ. Says Jury Must Weigh Ex-Philly ADA's Vax Bias Case

    A jury will have to determine whether the Philadelphia District Attorney's Office was following a neutral, general policy when it denied an employee's religious exemption from its COVID-19 vaccination mandate, or whether D.A. Larry Krasner harbored anti-religious bias in the decision, the Third Circuit ruled Monday.

  • July 29, 2024

    5th Circ. Takedown Prompts Call To Reform Universal Service

    A major telecom trade association is telling Congress to get started reforming the Universal Service Fund quickly, saying that the Fifth Circuit's recent holding that the program's current setup is unconstitutional should bring an urgency to restructuring efforts.

  • July 29, 2024

    Boston Equity Official Says She Was Forced Out By Politics

    The former deputy director of equity for the city of Boston says she was fired in 2021 in retaliation for advising her boss that it was inappropriate to recommend that employees vote for Michelle Wu in that year's mayoral race, according to a suit filed in state court.

  • July 29, 2024

    DC Taxes Due From Property Transfer Prior To Sale

    A business that sold a commercial property in Washington, D.C., was properly assessed back taxes for a 2007 merger with a subsidiary, the District of Columbia Court of Appeals ruled.

  • July 29, 2024

    Mich. Man Fights LA Bid To Toss Pot License Lottery Suit

    A Michigan man who owns several cannabis retailers is pushing back on a bid by Los Angeles to throw out his suit challenging its social equity license lottery.

  • July 29, 2024

    6th Circ. Revives Challenge Of Clean Water Rule

    Just 11 days after oral arguments, the Sixth Circuit on Monday revived Kentucky and industry groups' challenges to a federal government rule defining the scope of the Clean Water Act, finding a district court judge had improperly dismissed the case.

  • July 29, 2024

    Remainder Of DOL Fiduciary Regs Blocked In Texas

    A Texas federal judge froze the remainder of a package of regulations from the U.S. Department of Labor expanding the definition of a fiduciary under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, after a judge blocked most of the policy in an adjacent district the day before.

  • July 26, 2024

    DOJ Whistleblower Pilot On Deck As Cos. Boost Compliance

    Corporations are making their compliance programs more proactive amid an ongoing push from the Biden administration for firms to come forward with information as the U.S. Department of Justice prepares to roll out a pilot program to reward whistleblowers who alert prosecutors to significant corporate misconduct.

  • July 26, 2024

    Apple Commits To White House Guidelines For Responsible AI

    Apple Inc. has signed onto the Biden administration's voluntary guidelines for "responsible" artificial intelligence innovation, joining the likes of Amazon.com Inc., Google LLC, Microsoft Corp. and a dozen other leading tech companies, the White House announced Friday.

  • July 26, 2024

    State Street Inks $7.5M Deal Over Russia Sanctions Violations

    Financial services giant State Street has agreed to pay nearly $7.5 million to resolve apparent violations by its investment management solution subsidiary Charles River Systems Inc. of Obama-era sanctions targeting Russian actions against Ukraine, the U.S. Department of the Treasury announced Friday.

  • July 26, 2024

    Off The Bench: NBA Signs Mega Deals, Jerry Jones Settles

    In this week's Off The Bench, the NBA signed $77 billion worth of telecast and streaming deals while longtime league broadcaster TNT challenged the decision, Jerry Jones' suit against his alleged daughter settled while jurors were at lunch, and Pennsylvania's high court agreed to hear an appeal relating to Pittsburgh's jock tax, a fee applied to nonresident professional athletes.

  • July 26, 2024

    Fla. Top Court Petitioned To Review 'Misleading' Abortion Info

    A Florida coalition petitioned the state's high court to review a proposed financial impact statement that officials attached to an upcoming ballot measure legalizing abortions up to 24 weeks of pregnancy, saying the language is misleading and shouldn't be used to manipulate voters one way or the other.

  • July 26, 2024

    Colorado's New Chief Justice Sworn In

    Chief Justice Monica M. Márquez started her three-year term leading the Colorado Supreme Court on Friday after being sworn in during a closed-door ceremony.

  • July 26, 2024

    FTX's Ryan Salame Asks To Delay Prison After Dog Attack

    Former FTX executive Ryan Salame on Friday asked a New York federal judge to delay his prison surrender date because he was recently mauled by a German shepherd and must undergo "urgent and necessary medical treatment and surgery."

  • July 26, 2024

    Puerto Rico Fiscal Board Sues To Stop Solar Panel Bill

    The Financial Oversight and Management Board for Puerto Rico on Friday sued Gov. Pedro R. Pierluisi to nullify a law extending a program which reduces the cost of solar panels for Puerto Rican households, calling it legislative interference with the island's energy regulator.

  • July 26, 2024

    More Airwaves Needed To Support Drones, FCC Told

    Several utility companies have come together to tell the Federal Communications Commission that they need more room in the 5 gigahertz and 4.9 GHz bands for drone operations, which they say make their employees' jobs safer and easier.

Expert Analysis

  • 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.

  • What's New In The AI Healthcare Regulatory Space

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    Attorneys at Hogan Lovells review the current legal and regulatory landscape for artificial intelligence applications in healthcare, touching on policies around safety, transparency, nondiscrimination and reimbursement, and what to expect in the future.

  • Biden Policy Gives Employers New Ways To Help Dreamers

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    A new Biden administration immigration policy makes the process more predictable for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals recipients to seek employment visas, and, given uncertainties surrounding DACA’s future, employers should immediately determine which of their employees may be eligible, says Jennifer Kim at Moore & Van Allen.

  • 25 Years Of OECD's Anti-Bribery Convention

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    Marking its 25th anniversary this year, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development's anti-bribery convention has advanced legislative reforms and reshaped corporate conduct in dozens of countries amid the persistent challenges of uneven enforcement and political pressure, say attorneys at Debevoise.

  • Despite Calif. Delays, Climate Disclosure Rules Are Coming

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    Progress continues on state, federal and international climate disclosure regimes, making compliance a key concern for companies — but the timeline for implementation of California's disclosure laws remains unclear due to funding and timing disputes, says David Smith at Manatt Phelps.

  • Series

    After Chevron: Bid Protest Litigation Will Hold Steady For Now

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    Though the substantive holding of Loper Bright is unlikely to affect bid protests because questions of statutory interpretation are rare, the spirit of the U.S. Supreme Court's decision may signal a general trend away from agency deference even on the complex technical issues that often arise, say Kayleigh Scalzo and Andrew Guy at Covington.

  • Challenging Prosecutors' Use Of Defendants' Jail Phone Calls

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    Although it’s an uphill battle under current case law, counsel for pretrial detainees may be able to challenge prosecutors’ use of jail-recorded phone calls between the defendant and their attorney by taking certain advance measures, say Jim McLoughlin and Fielding Huseth at Moore & Van Allen.

  • 1 Year At The UPC: Implications For Transatlantic Disputes

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    In its first year, the Unified Patent Court has issued important decisions on procedures like provisional measures, but complexities remain when it comes to coordinating proceedings across jurisdictions like the U.S. due to differences in timelines and discovery practices, say attorneys at McDermott.

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