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Public Policy
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November 20, 2024
Flint School Atty Can't Get Immunity In Defamation Case
Outside counsel for Flint Community Schools who accused her predecessor of overcharging the public school district is not entitled to a form of immunity that shields government officials from liability for statements made during official proceedings, a state appellate court panel ruled on Tuesday.
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November 20, 2024
Biden Bank Regulators Punt Big-Ticket Rulemakings To Trump
Top Biden administration banking regulators told House lawmakers on Wednesday that they don't plan to move forward on efforts to strengthen banks' requirements for capital, liquidity or long-term debt before President-elect Donald Trump takes office, although the Federal Reserve's supervision chief said he's not leaving anytime soon.
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November 20, 2024
Boston Mayor Touts Property Tax Relief Bill Before Panel
Massachusetts lawmakers should allow Boston to adjust its property tax calculations to stabilize the share borne by residences, mitigating an impending tax hike, and boost a business personal property tax exemption, Boston's mayor told a legislative panel Wednesday.
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November 20, 2024
Mass. Gov. Nominates 3 To Probate And Family Court
Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey on Wednesday nominated three judicial candidates to the state's Probate and Family Court, which handles divorce, child custody, guardianship and estate matters.
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November 20, 2024
Bill Aimed At Creating Ga.'s First National Park Moves Ahead
The U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources voted Tuesday to advance a bill that would establish Georgia's first national park, upgrading the ancestral home of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation of Oklahoma from its national monument status while also offering protections for Native American burial mounds.
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November 20, 2024
Calif. Judicial Nominee Asked About Race, Parenting Writings
A California judicial nominee's previous writing about the murder of George Floyd in 2020, which sparked a national reckoning on race, was the subject of debate during a Senate nomination hearing on Wednesday.
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November 20, 2024
Calif. Voters Reject Minimum Wage Hike In Rare Outcome
A slim majority of California voters shot down a ballot measure that would have raised the state's minimum wage to $18 an hour, the first time such a proposal has failed in any state in nearly three decades.
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November 20, 2024
Trump Wants 'Immediate Dismissal' Of NY Hush Money Case
President-elect Donald Trump's legal team told the New York judge who presided over his hush money trial that his conviction should be thrown out due to his "overwhelming victory" at the polls, according to a filing released Wednesday.
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November 20, 2024
Bankman-Fried Tech Deputy Who Parsed Code Avoids Prison
A Manhattan federal judge allowed tech expert Zixiao "Gary" Wang to avoid jail Wednesday for his role in the $11 billion FTX fraud, crediting his effort to detail programming "back doors" that enabled Sam Bankman-Fried to loot the bankrupt crypto exchange.
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November 19, 2024
Monsanto's Bid To Pause PCB Trial Again Shot Down
A Washington state appellate commissioner on Friday again refused to undo a trial court's decision not to pause a chemical poisoning tort trial playing out in Seattle, rejecting Monsanto's contention that the court committed "obvious error" in letting the trial proceed while the state's highest court decides a similar case.
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November 19, 2024
High Court Urged To Let Courts Scrutinize Agency Rulings
District courts should be allowed to question rather than grant "absolute deference" to the Federal Communications Commission's interpretation of key statutory terms in the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, a chiropractic group contended Monday in calling on the U.S. Supreme Court to revive a junk fax class action.
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November 19, 2024
Vets' Attys Want Nonprofit To Get $63M Of Agent Orange Funds
Counsel representing a class of Vietnam veterans exposed to Agent Orange and their survivors in litigation that settled 33 years ago urged a California federal judge on Tuesday to hand $63 million in unclaimed funds to a legal nonprofit, a request the federal government has contested.
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November 19, 2024
Keep Colo. Interest Rate Opt-Out Law Blocked, 10th Circ. Told
A coalition of organizations representing the financial services industry has urged the Tenth Circuit to uphold a district court's injunction against a Colorado interest rate opt-out law, arguing the state's attempt to reframe the federal provision allowing the opt-out as a consumer protection measure ignores the underlying statute's history as rooted in federalist principles.
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November 19, 2024
11th Circ. Weighs Whether Tornado Cash Sanctions Overreach
An Eleventh Circuit panel on Tuesday dove deep into the mechanisms of cryptocurrency mixing service Tornado Cash as the judges weighed whether government sanctions intended to curb illicit finance on the protocol are permitted under the law.
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November 19, 2024
10th Circ. Judge Asks If PLO Activity Enough For US Suit
A Tenth Circuit judge hearing arguments Tuesday about whether federal courts have jurisdiction over the Palestinian Authority and the Palestine Liberation Organization asked an attorney representing the entities whether the group "conducting activity" in the U.S. was enough for courts here to consider the case.
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November 19, 2024
USPTO Urged To Revamp Computer Image Design Patent Rule
Intellectual property law groups and Apple Inc. have recommended that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office allow design patents on computer icons shown using new technologies like holograms and augmented reality, saying a rule limiting protection to images on display screens is outdated.
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November 19, 2024
Wash. Tribe Looks To Ax Wildlife Refuge Protection Suit
A Washington state tribe is looking to dismiss a challenge by three environmental groups to the federal government for failing to protect a national wildlife refuge from an industrial aquaculture operation, arguing that the true purpose of the case is to restrict its members from farming in their historic homeland.
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November 19, 2024
All States Now Approved For Feds' Broadband Program
Everyone who is eligible for a slice of the $42.5 billion BEAD Program pie has officially had their broadband deployment plans approved by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, the agency revealed Tuesday.
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November 19, 2024
CFPB's Medical Debt Guidance Faces Industry Injunction Bid
Debt collectors asked a D.C. federal court on Monday to put an immediate hold on recent Consumer Financial Protection Bureau guidance aimed at the medical debt collection market, escalating their challenge to the document ahead of its looming effective date.
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November 19, 2024
Calif. Judge OKs Biggest Family Separation Settlement Yet
A California federal judge has approved a final settlement for minors in a lawsuit seeking damages for emotional distress caused by family separations under the Trump administration's zero tolerance border policy, saying the settlements "appear to represent the largest amounts achieved thus far by plaintiffs in family separation cases."
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November 19, 2024
Doc Says Idaho Abortion Bans Sow 'Fear' In 2nd Week Of Trial
In the trial over Idaho's strict abortion bans, a rural-based doctor testified Tuesday that the laws are leaving doctors stuck in "confusion and fear," leading to delayed care that's affecting patient safety.
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November 19, 2024
Trump DOT Pick Puts Highway, Road Rebuilds Back In Focus
President-elect Donald Trump's selection of former Wisconsin congressman Sean Duffy to serve as his secretary of transportation would send a savvy communicator to liaise with Capitol Hill and refocus the federal government's infrastructure investment priorities more on highways, roads and bridges and less on renewables and clean-energy initiatives, experts say.
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November 19, 2024
Senate Confirms 5th Lame-Duck Judge
The Senate voted 50-44 on Tuesday evening to confirm Sarah French Russell, law professor and director of the Legal Clinic at Quinnipiac University School of Law, to become a judge in the District of Connecticut.
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November 19, 2024
Neb. AG Expands Electric Trucks Fight To Volvo, Daimler
However a federal court challenge to California's phaseout of gasoline and diesel trucks plays out, Nebraska's attorney general wants to make sure that Volvo, Daimler and other semitruck giants don't eliminate traditional fossil fuel-powered vehicles, filing a Nebraska state court antitrust suit Tuesday describing phaseout commitments as anticompetitive collusion.
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November 19, 2024
Ex-US Attorneys See Risks In Working Under Gaetz
Some prospective U.S. attorneys may think twice about joining the U.S. Department of Justice if Matt Gaetz ends up in charge, veterans of the position told Law360.
Expert Analysis
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How The Presidential Election Will Affect Workplace AI Regs
The U.S. has so far adopted a light-handed approach to regulating artificial intelligence in the labor and employment area, but the presidential election is unlikely to have as dramatic of an effect on AI regulations as it may on other labor and employment matters, say attorneys at Littler.
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Election Could Bring Change In Weather For Offshore Wind
Under another Trump administration, the offshore wind sector would encounter substantial headwinds, as Trump's policy track record emphasizes fossil fuel dominance and environmental rollbacks, while a Harris victory would likely further entrench the pro-renewable energy stance taken by the Biden administration, say attorneys at Jones Walker.
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A Look At Grewal's Record-Breaking Legacy After SEC Exit
Gurbir Grewal resigned as director of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's Division of Enforcement last month after more than three years on the job, leaving behind a legacy marked by record numbers of penalties and enforcement actions, as well as mixed results in aggressive lawsuits against major crypto players, say attorneys at Debevoise.
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Opinion
PREVAIL Bill Is Another Misguided Attempt To Restrict PTAB
The decade-long campaign against the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's Patent Trial and Appeal Board — currently focused on the PREVAIL Act that's slated for markup in the Senate — is not really about procedural issues, and it is not aimed at securing more accurate patentability decisions, says Clear IP's Joseph Matal, former acting director at the USPTO.
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Striking A Balance Between AI Use And Attorney Well-Being
As the legal industry increasingly adopts generative artificial intelligence tools to boost efficiency, leaders must note the hidden costs of increased productivity, and work to protect attorneys’ well-being while unlocking AI’s full potential, says Ed Sohn at Factor.
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Insurance Industry Impacts If DOL Fiduciary Rule Is Revived
If implemented following an ongoing appeal at the Fifth Circuit, the U.S. Department of Labor’s rule expanding the Employee Retirement Income Security Act's definition of "fiduciary" could chill insurance agents’ and brokers' ability to sell annuities, and lead to an increase in breach of fiduciary duty lawsuits, say attorneys at Alston & Bird.
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Boosting Confidence In Pennsylvania's Election System
As Election Day nears, Pennsylvania is facing an intense flurry of litigation, including an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court centered on mail-in and provisional ballots, but the state's election system is robust, and attorneys from all practice areas have an important role to play in ensuring confidence in and access to our election system, says Bucks County Commissioner Bob Harvie.
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Takeaways From The IRS' Crypto Doc Summons Win
A recent First Circuit decision holding that taxpayers do not have a Fourth Amendment reasonable expectation of privacy in cryptocurrency transaction records should prompt both taxpayers and exchanges to take stock of past transactions and future plans, say attorneys at BakerHostetler.
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A Novel Expansion Of Alien Tort Statute In 9th Circ.
The Ninth Circuit's Doe v. Cisco rehearing denial allows a new invocation of the Alien Tort Statute to proceed, which could capture the U.S. Supreme Court's attention, and has potentially dramatic consequences for U.S. companies doing business with foreign governments, say attorneys at Ropes & Gray.
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Empathy In Mediation Offers A Soft Landing For Disputes
Experiencing a crash-landing on a recent flight underscored to me how much difference empathy makes in times of crisis or stress, including during mediation, says Eydith Kaufman at Alternative Resolution Centers.
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Series
Being An Artist Makes Me A Better Lawyer
My work as an artist has highlighted how using creativity and precision together — qualities that are equally essential in both art and law — not only improves outcomes, but also leads to more innovative and thoughtful work, says Sarah La Pearl at Segal McCambridge.
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Election Outcome Could Reshape Financial Industry
The policies of the next presidential administration and Congress will shape the landscape of financial services in the U.S. — including banking, mortgage, investment and credit services — for years to come, affecting Wall Street investors and aspiring homeowners alike, say Alexander Hecht and Frank Guinta at Mintz.
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How Judiciary Can Minimize AI Risks In Secondary Sources
Because courts’ standing orders on generative artificial intelligence and other safeguards do not address the risk of hallucinations in secondary source materials, the judiciary should consider enlisting legal publishers and database hosts to protect against AI-generated inaccuracies, say attorneys at Lankler Siffert & Wohl.
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3 Steps For Companies To Combat Task Scams
On the rise in the U.S., the task scam — when scammers offer a victim a fake work-from-home job — hurts impersonated businesses by tarnishing their name and brand, but companies have a few ways to fight back against these cons, says Chris Wlach at Huge.
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NY Tax Talk: Questions In Corporate Franchise Tax Regs Case
In the first challenge to New York's Corporate Franchise Tax regulations — Paychex v. Department of Taxation and Finance — the court has an important opportunity to provide clarity on a major retroactive application issue, say attorneys at Eversheds Sutherland.