Public Policy

  • August 02, 2024

    Family Separation Trial Paused For Settlement

    A California federal court has paused a lawsuit from three families separated at the southwestern border under the Trump-era zero tolerance policy as they finalize a settlement with the Biden administration to resolve the suit.

  • August 02, 2024

    ABA Taskforce Urges Attys To Step Up Election Volunteering

    The American Bar Association's Task Force for American Democracy, launched last year, published a 12-page report Friday outlining the importance of lawyers knowing their state's election laws and encouraging them to volunteer their time to bolster faith in elections.

  • August 02, 2024

    Privacy & Cybersecurity Midyear Report: 4 Areas To Watch

    New York and Colorado shook up the data privacy landscape by enacting groundbreaking laws protecting children online and clamping down on high-risk uses of artificial intelligence during the first half of 2024, and both states and the federal government are expected to devote considerable attention to these areas in the coming months. 

  • August 02, 2024

    Manhattan DA Slams Trump's 'Regurgitated' Recusal Bid

    The Manhattan district attorney pilloried Donald Trump's renewed request for the judge overseeing his hush money case to recuse himself, branding it a "regurgitated" attempt to rehash issues the court already decided without any new facts — besides Kamala Harris' presidential bid.

  • August 02, 2024

    Akin Debuts AI Law & Regulation Info Tracker

    Global BigLaw firm Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP launched a tracker to help monitor changing policies related to artificial intelligence in various fields including intellectual property, data privacy, health and national security.

  • August 02, 2024

    Prosecutors Back NJ Judicial Privacy Law's Constitutionality

    Daniel's Law is a "commonsense" measure necessary to counter the surge in threats and violence against judges and law enforcement officers, and it places only a "modest" burden on commercial data brokers, federal prosecutors told a New Jersey federal court weighing the future of the law.

  • August 02, 2024

    DC Circ. Rejects Speech Rights Challenge To DMCA

    A D.C. Circuit panel on Friday knocked down a challenge to a provision of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act that bars circumventing digital locks on copyrighted material, ruling that the law is in line with the First Amendment.

  • August 02, 2024

    NYC Courts' $9.5M Accounting Error Quietly Broke The Law

    Internal audits found New York City courts violated state law by failing to turn over $9.5 million to the state treasury — the result of clerks not keeping tabs on public money in recent years.

  • August 02, 2024

    SEC Narrows Its Rulemaking Focus As Election Looms

    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's aggressive rulemaking spree is showing signs of dwindling as November elections loom, although several proposals could be primed for autumn votes if regulators wish to tackle hot-button topics.

  • August 02, 2024

    Tribes Seek Commission's Help On Canada Mining Policy

    A consortium of southeast Alaska tribes is urging the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights to call on Canada and British Columbia to formally consult and obtain their "free, prior and informed consent" ahead of looming permitting decisions for the Eskay Creek gold mine.

  • August 02, 2024

    Land Sale Deals Allowed In Colo. Eminent Domain Dispute

    A Colorado appeals court ruled against the city of Westminster in its eminent domain action, ruling that three comparable sales contracts and an adjacent land parcel's $51.5 million purchase and sale contract can be admitted as evidence in a valuation trial.

  • August 02, 2024

    Aussie Panel Opposes Aligning Public Tax Reporting With EU

    The benefits of Australia's public country-by-country reporting bill would diminish if it were limited to jurisdictions covered by the European Union's regime, as businesses have requested, the Australian Senate's economics committee reported Friday.

  • August 02, 2024

    DC Circ. Says Precedent Allows H-1B Spousal Work Permits

    The D.C. Circuit on Friday upheld an Obama-era program authorizing some spouses of highly skilled foreign workers to get work permits, rejecting a challenge from an organization of former IT workers who say they are being displaced by temporary visa holders.

  • August 02, 2024

    Plumbing Co. Sales Reps Owed OT, 1st Circ. Affirms

    A group of more than 600 sales representatives at a Massachusetts-based plumbing and HVAC wholesaler are eligible for overtime pay, the First Circuit concluded on Thursday, affirming a lower court's finding on a Fair Labor Standards Act complaint brought by the government.

  • August 02, 2024

    3 Candidates In Running To Replace Washington AG

    Washington voters on Tuesday will narrow the candidates aspiring to become the state's next attorney general, choosing from among a former U.S. attorney, a state lawmaker who was a county prosecutor, as well as a mayor and attorney who is a gun rights advocate.

  • August 02, 2024

    Kilpatrick Adds Government Relations Adviser In DC

    Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton LLP has hired a former Cox Communications government and public affairs senior specialist, who joined the firm as a government relations adviser, to advise clients on federal funding and navigating state and federal grant programs.

  • August 02, 2024

    FCC Beefs Up Compensation For Phone Caption Services

    The Federal Communications Commission has agreed to a five-year plan that raises compensation for internet-enabled phone caption providers, although Republican commissioners balked at details of the plan and one called on the FCC to move toward greater use of automation technologies.

  • August 02, 2024

    DOJ Sues TikTok For Sweeping Children's Privacy Breaches

    The U.S. Department of Justice on Friday hit TikTok and its parent company with a highly anticipated lawsuit accusing the short-form video app of engaging in "widespread" violations of children's privacy law by collecting a "wide variety" of personal information from kids under 13 without parental consent. 

  • August 01, 2024

    More 'Equitable' Banking? This Ex-Biden Official Has A Plan

    A former Biden U.S. Treasury Department official on Thursday outlined a progressive policy agenda that could provide a road map for bank regulators in the next administration, saying there's more that can and should be done to make the banking system stronger and fairer.

  • August 01, 2024

    Monsanto Wants Wash. Justices To Deny PCB Tort Petition

    Monsanto Co. has urged Washington state's highest court to deny three schoolteachers' request for review of a recent appellate court decision overturning their $185 million win in a chemical poisoning trial, saying the plaintiffs haven't met their burden to show the case warrants the justices' attention.

  • August 01, 2024

    Texas Biz Court Costs Unlikely To Be Prohibitive, Experts Say

    The Texas business court's fee schedule is unlikely to price potential litigants out, but many questions remain about the efficiency of the new venue's fee schedule, experts told Law360.

  • August 01, 2024

    Mich. Justices Uphold Tighter Manure Discharge Regs

    A split Michigan Supreme Court on Wednesday upheld state regulators' increased protective permit conditions for animal feeding operations and said challengers to those conditions must fully exhaust administrative appeals before they can bring the issue to court.

  • August 01, 2024

    DOJ Unveils Whistleblower Pilot, But Garners Atty Criticism

    The U.S. Department of Justice on Thursday officially launched its pilot program to reward whistleblowers who alert prosecutors to significant corporate misconduct, although some whistleblower attorneys decried the program's award caps and what they described as its lack of enforceability.

  • August 01, 2024

    Calif. AG Says States Opposing 'Clean Fleets' Law Tout EVs

    California's Attorney General Rob Bonta looked to slam the brakes Wednesday on a legal challenge brought by 16 states against the Golden State's Advanced Clean Fleets regulation, saying the complaint must be dismissed for lack of standing because the states themselves are encouraging electric vehicle production.

  • August 01, 2024

    Conservation Groups Take Aim At ESA Regs

    Conservation groups are asking a California federal judge to throw out Endangered Species Act regulations put forward earlier this year, claiming federal agencies shortchanged their environmental review duties and moved ahead with changes that will harm the imperiled plants and animals the statute is supposed to protect.

Expert Analysis

  • 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.

  • Opinion

    H-2 Visas Offer Humane, Economic Solution To Border Crisis

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    Congress should leverage the H-2 agricultural and temporary worker visa programs to match qualified migrants with employers facing shortages of workers — a nonpolitical solution to a highly divisive humanitarian issue, say Ashley Dees and Jeffrey Joseph at BAL.

  • PAGA Reforms Encourage Proactive Employer Compliance

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    Recently enacted reforms to California's Private Attorneys General Act should make litigation under the law less burdensome for employers, presenting a valuable opportunity to streamline compliance and reduce litigation risks by proactively addressing many of the issues that have historically attracted PAGA claims, say attorneys at Mintz.

  • Opinion

    Now More Than Ever, Lawyers Must Exhibit Professionalism

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    As society becomes increasingly fractured and workplace incivility is on the rise, attorneys must champion professionalism and lead by example, demonstrating how lawyers can respectfully disagree without being disagreeable, says Edward Casmere at Norton Rose.

  • Series

    After Chevron: Piercing FEMA Authority Is Not Insurmountable

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    While the Federal Emergency Management Agency's discretionary authority continues to provide significant protection from claims under the Administrative Procedure Act, Loper Bright is a blow to the argument that Congress gave FEMA unfettered discretion to administer its own programs, says Wendy Huff Ellard at Baker Donelson.

  • What Happens After Hawaii Kids' Historic Climate Deal

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    Implications of the Hawaii Department of Transportation's first-of-its-kind settlement with youth plaintiffs over constitutional climate claims may be limited, but it could incite similar claims, says J. Michael Showalter and Robert Middleton at ArentFox Schiff.

  • How Tech Trackers May Implicate HIPAA After Hospital Ruling

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    A recent Texas federal court order in American Hospital Association v. Becerra adds a legal protection on key data, clarifying when tracking technologies implicate the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, so organizations should ensure all technology used is known and accounted for, say John Howard and Myriah Jaworski at Clark Hill.

  • The Show Must Go On: Noncompete Uncertainty In Film, TV

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    The Federal Trade Commission has taken action to ban noncompetes while the entertainment industry is in the midst of a massive shift away from traditional media, so it is important for studio heads and content owners alike to understand the fate of the rule and their options going forward, say Christopher Chatham and Douglas Smith at Manatt.

  • A Refresher On Calculating Political Advertising Costs

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    With election season well underway, it is important for broadcasters, political candidates, time buyers and others concerned with how the cost of broadcast political advertising is determined to know what the Federal Communications Commission factors into lowest unit calculations, and how the commission has defined "commercial advertisers," says Gregg Skall at Telecommunications Law Professionals.

  • 'Outsourcing' Ruling, 5 Years On: A Warning, Not A Watershed

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    A New York federal court’s 2019 ruling in U.S. v. Connolly, holding that the government improperly outsourced an investigation to Deutsche Bank, has not undercut corporate cooperation incentives as feared — but companies should not completely ignore the lessons of the case, say Temidayo Aganga-Williams and Anna Nabutovsky at Selendy Gay.

  • Series

    Serving In The National Guard Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    My ongoing military experience as a judge advocate general in the National Guard has shaped me as a person and a lawyer, teaching me the importance of embracing confidence, balance and teamwork in both my Army and civilian roles, says Danielle Aymond at Baker Donelson.

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