Public Policy

  • July 31, 2024

    Separate Easement Contribution Docs Critical, IRS Atty Says

    Conservation easement donors must always keep separate documents from their donees that acknowledge the gifted property to qualify for a charitable tax deduction in the event the IRS requests such information during an audit, according to an agency counsel Wednesday.

  • July 31, 2024

    SEC Asked For Public Tax Reporting By Group With $2.3T

    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission was asked Wednesday to begin a rulemaking procedure to require public country-by-country reporting of tax by nearly 90 investment funds, labor unions, activists and others with combined assets over $2.3 trillion.

  • July 31, 2024

    5th Circ. Pause Spells Doom For DOT Airline Fees Rule

    The Fifth Circuit gave the airline industry a temporary reprieve from a new U.S. Department of Transportation rule requiring carriers to more clearly disclose add-on fees upfront, a decision that stands to embolden opponents of the Biden administration's more aggressive consumer-focused policies.

  • July 31, 2024

    Black Worker Says PBGC Didn't Promote Him Due To His Race

    The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. passed over a Black worker for a senior director role in favor of a less qualified white woman and retaliated against him for a previously filed race discrimination complaint, a lawsuit filed in D.C. federal court said.

  • July 31, 2024

    NC Defense Attys Say Virus Law Case Can 'Unsettle' Immunity

    A North Carolina defense attorney group asked to jump into a medical malpractice suit in the state's high court Wednesday, offering what it described as a warning that if a decision stands on a COVID-19 law, immunity from lawsuits will be "unsettled."

  • July 31, 2024

    Corteva Unit Ordered To Search 110K Boxes For PFAS Docs

    A former North Carolina Superior Court judge in charge of ironing out a dispute between the state and a Corteva Inc. subsidiary over allegedly missing documents ordered the company to search through 110,000 boxes for information related to "forever-chemicals," finding it failed to give assurance the boxes were thoroughly searched.

  • July 31, 2024

    Age Limits On Owning Senior Units Unlawful, NJ Panel Says

    A New Jersey appellate panel on Wednesday backed a lower court's finding that a Garden State municipality's ordinance limiting property ownership in senior housing communities to those 55 years old or older violated the federal Fair Housing Act and state Law Against Discrimination, holding that both statutes prohibit discrimination based on familial status.

  • July 31, 2024

    PayPal Alum Joins Forensic Consultancy As Crypto Leader

    Compliance consultancy and investigations firm Forensic Risk Alliance said Wednesday that it's hired an alum of PayPal and Paxos to direct its global cryptocurrency investigations and compliance practice.

  • July 31, 2024

    Minn. Tax Court Agrees Parking Lot's Value Is $4M, Not $10M

    A Minneapolis parking lot would be best valued as a buy-and-hold investment property and thus its assessed value should be lowered from $10.3 million to $3.9 million, the Minnesota Tax Court said.

  • July 31, 2024

    Minn. Shopping Center's $97M Value Upheld By State Justices

    A Minnesota shopping center was correctly valued for tax purposes at nearly $97 million, the state Supreme Court said Wednesday, rejecting the property owner's argument that the valuation should consider a calculation of effective rent instead of market rent.

  • July 31, 2024

    Pa. Court Says Mail-In Ballot Images Are Public Records

    Scanned copies of Pennsylvanians' absentee and mail-in ballots are public records subject to the state's Right-to-Know Law, even though copies of votes cast in person are not, a state appellate court ruled Wednesday.

  • July 31, 2024

    Where Trump's 4 Criminal Cases Could Stand On Election Day

    A landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision on presidential immunity, a dismissal order from a trial judge in Florida and scandal in Georgia threaten to derail state and federal criminal cases that had been moving full steam ahead against Donald Trump just a few months ago.

  • July 31, 2024

    Copyright Office Warns Of 'Urgent Need' For Deepfakes Law

    The U.S. Copyright Office said Wednesday that "there is an urgent need" for new federal legislation to tackle the proliferation of deepfakes created through artificial intelligence, saying in a long-awaited report with recommendations to Congress that "an era of sophisticated digital replicas has arrived."

  • July 31, 2024

    Ex-Chicago Alderman Should Serve Full Supervision, Feds Say

    A former Chicago alderman and attorney convicted of tax crimes should not be allowed an early reprieve from his court-ordered supervision because it has become his main form of punishment following his compassionate release from prison, the government has told an Illinois federal court.

  • July 31, 2024

    Attys Can Seek Security Clearance In Cuellar Bribery Case

    Attorneys for U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar can apply for a security clearance to facilitate potential discussions of classified information in connection with bribery charges against the congressman, a Texas federal judge said Wednesday, remarking multiple times that federal prosecutors had taken "inconsistent" positions on classified material connected to the case.

  • July 31, 2024

    NC Sens. Continue Fight Against 4th Circ. Nom

    Ryan Young Park, the solicitor general of North Carolina and nominee for the Fourth Circuit, defended his record and commitment to the law on Wednesday amid attacks from North Carolina's U.S. senators, who oppose his nomination and claim they were not properly consulted on his selection.

  • July 31, 2024

    5 Trials To Watch In The 2nd Half Of 2024

    Upcoming high-profile trials over star lawyer Tom Girardi's alleged fraud, Hunter Biden's taxes and Washington state's "patent troll" law are among the cases to watch in the latter half of the year.

  • July 31, 2024

    Judge Won't Undo IRS' Pause On Worker Retention Credits

    An Arizona federal judge rejected a tax advisory firm's request to lift the IRS' pause on processing claims for the pandemic-era employee retention credit, saying he wasn't eager to stop the agency from addressing the fraud it alleges has been widespread.

  • July 31, 2024

    Mich. High Court Restores Strengthened Wage, Leave Laws

    The Michigan Supreme Court put back in place higher minimum wage and broader paid sick leave laws on Wednesday, finding the laws were unlawfully amended by the state Legislature in a controversial move to keep a $12 minimum wage law off the ballot.

  • July 31, 2024

    5th Circ. Slams Injunction Against Texas In Buoy Fight

    The majority of the full Fifth Circuit ruled that a Texas federal court abused its discretion by ordering Texas to move a 1,000-foot buoy barrier meant to deter migrants in the Rio Grande to its own riverbank.

  • July 31, 2024

    Biden's Latest Judicial Noms Include Ex-Congressman

    President Joe Biden announced on Wednesday judicial nominees for district courts in New York, Georgia and Pennsylvania, one of whom is a former congressman.

  • July 30, 2024

    DOJ Says Norfolk Southern To Blame For Amtrak Delays

    The U.S. Department of Justice on Tuesday accused Norfolk Southern Corp. of illegally refusing to give passenger trains preference over freight trains, leading to widespread delays for Amtrak passenger trains on the route between New York and Louisiana last year.

  • July 30, 2024

    11th Circ. Upholds Geofence Warrant In Carjacking Case

    The Eleventh Circuit on Tuesday rejected a convicted carjacker's attempt to quash a geofence warrant that allowed law enforcement to obtain information from cellphones within a certain geographic area, finding that the man lacked standing to challenge a search that revealed no information from his own electronic device. 

  • July 30, 2024

    Pa. House Majority Leader Fights Robocall Suit At 3rd Circ.

    The Democratic majority leader of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives on Tuesday asked the Third Circuit to undo a ruling that his automated calls informing constituents about government programs violated the Telephone Consumer Protection Act.

  • July 30, 2024

    Texas Border Buoy Trial Must Go On, Judge Says

    A Texas federal judge denied an attempt by Texas to stall an upcoming trial over the state's use of a buoy barrier meant to prevent illegal border crossings, saying in a Tuesday order that the state didn't explain why it had a "sudden emergency" that warranted a stay. 

Expert Analysis

  • Series

    After Chevron: FTC's 'Unfair Competition' Actions In Jeopardy

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    While the U.S. Supreme Court's decision ending Chevron deference will have limited effect on the Federal Trade Commission's merger guidelines, administrative enforcement actions and commission decisions on appeal, it could restrict the agency's expansive take on its rulemaking authority and threaten the noncompete ban, say attorneys at Baker Botts.

  • How To Clean Up Your Generative AI-Produced Legal Drafts

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    As law firms increasingly rely on generative artificial intelligence tools to produce legal text, attorneys should be on guard for the overuse of cohesive devices in initial drafts, and consider a few editing pointers to clean up AI’s repetitive and choppy outputs, says Ivy Grey at WordRake.

  • Series

    After Chevron: Opportunities For Change In FHFA Practices

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's overturning of the Chevron doctrine should lead to better cooperation between the Federal Housing Finance Agency and Congress, and may give the FHFA a chance to embrace transparency and innovation and promote sustainable housing practices, says Mehdi Sinaki at Michelman & Robinson.

  • Constitutional Protections For Cannabis Companies Are Hazy

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    Cannabis businesses are subject to federal enforcement and tax, but often without the benefit of constitutional protections — and the entanglement of state and federal law and conflicting judicial opinions are creating confusion in the space, says Amber Lengacher at Purple Circle.

  • Supreme Court's ALJ Ruling Carries Implications Beyond SEC

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    In its recent Jarkesy opinion, the U.S. Supreme Court limited the types of cases that can be tried before the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's in-house administrative law judges, setting the stage for challenges to the constitutionality of ALJs across other agencies, say Robert Robertson and Kimberley Church at Dechert.

  • Opinion

    A Tale Of 2 Trump Cases: The Rule Of Law Is A Live Issue

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    The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision this week in Trump v. U.S., holding that former President Donald Trump has broad immunity from prosecution, undercuts the rule of law, while the former president’s New York hush money conviction vindicates it in eight key ways, says David Postel at Henein Hutchison.

  • USPTO Disclaimer Rule Would Complicate Patent Prosecution

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    The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's proposed changes to terminal disclaimer practice could lead to a patent owner being unable to enforce a valid patent simply because it is indirectly tied to a patent in which a single claim is found anticipated or obvious in view of the prior art, say attorneys at Sterne Kessler.

  • 2nd Circ. ERISA Ruling May Help Fight Unfair Arb. Clauses

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    The Second Circuit recently held that a plaintiff seeking planwide relief under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act cannot be compelled to individual arbitration, a decision that opens the door to new applications of the effective vindication doctrine to defeat onerous and one-sided arbitration clauses, say Raphael Janove and Liana Vitale at Janove.

  • Series

    After Chevron: Various Paths For Labor And Employment Law

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    Labor and employment law leans heavily on federal agency guidance, so the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to toss out Chevron deference will ripple through this area, with future workplace policies possibly taking shape through strategic litigation, informal guidance, state-level regulation and more, says Alexander MacDonald at Littler.

  • Series

    Boxing Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Boxing has influenced my legal work by enabling me to confidently hone the skills I've learned from the sport, like the ability to remain calm under pressure, evaluate an opponent's weaknesses and recognize when to seize an important opportunity, says Kirsten Soto at Clyde & Co.

  • What NYC's Green Fast Track Means For Affordable Housing

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    New York City's Green Fast Track for Housing initiative, which went into effect last month, aims to speed up the environmental review process for modest residential developments and could potentially pave the way for similar initiatives in other cities, say Vivien Krieger and Rachel Scall at Cozen O'Connor.

  • Series

    After Chevron: No Deference, No Difference For SEC Or CFTC

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    The Chevron doctrine did not fundamentally alter the interplay between the courts and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission in the development of the securities and commodities laws — and its demise will not do so either, says Dan Berkovitz at Millennium Management.

  • Opinion

    Industry Self-Regulation Will Shine Post-Chevron

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's Loper decision will shape the contours of industry self-regulation in the years to come, providing opportunities for this often-misunderstood practice, says Eric Reicin at BBB National Programs.

  • Justices' Bribery Ruling: A Corrupt Act Isn't Necessarily Illegal

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    In its Snyder v. U.S. decision last week, the U.S. Supreme Court held that a bribery law does not criminalize gratuities, continuing a trend of narrowing federal anti-corruption laws and scrutinizing public corruption prosecutions that go beyond obvious quid pro quo schemes, say Carrie Cohen and Christine Wong at MoFo.

  • 3 Ways Agencies Will Keep Making Law After Chevron

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    The U.S. Supreme Court clearly thinks it has done something big in overturning the Chevron precedent that had given deference to agencies' statutory interpretations, but regulated parties have to consider how agencies retain significant power to shape the law and its meaning, say attorneys at K&L Gates.

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