Public Policy

  • October 03, 2024

    Energy Dept. Hands Out $1B Loan For EV Charging Expansion

    The U.S. Department of Energy announced on Thursday that it has made a conditional commitment for a loan guarantee of up to $1.05 billion aimed at expanding public electric vehicle charging infrastructure across the country.

  • October 03, 2024

    Despite Progress, Barriers Remain In Burial Law, Report Says

    Despite tighter regulations on a federal law designed to protect and help tribes repatriate burial sites, a continued resistance by institutions in possession of Indigenous remains and artifacts and a lack of funding are still barriers facing the decades-old policy, a federal report says.

  • October 03, 2024

    Citibank Blunders May Warrant Breakup, Warren Tells OCC

    Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., urged the acting head of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency on Thursday to impose growth restrictions on Citibank for becoming "too big to manage" and committing various blunders over the years, saying breaking up the fourth-largest bank in the U.S. may be appropriate if conditions don't improve.

  • October 03, 2024

    Medical Pot Expansion Effort Notches Win In Ark. High Court

    The Arkansas Supreme Court has granted an injunction to the activists behind a ballot measure to expand medical marijuana access and ordered the state's secretary of state to verify signatures submitted by the campaign which he had previously deemed invalid.

  • October 03, 2024

    Parties Ask For Stay In Title IX Transgender Protection Case

    The U.S. Department of Education and Texas have asked a Texas federal judge to stay a case involving a challenge to the agency's new policy enforcing protections for transgender students in Lone Star State schools while the issue gets worked out at the Fifth Circuit in a Thursday motion.

  • October 03, 2024

    12 Lawyers Who Are The Future Of The Supreme Court Bar

    One attorney hasn't lost a single U.S. Supreme Court case she's argued, or even a single justice's vote. One attorney is perhaps "the preeminent SCOTUS advocate." And one may soon become U.S. solicitor general, despite acknowledging there are "judges out there who don't like me." All three are among a dozen lawyers in the vanguard of the Supreme Court bar's next generation, poised to follow in the footsteps of the bar's current icons.

  • October 03, 2024

    CFTC Asks DC Circ. To Hasten Election Contract Loss Appeal

    The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission pressed the D.C. Circuit to immediately schedule its appeal of a district court's decision to permit KalshiEx's listing of election-based event contracts, which the trading platform is poised to oppose.

  • October 03, 2024

    Colo. Panel Finds No Proof Of Bias In Reservoir Project Vote

    A Colorado Court of Appeals panel Thursday upheld the dismissal of environmental groups' lawsuit challenging a permit approval for a Northern Colorado pipeline and reservoir project, rejecting claims that two county officials were too biased and should have recused themselves from the vote.

  • October 03, 2024

    3rd County Settles Over Use Of NJ's 'County Line' Ballot

    New Jersey's Warren County has agreed to stop using the Garden State's long-standing "county line" ballot design in primary elections, according to a Thursday order, making it the third county in the state to settle with Rep. Andy Kim and two Democratic congressional candidates in their suit challenging the controversial ballot design.

  • October 03, 2024

    Texas Takes Aim At Insulin Manufacturers For Price-Gouging

    Texas sued several major insulin manufacturers and pharmacy benefit managers in Texas state court on Thursday, accusing the companies of running quid pro quo deals to bump insulin prices by as much as 1,000% and violating Texas laws around deceptive trade practices.

  • October 03, 2024

    EPA Can Protect Records In Pebble Mine Fight, Judge Says

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has secured a blanket protection order on all administrative records that may be subject to copyright protection in litigation brought by Alaska seeking to challenge the agency's veto of the controversial Pebble Mine.

  • October 03, 2024

    OCC Backs Bid To Block 'Unworkable' Ill. Swipe Fee Law

    The banking industry's bid to block a new Illinois law that bans swipe fees on tax and tip payments received a big boost from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, which has slammed the law for being an "ill-conceived" threat to the "efficient and effective" banking system.

  • October 03, 2024

    IRS Used $2B Of Funding Boost For Operating Expenses

    The IRS has used $2 billion of the funding boost it received under the Inflation Reduction Act to supplement its annual funding, according to the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration.

  • October 03, 2024

    Soldiers Urge DC Circ. Not To Revive DOD Naturalization Rule

    Immigrant soldiers urged the D.C. Circuit to affirm a lower court's order that wiped away a Pentagon requirement to serve for one year before becoming eligible for citizenship, saying lawmakers wanted military personnel enlisting during wartime to reap the benefits of citizenship.

  • October 03, 2024

    Conn. Justices OK Bar Input On Banking Probe Into Lawyers

    The Connecticut Supreme Court will allow the National Creditors Bar Association and the Connecticut Creditors Bar Association to weigh in on a case that questions whether the state banking commissioner violated the constitution's separation of powers doctrine by launching a probe into a law firm and its associated debt negotiation group.

  • October 03, 2024

    Cos. Want Federal Rule On Litigation Funding Disclosure

    The federal courts should adopt a uniform process for the disclosure of third-party litigation funding in federal cases, a host of companies, including Johnson & Johnson and Google, told the judiciary's Rules Committee.

  • October 03, 2024

    Sens. Question If Payouts Taint Execs' Push For US Steel Deal

    Two U.S. senators wrote to U.S. Steel's president and CEO on Wednesday seeking guarantees that a $72 million "golden parachute" deal wasn't driving the executive's willingness to support a $14.1 billion merger with Japanese steelmaker Nippon Steel.

  • October 03, 2024

    White House Directs Agencies On Responsible AI Acquisition

    The White House has issued guidance to agencies on responsible purchases of artificial intelligence, addressing issues such as mitigating associated privacy and performance risks, ensuring the market for AI remains competitive, and enabling related collaboration across the government.

  • October 03, 2024

    Ex-US House Energy Committee Atty Joins Foley In DC

    Foley & Lardner LLP has announced that a former senior counsel to the U.S. House Committee on Energy and Commerce joined the firm's Washington, D.C., office as counsel in its public policy and government relations practice group.

  • October 03, 2024

    Judicial Picks From 3 States Remain Hearing-Less

    With a dwindling number of days left on the Senate's 2024 calendar, Democrats are pushing to confirm more judges so President Joe Biden can meet or exceed former President Donald Trump's record.

  • October 03, 2024

    Newest High Court Reform Bill Would Cap Gifts At $50

    A group of Democratic senators has introduced new legislation that would place price caps and other restrictions on gifts received by U.S. Supreme Court justices in an effort to bring the court's ethical rules closer in line with those followed by federal employees and members of Congress.

  • October 03, 2024

    EEOC Says Colo. Pot Shop Fired Budtender Over Disability

    The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is suing a Colorado marijuana dispensary, alleging that it fired a budtender for memory issues stemming from a mini stroke when she was nine years old, while privately calling her a "fruitcake."

  • October 03, 2024

    California Tribe Says Report Shows Flaws In Water Project

    The Hoopa Valley Tribe urged a California federal judge to recognize as fact a recent report issued by the U.S. Department of the Interior's Office of Inspector General, which the tribe argued backs its challenge of the Bureau of Reclamation's management of California's Trinity River.

  • October 03, 2024

    Ohio Justices Reject Neighbor's Objection To Gas Pipeline

    The Ohio Supreme Court on Thursday affirmed a state siting board's accelerated approval for a NiSource unit's 3.7-mile natural gas pipeline in the city of Maumee, rejecting a commercial property owner's claims that the project's risks were not adequately considered.

  • October 03, 2024

    US, France Extend Patent Prosecution Highway

    French and American authorities announced plans Thursday to extend their deal to fast-track patent examinations for IP already approved in the other jurisdiction for another five years.

Expert Analysis

  • Open Questions 3 Years After 2nd Circ.'s Fugitive Ruling

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    The Second Circuit’s 2021 decision in U.S. v. Bescond, holding that a French resident indicted abroad did not meet the legal definition of a fugitive, deepened a circuit split on the fugitive disentitlement doctrine, and courts continue to grapple with the doctrine’s reach and applicability, say attorneys at Lankler Siffert.

  • Replacing The Stigma Of Menopause With Law Firm Support

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    A large proportion of the workforce is forced to pull the brakes on their career aspirations because of the taboo surrounding menopause and a lack of consistent support, but law firms can initiate the cultural shift needed by formulating thoughtful workplace policies, says Barbara Hamilton-Bruce at Simmons & Simmons.

  • Series

    After Chevron: The Future Of AI And Copyright Law

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    In the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision to overrule the Chevron doctrine, leaders in the artificial intelligence industry may seek to shift the balance of power to courts to exercise more independent statutory interpretation without constraints from the U.S. Copyright Office, says Greg Derin at Signature Resolution.

  • Leveraging Policy Changes To Achieve AI Patent Eligibility

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    With the latest U.S. Patent and Trademark Office guidance in hand and legislation looming in Congress, innovators should file their artificial intelligence patent applications now — and five strategies can maximize their chances of success, says Nicholas Gallo at Troutman Pepper.

  • Crypto Regs Could See A Reset Under The Next President

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    Donald Trump has taken a permissive policy stance favoring crypto, while Kamala Harris has been silent on the issue, but no matter who wins the presidential election, we may see a more lenient regulatory climate toward the digital currency than from the Biden administration, says Liam Murphy at McKool Smith.

  • How DOJ May Change FARA Exemption In Forthcoming Rule

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    Any day now, the U.S. Department of Justice is expected to issue proposed revisions to the Foreign Agents Registration Act regulations, and signs suggest that it will likely narrow one of FARA's broadest exemptions, which may compound public confusion about the law's requirements, says Murad Hussain at Arnold & Porter.

  • Planning Law Firm Content Calendars: What, When, Where

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    During the slower month of August, law firms should begin working on their 2025 content calendars, planning out a content creation and distribution framework that aligns with the firm’s objectives and maintains audience engagement throughout the year, says Jessica Kaplan at Legally Penned.

  • Key Concerns To Confront In FDIC Brokered Deposit Proposal

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    Banks and fintech companies should note several fundamental issues with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.'s recent proposal to widen how it classifies brokered deposits, an attempt to limit prudential risk that could expose the industry and underbanked consumers who rely on bank-fintech apps to widespread unintended consequences, say attorneys at Gibson Dunn.

  • 3 Presidential Privilege Questions After Trump Ruling

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision in Trump v. U.S., carving out a new evidentiary privilege for presidents, leaves unanswered several key questions concerning whether this new privilege is waivable or subject to various exceptions, says Jeremy Bates at Frankfurt Kurnit.

  • What To Expect From Evolving Wash. Development Plans

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    The current round of periodic updates to Washington counties' growth and development plans will need to address new requirements from recent legislation, and will also likely bring changes that should please property owners and developers, says Jami Balint at Seyfarth.

  • 4 Steps To Address New Sanctions Time Bar Extension

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    Recent guidance from the Office of Foreign Assets Control clarifies details of the newly extended statute of limitations for civil and criminal enforcement of U.S. sanctions law, so compliance teams should implement key updates, including to lookback periods and recordkeeping policies, say attorneys at Freshfields.

  • Implementing Proposed AML Rules May Take More Guidance

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    Two recent rules proposed by financial regulators would modernize requirements for programs aimed at countering money laundering and terrorist financing by centering more robust risk assessments, but financial institutions may need more specific guidance before they could confidently comply, say Meghann Donahue and Nikhil Gore at Covington.

  • What To Know About Major Fla. Civil Procedure Rule Changes

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    The Florida Supreme Court recently amended the state's Rules of Civil Procedure, touching on pretrial procedure, discovery, motion and trial practice, and while the amendments are intended to streamline cases, the breadth of the changes may initially present some litigation growing pains, say Brian Briz, Benjamin Tyler and Yarenis Cruz at Holland & Knight.

  • Series

    Playing Golf Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Golf can positively affect your personal and professional life well beyond the final putt, and it’s helped enrich my legal practice by improving my ability to build lasting relationships, study and apply the rules, face adversity with grace, and maintain my mental and physical well-being, says Adam Kelly at Venable.

  • What To Expect From CFPB And DOT Card Rewards Inquiry

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    Following the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's announcement of joint efforts with the U.S. Department of Transportation to investigate credit card rewards points, credit card issuers and airlines should keep a close eye on potential regulatory and class action litigation risks stemming from the inquiry, say attorneys at DLA Piper.

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