Public Policy

  • December 13, 2024

    DC Judge Questions DOT On Rail Line 'Buy America' Waiver

    A D.C. federal judge Friday scrutinized the Federal Railroad Administration's rolling stock grant for Brightline's high-speed rail line from the Los Angeles area to Las Vegas, questioning whether a waiver of "Buy America" mandates was justified for Siemens trainsets with competitor Alstom claiming some components could be made domestically.

  • December 13, 2024

    ND Judge Speeds Up Review Of DACA Health Coverage Block

    A North Dakota federal judge agreed Friday to expedite the federal government's request to halt an order blocking the enforcement of a regulation that extends health coverage to immigrants brought to the U.S. as children without authorization.

  • December 13, 2024

    SEC's Corporation Finance Director Gerding To Step Down

    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission announced Friday that the head of its Division of Corporation Finance, who oversaw the finalization of controversial new rules covering environmental disclosures and share repurchases, will leave the agency at the end of the year.

  • December 13, 2024

    DC Circ. Declines To Disturb Law That Could Ban TikTok

    The D.C. Circuit on Friday rejected TikTok's request for a preliminary injunction delaying implementation of a law requiring the app to split with its Chinese parent company ByteDance Ltd. or face a nationwide ban, saying that TikTok wants to block "the enforcement of a presumptively valid act of Congress."

  • December 13, 2024

    10th Circ. Leans Against Spiking Colo. Air Plan

    A Tenth Circuit panel appeared inclined Friday to order the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to reconsider its approval of a Colorado air emissions permitting program that a green group challenged as too permissive.

  • December 13, 2024

    FCC Says It Won't Look At Telecom's SIM Card Beef Again

    The FCC isn't going to rethink its contention that it has no say over a Haitian mobile carrier's decision to deactivate a bunch of SIM cards that were brought into the United States to trick the carrier into thinking calls from the U.S. were coming from the Caribbean country.

  • December 13, 2024

    EPA Mandates More Worker Safety For Carbon Tetrachloride

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency finalized a rule this week on carbon tetrachloride exposure, requiring "robust" employee safety planning on worksites but continuing to allow for its use as a feedstock for refrigerants.

  • December 13, 2024

    9th Circ. Says Feds Can't Sub For Tribe In Wash. Betting Row

    The Ninth Circuit refused on Friday to revive a casino company's challenge to Washington state gambling compacts giving Native American tribes exclusive rights in the sports betting industry, concluding the company could not avoid involving an immune tribe in the litigation under a theory that its interests were represented by the federal government. 

  • December 13, 2024

    Supreme Court To Review Wis. Catholic Charity Tax Case

    The U.S. Supreme Court plans to examine whether a group of Catholic charities is exempt from Wisconsin's unemployment tax, agreeing Friday to review a state Supreme Court finding that the organizations are not operated primarily for religious purposes.

  • December 13, 2024

    Bipartisan Bills Target US Dependence On Chinese Minerals

    A bipartisan group of lawmakers introduced three new pieces of legislation aimed at helping address what it said was America's "deep reliance" on the Chinese Communist Party for critical minerals, after spending months evaluating the issue.

  • December 13, 2024

    IRS To Wrap Up Worker Retention Credits In 2025, Werfel Says

    The Internal Revenue Service plans to wrap up processing next year for thousands of claims for tax credits meant to provide incentives for businesses that retained employees during the COVID-19 pandemic, agency Commissioner Daniel Werfel said Friday.

  • December 13, 2024

    NC Justices Grant Philip Morris Win On Tax Credit Cap

    North Carolina's $6 million cap on cigarette export tax credits limits only the credits that can be claimed in a year, not the amount of credit that can be generated, the North Carolina Supreme Court ruled Friday, handing a victory to tobacco giant Philip Morris.

  • December 13, 2024

    ByteDance Ex-Coder Perjured Himself In Suit, Judge Finds

    A California federal judge imposed terminating sanctions against a former engineer at TikTok's parent company, finding he committed perjury in a suit alleging he was wrongly fired and ordered the dispute to arbitration.

  • December 13, 2024

    NYC Hospital System Wants Out Of REIT's $50M Campus Suit

    The New York City Health and Hospitals Corp. and the New York City Economic Development Corp. asked a New York federal court Friday to dismiss a $50 million suit that accused them of being misleading when it came to the development of a floodwall that's supposed to be part of a commercial life sciences campus project.

  • December 13, 2024

    Balance Of Equities Favors Tribal Emergency Shelter, Court Told

    A Washington tribe says it's likely to prevail in a challenge that looks to block the city of Toppenish from enforcing an ordinance on a 24-hour emergency cold weather shelter, arguing that the municipality concedes that the unhoused are likely to face serious injury or death absent court intervention.

  • December 13, 2024

    NC Gov., Lawmakers Take Parting Shots In Clash Over Power

    North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper has doubled down in the state Court of Appeals on claims Republican state lawmakers are trying to whittle away his appointment powers, while legislators argue the governor has no case law on which to base his constitutional claims.

  • December 13, 2024

    Sexual Abuse, Price-Gouging Bills Clear Michigan Senate

    Michigan state senators passed a flurry of bills during a marathon session ending early Friday morning, including legislation giving sexual assault victims more time to file lawsuits, strengthening protections against price-gouging and expanding polluter liability.

  • December 13, 2024

    NC Justices Establish Standard For Ousting Elected Clerks

    North Carolina's top court Friday found a replacement judge had the power to remove an elected county clerk from office and, in doing so, determined a clerk's actions need not rise to the level of willful misconduct to justify her expulsion.

  • December 13, 2024

    Conn. Stadium Bidder Can't Pursue 'Sham' Process Claims

    An unsuccessful bidder for the redevelopment of Trinity Health Stadium in Hartford, Connecticut, lacks standing to carry on a 56-count lawsuit against 19 defendants that it accused of executing a "sham" process, a state appeals court ruled Friday.

  • December 13, 2024

    Texas AG Sues NY Doctor Over Telehealth Abortion Script

    Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sued a New York doctor who founded the Abortion Coalition for Telemedicine in the Lone Star State Friday, accusing the physician of violating Texas state abortion laws by providing abortion-inducing prescription drugs to a Texas resident via telehealth.

  • December 13, 2024

    Wis. Tribe Challenges Enbridge Pipeline Reroute Permits

    The Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa on Thursday sued Wisconsin environmental officials over permits given to Enbridge Inc. to reroute part of its controversial Line 5 pipeline around the tribe's reservation and build a new segment in the area.

  • December 13, 2024

    Calif. Justices Won't Undo Judge's Ouster Over Misconduct

    The California Supreme Court has decided not to overturn a state judge's removal from the bench for conducting a campaign of retaliation against court employees he suspected of being "moles."

  • December 13, 2024

    Menendez, 2 Co-Defendants Lose Bids For New Bribery Trial

    A Manhattan federal judge on Friday rejected bids by former Sen. Bob Menendez and two co-defendants for a new trial, ruling there is no manifest injustice after the ex-senator argued the government failed to offer any evidence of how he used his office's power to benefit any of the alleged bribe givers.

  • December 13, 2024

    Construction Co. Fights Stay In Small Biz Qui Tam Suit

    The owners of a construction firm accused in a whistleblower suit of defrauding a program for disadvantaged small businesses objected to a request to delay the suit while the Eleventh Circuit considers the appeal of another suit that resulted in a controversial decision deeming the whistleblower provision of the False Claims Act unconstitutional.

  • December 13, 2024

    Off The Bench: PE Buys In On NFL, WWE Abuse Suit Back On

    In this week's Off The Bench, two teams usher in a new era for the NFL by bringing in private equity investors, a suit accusing the WWE and Vince McMahon of sexual abuse and trafficking picks back up while a federal investigation continues, and a private equity giant and NHL owner passes away.

Expert Analysis

  • What FDIC Expansion Of Change In Bank Control Could Mean

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    A recent Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. proposal pertaining to the Change in Bank Control Act has the potential to create uncertainty around investments by mutual fund complexes in banking organizations, which represent a stable source of capital for the banking industry, say attorneys at Sullivan & Cromwell.

  • HSR Amendments Intensify Merger Filing Burdens, Data Risk

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    The antitrust agencies' long-awaited changes to premerger notification rules under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act stand to significantly increase the time and cost involved in preparing an initial HSR notification, and will require more proactive attention to data issues, says Andrew Szwez at FTI Technology.

  • Deadline Extension Highlights PFAS Reporting Complexities

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    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's recent extension of reporting and recordkeeping timelines for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances under the Toxic Substances Control Act offers relief to the regulated community, but the unprecedented volume of data required means that businesses must remain diligent in their data collection efforts, say attorneys at Alston & Bird.

  • Can SEC's Consolidated Audit Trail Survive Post-Chevron?

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    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is currently in a showdown at the Eleventh Circuit over its authority to maintain a national market system and require that the industry spend billions to maintain its consolidated audit trail, a case that is further complicated by the Loper Bright decision, says Daniel Hawke at Arnold & Porter.

  • What's Inside Feds' Latest Bank Merger Review Proposals

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    Recent bank merger proposals from a trio of federal agencies highlight the need for banks looking to grow through acquisition to consider several key issues much earlier in the planning process than has historically been necessary, say attorneys at Simpson Thacher.

  • State Of The States' AI Legal Ethics Landscape

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    Over the past year, several state bar associations, as well as the American Bar Association, have released guidance on the ethical use of artificial intelligence in legal practice, all of which share overarching themes and some nuanced differences, say Eric Pacifici and Kevin Henderson at SMB Law Group.

  • Cos. Should Focus On State AI Laws Despite New DOL Site

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    Because a new U.S. Department of Labor-sponsored website about the disability discrimination risks of AI hiring tools mostly echoes old guidance, employers should focus on complying with the state and local AI workplace laws springing up where Congress and federal regulators have yet to act, say attorneys at Littler.

  • How Biden Admin Has Used Antitrust Tools, And What's Next

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    The last four years have been marked by an aggressive whole-of-government approach to antitrust enforcement using a broad range of tools, and may result in lasting change regardless of the upcoming presidential election result, say attorneys at Norton Rose.

  • Cos. Face Increasing Risk From Environmental Citizen Suits

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    Environmental citizen suits stepping in to fill the regulatory vacuum concerning consumer goods waste may soon become more common, and the evolving procedural landscape and changes to environmental law may contribute to companies' increased exposure, say J. Michael Showalter and Bradley Rochlen at ArentFox Schiff.

  • How BIS' Rule Seeks To Encourage More Voluntary Disclosure

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    Updated incentives, penalties and enforcement resources in the Bureau of Industry and Security's recently published final rule revising the Export Administration Regulations should help companies decide how to implement export control compliance programs and whether to disclose possible violations, say attorneys at Freshfields.

  • Series

    Florida Banking Brief: All The Notable Legal Updates In Q3

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    With the implementation of H.B. 989, the third quarter of 2024 has been transformative for banking law and regulation in Florida, and this new law places a strong emphasis on fair access to banking, and prohibits ideologically or politically motivated decisions by financial institutions, says Sha’Ron James at Gunster.

  • 8 Childhood Lessons That Can Help You Be A Better Attorney

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    A new school year is underway, marking a fitting time for attorneys to reflect on some fundamental life lessons from early childhood that offer a framework for problems that no legal textbook can solve, say Chris Gismondi and Chris Campbell at DLA Piper.

  • Navigating Complex Regulatory Terrain Amid State AG Races

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    This year's 10 attorney general elections could usher in a wave of new enforcement priorities and regulatory uncertainty, but companies can stay ahead of the shifts by building strong relationships with AG offices, participating in industry coalitions and more, say Ketan Bhirud and Dustin McDaniel at Cozen O’Connor.

  • How A Trump Win Might Affect The H-1B Program

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    A review of the Trump administration's attempted overhaul of the H-1B nonimmigrant visa program suggests policies Donald Trump might try to implement if he is reelected, and specific steps employers should consider to prepare for that possibility, says Eileen Lohmann at BAL.

  • Challenge To Ill. Card Fee Law Explores Compliance Hurdles

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    A recent federal lawsuit challenging an Illinois law that will soon forbid electronic payment networks from charging fees for processing the tax and tip portions of card transactions, fleshes out the glaring compliance challenges and exposure risks financial institutions must be ready to face next summer, says Martin Kiernan at Amundsen Davis.

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