Public Policy

  • December 02, 2024

    House COVID-19 Probe Points to China 'Lab Leak'

    The Republican-led House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic published the results of its two-year investigation into the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic Monday, concluding that COVID-19 "most likely" emerged from a laboratory in Wuhan, China, and heavily criticizing the Biden administration, Anthony Fauci and left-leaning organizations for their responses.

  • December 02, 2024

    Senate Sends Calif. Judge To Federal Bench

    The U.S. Senate voted 48-43 on Monday evening to confirm California Superior Court Judge Anne Hwang to a federal judgeship in the Central District of California.

  • December 02, 2024

    Monsanto PCB Jury Is Told Cancer Link Isn't Solid

    A longtime Monsanto PCB expert told a Washington state court jury Monday that there is no solid evidence that the once-ubiquitous chemicals cause cancer in humans, saying "a cancer death here, a cancer death there" isn't conclusive.

  • December 02, 2024

    Government Mole Faces Tough Cross From Madigan's Atty

    An attorney for former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan got his chance Monday to question the ex-Chicago alderman who recorded his client while cooperating with the government, pushing him to admit that Madigan never explicitly conditioned his support on legal business for his law firm or told the alderman to vote against developers who didn't hire him for tax work.

  • December 02, 2024

    DC Circ. Asked To Spike 'Dangerous' NEPA Regulatons Ruling

    Environmental groups are asking the D.C. Circuit to overturn a panel's "demonstrably dangerous" ruling that the White House Council on Environmental Quality lacks the authority to issue legally binding regulations implementing the National Environmental Policy Act.

  • December 02, 2024

    SEC Crypto Cases To Face Review Under Trump

    President-elect Donald Trump's promises of a friendlier approach to the digital asset industry means a review is coming for the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's controversial crypto suits, but experts agreed that this doesn't mean enforcement actions in the space will grind to a halt.

  • December 02, 2024

    Newsom Wants $25M For Expected Legal Fights With Trump

    California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Monday that he wants up to $25 million for litigation and legal fights he foresees with the administration of President-elect Donald Trump, kicking off the first day of a special session the state Legislature held at the governor's request after Trump's win.

  • December 02, 2024

    Meta Can't Dodge $25M Fine For Wash. Election Ads

    Facebook parent company Meta must pay $25 million in fines for repeatedly running afoul of Washington state's political advertising transparency law, a state appellate panel ruled Monday, finding the technology giant's free speech rights were not violated by being forced to comply with the law.

  • December 02, 2024

    Attys Issue Poaching Warning At Judicial Salary Hearing

    Noncompetitive salaries affect judicial morale, cause jurists to doff their robes for more lucrative careers in private practice and might lead attorneys to avoid seeking judicial appointments, judges and lawyers said Monday at a hearing of a Connecticut legislative commission considering a bid to give jurists a roughly $20,000 pay raise. 

  • December 02, 2024

    Ga. DNA Testing Law Hinders Death Row Inmates, Suit Says

    A Georgia law governing DNA testing used in capital crime cases is unconstitutional because it allows courts to decide whether death row inmates are using bids to reopen evidence as a means to delay their execution, according to a federal lawsuit.

  • December 02, 2024

    Mich. Justices To Mull Immigrant Org.'s Workers' Comp Fight

    The Michigan Supreme Court said Monday it would review whether a one-year filing deadline bars an immigrant legal aid organization from forcing the state to stop denying workers' compensation benefits based on immigration status.

  • December 02, 2024

    Bipartisan Bill Calls For AI Studies From Financial Regulators

    Leaders of the U.S. House Financial Services Committee want to codify their commitment to regulating and cultivating the use of artificial intelligence in the financial services industry with legislation introduced Monday that directs financial and housing regulators to produce reports on the use of AI in their respective sectors.

  • December 02, 2024

    Biden's Pardon Is Another Blow To Special Counsel Probes

    President Joe Biden's pardon of his son over the weekend marks the latest example of a special counsel investigation fizzling and raises doubts over the future use of such probes, which can drag on for years and cost taxpayers millions of dollars.

  • December 02, 2024

    ByteDance Says Ex-Worker Can't Avoid Counterclaims

    TikTok's parent company, ByteDance, says a former engineer shouldn't be able to dodge its counterclaims in a dispute stemming from his termination, arguing that just because he wants to drop his allegations doesn't mean those counterclaims are moot.

  • December 02, 2024

    Fla. Tribe Sues Eli Lilly, CVS, Others Over Insulin Price-Fixing

    The Miccosukee Tribe in Florida is alleging drugmakers like Eli Lilly & Co. and pharmacy benefit managers like CVS illegally conspired to limit competition and artificially inflate the price of insulin drugs, according to a new lawsuit filed in New Jersey federal court.

  • December 02, 2024

    9th Circ. Partially Upholds Block Of Idaho Abortion Travel Ban

    A split Ninth Circuit panel on Monday upheld part of a lower court's temporary injunction to an Idaho law that criminalizes helping minors travel out of state to receive abortions without parental permission, finding the "recruiting" portion of the law is unconstitutional. 

  • December 02, 2024

    SEC Taps Former Crypto Chief To Head Litigation Efforts

    The former acting chief of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission unit in charge of overseeing cybersecurity and cryptocurrency-related cases has been promoted to chief litigation counsel, expanding his oversight authority even as a more crypto-friendly administration is slated to enter the Oval Office in January. 

  • December 02, 2024

    EPA Pitches Partial Ban On Food Crop Pesticide Chlorpyrifos

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced Monday it is proposing a rule to revoke tolerances over the use of chlorpyrifos on foods, a year after the Eighth Circuit said the agency hurriedly instituted a ban and didn't fulsomely consider the possibility of allowing some beneficial uses to continue.

  • December 02, 2024

    Gov't Owned Broadband Often Fails, Report Says

    A new report from an industry-backed think tank skewers government-owned broadband networks for purportedly relying on public resources to survive but operating inefficiently and competing unfairly against private internet service providers.

  • December 02, 2024

    Mexico Says Okla. Immigration Law Would Weaken Diplomacy

    Mexico has told the Tenth Circuit that it would be forced to expend diplomatic and consular resources to deal with the fallout of an Oklahoma law barring unauthorized immigrants from residing in the state if it was allowed to take effect.

  • December 02, 2024

    NC GOP-Led Senate OKs Reducing Income Tax Cap

    North Carolina's income tax cap would fall to 5%, instead of the 7% currently in the state constitution under a constitutional amendment approved Monday by the state Senate.

  • December 02, 2024

    Worker's Case Threatens 'Sea Change,' Conn. Justices Hear

    If the Connecticut Supreme Court sides with a workers' compensation claimant who is challenging a benefits determination, it would "create a sea change" that makes claims "drastically more expensive," the state's mental health agency told the justices Monday.

  • December 02, 2024

    'Pull The Plug': Broadband Program Wasteful, GOP Sen. Says

    The government's $42.5 billion program to deploy broadband to underserved locations throughout the U.S. should be stopped because it's wasting money hand over fist, according to a Republican senator.

  • December 02, 2024

    Wash. Airport Deportation Ban Unconstitutional, 9th Circ. Says

    Ninth Circuit judges have determined that a Washington county's ban on deportation flights departing from a Seattle-area airport was an unconstitutional interference with federal government operations, as well as a breach of a World War II-era agreement.

  • December 02, 2024

    Green Group Urges Justices To Save Wash. Port CWA Ruling

    A Washington state environmental group is urging the U.S. Supreme Court not to disturb a Ninth Circuit ruling that protects its right to sue over pollution discharges under the citizen enforcement provision of the Clean Water Act.

Expert Analysis

  • A Look At Calif.'s New AI Law For Health Insurers

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    A newly enacted California law prohibits artificial intelligence tools from making medical necessity determinations for healthcare service plans or disability insurers, addressing core questions that have arisen around AI's role in coverage decisions, say attorneys at DLA Piper.

  • New HHS Research Misconduct Rules Bring Seismic Changes

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    The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' new rule regarding research misconduct investigations brings significant changes that focus on remediation, appeals and confidentiality, while other changes could result in institutions causing undue harm to scientists accused of such misconduct, say attorneys at Cohen Seglias.

  • To Report Or Not To Report Others' Export Control Violations

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    A recent Bureau of Industry and Security enforcement policy change grants cooperation credit to those that report violations of the Export Administration Regulations committed by others, but the benefits of doing so must be weighed against significant drawbacks, including the costs of preparing and submitting a report, says Megan Lew at Cravath.

  • Earned Wage Access Laws Form A Prickly Policy Patchwork

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    Conflicting earned wage access laws across the country, including the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's recently issued rule, mean providers must adopt a proactive compliance approach and adjust business models where needed, say attorneys at Sheppard Mullin.

  • 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.

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