Public Policy

  • August 27, 2024

    Return Of Venezuela Sanctions Reignites Criminal Probes

    Criminal investigations into Venezuela-related sanctions violations appear to be ramping back up since the U.S. government reimposed crushing trade penalties on the South American country's oil and gas sectors in response to an allegedly sham presidential election, according to experts.

  • August 27, 2024

    Connecticut Litigation To Watch In The 2nd Half Of 2024

    The Connecticut state and federal courts will grapple with a number of closely watched cases during the second half of 2024, including three key lawsuits by state Attorney General William Tong.

  • August 27, 2024

    Ex-Teacher Says District Forced Her To Resign Over COVID

    A former Fulton County School District teacher sued the district in Georgia federal court Monday, alleging she was denied reasonable accommodations and forced to resign from her job after contracting COVID-19 in 2020.

  • August 27, 2024

    New Jersey Laws Attorneys Need To Know In 2024

    New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy has signed contentious new bills into law recently that attorneys and business owners are adjusting to, including updates to the state's Open Public Records Act that make "fee shifting" more difficult, and a new wage requirement for temporary workers.

  • August 27, 2024

    Georgia Court Says Ride-Hailing Cos. Are 'Motor Carriers'

    The Georgia Court of Appeals said a trial court erred when it held that the ride-hailing service Lyft is not considered a motor carrier under Peach State law, and that its insurer could not be directly named in a lawsuit a woman filed after a crash involving one of its drivers.

  • August 27, 2024

    11th Circ. Allows Fla. Law Banning Trans Care To Take Effect

    The Eleventh Circuit has said a Florida law can take effect that bans gender-affirming care for transgender minors and restricts it for adults, granting the state's bid to scrap an injunction barring the law while it appeals a lower court ruling that found the statute unconstitutional.

  • August 27, 2024

    US Arrests Hungarian Suspected Of Sending Radios To Russia

    The U.S. Department of Justice announced criminal charges against a Hungarian national suspected to have run a multinational procurement network designed to help Russia obtain U.S. military-grade communications technology.

  • August 27, 2024

    Va. Ad Tech Judge Warns Google Over Chat Deletion

    Google's defense of its advertising technology could get a little harder after a Virginia federal judge on Tuesday kept the door open to assuming that deleted internal chats hid evidence that would support U.S. Department of Justice monopolization claims bound for a bench trial next month.

  • August 26, 2024

    Biden Admin's New Green Card Rule Hit With 14-Day Pause

    A Texas federal judge on Monday temporarily halted the Biden administration from granting parole under its new program for noncitizen spouses and stepchildren of U.S. citizens seeking green cards from within the U.S., days after Texas accused the administration of exceeding its parole authority.

  • August 26, 2024

    Feds Say Trump Docs Dismissal Contradicts 'Long Tradition'

    Special counsel Jack Smith on Monday lodged the government's opening brief in its Eleventh Circuit appeal of the dismissal of the classified documents case against former President Donald Trump, arguing that the lower court's finding is contrary to "precedent and history" and the "long tradition of special-counsel appointments by the attorney general."

  • August 26, 2024

    Albertsons Paints Picture Of Dire Future Without Kroger Deal

    Albertsons told an Oregon federal judge Monday that if the Federal Trade Commission is able to block a proposed merger with Kroger, it could lead to layoffs and shuttered stores, because a go-it-alone Albertsons doesn't have the wholesale buying power to compete with Walmart and Costco on prices.

  • August 26, 2024

    RFK Jr. Loses Bid To Get Vax Censorship Injunction At 9th Circ.

    The Ninth Circuit on Monday affirmed a decision rejecting Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s bid to get an injunction in his case alleging Google violated his First Amendment rights by removing his YouTube videos doubting the safety of the COVID-19 vaccines.

  • August 26, 2024

    'Jarkesy 2.0': SEC Sees New Attack On In-House Courts

    A new lawsuit calling into question the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's ability to boot alleged lawbreakers from the securities industry follows a long line of attacks on the regulator's use of its in-house courts, including a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling that limited the SEC's ability to litigate fraud cases via administrative proceedings.

  • August 26, 2024

    Care.com To Pay $8.5M To Settle FTC's Deception Claims

    Caregiver job website Care.com has agreed to shell out $8.5 million in refunds to put to rest allegations it misled caregivers about wages and job availability and also made it difficult for families to cancel paid memberships, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission announced Monday.

  • August 26, 2024

    AT&T To Pay $950K To Settle With FCC Over 911 Outage

    AT&T has agreed to pay $950,000 to end an enforcement action stemming from an August 2023 outage that affected 911 calls in parts of four states, the Federal Communications Commission said Monday.

  • August 26, 2024

    Former Google Execs Fight Ad Tech Trial Subpoenas

    Former Google vice presidents and other company managers have filed a series of motions asking a Virginia federal judge to block U.S. Department of Justice subpoenas trying to force their testimony at next month's advertising technology monopolization trial, arguing their live participation is unneeded and improperly demanded.

  • August 26, 2024

    DC Circ. Tosses FERC's San Francisco Power Order

    The D.C. Circuit vacated a Federal Energy Regulatory Commission order that Pacific Gas and Electric Co. argued expanded the utility's obligation to carry San Francisco-generated power to the city's retail customers, finding that the agency wrongly grandfathered classes of consumers into the wheeling arrangements.

  • August 26, 2024

    Fla. Calls DOL Threat Over Transit Funding Unconstitutional

    Florida asked a federal judge Monday for a win in its suit against the U.S. Department of Labor, arguing that the department's threat to withhold more than $800 million in funds for transportation infrastructure because of a new law cracking down on public-sector labor power is unconstitutional.

  • August 26, 2024

    CFPB Defeats Challenge To Small-Biz Lending Rules

    The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau landed an early win Monday in an industry-backed challenge to its reporting requirements for small business lenders, with a Texas federal judge finding the rule "is much more modest than plaintiffs would lead the court to believe."

  • August 26, 2024

    Suit Over Ga. Prosecutor Oversight Advances

    A Georgia state judge cleared a legal challenge to the state's new prosecutor disciplinary panel to go forward on Friday, finding there was enough merit in the case brought by a trio of district attorneys to allow it to continue.

  • August 26, 2024

    Tribal And Salmon Groups To Intervene In Alaska Mining Suit

    An Alaska federal court judge will let 23 tribal groups and wilderness organizations intervene in a lawsuit over a mining proposal for a stretch of pristine salmon habitat in the Bristol Bay area, but has laid out conditions to keep the case quickly moving forward.

  • August 26, 2024

    Colo. Man Charged With Threatening To Shoot State Judge

    A man who said he moved a majority of Colorado justices to the front of his "list" after they barred former president Donald Trump from the ballot is being charged with threatening on social media to shoot a state judge.

  • August 26, 2024

    DEA Sets Dec. 2 Hearing On Cannabis Rescheduling Proposal

    The Drug Enforcement Administration will hold a hearing on the attorney general's proposal to loosen restrictions on marijuana, the agency announced in a notice made public Monday.

  • August 26, 2024

    Gov't Looks To Limit Arguments In Rail Merger Appeal

    The federal government urged the D.C. Circuit not to let a coalition of Illinois towns challenging the approval of Canadian Pacific's $31 billion merger with Kansas City Southern incorporate arguments made by Chicago's commuter rail system before the system dropped out of the case.

  • August 26, 2024

    Cruz Accuses FCC Subsidies Of 'Burning Through Cash'

    Sen. Ted Cruz is pointing toward a new U.S. Government Accountability Office report that he says backs up his contention that the Federal Communications Commission's Universal Service Fund is "burning through cash with only minimal government oversight of its budget."

Expert Analysis

  • What's In NYDFS Guidance On Use Of AI In Insurance

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    Matthew Gaul and Shlomo Potesky at Willkie summarize the New York Department of Financial Services' recently adopted circular letter on the use of artificial intelligence in insurance underwriting and pricing, and highlight the material changes made to it in response to comments on the draft circular letter.

  • Takeaways From High Court's Tribal Health Admin Cost Ruling

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's recent determination that the government must reimburse two Native American tribes for administrative healthcare costs will help tribes maintain equal footing with the Indian Health Service when administering programs, and continues a pattern of how the current court aligns on tribal concerns, say attorneys at Lewis Roca.

  • Navigating Antitrust Considerations In ESG Collaborations

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    The intersection of ESG goals and antitrust laws presents a complex challenge for businesses and their counsel — but by creating clear frameworks for collaboration, adhering to established guidelines and carefully considering the competitive implications of their actions, companies can work toward sustainability while mitigating legal risks, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • Drip Pricing Exemption Isn't A Free Pass For Calif. Eateries

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    A new exemption relieves California bars and restaurants from the recently effective law banning prices that don't reflect mandatory fees and charges — but such establishments aren't entirely off the hook for drip pricing, due to uncertainty over disclosure requirements and pending federal junk fee regulations, say Alexandria Ruiz and Amy Lally at Sidley.

  • Justices' Intent Witness Ruling May Be Useful For Defense Bar

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    At first glance, the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent Diaz v. U.S. decision, allowing experts to testify to the mental state of criminal defendants in federal court, gives prosecutors a new tool, but creative white collar defense counsel may be able to use the same tool to their own advantage, say Jack Sharman and Rachel Bragg at Lightfoot Franklin.

  • How To Grow Marketing, Biz Dev Teams In A Tight Market

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    Faced with fierce competition and rising operating costs, firms are feeling the pressure to build a well-oiled marketing and business development team that supports strategic priorities, but they’ll need to be flexible and creative given a tight talent market, says Ben Curle at Ambition.

  • Considerations For Federal Right Of Publicity As AI Advances

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    Amid rapid advances in generative artificial intelligence technology, Congress should consider how a federal right of publicity would interact with the existing patchwork of state name, image and likeness laws, as well as other issues like scope, harm recognized and available relief, says Ross Bagley at Pryor Cashman.

  • FTC Focus: Private Equity Investments In Healthcare

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    As the Federal Trade Commission is tightening its scrutiny of private equity investment in healthcare, the agency is finding novel grounds to challenge key focus areas, including rollup acquisitions, the flip-and-strip approach and minority investments in rival providers, say attorneys at Proskauer.

  • What Patent Litigators Should Know About CHIPS Act Grants

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    With the U.S. Department of Commerce now actively awarding grants under the CHIPS and Science Act, recipients should ensure they understand the implications of promises to construct new semiconductor manufacturing facilities, especially in jurisdictions with active patent litigation dockets, say Gabriel Culver and Peter Hillegas at Norton Rose.

  • Jarkesy's Impact On SEC Enforcement Will Be Modest

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    Though the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission v. Jarkesy decision found that fraud defendants have a constitutional right to a jury trial, the ruling will have muted impact on the agency’s enforcement because it’s already bringing most of its cases in federal court, say Jeremiah Williams and Alyssa Fixsen at Ropes & Gray.

  • Opinion

    Data Breach Reporting Requirements Must Change In AI Age

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    Outdated data breach reporting laws are inadequate to protect consumers in the age of artificial intelligence, as AI’s ability to determine relationships coupled with its improvements to deepfake technology mean that the very definitions used in breach reporting laws are no longer sufficient, says Collin Walke at Hall Estill.

  • Unpacking HHS' Opinion On Cell Therapy Refund Programs

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    A recent advisory opinion from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, determining that a biopharma company's refund program for its cell therapy will not be penalized, indicates an encouraging willingness to engage, but the regulator's assumptions about the program's limited term warrant a closer look, says Mary Kohler at Kohler Health.

  • Series

    Rock Climbing Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Rock climbing requires problem-solving, focus, risk management and resilience, skills that are also invaluable assets in my role as a finance lawyer, says Mei Zhang at Haynes and Boone.

  • What Chevron's End Means For How Congress Does Business

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    The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo decision, overturning the Chevron doctrine, will have a far-reaching impact across the entire public policy life cycle, beginning with how Congress writes its laws and extending through agency implantation and judicial review, say attorneys at K&L Gates.

  • How 5 States' Deal Notification Laws Are Guiding Healthcare

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    Healthcare transaction notification laws at various stages of implementation in California, Illinois, Indiana, Oregon and Washington are shaping sector mergers and acquisitions, with significant transparency, continuity of care and compliance implications as providers tackle complex regulatory requirements, says Melesa Freerks at DLA Piper.

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