Public Policy

  • September 25, 2024

    FCC Looks To Begin Georouting For Localized 988 Response

    The Federal Communications Commission is set to require the georouting of calls to the 988 mental health line so they reach crisis centers within the caller's local area.

  • September 25, 2024

    DHS Gives Qatari Citizens Visa-Free Travel For Short Visits

    U.S. Department of Homeland Security designated Qatar for a Visa Waiver Program, allowing its citizens and nationals to enter the U.S. for up to 90 days without obtaining a visa.

  • September 25, 2024

    Workplace Protections Bill For Judiciary Reintroduced

    Lawmakers from both parties and chambers announced on Wednesday they've reintroduced a bill to increase workplace protections for federal judiciary employees.

  • September 25, 2024

    Expect More R&D Guidance Before Regs, IRS Atty Says

    The Internal Revenue Service plans to release more guidance governing the tax treatment of research and development expenses before it formally issues proposed regulations that implement the 2017 federal tax law's changes to the incentive, an agency attorney said Wednesday.

  • September 25, 2024

    NJ Hemp Restrictions Draw Early Industry Challenge

    A group of companies that manufacture and sell hemp products asked a New Jersey federal court Tuesday to block the enforcement of a new Garden State law restricting and regulating the sale of intoxicating hemp products.

  • September 25, 2024

    Senate Fills Wisconsin Judicial Vacancy On Second Try

    The Senate voted 58-37 on Wednesday to confirm Byron Conway, attorney at Habush Habush & Rottier SC, for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, a seat that has been vacant since December 2019.

  • September 25, 2024

    Calif. Judge Says Fluoride In Water Risks Lowering Kids' IQ

    A California federal judge on Tuesday agreed with green groups that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's current "optimal" level of fluoride in drinking water poses an unreasonable risk of lowering children's IQ and directed the EPA to act.

  • September 25, 2024

    Besieged NJ Prosecutor Says Gov. Can't Replace Him Yet

    The former Warren County, New Jersey, prosecutor who retired under a cloud in April but withdrew his retirement days later said on Tuesday that Gov. Phil Murphy's move last week to nominate a permanent replacement won't work, because he hasn't actually resigned. 

  • September 25, 2024

    FCC Closer To Opening Airwaves, But Auctions Still In Limbo

    President Joe Biden's communications regulators are still pushing to get prized spectrum into the hands of private companies, but the window for regaining legal authority to auction the airwaves this year will soon close, and the next White House administration will face challenges too.

  • September 25, 2024

    NJ High Court To Review Judicial Privacy Law In Media Case

    The New Jersey Supreme Court will consider whether a municipality overstepped by using the judicial privacy measure Daniel's Law to stop a journalist from publishing an article about the city's police director's address, according to a recently filed order.

  • September 25, 2024

    Texas Court Denies District's Attempt To Boost Valuations

    A Texas trial court didn't err in throwing out a counterclaim brought by a local appraisal district to increase the assessed values of two multifamily properties, a state appeals court ruled Wednesday.

  • September 25, 2024

    NJ Bill Would Hike Threshold For Tax On Property Transfers

    New Jersey would raise the threshold for the imposition of a controlling interest transfer tax or an additional fee on transfers of various kinds of real property under a bill introduced in the state Assembly.

  • September 25, 2024

    Mich. Justices Take Up Prosecutor's Outside Counsel Hires

    The Michigan Supreme Court said Wednesday it will hear arguments in a dispute over the Macomb County prosecuting attorney's power to retain outside law firms for general legal advice.

  • September 25, 2024

    EU States Must Unify Divergent Biz Rules, Majority Says

    The European Union must double down on unifying its divergent rules for businesses in a policy proposal next year because the bloc's main competitive advantage is its single market, almost three-quarters of EU countries told the bloc's executive arm.

  • September 25, 2024

    NYSE Cancels Proposal To Extend SPAC Merger Deadlines

    The New York Stock Exchange has pulled a proposal that would have provided special purpose acquisition companies with more time to complete mergers while remaining listed, several months after it sought regulatory approval for the extension.

  • September 25, 2024

    Wyden Calls On 2025 Tax Bill To Include Partnership Reform

    Lawmakers should consider next year how to revise partnership tax laws to better collect on large businesses' income without harming smaller entities as Congress debates over how to address expiring tax provisions, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden said Wednesday.

  • September 25, 2024

    Ex-NY Congressman Argues He Can Be A Fair Federal Judge

    President Joe Biden's nominee for the Northern District of New York told lawmakers on Wednesday that his previous stint as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives won't impact his role as an objective federal judge.

  • September 25, 2024

    US Antitrust Holds Fast: No 'Environmental Justice' Goals

    A top Federal Trade Commission official in her latest address to antitrust lawyers offered little comfort to U.S. companies seeking to collaborate on environmental initiatives.

  • September 24, 2024

    Bank Regulators, SEC Face GOP Inquiry Over Crypto Bulletin

    House Republicans have called for the Federal Reserve and other agencies to turn over a host of documents for what the lawmakers say is an inquiry into the origins and behind-the-scenes policymaking impact of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's cryptocurrency accounting guidance.

  • September 24, 2024

    11th Circ. Weighs 'Good Cause' In Franchise Termination Suit

    The Eleventh Circuit on Tuesday considered whether Hyundai Motor Corp. acted with "good cause" when it terminated a franchise owner's dealership contracts over sexual assault charges against the franchise owner's son, with arguments largely focused on whether the carmaker acted with "good cause."

  • September 24, 2024

    Cat In The Hat, 'Trashy' Books Mulled In Redo Of Library Row

    The full Fifth Circuit on Tuesday pressed a group of library patrons on whether Texas libraries already routinely engage in viewpoint discrimination through the process of weeding out outdated or unpopular library books during a lengthy discussion of hypotheticals surrounding The Cat in the Hat and the books that 19th-century Americans considered "trashy."

  • September 24, 2024

    3 Takeaways From Gensler's Big Day Before The House

    U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler appeared before the U.S. House of Representative for potentially the last time on Tuesday, where he stuck up for his agency's actions in the crypto space and hinted at the possible revival of share buyback rules.

  • September 24, 2024

    DC Judge Rebuffs Trump's Bid To Delay Immunity Briefing

    The District of Columbia federal judge overseeing the election interference case against former President Donald Trump on Tuesday shot down his "new and sundry" efforts to push back briefing on the issue of presidential immunity, allowing the government to file a lengthy brief on the issue and remarking that this "is simply how litigation works."

  • September 24, 2024

    Calif. Gov.'s Emergency Hemp Intoxicant Ban Wins Approval

    California retailers are no longer allowed to sell hemp products containing tetrahydrocannabinol after the Golden State's Office of Administrative Law on Monday approved Gov. Gavin Newsom's emergency ban, a move a leading hemp trade group has vowed to challenge.

  • September 24, 2024

    Red States Back Florida In CWA Permit Program Fight

    Nineteen red states have told the D.C. Circuit in a friends of the court brief that it should restore Florida's power to administer a Clean Water Act permitting program for dredging approved by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency but nixed by a D.C. federal judge.

Expert Analysis

  • Assessing Whether Jarkesy May Limit FINRA Prosecutions

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    The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision in Jarkesy v. U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, holding that civil securities fraud defendants are entitled to jury trials, may cause unpredictable results when applied to Financial Industry Regulatory Authority prosecutions, say Barry Temkin and Kate DiGeronimo at Mound Cotton.

  • The Bank Preemption Ripple Effects After Cantero, Flagstar

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    The importance of federal preemption for financial institutions will only increase as technology-driven innovations evolve, which is why the U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision in Cantero v. Bank of America and vacatur of Kivett v. Flagstar Bank have real modern-day significance for national banks, say attorneys at WilmerHale.

  • Examining Patent Subject Matter Eligibility Of AI Inventions

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    In light of U.S. Patent and Trademark Office data showing that patent applications for artificial intelligence inventions are likelier to get rejected based on patent-ineligible subject matter, inventors seeking protection should be aware of the difficulties and challenges pertaining to patent eligibility, say Georgios Effraimidis at NERA and Joel Lehrer at Goodwin.

  • Series

    Being An Opera Singer Made Me A Better Lawyer

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    My journey from the stage to the courtroom has shown that the skills I honed as an opera singer – punctuality, memorization, creativity and more – have all played a vital role in my success as an attorney, says Gerard D'Emilio at GableGotwals.

  • What Cos. Need to Know About Battery Labeling Law

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    With new labeling requirements for button cell battery packaging taking effect in September, manufacturers and importers must review compliance, testing procedures, and necessary paperwork as the consequences of noncompliance can lead to costly penalties and supply chain woes, says Aasheesh Shravah at CM Law.

  • What Drug Cos. Must Know About NY Price Transparency Law

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    Drug manufacturers must understand the contours of New York's recently implemented law requiring self-reporting of drug price increases, as well as best practices for compliance and challenges against similar laws in other states, say Elizabeth Bierut and Angie Garcia at Friedman Kaplan.

  • Navigating The Uncertain Landscape Of Solar Tariffs

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    Solar cell and module manufacturers, exporters and importers must navigate an uncertain compliance landscape, given ongoing challenges to U.S. Department of Commerce antidumping and countervailing duty determinations, which have been mounted both by U.S. and non-U.S. manufacturers, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • Amid SEC Rule Limbo, US Cos. Subject To ESG Regs In EU

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    Though the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is facing legal challenges to its climate-disclosure rulemaking, the implementation of the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive in the European Union will force U.S. companies to comply with exactly the kinds of ESG disclosures that are not yet mandated in the U.S., say attorneys at Squire Patton.

  • Pros, Cons Of Disclosing Improper Employee Retention Credit

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    Employers considering the Internal Revenue Service’s second voluntary disclosure program, which allows companies to avoid penalties for erroneously claiming employee retention credits for the 2021 tax year by repaying the credits and naming the tax advisers who encouraged these abusive practices, should carefully weigh the program’s benefits against its potential drawbacks, say attorneys at Winston & Strawn.

  • Until Congress Acts, EDNY 'Insider Betting' Case Is Premature

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    The Eastern District of New York’s novel wire fraud conspiracy indictment in U.S. v. Pham may have prematurely heralded a new era in federal gambling enforcement, but in the absence of an “insider betting” statute, sportsbooks — not prosecutors — should be responsible for enforcing their terms of use, says attorney Jonathan Savella.

  • How Law Firms Can Avoid 'Collaboration Drag'

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    Law firm decision making can be stifled by “collaboration drag” — characterized by too many pointless meetings, too much peer feedback and too little dissent — but a few strategies can help stakeholders improve decision-making processes and build consensus, says Steve Groom at Miles Mediation.

  • Election Outlook: A Precedent Primer On Content Moderation

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    With the 2024 election season now in full swing, online platforms will face difficult and politically sensitive decisions about content moderation, but U.S. Supreme Court decisions from last term offer much-needed certainty about their rights, say Jonathan Blavin and Helen White at Munger Tolles.

  • Banking Compliance Takeaways From Joint Agency Statement

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    Federal bank regulatory agencies’ recent joint statement warning of risks associated with third-party fintech deposit services spotlights a fundamental problem that may arise with bank deposit products that are made through increasingly complex customer relationships, says Tom Witherspoon at Stinson.

  • Workday AI Bias Suit Suggests Hiring Lessons For Employers

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    As state laws and a federal agency increasingly focus on employment bias introduced by artificial intelligence systems, a California federal court's recent decision to allow a discrimination suit to proceed against Workday's AI-driven recruitment software, shows companies should promptly assess these tools' risks, say attorneys at Williams & Connolly.

  • What BIPA Reform Law Means For Biometrics Litigation

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    A recently signed Illinois law amending the Biometric Information Privacy Act limits defendants' liability exposure on a per-scan basis and clarifies that electronic signatures constitute a valid written release, establishing additional issues that courts will need to address in future BIPA litigation, say attorneys at Faegre Drinker.

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