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Public Policy
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December 16, 2024
Merger Enforcers End Year On Upswing
The Biden administration's antitrust enforcers have boasted that one side effect of their aggressive approach to merger enforcement has been helping stop problematic deals from being cut in the first place, but the agencies also scored key court rulings blocking transactions in their final year that could have a more enduring effect.
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December 16, 2024
NY Judge Denies Trump's 1st Immunity Dismissal Motion
The New York state judge overseeing President-elect Donald Trump's hush money case denied the first of his immunity-based dismissal motions on Monday, finding that the trial evidence in the criminal case was not tainted by "official acts" evidence from his first term in office.
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December 16, 2024
Feds, Ute Tribe Wrestle Over 19th Century Laws In Land Fight
The federal government and the legal team representing the Ute Indian Tribe clashed over the interpretation of two 19th-century laws during a hearing in Washington, D.C., federal court Monday, as the tribe seeks to restore lands within its Utah reservation to trust status.
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December 16, 2024
Congress Sends Biden Another Bill To Help Federal Courts
The House voted 390-0 Monday evening in favor of a bipartisan bill to make permanent 10 judgeships across the country, including in Texas, Florida and California, and the bill now goes to the president's desk.
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December 16, 2024
Ex-Ill. Rep. Says He Got ComEd, AT&T Work With Madigan's Help
Former Illinois state Rep. Eddie Acevedo testified Monday that he obtained consulting work from utilities ComEd and AT&T with former House Speaker Michael Madigan's help, but pushed back on prosecutors' suggestion that he performed little to no work for the pay.
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December 16, 2024
House Clears Bills To Promote Broadband, Wireless
The U.S. House passed three bills Monday aimed at easing broadband deployment and bolstering U.S. leadership in wireless industries.
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December 16, 2024
Colo. Justices Revoke Decision On Eviction Jury Trials
The Colorado Supreme Court on Monday rescinded its October ruling that tenants facing eviction are entitled to jury trials if there are factual disputes, after a tenant revealed in her rehearing petition that she was sent an eviction notice in the mail and wasn't personally served.
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December 16, 2024
High Court Faces Dueling Views Over EPA Rule Fights
The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday was presented with dueling arguments over whether the bulk of judicial challenges to U.S. Environmental Protection Agency air pollution rules should remain in the D.C. Circuit or can be heard in other, regional circuit courts.
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December 16, 2024
DC Circ. Skeptical That EPA Moved Too Early On Particulates
Judges on the D.C. Circuit seemed unlikely to buy arguments from industry groups and a coalition of Republican-led states challenging a February U.S. Environmental Protection Agency rule on particulate matter, grilling an attorney for the challengers on the agency's Clean Air Act authority during oral arguments Monday.
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December 16, 2024
Mich. Judge Troubled By Scope Of Feds' CTA Data Collection
A federal judge in Michigan said new disclosure requirements for small businesses seem burdensome and intrusive during a Monday hearing focused on the privacy implications of the currently blocked anti-money laundering law.
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December 16, 2024
Right-Wing Pair Can Be Charged For False Election Robocalls
A Michigan appellate panel has upheld, for the second time, criminal charges against two right-wing conspiracy theorists who led a misinformation campaign that targeted Black voters, finding that even under a narrowed test from the state's top court, the pair likely knew the robocalls shared false information and were related to voting procedures.
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December 16, 2024
Canadian Finance Minister Resigns Amid Trump Tariff Threats
Canada's deputy prime minister and minister of finance announced Monday that she is resigning from her post, citing conflicting views with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau about how to respond to tariff threats under President-elect Donald Trump's incoming administration.
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December 16, 2024
Conn. Utility Says PFAS Class Claims Belong With Regulators
Most of the claims in a proposed class action against a Connecticut water company that allegedly failed to protect customers against "forever chemicals" cannot proceed because they needed to be heard first by state regulators, the utility argued in seeking to trim the complaint.
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December 16, 2024
11th Circ. Appears Wary Of Doc's New Trial Bid In $27.5M Case
The Eleventh Circuit on Monday questioned whether a Georgia doctor and his medical practice should get a new trial in a $27.5 million False Claims Act case on the basis that he and an expert who wasn't allowed to testify at trial believed the thousands of treatments he billed for were medically necessary and could be covered by Medicare, saying that contention seems to contradict the doctor's prior statements.
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December 16, 2024
Navajo President Cleared In VP Sexual Harassment Probe
Navajo Nation President Buu Nygren has been cleared of allegations that he sexually harassed the tribe's Vice President Richelle Montoya during an August 2023 encounter, its attorney general announced, saying an outside firm hired to investigate the incident found that her reports don't violate any of the tribe's criminal laws.
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December 16, 2024
Cos. Urge Judge To Maintain Injunction On Transparency Law
A Texas federal judge doesn't need to stay his preliminary injunction on the rollout of new corporate transparency rules while the U.S. government's appeal of his decision is pending at the Fifth Circuit, a business lobbying group and others said Monday.
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December 16, 2024
No 1st Amendment Right For Prison Interviews, 4th Circ. Says
A South Carolina prison's policy of prohibiting interviews with inmates does not violate the First Amendment's free speech protections, the Fourth Circuit has said in a published decision.
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December 16, 2024
Albertsons Says Kroger 'Squandered' $25B Merger Bid
The Kroger Co. Inc. "willfully squandered" opportunities to complete a now-blocked $24.6 billion mega-merger with Albertsons Cos. Inc., according to an unsealed five-count lawsuit in Delaware's Court of Chancery potentially seeking billions in damages.
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December 16, 2024
Wyden Bill Would Nix Tax Perks For Private Placement Plans
U.S. Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden unveiled legislation Monday that would remove the tax benefits of a special type of private life insurance plan that he said high-net-worth individuals have been abusing to avoid paying taxes on their investments in the policies.
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December 16, 2024
ICE Contractor Claims Immunity From Family Separation Suit
Transportation services provider MVM Inc. is arguing a father and son suing it for its role in a Trump administration policy that separated them and thousands of other immigrant families can't show it acted unlawfully or outside the bounds of a valid federal contract, dooming their litigation.
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December 16, 2024
Experienced Retail Adviser Joins Hunton In DC
Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP announced Monday that a longtime vice president and senior counsel at the National Retail Federation has joined the firm's Washington, D.C., office as a public policy and government relations partner.
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December 16, 2024
Texas Courts Eye 'Living Wage' Hikes For Support Staff
Court support and clerk's office personnel in Texas should receive pay at levels that at least amount to a living wage in their counties to fight attrition, the Texas Judicial Council heard, and a novel "time study" is needed to determine each jurisdiction's staffing needs.
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December 16, 2024
Trump Makes Another Pick For Homeland Security Team
President-elect Donald Trump said he will nominate IBM executive Troy Edgar to serve as deputy secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, after previously nominating South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem to lead the department.
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December 16, 2024
Vape Cos. Say Ky. Regulations Violate Federal Law
A vaping company association along with a retailer and wholesaler are challenging a Kentucky law regulating e-cigarettes, saying that it conflicts with the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act by purporting to enforce U.S. Food and Drug Administration standards.
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December 16, 2024
What's A Major Question? It's Untested, Telecom Attys Say
More than two years since the U.S. Supreme Court solidified its "major questions" doctrine holding that federal agencies can't take on matters of significant public impact without direction from Congress, telecom lawyers are still debating how the justices' action could affect some big-ticket controversies in the industry.
Expert Analysis
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Compliance Considerations Of DOJ Data Security Rule
Under the U.S. Department of Justice's proposed rule aiming to prevent certain countries' access to bulk U.S. sensitive personal data, companies must ensure their vendor, employment and investment agreements meet strict new data security requirements — or determine whether such contracts are worth the cost of compliance, say attorneys at Eversheds Sutherland.
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What Higher Education Can Expect From A 2nd Trump Admin
The election of Donald Trump for a second presidential term has far-reaching ramifications for colleges and universities — come January, institutions can expect a crackdown on DEI, increased scrutiny of campus protests, a rollback of the Biden administration's Title IX rules and more, say attorneys at Jenner & Block.
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AI Monitoring And FCRA: Employer Compliance Essentials
As the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the Federal Trade Commission signal determination to treat AI-based workplace surveillance as a potential Fair Credit Reporting Act issue, employers must commit to educating HR and compliance staff on these quickly evolving regulatory expectations, say attorneys at Sheppard Mullin.
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Series
Circus Arts Make Me A Better Lawyer
Performing circus arts has strengthened my ability to be more thoughtful, confident and grounded, all of which has enhanced my legal practice and allowed me to serve clients in a more meaningful way, says Bailey McGowan at Stinson.
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How D&O Coverage Can Aid Against Increased AI Scrutiny
The recent increase in regulatory enforcement and securities class actions stemming from corporate use of artificial intelligence should prompt companies to ensure that their directors and officers liability insurance coverage is appropriately tailored to AI-related risks, say attorneys at Reed Smith.
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When Investigating An Adversary, Be Wary Of Forged Records
Warnings against the use of investigators who tout their ability to find an adversary’s private documents generally emphasize the risk of illegal activity and attorney discipline, but a string of recent cases shows an additional danger — investigators might be fabricating records altogether, says Brian Asher at Asher Research.
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Crypto Cos. Add New Play In Their Offense Against SEC
Consensys and Crypto.com have adopted a novel strategy of preempting U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission enforcement actions by moving to crypto-friendly Texas and filing declaratory lawsuits challenging the SEC's jurisdiction to regulate crypto-assets — an aggressive approach that may pay off, say attorneys at Herrick Feinstein.
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FTC Focus: Zeroing In On Post-Election Labor Markets
The presidential election and the push-and-pull of the administrative state's reach are likely to affect the Federal Trade Commission's focus on labor markets, including the tenor of noncompete rule enforcement, say attorneys at Proskauer.
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3 Ways To Train Junior Lawyers In 30 Minutes Or Less
Today’s junior lawyers are experiencing a skills gap due to pandemic-era disruptions, but firms can help bring them up to speed by offering high-impact skill building content in bite-sized, interactive training sessions, say Stacey Schwartz at Katten, Diane Costigan at Winston & Strawn and Lauren Tierney at Freshfields.
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Opinion
Why States Should Adopt ABA's 'Duty To Inquire'
State bars should codify the American Bar Association's proposed rule on a lawyer's duty to scrutinize each representation as it provides guardrails for lawyers, supports self-regulation of the profession, and helps avert money laundering and other crimes, says Deborah Winokur at Cozen O'Connor.
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$3B TD Bank AML Settlement Is A Wake-Up Call For All Banks
TD Bank’s historic settlement over anti-money laundering violations, resulting in over $3 billion in penalties, reminds banks of all shapes and sizes why they need to take financial crime compliance seriously, and highlights three areas that may be especially vulnerable to enforcement, says Jack Harrington at Bradley Arant.
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What Trump Presidency May Mean For Climate Reporting
While the Trump administration will likely take a hands-off approach to climate-related disclosures and rescind regulations promulgated under the Biden administration, state and international ESG laws mean the private sector may not reverse course on such disclosures, say attorneys at Seyfarth.
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Expect Surging Oil And Gas Industry Under New Trump Admin
Throughout his recent campaign, President-elect Donald Trump promised increased oil and natural gas production and reduced reliance on renewables — and his administration will likely bring more oil and gas dealmaking, faster federal permitting and attempts to roll back incentives for green energy, say attorneys at Sidley.
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Timing Of An NLRB Power Shift Hinges On Biden Nominees
President-elect Donald Trump seems certain to shake up the National Labor Relations Board's prounion Democrat majority, but the incoming president's timing depends on whether the current Senate confirms two pending nominees to board positions, say attorneys at Fox Rothschild.
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Opinion
The Right Kind Of Deregulation In Commercial Airline Industry
Similar to the economic deregulation that occurred more than four decades ago during the Carter administration, the incoming Trump administration should restore the very limited federal regulatory role in the economics of the airline industry, says former U.S. transportation secretary James Burnley at Venable.