Public Policy

  • September 23, 2024

    Autism Played Role In Bankman-Fried Case, 2nd Circ. Told

    A group of experts on neurodiversity told the Second Circuit that Sam Bankman-Fried, who has said he has autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, may have been hurt at trial by a "cognitive and communication style" that at times frustrated the trial judge.

  • September 23, 2024

    House Panel Subpoenas DOL For Independent Contractor Info

    The chairwoman of the U.S. House Committee on Education and the Workforce served the U.S. Department of Labor with a subpoena Monday, pointing to the department's several failures to respond to questions about its independent contractor misclassification probes.

  • September 23, 2024

    Tempur Sealy Sets Divestiture Plan Ahead Of FTC Court Battle

    Tempur Sealy International Inc. said Monday that it plans to sell 176 stores and seven distribution centers to Mattress Warehouse if it is able to close its planned $4 billion purchase of Mattress Firm Group Inc., in an effort to appease the Federal Trade Commission in its continued efforts to block the deal.

  • September 23, 2024

    5th Circ. Refuses Texas A Jury Trial For Border Buoy Case

    The Fifth Circuit refused Texas' request for jurors to decide the legality of barriers installed in the Rio Grande to deter migrants, saying the Seventh Amendment's right to a jury trial doesn't apply to the case.

  • September 23, 2024

    La. Wants EPA Civil Rights Regs Vacated After Court Win

    Louisiana is asking a federal judge to revisit an order and amend it to completely vacate U.S. Environmental Protection Agency civil rights regulations, after the judge granted the Pelican State's motion for a permanent injunction within its borders.

  • September 20, 2024

    Wash. Strikes Deal With Wild Fish Groups To End ESA Row

    Two conservation groups have struck an agreement with Washington state to drop a claim that some of its hatchery programs are unlawfully imperiling protected wild salmon on the Lower Columbia River, though the groups will continue to pursue similar claims against Oregon and the National Marine Fisheries Service.

  • September 20, 2024

    Sens. Kaine, Romney Seek To Deter China's 'Maritime Militia'

    Sens. Tim Kaine, D-Va., and Mitt Romney, R-Utah, introduced a bill that would allow sanctions on foreign adversaries' "maritime militias," saying the aim is to end China's use of military vessels disguised as commercial fishing ships to take over disputed territory in the South China Sea.

  • September 20, 2024

    3rd Circ. CFPB Ruling Threatens Securitization, Justices Told

    Two major trade groups for the securities industry have urged the U.S. Supreme Court to review a Third Circuit decision allowing the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to exercise enforcement authority over a collection of student loan securitization trusts, slamming the ruling as wrong and dangerous.

  • September 20, 2024

    Retail Theft Wasn't Removable Crime, Immigration Board Says

    Retail theft is not necessarily a crime of moral turpitude that warrants an immigrant's removal, the Board of Immigration Appeals ruled Friday, saying its 2006 precedential reasoning runs afoul of the categorical approach articulated by the U.S. Supreme Court.

  • September 20, 2024

    House To Weigh Patent Bill Aimed At Cutting Drug Prices

    The U.S. House of Representatives is expected to consider a bill soon that has already cleared the Senate and could streamline patent litigation by curbing the number of patents that makers of biologic drugs can assert over biosimilar drugs.

  • September 20, 2024

    Ad Tech Judge Not Biting On Google's Market Metaphor

    Comparing Big Macs and Whoppers to undermine the Justice Department's market definition appeared to be a step too far Friday for the Virginia federal judge weighing the fate of Google's display advertising placement technology.

  • September 20, 2024

    Family Dollar Must Face Arkansas AG's Rodent Infestation Suit

    Family Dollar can't escape a lawsuit by the Arkansas attorney general seeking damages for knowingly selling products potentially contaminated by rodents, both dead and alive, at a warehouse in West Memphis, a state judge has ruled.

  • September 20, 2024

    Cities Score Wins Over FCC Even In 9th Circ. Permitting Loss

    Even though the Ninth Circuit in a recent decision largely upheld a Federal Communications Commission policy that reined in municipal governments' power to impose zoning restrictions on wireless network siting, the court's ruling wasn't all bad news for city officials.

  • September 20, 2024

    EPA Defends Methane Rule At Supreme Court

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and green group allies on Friday asked the U.S. Supreme Court to reject states' and fossil fuel industry players' effort to block the implementation of a rule strengthening methane emissions control requirements for oil and gas infrastructure.

  • September 20, 2024

    Ashli Babbitt's Estate Gets 2026 Trial For Wrongful-Death Suit

    A D.C. federal judge on Friday set a July 2026 jury trial date in a $30 million wrongful-death lawsuit over the fatal police shooting of Ashli Babbitt during the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol.

  • September 20, 2024

    Enviro Group Threatens Suit To Protect Newt In Fla., Ga.

    The Center for Biological Diversity has notified the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service it plans to sue over the denial of Endangered Species Act protections to a newt species that lives in threatened pine forests and wetlands in southeastern Georgia and north-central Florida.

  • September 20, 2024

    Senate Panel Advances Jamul Indian Village Land Transfer Act

    A U.S. Senate panel has moved forward efforts to win passage of the Jamul Indian Village Land Transfer Act, which would place approximately 172 acres of specified lands in San Diego into trust for the benefit of the California tribe.

  • September 20, 2024

    CFPB Pitches Remittance Rule Tweak For Consumer Inquiries

    The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau moved Friday to revise a longstanding remittance disclosure requirement, saying the agency thinks the wording may be causing it to get inundated with thousands of phone calls from consumers asking about their international money transfers.

  • September 20, 2024

    FCC Launches $200M School, Library Cybersecurity Program

    The Federal Communications Commission has begun rolling out a new cybersecurity program for schools and libraries under the E-Rate federal subsidy for "anchor" institutions, highlighting their increasing vulnerabilities to cyberattacks.

  • September 20, 2024

    Law Professors Say Boulder Climate Suit Clearly Preempted

    Two law professors and a conservative legal nonprofit have urged Colorado justices to toss a city's climate tort lawsuit, arguing that the claims are clearly preempted by the Clean Air Act and that the city should not be allowed to make climate change policy decisions for the rest of the country.

  • September 20, 2024

    Utilities Group Wants In On 4th Circ. FERC Grid Policy Fight

    A coalition of municipal utilities and electricity cooperatives that rely on transmission facilities they don't own to deliver power urged the Fourth Circuit to let it intervene in an appeal challenging the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's recent overhaul of its regional transmission policy.

  • September 20, 2024

    States Tell 10th Circ. To Back Colo. Interest Rate Opt-Out Law

    Attorneys general for 13 states and Washington, D.C., asked the Tenth Circuit on Friday to uphold a Colorado law imposing more restrictive interest rate caps on loans made to its residents by out-of-state banks, arguing that a federal judge's injunction "nullifies the authority granted to states by Congress" to protect consumers from abusive lending practices.

  • September 20, 2024

    NC Governor Defends Bar Closures During COVID

    North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper urged the state's highest court to overturn a decision finding he violated the constitutional right to make a living and the equal protection of bar owners with his COVID shutdown order, arguing the decision was reasonable given how the virus was spreading.

  • September 20, 2024

    NY Utilities Tell DC Circ. More Risk Should Equal More Return

    A D.C. Circuit panel on Friday weighed the differences between risks and costs in a dispute between a group of New York utilities and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission over rates the power companies can charge after making infrastructure upgrades. 

  • September 20, 2024

    Eviction Law Firm Says Tenant's Fee Class Action Untimely

    An eviction law firm pushed a Colorado federal court to toss a proposed class action filed by tenants who claim the firm illegally charged them attorney fees before their eviction proceedings were resolved.

Expert Analysis

  • 25 Years Of OECD's Anti-Bribery Convention

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    Marking its 25th anniversary this year, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development's anti-bribery convention has advanced legislative reforms and reshaped corporate conduct in dozens of countries amid the persistent challenges of uneven enforcement and political pressure, say attorneys at Debevoise.

  • Despite Calif. Delays, Climate Disclosure Rules Are Coming

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    Progress continues on state, federal and international climate disclosure regimes, making compliance a key concern for companies — but the timeline for implementation of California's disclosure laws remains unclear due to funding and timing disputes, says David Smith at Manatt Phelps.

  • Series

    After Chevron: Bid Protest Litigation Will Hold Steady For Now

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    Though the substantive holding of Loper Bright is unlikely to affect bid protests because questions of statutory interpretation are rare, the spirit of the U.S. Supreme Court's decision may signal a general trend away from agency deference even on the complex technical issues that often arise, say Kayleigh Scalzo and Andrew Guy at Covington.

  • Challenging Prosecutors' Use Of Defendants' Jail Phone Calls

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    Although it’s an uphill battle under current case law, counsel for pretrial detainees may be able to challenge prosecutors’ use of jail-recorded phone calls between the defendant and their attorney by taking certain advance measures, say Jim McLoughlin and Fielding Huseth at Moore & Van Allen.

  • 1 Year At The UPC: Implications For Transatlantic Disputes

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    In its first year, the Unified Patent Court has issued important decisions on procedures like provisional measures, but complexities remain when it comes to coordinating proceedings across jurisdictions like the U.S. due to differences in timelines and discovery practices, say attorneys at McDermott.

  • Opinion

    H-2 Visas Offer Humane, Economic Solution To Border Crisis

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    Congress should leverage the H-2 agricultural and temporary worker visa programs to match qualified migrants with employers facing shortages of workers — a nonpolitical solution to a highly divisive humanitarian issue, say Ashley Dees and Jeffrey Joseph at BAL.

  • PAGA Reforms Encourage Proactive Employer Compliance

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    Recently enacted reforms to California's Private Attorneys General Act should make litigation under the law less burdensome for employers, presenting a valuable opportunity to streamline compliance and reduce litigation risks by proactively addressing many of the issues that have historically attracted PAGA claims, say attorneys at Mintz.

  • Opinion

    Now More Than Ever, Lawyers Must Exhibit Professionalism

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    As society becomes increasingly fractured and workplace incivility is on the rise, attorneys must champion professionalism and lead by example, demonstrating how lawyers can respectfully disagree without being disagreeable, says Edward Casmere at Norton Rose.

  • Series

    After Chevron: Piercing FEMA Authority Is Not Insurmountable

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    While the Federal Emergency Management Agency's discretionary authority continues to provide significant protection from claims under the Administrative Procedure Act, Loper Bright is a blow to the argument that Congress gave FEMA unfettered discretion to administer its own programs, says Wendy Huff Ellard at Baker Donelson.

  • What Happens After Hawaii Kids' Historic Climate Deal

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    Implications of the Hawaii Department of Transportation's first-of-its-kind settlement with youth plaintiffs over constitutional climate claims may be limited, but it could incite similar claims, says J. Michael Showalter and Robert Middleton at ArentFox Schiff.

  • How Tech Trackers May Implicate HIPAA After Hospital Ruling

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    A recent Texas federal court order in American Hospital Association v. Becerra adds a legal protection on key data, clarifying when tracking technologies implicate the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, so organizations should ensure all technology used is known and accounted for, say John Howard and Myriah Jaworski at Clark Hill.

  • The Show Must Go On: Noncompete Uncertainty In Film, TV

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    The Federal Trade Commission has taken action to ban noncompetes while the entertainment industry is in the midst of a massive shift away from traditional media, so it is important for studio heads and content owners alike to understand the fate of the rule and their options going forward, say Christopher Chatham and Douglas Smith at Manatt.

  • A Refresher On Calculating Political Advertising Costs

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    With election season well underway, it is important for broadcasters, political candidates, time buyers and others concerned with how the cost of broadcast political advertising is determined to know what the Federal Communications Commission factors into lowest unit calculations, and how the commission has defined "commercial advertisers," says Gregg Skall at Telecommunications Law Professionals.

  • 'Outsourcing' Ruling, 5 Years On: A Warning, Not A Watershed

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    A New York federal court’s 2019 ruling in U.S. v. Connolly, holding that the government improperly outsourced an investigation to Deutsche Bank, has not undercut corporate cooperation incentives as feared — but companies should not completely ignore the lessons of the case, say Temidayo Aganga-Williams and Anna Nabutovsky at Selendy Gay.

  • Series

    Serving In The National Guard Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    My ongoing military experience as a judge advocate general in the National Guard has shaped me as a person and a lawyer, teaching me the importance of embracing confidence, balance and teamwork in both my Army and civilian roles, says Danielle Aymond at Baker Donelson.

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