Public Policy

  • October 17, 2024

    FERC Adds Tribal Protections To Transmission Siting Rule

    The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission unanimously finalized its rule updating how the agency plans to carry out its limited authority over siting transmission lines during its monthly meeting on Thursday.

  • October 17, 2024

    Feds Approve More Immigration Relief For Lebanese Nationals

    The Biden administration on Thursday authorized humanitarian immigration protections that will allow potentially thousands of Lebanese nationals to temporarily stay and work in the U.S. without having to return to their war-torn country.

  • October 17, 2024

    Consumer Groups Back DOT In Airline Fees Rule Fight

    Consumer advocates have told the Fifth Circuit that a U.S. Department of Transportation rule requiring airlines to more clearly disclose add-on fees upfront would curtail the industry's trickery in airfare marketing, foster competition and save individual travelers frustration, time and money.

  • October 17, 2024

    BIA Says Officer's Evals, Report Off Limits In Liability Dispute

    The Bureau of Indian Affairs says a Northern Cheyenne woman who was sexually assaulted by one of its former officers isn't entitled to his psychological evaluation or criminal presentencing report, arguing that the information is protected under state and federal law in the dispute over the federal agency's liability.

  • October 17, 2024

    Colorado Judges Doubt Giuliani Shielded For 2020 Lies

    Colorado appellate judges appeared skeptical Thursday of Rudy Giuliani's bid to escape a defamation lawsuit by a former executive for Dominion Voting Systems, noting that they already found Giuliani's statements weren't protected in a related appeal.

  • October 17, 2024

    Justices Urged To Fix 'Novel Misreading' Of IP Safe Harbor

    Edwards Lifesciences is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to rein in what's covered under a drug-development safe harbor to avoid patent infringement, saying the Federal Circuit wrongfully expanded it in a "novel misreading" of the law.

  • October 17, 2024

    Groups Challenge Utah Permit For Green River Lithium Project

    Conservation groups hit the Utah state engineer and an Anson Resources subsidiary with a suit challenging a water permit issued last month for a lithium extraction project along the Green River, the Colorado River's largest tributary.

  • October 17, 2024

    Wash. Justices Say No Addresses Needed For Tax Ballot Items

    Washington's secretary of state didn't need to check addresses when validating signatures for five voter initiatives slated for the November ballot, including measures to repeal the state's capital gains tax and to bar income taxes, the state Supreme Court said Thursday.

  • October 17, 2024

    Pa. Appeals Court Stops Damaged Philly Building's Demolition

    A Pennsylvania appellate court has tossed a lower court order that required the demolition of a seven-story Philadelphia apartment building that had a partial façade collapse in September 2022.

  • October 17, 2024

    Oregon Appeals Court Says E-Cig Rules Violate Free Speech

    Oregon's intermediate appellate court ruled Wednesday that a state law governing how e-cigarettes and cannabis vapes can be packaged violated guarantees of free speech enshrined in the state's constitution.

  • October 17, 2024

    FTC Admits Federal Court Merger Fights Are Usually Decisive

    Federal Trade Commission complaint counsel has admitted a reality that the agency has long resisted: While federal court preliminary injunction fights are ostensibly meant only to pause a merger while a merits case plays out through an in-house court, the federal court case usually decides the transaction's fate.

  • October 17, 2024

    FCC OKs New Rules Mandating Georouting For 988 Calls

    Calls that come into the 988 suicide and crisis hotline will now be routed to centers based on where the call is coming from, following the Federal Communications Commission's decision to adopt rules requiring georouting on Thursday.

  • October 17, 2024

    Feds Drop Marketing Exec's Tricare Fraud Case In Florida

    A Florida marketing executive previously convicted in a healthcare fraud scheme and then granted a new trial has had his criminal case dismissed by U.S. attorneys after he alleged prosecutorial misconduct, saying federal officials violated his constitutional rights and fed lies to a grand jury in order to secure an indictment.

  • October 17, 2024

    Mich. Urges 6th Circ. To Toss Enbridge's Line 5 Countersuit

    Michigan's governor has told the Sixth Circuit she and another state official are immune from Enbridge Energy LP's lawsuit over efforts to shut down a natural gas and oil pipeline because the dispute implicates state sovereignty issues that place it beyond federal jurisdiction.

  • October 17, 2024

    Solar Site Settles Conn. AG's Claims Over Social Media Ads

    The Connecticut attorney general's office has reached a settlement with EnergyBillCruncher.com to resolve claims that it ran deceptive social media ads falsely claiming that the "government will cover the cost" of solar panel installation and improperly displaying the state seal.

  • October 17, 2024

    Mont. Tax Board Upholds Assessment On Storage Facility

    The owner of a Montana commercial property used to house storage units was unable to lower its value because the state Tax Appeal Board gave more weight to the state Department of Revenue's valuation using an income analysis. 

  • October 17, 2024

    Sen. Report Slams Insurers For Medicare Advantage Denials

    A trio of major Medicare Advantage insurers are driving profits by denying coverage for patient stays at "costly but critical" facilities for those recovering from injuries and illnesses, according to a report issued Thursday by a Congressional committee.

  • October 17, 2024

    Fla. Says DHS Hiding Immigration Data Needed For Elections

    Florida accused the U.S. Department of Homeland Security on Wednesday of withholding critical data necessary to verify voter eligibility, arguing that the agency's online service for verifying immigration status is inadequate and that the federal government has more information it refuses to disclose.

  • October 17, 2024

    Athletes 'Easily' Clear 3rd Circ. Employee Test, Atty Says

    The lead attorney who persuaded the Third Circuit to hold that college athletes may be employees under federal wage law said Thursday that his clients are clearly employees under the test the court set out, drawing a favorable comparison to work-study participants.

  • October 17, 2024

    FTX Insider Cites 'Limited' Fraud Role In Bid To Avoid Prison

    The former head of engineering at FTX asked a Manhattan federal judge to spare him prison time in light of his cooperation with prosecutors and what he said was a relatively "limited" role in the crypto exchange's billion-dollar fraud.

  • October 17, 2024

    Ex-Defender Returns To 4th Circ. With Sex Bias Case

    A former North Carolina public defender appealed her bias case against the judiciary to the Fourth Circuit for a second time after a North Carolina federal judge refused to reconsider his ruling that she did not provide adequate notice to her ex-employer before filing suit.

  • October 17, 2024

    Unlimited Budget Won't Fix Secret Service Flaws, Panel Says

    If Congress gave the U.S. Secret Service a carte blanche budget, the breakdowns that led to the assassination attempt of former President Donald Trump in July would have likely still occurred, but additional funding could help allay its "do more with less" mindset, an independent panel said in a report published on Thursday.

  • October 17, 2024

    Alabama, Florida Get OK To Access $2.5B BEAD Funding

    The National Telecommunications and Information Administration announced Thursday it has approved proposals from Alabama and Florida for $2.5 billion funding to begin implementing the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment program to improve high-speed internet connectivity in underserved communities.

  • October 17, 2024

    States, Industry Urge DC Circ. To Scrap Truck GHG Rule

    Dozens of states and industry groups are imploring the D.C. Circuit to pull the plug on a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency rule setting greenhouse gas emission standards for heavy-duty vehicles, arguing it mandates a transition to electric vehicles that the agency has no authority to push.

  • October 17, 2024

    Pa. AG Can't Get State Claims Restored In FTC Amazon Suit

    A federal judge tersely denied a request from Pennsylvania's attorney general, who had sought to reinstate her state's consumer protection claims against Amazon in the Federal Trade Commission's antitrust suit.

Expert Analysis

  • 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.

  • 8 Childhood Lessons That Can Help You Be A Better Attorney

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    A new school year is underway, marking a fitting time for attorneys to reflect on some fundamental life lessons from early childhood that offer a framework for problems that no legal textbook can solve, say Chris Gismondi and Chris Campbell at DLA Piper.

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