Public Policy

  • August 16, 2024

    1st Circ. Smooths Path For Title VII Retaliation Claims

    The First Circuit affirmed a lower court's grant of summary judgment for Bentley University in an employment discrimination lawsuit brought by a former program coordinator, but also took the opportunity to lower the bar for retaliation claims.

  • August 16, 2024

    Ch. 7 Trustee Can't Recover Tax Payment, States Tell Justices

    A group of roughly two dozen states threw their support behind the federal government in asking the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn a ruling that forced the IRS to return a tax payment after a bankruptcy trustee argued it was a fraudulent transfer and recoverable under state law.

  • August 16, 2024

    NC AG Readies Appeal In Fight Over Smithfield Foods Funds

    North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein is taking a fight over millions of dollars in environmental grants to the state appeals court, after a trial judge found the funds should be exclusively set aside for use in public schools.

  • August 16, 2024

    ICE Arresting More Detained Noncitizens, Report Shows

    U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has been making more arrests while Customs and Border Protection has been making fewer in fiscal year 2024, corresponding to the Biden administration's efforts to limit asylum access at the U.S.-Mexico border, a new report shows.

  • August 16, 2024

    Ga. AG Taps Prosecutor To Head Organized Retail Crime Unit

    Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr said Friday that he's hired Timothy Ruffini to lead a new organized retail crime unit focused on prosecuting criminal networks behind thefts and violence against Peach State businesses.

  • August 16, 2024

    Colo. Judge Orders Attys To Leave Assumptions At The Door

    A Colorado trial judge is one of the first in the country to require parties to use gender-neutral terms until a person has identified their pronouns. Drawing on his experiences putting on a straight "costume" as a young, gay attorney, he says the aim is to make the courtroom a welcoming space for all involved.

  • August 16, 2024

    Psilocybin Right-To-Try Petition To Get 9th Circ. Hearing

    A Ninth Circuit panel will hear oral arguments Monday in an appeal brought by a Seattle doctor seeking to administer psilocybin to terminal cancer patients under state and federal right-to-try laws.

  • August 16, 2024

    Meet 3 Michigan Supreme Court Hopefuls

    An appellate judge known for writing forceful opinions about "government overreach" is facing off against a legislator who has practiced in front of the state's highest court, hoping to secure the Republican nomination this month for an open seat on the Michigan Supreme Court. The eventual nominee will run against the director of the University of Michigan's Juvenile Justice Clinic, the lone Democratic candidate.

  • August 16, 2024

    Harris Economic Plan Targets Food Mergers, Price-Gouging

    Vice President Kamala Harris unveiled an economic plan Friday that said her administration would "crack down" on large corporate food mergers and introduce the first-ever ban on price-gouging, a promise that comes just days after the announcement of one of the largest ever food industry tie-ups.

  • August 16, 2024

    Connecticut Legislation Passed In 2024: A Midyear Report

    While Connecticut workers may rejoice over a major expansion of paid sick leave that will begin to roll out next year, businesses will need to spend some time and effort getting ready to implement the new law, attorneys told Law360.

  • August 16, 2024

    NC Legislation To Watch In 2024: A Midyear Report

    College "prop bets" are on the line, and a public face mask requirement could be torpedoed — at least in some situations — under two proposals being considered by the North Carolina General Assembly.

  • August 16, 2024

    NC Litigation Highlights Of 2024: A Midyear Report

    Several-high profile cases in North Carolina came to a close in the first half of the year, from a second bribery conviction against an insurance magnate beset by legal woes, to the anticlimactic withdrawal of a state Supreme Court justice's much-watched free speech suit. Here, Law360 looks at those and other notable rulings so far in North Carolina.

  • August 16, 2024

    New Jersey Litigation Highlights Of 2024: A Midyear Report

    A court's upheaval of New Jersey's longstanding "county line" ballot layout for the Democratic primary fueled both sides of the lively political aisle this year, while the same federal judge also riled the state's pharmaceutical hotbed by ending two challenges to Medicare's ability to negotiate drug prices. Here, Law360 looks at some of the notable cases so far in New Jersey.

  • August 19, 2024

    New Jersey Legislation To Watch: A Midyear Report

    New Jersey proposals for a corporate transit tax and mandatory business showdowns during sweltering weather have generated concerns from industry sectors fatigued by rising costs, while the rise of artifical intelligence and corresponding legislation appears to have united those fearing the digital-age hazard of "deepfakes."

  • August 15, 2024

    San Francisco Unveils Landmark Suit Over 'Deepfake' Porn

    The San Francisco city attorney on Thursday launched a suit against the operators of 16 websites that he claims create and distribute nonconsensual, artificial intelligence-generated pornography, also known as "deepfake pornography" or "deepnudes."

  • August 15, 2024

    Amicus Beef: Judiciary Kicks Off Heated Transparency Debate

    The federal judiciary's main policy panel Thursday floated a major overhaul of mandatory financial disclosures in appellate amicus briefs, a move that's being fueled by perceptions of shadowy "judicial lobbying" and already coming under siege by big business.

  • August 15, 2024

    Green Group Backs Feds' Denial Of Water Co.'s Right-Of-Way

    Save Our Forest Association urged a D.C. federal judge on Thursday to reject the company behind Arrowhead Mountain Spring Water's attempt to block the federal government from requiring it cease operation of its 23,000-foot-long water pipeline in Berkeley, California's Strawberry Canyon.

  • August 15, 2024

    Telecom Orgs Ask Justices To Take Up NY Internet Rate Cap

    The U.S. Supreme Court must step in and unravel a split Second Circuit ruling upholding New York's right to put a $15 cap on the amount broadband companies can charge low-income households, say several trade groups that lost their challenge to the law.

  • August 15, 2024

    Medical Records Co. Appealing Blocked Anti-Bot CAPTCHAs

    Electronic medical records company PointClickCare will appeal last month's ruling from a Maryland federal judge enjoining it from using unsolvable CAPTCHA prompts to block a nursing home analytics firm's access to records, the company said Wednesday.

  • August 15, 2024

    DC Circ. Explains Toss Of EPA's Biofuel Exemptions Denial

    The Environmental Protection Agency's narrow interpretation of what defines an economic hardship wrongly shut dozens of small oil refineries out of receiving federal renewable fuel blending requirement exemptions, according to a per curiam D.C. Circuit opinion unsealed this week.

  • August 15, 2024

    Audacy Sale To Soros Won't Be Rubber-Stamped, Cruz Says

    The Federal Communications Commission will hold a full commission vote on whether to transfer the licenses tied to Soros Fund Management's acquisition of an ownership interest in radio station owner Audacy Inc. after it emerges from bankruptcy, according to Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas.

  • August 15, 2024

    2023 Rule Revising Hospital Payments Struck Down

    A Texas federal judge on Thursday sided with about a dozen hospitals challenging a federal regulation that they say will curtail their payments for treating low-income patients, declaring the rule unlawful and setting it aside.

  • August 15, 2024

    Trump's Use Of Isaac Hayes Song Sparks IP Political Tension

    Donald Trump’s habit of closing his speeches with the song "Hold On (I’m Coming)” has angered the family of the late legendary soul singer Isaac Hayes, the latest election-year example of political candidates upsetting artists or their families who don’t want their music associated with a particular campaign.

  • August 15, 2024

    9th Circ. Judges Seem To Split On Wash. Abortion Coverage

    A Ninth Circuit judge asked Thursday how a church could be harmed by a Washington law requiring employee health plans to cover abortions, since none of its workers had ever actually sought one, while another judge asked if tossing the case would slam the door on religious objections.

  • August 15, 2024

    New Study Shows No Link Between Bail Reform, Crime Rates

    Bail reform has had no statistical impact on crime rates across the country, according to a study released by the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University School of Law on Thursday.

Expert Analysis

  • 2nd Circ. ERISA Ruling May Help Fight Unfair Arb. Clauses

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    The Second Circuit recently held that a plaintiff seeking planwide relief under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act cannot be compelled to individual arbitration, a decision that opens the door to new applications of the effective vindication doctrine to defeat onerous and one-sided arbitration clauses, say Raphael Janove and Liana Vitale at Janove.

  • Series

    After Chevron: Various Paths For Labor And Employment Law

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    Labor and employment law leans heavily on federal agency guidance, so the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to toss out Chevron deference will ripple through this area, with future workplace policies possibly taking shape through strategic litigation, informal guidance, state-level regulation and more, says Alexander MacDonald at Littler.

  • Series

    Boxing Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Boxing has influenced my legal work by enabling me to confidently hone the skills I've learned from the sport, like the ability to remain calm under pressure, evaluate an opponent's weaknesses and recognize when to seize an important opportunity, says Kirsten Soto at Clyde & Co.

  • What NYC's Green Fast Track Means For Affordable Housing

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    New York City's Green Fast Track for Housing initiative, which went into effect last month, aims to speed up the environmental review process for modest residential developments and could potentially pave the way for similar initiatives in other cities, say Vivien Krieger and Rachel Scall at Cozen O'Connor.

  • Series

    After Chevron: No Deference, No Difference For SEC Or CFTC

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    The Chevron doctrine did not fundamentally alter the interplay between the courts and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission in the development of the securities and commodities laws — and its demise will not do so either, says Dan Berkovitz at Millennium Management.

  • Opinion

    Industry Self-Regulation Will Shine Post-Chevron

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's Loper decision will shape the contours of industry self-regulation in the years to come, providing opportunities for this often-misunderstood practice, says Eric Reicin at BBB National Programs.

  • Justices' Bribery Ruling: A Corrupt Act Isn't Necessarily Illegal

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    In its Snyder v. U.S. decision last week, the U.S. Supreme Court held that a bribery law does not criminalize gratuities, continuing a trend of narrowing federal anti-corruption laws and scrutinizing public corruption prosecutions that go beyond obvious quid pro quo schemes, say Carrie Cohen and Christine Wong at MoFo.

  • 3 Ways Agencies Will Keep Making Law After Chevron

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    The U.S. Supreme Court clearly thinks it has done something big in overturning the Chevron precedent that had given deference to agencies' statutory interpretations, but regulated parties have to consider how agencies retain significant power to shape the law and its meaning, say attorneys at K&L Gates.

  • Roundup

    After Chevron

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    In the month since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the Chevron deference standard, this Expert Analysis series has featured attorneys discussing the potential impact across 26 different rulemaking and litigation areas.

  • Takeaways From New HHS Substance Use Disorder Info Rules

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    A new U.S. Department of Health and Human Services rule continues the agency's efforts to harmonize complex rules surrounding confidentiality provisions for substance use disorder patient records, though healthcare providers will need to remain mindful of different potentially applicable requirements and changes that their compliance structures may require, say attorneys at Ropes & Gray.

  • Series

    After Chevron: Expect Few Changes In ITC Rulemaking

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's opinion overruling the Chevron doctrine will have less impact on the U.S. International Trade Commission than other agencies administering trade statutes, given that the commission exercises its congressionally granted authority in a manner that allows for consistent decision making at both agency and judicial levels, say attorneys at Polsinelli.

  • Opinion

    Reform NEPA To Speed Mining Permits, Clean Energy Shift

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    It is essential to balance responsible regulatory oversight with permit approvals for mining projects that are needed for the transition to renewable energy — and with the National Environmental Policy Act being one of the leading causes of permit delays, reform is urgently needed, say Ana Maria Gutierrez and Michael Miller at Womble Bond.

  • Series

    Calif. Banking Brief: All The Notable Legal Updates In Q2

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    The second quarter of 2024 in California, which saw efforts to expand consumer protection legislation and enforcement actions in areas of federal focus like medical debt and student loans, demonstrated that the state's role as a trendsetter in consumer financial protection will continue for the foreseeable future, say attorneys at Sheppard Mullin.

  • 6 PTAB Events To Know From The Last 6 Months

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    The first half of 2024 brought a flurry of Patent Trial and Appeal Board developments that should be considered in post-grant strategies, including proposed rules on discretionary denial and director review, and the first decisions of the Delegated Rehearing Panel, say attorneys at Fish & Richardson.

  • Key Takeaways From High Court's Substitute Expert Decision

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    The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent Smith v. Arizona decision, holding that the confrontation clause generally bars prosecutors’ use of a substitute expert witness at trial, will have the most impact in narcotics and violent crime cases, but creative defense lawyers may find it useful in white collar cases, too, say Joshua Naftalis and Melissa Kelley at Pallas Partners.

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