Public Policy

  • June 27, 2024

    Menendez Met Alleged Briber Pre-Gold Price Search, Jury Told

    An FBI cell tower expert told Sen. Robert Menendez's bribery jury Thursday that the phones of the senator, his wife and co-defendant developer Fred Daibes all pinged in the same location minutes before the senator did a web search for "how much is one kilo of gold worth."

  • June 27, 2024

    Freedmen Heir Has Standing In Land Leasing Row, Court Says

    A descendant of those enslaved by the Cherokee Nation can challenge the federal government's alleged restriction on funds from early 20th century land allotments, a D.C. Circuit judge said, arguing that she suffered a cognizable injury due to the Interior Department's failure to provide an accounting of the transactions.

  • June 27, 2024

    Tesla Error Doomed Bid To Arbitrate Race Bias Suit, Court Says

    Tesla must face a Black ex-employee's claims of race discrimination in court, a California appeals court ruled Wednesday, affirming a lower court's finding that the electric vehicle maker lost its chance to arbitrate the claims after it failed to pay arbitration fees on time.

  • June 27, 2024

    Sen. Brown Asks White House To Enforce Mexican Steel Curbs

    Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, has argued an alleged surge of Mexican steel into the U.S. threatens to undermine the domestic economy in a letter urging the Biden administration to enforce a trade deal restricting Mexican steel.

  • June 27, 2024

    DOJ Defends Transport Monopoly Charges In Antitrust Case

    Federal prosecutors have opposed an accused conspirator's bid to dismiss charges against him in an antitrust case claiming he's one of a dozen individuals who monopolized cross-border sales of used vehicles and other goods from the U.S. to Central America through violence.

  • June 27, 2024

    Bill Would Add Protections For Native American Children

    A bipartisan bill recently introduced in the U.S. House and the Senate puts new safeguards in place for Native American children, according to lawmakers who say it will help kids avoid getting removed from their families due to overt or implicit bias against Native parents and tribes.

  • June 27, 2024

    High Court Liberals Warn Jarkesy's Reach Will Be Widespread

    The U.S. Supreme Court's decision to limit the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's use of its in-house courts will have "momentous consequences" for dozens of agencies tasked with overseeing the electric grid, environmental regulations and consumer protection laws, the court's liberal wing has warned.

  • June 27, 2024

    State AGs Want Stay Lifted In Generic Drug Pricing Suit

    The attorneys general of New York and Connecticut have asked a federal judge to lift a partial discovery stay in three state-led generic drug pricing lawsuits against the pharmaceutical industry, saying it is no longer necessary because sentencing is complete in a parallel U.S. Department of Justice proceeding.

  • June 27, 2024

    Interest Groups Want To Join 6th Circ. Net Neutrality Appeals

    The Sixth Circuit should allow several public interest groups to intervene in the bundle of net neutrality challenges currently before the appellate court, in case there's an administration change and the FCC switches positions on the matter, those groups are arguing.

  • June 27, 2024

    CBD Cos. Say Iowa Hemp Law Could Destroy State Industry

    A slew of hemp retailers, farmers, manufacturers and distributors urged a federal judge to block a law allowing the state to impose new rules over the hemp industry, set to go into effect Monday, saying the regulations would wipe out "the entire consumable hemp industry in Iowa."

  • June 27, 2024

    Warner Bros. Sued Over Presidential Debate Streaming Rights

    Warner Bros. Discovery is facing a suit by a YouTuber in California federal court claiming it has refused to offer social media creators streaming and commentary rights for the presidential debate.

  • June 27, 2024

    Texas DAs Escape Defendant Class Cert. In Abortion Case

    A Texas federal judge on Wednesday rejected a bid to force state prosecutors to become a certified class of defendants in a suit aimed to curb retaliation against advocates who help women get an abortion outside the state, saying there was no risk of varying adjudications.

  • June 27, 2024

    EPA's State Smog Pollution Plan Down, Not Out Yet

    The U.S. Supreme Court flexed its muscles menacingly at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday and blocked it from implementing an important air pollution control plan for several states, but experts say it's too early to completely write off the rule in question.

  • June 27, 2024

    Rape Kit Co. Wants Wash. Ban Lifted During Free Speech Suit

    A company that sells self-administered sexual assault DNA collection kits is urging a Washington federal judge to stop the enforcement of a new state law that it claims stifles its First Amendment rights by barring the marketing of its kits as an alternative to resources offered by law enforcement and the government.

  • June 27, 2024

    ACLU Says Mich. Can't Ban Medicaid Coverage Of Abortions

    The American Civil Liberties Union on Thursday lodged a suit challenging a Michigan law barring Medicaid coverage of abortions, claiming that the ban is a violation of the state constitution's newly enacted right to reproductive freedom.

  • June 27, 2024

    Uber, Lyft Cut $175M Deal To End Mass. Worker Status Fight

    Uber Technologies Inc. and Lyft Inc. on Thursday agreed to pay a combined $175 million and provide drivers with a suite of benefits to settle an employee classification lawsuit brought by the state of Massachusetts.

  • June 27, 2024

    Expert Testimony Gets Narrowed In Immigrants' Vetting Fight

    A Washington federal judge on Wednesday prohibited some expert testimony offered by both parties in a certified class action alleging that the Biden administration illegally shelved Muslim immigrants' naturalization applications for "extreme vetting."

  • June 27, 2024

    NC Anti-Riot Act Passes Constitutional Muster, Judge Rules

    A North Carolina federal judge has axed a constitutional challenge to the state's anti-rioting law, finding the statute is neither overbroad or vague in its definition of a riot such that peaceful protesters would risk being criminally charged under the law.

  • June 27, 2024

    Parole Challenge Ruling Was 'Error Twice Over,' 5th Circ. Told

    A Texas-led coalition of states told the Fifth Circuit on Wednesday that a cost-benefit analysis a trial court considered before allowing a new Biden administration migrant parole program to continue is "error twice over," writing that such calculations are not for the court to make when it evaluates standing.

  • June 27, 2024

    FCC's Unlocked Phone Regs Could Affect Existing Contracts

    A Federal Communications Commission plan to require the "unlocking" of cellphones so consumers can easily switch providers could impose rules on existing mobile contracts, but the FCC said Thursday that it might apply only to future agreements.

  • June 27, 2024

    Denver Must Face 2020 Protest Response Claims, Judge Rules

    A Colorado federal judge has largely rejected Denver's bid to end claims that it encouraged police to use excessive force against social justice advocates in 2020, allowing a lawsuit over the police response to move forward.

  • June 27, 2024

    SEC Says It Met Its Burden To Apply Dealer Rule To Crypto

    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission told a Texas federal judge that the agency has met its burden to explain how its expanded definition of "dealer" applies to the crypto industry, urging the court to cut through an industry challenge.

  • June 27, 2024

    NY Regulators Say Pot Companies' Bid Would Ruin Industry

    New York's cannabis authority has urged a state court to toss a lawsuit seeking to invalidate hundreds of retail permits over claims that the agency gave special treatment to certain applicants, arguing that granting such a request would be "financially ruinous" for many and detrimental to the "emerging retail cannabis industry."

  • June 27, 2024

    IRS To Offer Combined Filing For Energy Investment Credits

    The Internal Revenue Service will let clean energy project owners that are claiming investment tax credits for more than 200 facilities file the claims with a single form, an agency official said Thursday.

  • June 27, 2024

    Live Nation Tries To Push DOJ's Antitrust Suit Out Of NY

    Counsel for Live Nation Entertainment and subsidiary Ticketmaster on Thursday told a skeptical Manhattan federal judge that the U.S. Department of Justice's antitrust case belongs in D.C. federal court, where the green light was given for the companies' 2010 merger.

Expert Analysis

  • Series

    In The CFPB Playbook: Regulatory Aims Get High Court Assist

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    Newly emboldened after the U.S. Supreme Court last month found that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's funding is constitutional, the bureau has likely experienced a psychic boost, allowing its already robust enforcement agenda to continue expanding, say attorneys at Husch Blackwell.

  • NY Public Campaign Funding May Attract Scrutiny From Feds

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    The upcoming elections across New York this year will be the first under the state’s public campaign finance program — which may broaden federal prosecutors' purview to target state election fraud and corruption, says Jarrod Schaeffer at Abell Eskew.

  • FTC Theories Of Harm After Anesthesia Co. Ruling

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    As Federal Trade Commission litigation against U.S. Anesthesia Partners proceeds following a Texas federal court's recent decision to dismiss a private equity sponsor from the suit, the case attempts to incorporate and advance some of the commission's theories of competitive harm from the final 2023 Merger Guidelines, say attorneys at Mintz.

  • National Security And The Commercial Space Sector: Part 2

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    Strategy documents recently published by the U.S. Department of Defense and the U.S. Space Force confirm the importance of the commercial space sector to the DOD, but say little about achieving the institutional changes needed to integrate commercial capabilities in support of national security in space, say Jeff Chiow and Skip Smith at Greenberg Traurig.

  • FTC Hearing On Fake Review Rule Stressed Compliance Costs

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    The Federal Trade Commission is likely to finalize its proposed rule to prohibit marketers from using deceptive practices in their product reviews after an informal hearing covered arguments over whether costs of implementing the rule, such as review moderation and software maintenance, would be minimal, says Jeffrey Edelstein at Manatt.

  • FTC Focus: Exploring The Meaning Of Orange Book Letters

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    The Federal Trade Commission recently announced an expansion of its campaign to promote competition by targeting pharmaceutical manufacturers' improper Orange Book patent listings, but there is a question of whether and how this helps generic entrants, say Colin Kass and David Munkittrick at Proskauer.

  • 3 Recent Decisions To Note As Climate Litigation Heats Up

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    Three recent rulings on climate-related issues — from a New York federal court, a New York state court and an international tribunal, respectively — demonstrate both regulators' concern about climate change and the complexity of conflicting regulations in different jurisdictions, say J. Michael Showalter and Robert Middleton at ArentFox Schiff.

  • Perspectives

    Justices' Repeat Offender Ruling Eases Prosecutorial Hurdle

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    The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision last week in Brown v. U.S., clarifying which drug law applies to sentencing a repeat offender in a federal firearms case, allows courts to rely on outdated drug schedules to impose increased sentences, thus removing a significant hurdle for prosecutors, says attorney Molly Parmer.

  • Investors Can Aid In The Acceptance Of Psychedelic Medicine

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    Psychedelic medicine is ready to have its breakthrough moment, and although it still faces political, legal and communications challenges, private equity investors can play a significant role in changing the public perception on psychedelics from taboo to acceptance, say Kimberly Chew at Husch Blackwell, Charlie Panfil at the Daschle Group and Ethan Lutz at FTI Consulting.

  • Opinion

    Exec Liability Bill For Failed Banks Is Unnecessary, Unwise

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    A bill before the U.S. Senate, which would effectively empower the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. to hold senior bank executives strictly liable for reasonable business decisions that lead to bank failures, needlessly overwrites the existing negligence standard and rewards counterproductive caution in management, say attorneys at Davis Polk.

  • National Security And The Commercial Space Sector: Part 1

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    The recently published U.S. Department of Defense space strategy represents a recalibration in agency thinking, signaling that the integration of commercial space capabilities has become a necessity and offering guidance for removing structural, procedural and cultural barriers to commercial-sector collaboration, say Jeff Chiow and Skip Smith at Greenberg Traurig.

  • BF Borgers Clients Should Review Compliance, Liability

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    After the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's recently announced enforcement proceedings against audit firm BF Borgers for fabricating audit documentation for hundreds of public companies, those companies will need to follow special procedures for disclosure and reporting — and may need to prepare for litigation from the plaintiffs bar, say attorneys at Debevoise.

  • How Employers, Attorneys Can Respond To Noncompete Ban

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    As the Federal Trade Commission's recently issued noncompete ban faces ongoing legal challenges, now is a good time for employers to consider whether they want to take a wait-and-see approach before halting use of noncompetes and for practitioners to gain insight into other tools available to protect their clients' business interests, says Jennifer Platzkere Snyder at Dilworth Paxson.

  • New TSCA Risk Rule Gives EPA Broad Discretion On Science

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    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's recent final amendments to its framework for evaluating the risks of chemical substances under the Toxic Substances Control Act give it vast discretion over consideration of scientific information, without objective criteria to guide that discretion, say John McGahren and Debra Carfora at Morgan Lewis.

  • Perspectives

    Trauma-Informed Legal Approaches For Pro Bono Attorneys

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    As National Trauma Awareness Month ends, pro bono attorneys should nevertheless continue to acknowledge the mental and physical effects of trauma, allowing them to better represent clients, and protect themselves from compassion fatigue and burnout, say Katherine Cronin at Stinson and Katharine Manning at Blackbird.

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