Public Policy

  • December 10, 2024

    Ky. Rep. Guthrie To Chair House Energy And Commerce Panel

    Rep. Brett Guthrie, R-Ky., has won the race for chair of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, a key congressional post that includes jurisdiction over telecom issues and oversight of the Federal Communications Commission.

  • December 10, 2024

    Biden Threatens To Veto Bipartisan Effort To Add Judgeships

    The White House on Tuesday threatened to veto legislation that would increase the number of federal judgeships nationwide after the measure lost support among Democrats postelection.

  • December 10, 2024

    Ore. Real Estate Agent Underreported Income, Court Says

    An Oregon real estate agent and investor failed to report nearly $188,000 in income, including the profits from two property sales, the state's tax court ruled, rejecting her appeal of the state tax department's findings except for small adjustments.

  • December 10, 2024

    NLRB Judge Protections Get Ax In Constitutional Challenge

    A Washington, D.C., federal judge on Tuesday sided with a Massachusetts hospital in its challenge to National Labor Relations Board judges' job protections, saying the board's judges must be removable at will, but stopping short of holding that their protections are a basis for blocking cases they're currently hearing.

  • December 10, 2024

    High Court Bars Judicial Review Of Revoked Visa Petitions

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday held that revocations of previously approved visa petitions cannot be appealed in federal courts because they are discretionary agency decisions that are not subject to judicial review.

  • December 09, 2024

    Calif. Floats Requiring Social Media Warning Labels

    California Attorney General Rob Bonta on Monday introduced a bill that would require a "black box warning" to be displayed on social media platforms to remind users of the risks of prolonged social media use, citing research linking children's and teens' use to health harms like depression.

  • December 09, 2024

    Feds Cite 9th Circ. In Bid To End Texas' Migrant Transit Law

    The Biden administration and immigrant advocacy groups told a Texas federal court that a recent Ninth Circuit decision backed their bid to strike down a Texas executive order allowing state officers to pull over drivers suspected of transporting unauthorized migrants.

  • December 09, 2024

    CFPB Eyes Credit Reporting Rule To Address 'Coerced Debt'

    The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said Monday that it is looking into new credit reporting safeguards for consumers who have experienced domestic violence or other abuse, launching a rulemaking push that will carry into the next Trump administration.

  • December 09, 2024

    High Court Again Weighs Reach Of Federal Fraud Statutes

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday grappled with the question of whether using deceptive means to induce a business transaction with no contemplation of causing economic loss constitutes mail or wire fraud, the latest challenge in a line of cases that seeks to narrow the reach of federal fraud statutes.

  • December 09, 2024

    ​4th Circ. Joins Anti-Garamond Train As Typeface Loses Steam

    Note from the federal appellate bench in Virginia's capital city on Monday: When attorneys correspond, judges in Richmond want Garamond to be gone — they think the typeface is small and wan, so please find another one, such as Times New Roman.

  • December 09, 2024

    Boeing Supplier Wins Bid To Block Texas Biz Records Inquiry

     A Texas federal judge on Monday adopted a magistrate judge's recommendation granting Spirit AeroSystems Inc.'s bid to permanently enjoin a Texas statute requiring businesses to immediately comply with the state's demand to examine business records.

  • December 09, 2024

    Bill Aiding Not-So-Small Patent Applicants Advances

    A federal measure that would allow patent applicants to avoid financial penalties for incorrectly seeking reduced fees for small applicants has made its way to President Joe Biden's desk.

  • December 09, 2024

    $82.5M Cheerleading Antitrust Deal, Atty Fee Gets Final OK

    A Tennessee federal judge has granted final approval of an $82.5 million settlement between parents and Varsity Brands in a lawsuit that accused the apparel company of stifling competition and inflating prices, and also allowed $35 million of the award to pay for class counsel's fees.

  • December 09, 2024

    Vail Resorts Says Colo. District Can't Escape Debt Deal

    A Colorado special district seeking to revive a lawsuit challenging an intergovernmental agreement from the early 2000s is only trying to avoid repaying millions of dollars in debt, Vail Resorts and another special district told a state appellate court.

  • December 09, 2024

    Key House Dem Thinks Biden Will Veto Bill To Add Judges

    The House is poised to vote on a bipartisan bill to add the much-sought additional judgeships, but President Joe Biden's support is in question.

  • December 09, 2024

    Cops Can Search Car Over Raw Cannabis Odor, Ill. Justices Say

    Illinois police can establish probable cause to search a vehicle based on the smell of raw cannabis alone, the state's highest court has ruled, saying that despite cannabis's legal status in the state, motorists face "stringent" rules when it comes to transporting it in cars.

  • December 09, 2024

    19 Republican AGs Win Order Against DACA Health Coverage

    Nineteen states secured an order on Monday that bars the federal government from requiring them to comply with a regulation that extends federal health coverage to immigrants brought to the U.S. as children without authorization, blocking enforcement of a Biden administration rule.

  • December 09, 2024

    RealPage Says DOJ's Ended Multifamily Rental Criminal Probe

    RealPage said the U.S. Department of Justice had ended a criminal probe into the multifamily rental housing industry's pricing practices, adding that the algorithmic pricing company was never identified as an investigation target.

  • December 09, 2024

    What's Next After Boeing 737 Max Deal Snags On DEI Clause

    A Texas federal judge's recent rejection of Boeing's plea agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice underscores the increasing vulnerability of corporate and government diversity, equity and inclusion policies, experts say, spelling fresh complications for the embattled American aerospace titan and the legal saga over its 737 Max jets.

  • December 09, 2024

    Biden Proclaims 1st Indian Boarding School A National Monument

    President Joe Biden on Monday issued a proclamation declaring the first Indian boarding school a national monument, saying that giving the Carlisle, Pennsylvania, site the designation will help to ensure that a shameful era of American history is never forgotten or repeated.

  • December 09, 2024

    With Ga. Judge, Biden Names Most Black Women To Bench

    The Senate voted 48-44 on Monday evening to confirm Assistant U.S. Attorney Tiffany R. Johnson as a district judge for the Northern District of Georgia, making her the 40th Black woman confirmed to a lifetime federal judgeship under President Joe Biden.

  • December 09, 2024

    10th Circ. Affirms Nix Of Atty's Racing Expense Deductions

    The Tenth Circuit affirmed Monday the U.S. Tax Court's determination that a Denver personal injury lawyer shouldn't be allowed to deduct about $300,000 for his car racing-related costs as advertising, despite his claims that his races helped him drum up business.

  • December 09, 2024

    Judge Eyes Far Less Trial Time In Meta Case Than FTC Wants

    The Federal Trade Commission likely has to cram much more trial in much less time than it had planned after a D.C. federal judge suggested Monday that the agency's social media monopolization case against Meta Platforms Inc. can't go much past the first week of June 2025.

  • December 09, 2024

    LendingTree Pushes FCC Again To Rework Lead Consent Rule

    Loan marketer LendingTree is making one more effort to persuade the Federal Communications Commission to trim the scope of its lead generation consent rule in hopes of seeing changes before the regulations take effect in January.

  • December 09, 2024

    Amazon Says FTC Lacks Authority To Bring Antitrust Case

    Amazon has told a Washington federal court that the Federal Trade Commission is overstepping its authority by bringing its antitrust case directly in court without pursuing an in-house case targeting the e-commerce giant's treatment of sellers on its platform.

Expert Analysis

  • Opinion

    Tariffs' Economic Downsides Outweigh Potential Revenue

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    Import tariffs proposed by the campaign of former president Donald Trump would generate revenue like other taxes, but policymakers must consider the net-negative impact of associated consumer and downstream-industry costs, harm to exporters, potential foreign retaliation and reduction in economic output, says Erica York at the Tax Foundation.

  • Comments Show Need For Clarity On SBA Proposed Rule

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    The recent public comments period for the Small Business Administration's proposed rule on recertification and other regulations underscores the need for more precision, particularly on agreements in principle, which the SBA should address as it moves forward with this rulemaking, say attorneys at Covington.

  • Series

    Beekeeping Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    The practice of patent law and beekeeping are not typically associated, but taking care of honeybees has enriched my legal practice by highlighting the importance of hands-on experience, continuous learning, mentorship and more, says David Longo at Oblon McClelland.

  • Amazon Holiday Pay Case Underscores Overtime Challenges

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    The recent Hamilton v. Amazon.com Services LLC decision in the Colorado Supreme Court underscores why employers must always consult applicable state law and regulations — in addition to federal law — when determining how to properly pay employees who work more than 40 hours in a workweek, says James Looby at Vedder Price.

  • Understanding New ACH Network Anti-Fraud Rules

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    Many of the National Automated Clearing House Association’s recent amendments to ACH network risk management rules went into effect this month, so financial institutions and corporations must review and update their internal policies as needed, says Aisha Hall at Taft.

  • The OIG Report: Bad Timing For FEC To Be Underresourced

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    With less than two weeks to the election, the Federal Election Commission’s job has never been more urgent, but a report from its Office of the Inspector General earlier this year found that the agency is facing a resource squeeze that will only get worse without corrective action, says Diana Shaw at Wiley.

  • What To Know About New Employment Laws In Fla.

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    Florida employers should familiarize themselves with recent state laws, and also federal legislation, on retirement benefits, teen labor and heat exposure, with special attention to prohibitions against minors performing dangerous tasks, as outlined in the Fair Labor Standards Act, say Katie Molloy and Cayla Page at Greenberg Traurig.

  • The Key To Solving High Drug Costs Is Understanding Causes

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    One-sided views on who or what contributes to the high cost of pharmaceuticals render possible solutions much harder to discover and implement, and a better approach would be to examine history and learn why costs have increased and what legislation has and hasn't helped, says Nancy Linck at NJ Linck Consulting.

  • Election Unlikely To Overhaul Antitrust Enforcers' Labor Focus

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    Although the outcome of the presidential election may alter the course of antitrust enforcement in certain areas of the economy, scrutiny of labor markets by the Federal Trade Commission and the U.S. Department of Justice is likely to remain largely unaffected — with one notable exception, say Jared Nagley and Joy Siu at Sheppard Mullin.

  • How Immigration Attys Should Prep For A 2nd Trump Term

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    In light of the possibility of a drastic policy shift under a second Trump administration, immigration lawyers must review what Trump did during his first term, assess who would be most affected if those policies return and develop legal strategies to safeguard their clients' interests, says Adam Moses at Harris Beach.

  • Anticipating Jarkesy's Effect On Bank Agency Enforcement

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    Following the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission v. Jarkesy, federal courts may eventually issue decisions on banking law principles and processes that could fundamentally alter the agencies' enforcement action framework, and the relationship between banks and examiners, says Brendan Clegg at Luse Gorman.

  • CFTC Anti-Fraud Blitz Is A Warning To Carbon Credit Sellers

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    With its recent enforcement actions against a carbon offset project developer and its senior executives for reporting false information about the energy savings of the company's projects, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission is staking out its position as a primary regulator in the voluntary carbon credit market, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • Unpacking State AG Approaches To Digital Asset Enforcement

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    Attorneys at Cozen O'Connor survey recent digital asset enforcement by attorneys general nationwide driven by concerns over regulatory gaps where technological developments and market changes have outpaced legislation.

  • Opinion

    Legal Institutions Must Warn Against Phony Election Suits

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    With two weeks until the election, bar associations and courts have an urgent responsibility to warn lawyers about the consequences of filing unsubstantiated lawsuits claiming election fraud, says Elise Bean at the Carl Levin Center for Oversight and Democracy.

  • Peeling Back The Layers Of SEC's Equity Trading Reforms

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    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's recently adopted amendments lowering the tick sizes for stock trading and reducing access fee caps will benefit investors and necessitate broad systems changes — if they can first survive judicial challenges, say attorneys at Sidley.

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