Public Policy

  • July 25, 2024

    Newsom Cites High Court In Ordering Encampments Cleared

    California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Thursday ordered state agencies to start removing homeless encampments on state property while providing outreach services to homeless residents following a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling that gave governments broader authority to ban camping in public.

  • July 25, 2024

    NC High Court Signals End To College Building Access Row

    The Tar Heel State's Supreme Court this week unpaused a legal battle between North Carolina State University and a cancer-stricken professor after the two said they had resolved a dispute over testing for carcinogens in a campus building.

  • July 25, 2024

    Fla. Agency Gets Most Of Unions' Claims Over Dues Law Axed

    A public employee relations agency secured an early win against claims from Florida teachers unions that provisions in a state law pertaining to dues deductions and recertification violated the U.S. Constitution, a federal judge ruled, sending only one contracts clause allegation to trial.

  • July 25, 2024

    US Calls For Labor Scrutiny At Mexican Components Plant

    The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative announced a new request Thursday calling on Mexican authorities to investigate claims that workers at a components manufacturing plant were fired for protected activities and blocked from joining outside unions.

  • July 25, 2024

    Cable Group Says Funds May Cover Less Under BEAD Rules

    The funds the Biden administration has put into the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment Program should be enough to get most eligible locations connected if the National Telecommunications and Information Administration doesn't set any mandates on how much that service will cost after it's there, a cable trade group says.

  • July 25, 2024

    Pentagon Panel To Review Wounded Knee Medals Of Honor

    The U.S. Department of Defense will evaluate about 20 Medals of Honor awarded after the 1890 Wounded Knee conflict in South Dakota to ensure that no U.S. Army soldier was recognized with the nation's highest military accolade for inconsistent conduct.

  • July 25, 2024

    Defense Teams' Solidarity Key In Hawaii DA's Acquittal

    California federal prosecutors' bribery case against a prosecutor, a businessman and an outside counsel collapsed after no defendant turned state's evidence and one even testified for the defense, showing the value of presenting a unified front, the winning lawyers said.

  • July 25, 2024

    Lawmakers Take Stab At Energy Permitting As Election Looms

    U.S. Senate energy committee leaders have proposed legislation that would significantly overhaul energy project infrastructure permitting, but it faces a sharply divided Congress made even more daunting by a presidential election this fall. With an initial markup scheduled for Wednesday, here are some key takeaways.

  • July 25, 2024

    Solvay Wants Arkema To Cover Some Of NJ PFAS Deal

    Solvay Specialty Polymers USA LLC said it plans to ask a New Jersey state judge to lift a 3-year-old stay so it can seek contributions from Arkema Inc. for the remediation of forever chemical pollution stemming from a West Deptford facility.

  • July 25, 2024

    California Disses Chamber's Climate Compliance Attack

    The state of California on Wednesday slammed the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's attempt to block the state's corporate climate disclosure rules before discovery opened in the Chamber's suit, arguing it should be allowed a chance to disprove the group's "vague and unsubstantiated" claims.

  • July 25, 2024

    Trade Commission Affirms Pea Protein Import Harms

    The U.S. International Trade Commission voted unanimously Thursday to find that pea protein imports from China have harmed the domestic industry, clearing the U.S. Department of Commerce to levy antidumping and countervailing duties on the goods.

  • July 25, 2024

    1st Circ. Leery Of Fishing Industry Challenge To Wind Farm

    A First Circuit panel on Thursday appeared unlikely to disturb a district court's rulings affirming a series of approvals for a massive wind farm off the coast of Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket, questioning procedural claims by fishing industry groups and whether they have standing to sue.

  • July 25, 2024

    SEC Says Consensys 'Rushed To Court' Over Probe Notice

    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has argued cryptocurrency firm Consensys improperly "rushed to court" to head off an enforcement action alleging certain products require brokerage registration.

  • July 25, 2024

    Edible Cannabis Co. Can't Revive RFID Tag Case

    A Colorado state judge has said he won't let a company that makes edible cannabis continue to challenge the state's mandated use of radio frequency identification tracking tags, concluding that a senior enforcement official's statement at a rulemaking hearing was not a final action the company could appeal.

  • July 25, 2024

    DA Says Trump Immunity Ruling Doesn't Affect NY Convictions

    Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg told a New York judge Thursday that the U.S. Supreme Court's presidential immunity ruling has no bearing on Donald Trump's fraud conviction in his hush-money case since the charges relate to unofficial acts.

  • July 25, 2024

    Conn.'s Added Tax On Warranties Called Double Taxation

    The Connecticut state tax commissioner's levy of an additional tax on extended vehicle warranties connected to out-of-state vehicle sales is double taxation because the warranties are already taxed by the buyer's home state, a Connecticut-based auto wholesaler told a state trial court.

  • July 25, 2024

    Justices Urged To Hear Red State Bid To End Climate Torts

    Industry groups and conservative think tanks urged the U.S. Supreme Court to take up a novel request by 19 Republican-led states to nix climate change torts brought by rival state governments against fossil fuel companies, arguing the rival states' claims violate the constitutional bounds of state authority.

  • July 25, 2024

    Advocacy Group Pushes FCC For Hearing On Fox TV License

    An advocacy group accusing a Philadelphia Fox television station of knowingly airing harmful conspiracy theories following the 2020 election has told the Federal Communications Commission the group has collected more than 25,000 signatures from people saying the agency should grant a hearing on the subject of yanking the station's license.

  • July 25, 2024

    Alaska Sues To Block Federal Land Conservation Rule

    The state of Alaska is challenging a Bureau of Land Management rule that aims to conserve and protect public lands, saying the "vast majority" of the rule isn't allowed under state and federal law because of how it prioritizes "ecosystem resilience" over longtime policies.

  • July 25, 2024

    ​​​​​​​Justices Urged To Revisit FCC Fund After 5th Circ. Ruling

    Free-market groups asked the U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday to take another look at their challenge to the Federal Communications Commission's low-income and rural subsidy programs after the Fifth Circuit ruled the system was unconstitutional.

  • July 25, 2024

    GOP States Win Reprieve From Title IX Gender Identity Rule

    The U.S. Department of Education can't enforce its new interpretation of Title IX expanding LGBTQ+ rights against six states challenging the regulations, a Missouri federal judge ruled, saying the federal agency's interpretation of the statute isn't owed any deference under recent U.S. Supreme Court precedent.

  • July 25, 2024

    Dems' Bill Looks To Prevent Collusion With OPEC

    A pair of Democrats in the House and Senate on environmental committees introduced a bill Wednesday to punish fossil fuel companies that collude with OPEC to increase prices.

  • July 25, 2024

    Pot Rescheduling Could 'Compromise' Transit Drug Testing

    Federal traffic investigators are urging the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration to tread carefully should it move forward with rescheduling marijuana, saying any policy change must allow for drug testing of airline pilots, truck drivers and other "safety-sensitive" transportation jobs.

  • July 25, 2024

    Warren Slams Fed Chief For Inaction On Bank Exec Pay

    Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., urged the Federal Reserve's top official to support rulemaking that would restrict incentive-based pay for executives at big banks, a long-overdue policy change that Congress required in the 2010 Dodd-Frank Act.

  • July 25, 2024

    CFPB Wary Of 'Junk Fees' As Lunch Money Goes Digital

    The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau on Thursday flagged concerns about "junk fees" that school-contracted payment processors are charging parents to put money on their children's cafeteria accounts, casting it as part of a broader trend toward more digital payments in school settings.

Expert Analysis

  • Dissecting Treasury's Call For Input On AI In Financial Sector

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    The U.S. Department of the Treasury's request for comments on the potential benefits and challenges AI may pose to the financial services sector, which asks how stakeholders are addressing and mitigating increased fraud risks, reflects the federal government's continued interest in AI's effects across the economy, say attorneys at Hogan Lovells.

  • The Rise Of State And Local Environmental Leadership

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    While Congress is deadlocked, and a U.S. Supreme Court with a hostility toward the administrative state aggressively dismantles federal environmental oversight, state and local governments are stepping up with policies to shape a more sustainable future for all species, says Jonathan Rosenbloom at Albany Law School.

  • Opinion

    The FTC Needs To Challenge The Novo-Catalent Deal

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    Novo's acquisition of Catalent threatens to substantially lessen competition in the manufacturing and marketing of GLP-1 diabetes and obesity drugs, and the Federal Trade Commission should challenge it under a vertical theory of harm, as it aligns with last year's merger guidelines and the Fifth Circuit decision in Illumina, says attorney David Balto.

  • Series

    After Chevron: Slowing Down AI In Medical Research

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision overturning the Chevron doctrine may inhibit agencies' regulatory efforts, potentially slowing down the approval and implementation of artificial intelligence-driven methodologies in medical research, as well as regulators' responses to public health emergencies, say Ragini Acharya and Matthew Deutsch at Husch Blackwell.

  • Opinion

    Conception Is The Proper Test For AI-Assisted Inventions

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    The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office should adopt the conception standard for reviewing AI-assisted inventions, and require the disclosure of artificial intelligence prompts and responses because they are material to patentability, which would then simplify the patent examiner’s invention decision, says Thomas Hamlin at Robins Kaplan.

  • A Closer Look At New SDNY And EDNY Local Rules

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    New local rules in the U.S. District Courts for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York went into effect earlier this month, and include both stylistic changes to make legal writing more accessible, and substantive changes to make processes and filings more efficient, say Andrew Van Houter and Jennifer Montan at Faegre Drinker.

  • Avoiding Legal Ethics Landmines In Preindictment Meetings

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    U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez's recent bribery conviction included obstruction charges based on his former lawyer's preindictment presentation to prosecutors, highlighting valuable lessons on the legal ethics rules implicated in these kinds of defense presentations, say Steve Miller and Hilary Gerzhoy at HWG.

  • Series

    Being A Luthier Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    When I’m not working as an appellate lawyer, I spend my spare time building guitars — a craft known as luthiery — which has helped to enhance the discipline, patience and resilience needed to write better briefs, says Rob Carty at Nichols Brar.

  • Series

    After Chevron: Uncertainty In Scope Of ITC Oversight

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    The U.S. International Trade Commission's long-standing jurisprudence on some of the most disputed and controversial issues is likely to be reshaped by the Federal Circuit, which is no longer bound by Chevron deference in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s Loper Bright decision, say Kecia Reynolds and Madeleine Moss at Paul Hastings.

  • Half-Truths Vs. Omissions: Slicing Justices' Macquarie Cake

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's recent ruling in Macquarie v. Moab provides a road map for determining whether corporate reports that omit information should be considered misleading — and the court baked it into a dessert analogy that is key to understanding the guidelines, say Daniel Levy and Pavithra Kumar at Advanced Analytical Consulting Group.

  • FDA's Multifaceted Role On Display In MDMA Therapy Scrutiny

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    Ongoing deliberations at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration regarding MDMA-assisted therapy for post-traumatic stress disorder serves as a window into the intricate balance of scientific innovation and patient safety oversight, and offers crucial insights into regulatory nuances, say Kimberly Chew at Husch Blackwell and Kevin Lanzo at Pharmaka Clinical Consulting.

  • Lead Like 'Ted Lasso' By Embracing Cognitive Diversity

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    The Apple TV+ series “Ted Lasso” aptly illustrates how embracing cognitive diversity can be a winning strategy for teams, providing a useful lesson for law firms, which can benefit significantly from fresh, diverse perspectives and collaborative problem-solving, says Paul Manuele at PR Manuele Consulting.

  • Preparing For Increased Scrutiny Of Tech Supply Chains

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    The U.S. Department of Commerce's recent action prohibiting sales of a Russia-based technology company's products in the U.S. is the first determination under the information technology supply chain rule, and signals plans to increase enforcement of protections that target companies in designated foreign adversary jurisdictions, say attorneys at Debevoise.

  • Chevron's End Puts Target On CFPB's Aggressive BNPL Rule

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    A recent interpretative rule by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, subjecting buy-now, pay-later loans to the same regulations as credit cards, is unlikely to survive post-Chevron challenges of the rule's partisan and shaky logic, say Scott Pearson and Bryan Schneider at Manatt.

  • Boeing Plea Deal Is A Mixed Bag, Providing Lessons For Cos.

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    The plea deal for conspiracy to defraud regulators that Boeing has tentatively agreed to will, on the one hand, probably help the company avoid further reputational damage, but also demonstrates to companies that deferred prosecution agreements have real teeth, and that noncompliance with DPA terms can be costly, says Edmund Vickers at Red Lion Chambers.

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