Try our Advanced Search for more refined results
Public Policy
-
June 21, 2024
Rebar Co. Says Feds Spurned Data For Info 'On The Internet'
A Turkish rebar company pressed the U.S. Court of International Trade to order U.S. trade officials to reassess its countervailing duties, saying officials incorrectly excluded a commissioned study from the review for a report posted online.
-
June 21, 2024
Ex-Mass. Pol Hit With New Charges In COVID Fraud Case
A former Massachusetts state senator already accused of pandemic-related fraud has been charged alongside his sister with attempting to cover up a scheme to make him eligible for unemployment benefits, the U.S. attorney's office announced Friday.
-
June 21, 2024
6th Circ. Says Counties Not On Hook For Mich. Dam Collapse
A Sixth Circuit panel agreed that two Michigan counties can't be forced to compensate homeowners for destructive flooding caused by a dam's collapse, finding Thursday that the counties did not cause the damage to the homeowners' properties.
-
June 21, 2024
Sens. Introduce 'Complementary' Bill To TikTok Ban
A bipartisan bill introduced Thursday would require websites and apps to disclose to their users if they are owned wholly or partially by China, North Korea, Russia or Iran or if data collected through those sites or apps is accessible to those countries.
-
June 21, 2024
5 ERISA Cases To Watch In 2024's Second Half
The U.S. Department of Labor will be playing defense in the second half of 2024, battling injunction bids in Texas seeking to halt the agency's recently finalized retirement security regulations, as well as fighting to uphold a DOL rule tackling social and environmental factors in retirement plan investment decisions. Here, Law360 looks at five Employee Retirement Income Security Act cases that attorneys say they will have on their radar.
-
June 21, 2024
Feds Offer $850M To Slash Methane From Oil And Gas
The Biden administration on Friday unveiled the latest prong of its multifaceted plan to cut methane emissions from the oil and gas sector: $850 million worth of federal funding for projects that monitor, measure and reduce emissions from oil and gas infrastructure.
-
June 21, 2024
High Court Opens Expert Testimony Basis To Confrontation
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Friday that Arizona prosecutors may have violated a criminal defendant's Sixth Amendment right to confront witnesses testifying against him by presenting a substitute expert witness at trial, and sent the case back down to state court for further proceedings.
-
June 21, 2024
Justices Keep Domestic Abusers Disarmed, Clarify Bruen
The U.S. Supreme Court rejected a Texas man's constitutional challenge to a federal law prohibiting people subject to domestic violence restraining orders from possessing firearms Friday, providing limited guidance to lower courts on how to apply the high court's Second Amendment historical analogue test.
-
June 21, 2024
Justices Strengthen Jury Trial Rights For Stiffer Sentences
The constitutional rights to due process and trial by jury extend to a pivotal prong of a prominent sentencing enhancement for recidivism, the U.S. Supreme Court held in a Friday decision that casts doubt on many incarcerations and promises to reshape future trials.
-
June 21, 2024
Justices Say No Feds, No Dice In Texas-NM Water Deal
The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday ruled that Texas, New Mexico and Colorado improperly excluded the federal government from an agreement that resolved a Rio Grande water sharing dispute, rejecting the states' argument that the conflict was theirs alone to settle.
-
June 20, 2024
TikTok Says Alternatives To 'Dangerous' Ban Were Ignored
TikTok said Thursday that federal lawmakers likely didn't even consider its "exhaustive, multi-year efforts" to address national security concerns before deciding to ban the social media platform, slamming the law as "unprecedented" and warning that it sets "a dangerous precedent."
-
June 20, 2024
Del. House Sends Controversial Corp. Law Changes To Gov.
Delaware legislation that would allow corporate boards to cede some governance rights to chosen stockholders cleared the state's House by a wide margin late Thursday, heading to Gov. John Carney after debate that saw dire predictions for either outcome.
-
June 20, 2024
Colo. Prosecutor Says Ex-DA Undermined Her Leadership
An elected Colorado prosecutor facing disciplinary charges regarding her handling of a high-profile murder case pushed back on charges she was a negligent manager, telling a disciplinary panel Thursday she inherited a backlog of cases from a predecessor she said tried to undermine her office.
-
June 20, 2024
Menendez Jury Sees Slides Lowell Presented To SDNY Brass
Sen. Robert Menendez's lawyers grilled a witness in his bribery trial Thursday about a meeting in which Abbe Lowell, the politician's ex-lawyer, tried to convince U.S. Attorney Damian Williams not to indict Menendez — but were stymied by flurries of objections.
-
June 20, 2024
Ex-DEA Heads Echo GOP AGs' Call For Pot Rescheduling Hearing
A group of former U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration leaders and Republican attorneys general have formally requested administrative hearings on the U.S. attorney general's proposal to reschedule cannabis, according to separate letters sent this week that distinctly echo each other.
-
June 20, 2024
Patent Owners, Challengers Spar Over PTAB Rule Proposal
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's scaled-back package of Patent Trial and Appeal Board rules has drawn a mixed reaction from legal and industry groups, which offered praise and concern about both the proposal and the topics it does not address.
-
June 20, 2024
5th Circ. Starts Clock For Redo Bid In CFPB Payday Rule Case
The Fifth Circuit said Wednesday that payday lender trade groups will have an opportunity to ask for another shot at litigating the validity of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's payday lending rule after their constitutional challenge fell flat at the U.S. Supreme Court.
-
June 20, 2024
Trump Calls For Engoron's Recusal In Civil Fraud Case
Former President Donald Trump and other defendants fighting a $465 million civil fraud judgment called on New York Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron to recuse himself Thursday in light of a once-suspended real estate attorney's recent judicial misconduct claims, which have since sparked a judicial investigation.
-
June 20, 2024
FDIC Expands Requirements For Big-Bank Resolution Plans
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. on Thursday adopted expanded resolution-planning requirements for large banks and approved a measure intended to cut down on delays in the agency's handling of bank merger applications.
-
June 20, 2024
Colo.'s Opt-Out Interest Rate Law Halted In Trade Group Suit
A Colorado federal judge has temporarily barred the state from imposing more restrictive interest rate caps on consumer loans made by banks located outside of Colorado, siding with a coalition of lending groups seeking to invalidate a 2023 law aimed at reining in high-cost online loans.
-
June 20, 2024
Wash. Justices Renew AG's Suit Over Police Eviction Claims
Washington's highest court said the state attorney general could sue a city for allegedly letting police illegally evict vulnerable residents under the guise of a crime prevention program, ruling Thursday the case involved issues of public concern such as protecting residents' civil rights and preventing police misconduct.
-
June 20, 2024
7th Circ. Won't Dig Excavator Out Of Kickback Conviction
The Seventh Circuit ruled a former Illinois excavation company employee who was sentenced to five years in prison for paying a former commissioner kickbacks in exchange for inflated invoice payments was not prejudiced by the government's belated disclosure of notes from a cooperating witness.
-
June 20, 2024
Web-Tracking Guidance Exceeded HHS' Authority, Judge Says
A Texas federal judge ordered the Biden administration Thursday to rescind its new guidance restricting hospitals' use of online tracking technology, declaring that federal officials had overstepped their authority by redefining what they consider protected health information.
-
June 20, 2024
Judge Flags Iowa's Blocked Immigration Law In Texas Battle
The Texas federal judge overseeing the Biden administration's challenge to a state law authorizing the deportation of noncitizens urged the parties to inform the Fifth Circuit of an order blocking Iowa's similar law, anticipating an Eighth Circuit review of Iowa's defeat.
-
June 20, 2024
GM's Cruise To Pay Calif. $112K Fine Over Robotaxi Crash
Cruise LLC agreed to pay a $112,500 penalty for mishandling its response to an October accident involving a pedestrian and one of its autonomous vehicles, and promised to disclose additional data on any collisions to California regulators under a settlement agreement approved Thursday.
Expert Analysis
-
Breaking Down EPA's Rule On PFAS In Drinking Water
Last week, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency finalized the first enforceable federal drinking water regulation for PFAS, which, along with reporting and compliance requirements for regulated entities, will have a number of indirect effects, including increased cleanup costs and the possible expansion of existing Superfund sites, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.
-
Potential Unintended Consequences Of NY Sovereign Debt Bill
New York lawmakers recently proposed a law to create a framework for restructuring sovereign debt, but there are concerns that the bill will increase financing costs and that it attempts to solve problems that have largely been dealt with by collective action clauses, say Jeffrey Rothleder and Tara Peramatukorn at Squire Patton.
-
The Art Of Asking: Leveraging Your Contacts For Referrals
Though attorneys may hesitate to ask for referral recommendations to generate new business, research shows that people want to help others they know, like and trust, so consider who in your network you should approach and how to make the ask, says Rebecca Hnatowski at Edwards Advisory.
-
Expect An Increase In Robinson-Patman Act Enforcement
Recent actions by the Federal Trade Commission and prominent lawmakers should be viewed as a harbinger of renewed scrutiny of price discrimination in all industries and a sign that Robinson-Patman Act investigations and enforcement actions are likely to see an uptick, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.
-
The Drawbacks Of Banking Regulators' Merger Review Plans
Recent proposals for bank merger review criteria by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. share common pitfalls: increased likelihood of delays, uncertainties, and new hurdles to transactions that could impede the long-term safety and soundness of the banks involved, say attorneys at WilmerHale.
-
Opinion
The FTC's Noncompete Rule Is Likely Dead On Arrival
The Federal Trade Commission's April 23 noncompete ban ignores the consequences to the employees it claims to help — but the rule is unlikely to go into effect provided the ideological makeup of the U.S. Supreme Court remains the same, say Erik Weibust and Stuart Gerson at Epstein Becker.
-
Wave Of Final Rules Reflects Race Against CRA Deadline
The flurry of final rules now leaping off the Federal Register press — some of which will affect entire industries and millions of Americans — shows President Joe Biden's determination to protect his regulatory legacy from reversal by the next Congress, given the impending statutory look-back period under the Congressional Review Act, say attorneys at Jenner & Block.
-
Unpacking The Bill To Extend TCJA's Biz-Friendly Tax Breaks
Attorneys at Skadden examine how a bipartisan bill currently being considered by the U.S. Senate to save the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act's tax breaks for research and development costs, and other expiring business-friendly provisions, would affect taxpayers.
-
'Beauty From Within' Trend Poses Regulatory Risks For Cos.
Companies capitalizing on the current trend in oral supplements touting cosmetic benefits must note that a product claim that would be acceptable for an externally applied cosmetic may draw much stronger scrutiny from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration when applied to a supplement, say Natalie Rainer and Katherine Staba at K&L Gates.
-
Perspectives
Criminal Defendants Should Have Access To Foreign Evidence
A New Jersey federal court recently ordered prosecutors to obtain evidence from India on behalf of the former Cognizant Technology executives they’re prosecuting — a precedent that other courts should follow to make cross-border evidentiary requests more fair and efficient, say Kaylana Mueller-Hsia and Rebecca Wexler at UC Berkeley School of Law.
-
How Cos. Can Prep For New Calif. Privacy Regulations
The California Privacy Protection Agency has been very active in the first quarter of 2024 and continues to exercise its rulemaking authority with proposed draft regulations, so retailers should prepare for California Consumer Privacy Act enforcement and figure out how best to comply, say attorneys at Dentons.
-
Fed. Circ. Defines Foreign IP Damages, Raises New Questions
In Brumfield v. IBG, the Federal Circuit recently clarified which standard determines the extraterritoriality of the patent statute after the U.S. Supreme Court's WesternGeco decision, opening a new avenue of damages for foreign activities resulting from certain domestic activities while also creating some thorny questions, say Amol Parikh and Ian Howard at McDermott.
-
EPA Chemical Safety Rule Raises Questions About Authority
Stakeholders should consider the practical and economic costs of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's recently finalized rule imposing novel board reporting regulations for certain chemical plants and refineries, which signals that the agency may seek a role in regulating corporate governance, say attorneys at Sidley.
-
Series
Being An Equestrian Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Beyond getting experience thinking on my feet and tackling stressful situations, the skills I've gained from horseback riding have considerable overlap with the skills used to practice law, particularly in terms of team building, continuing education, and making an effort to reset and recharge, says Kerry Irwin at Moore & Van Allen.
-
Bracing For The CFPB's War On Mortgage Fees
As the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau homes in on the legality of certain residential mortgage fees, the industry should consult the bureau's steady stream of consumer lending guidance for hints on its priorities, say Nanci Weissgold and Melissa Malpass at Alston & Bird.