Public Policy

  • March 21, 2024

    Gun Rights Org., Pa. DA Seek To Block Pot Patients' Gun Ban

    A Pennsylvania prosecutor and a gun rights organization have asked a federal judge to block enforcement of policies that prohibit licensed medical marijuana patients from owning firearms, saying the ban violates the patients' Second Amendment rights.

  • March 21, 2024

    Business Coalition Rebuffs Biden Plan To Seize Drug Patents

    The Biden administration's proposal to exercise so-called march-in rights to seize drug patents would harm innovation in the U.S., according to an assemblage of business-focused groups.

  • March 21, 2024

    Trump's Mystery Docket: Inside NY's Secretive Filing System

    The first criminal indictment of a former American president may have arrived in 21st century New York, but it landed in a court system stuck in the past — where the official record is a disorganized and incomplete mass of paper with no accounting of what's inside.

  • March 21, 2024

    Pa. Justices Won't Review If 'Skill Games' Are Gambling

    The Pennsylvania Supreme Court's decision not to hear an appeal from state officials contesting the legality of Pennsylvania Skill games, which are commonly found in bars and restaurants, lets stand a ruling that such games are not illegal gambling machines.

  • March 21, 2024

    UN Could Enhance Global Tax Agenda Setting, Officials Say

    The United Nations could play an important role in shaping the agenda for global tax negotiations so it better reflects the priorities and concerns of developing countries, a variety of tax officials said Thursday during a conference.

  • March 21, 2024

    Cos. Push For Held-Up Power Line Through Wildlife Refuge

    Power companies and the U.S. government are asking a Wisconsin federal judge to reject conservation groups' bid to block a land swap allowing the Cardinal-Hickory Creek transmission line to cross the Upper Mississippi National Wildlife and Fish Refuge, with the judge putting any execution of the deal temporarily on hold in advance of a Friday hearing.

  • March 21, 2024

    Exxon Wants Mass. Oil Purchase Docs In Greenwashing Suit

    The Massachusetts attorney general's office told a judge Thursday that Exxon Mobil Corp. is attempting to relitigate already-barred defenses in an alleged "greenwashing" case by seeking documents from at least a dozen state agencies, including ones concerning decisions by those agencies to purchase the energy company's products.

  • March 21, 2024

    FTC Says Retailers Used Pandemic To Boost Profits, Power

    The Federal Trade Commission said Thursday that some grocery retailers appear to have used their market power to avoid supply disruptions during the COVID-19 pandemic and that grocery prices remain high because companies used rising costs as an opportunity to boost profits.

  • March 21, 2024

    Trade Court Says Glycine Duty Suits Are Too Different To Combine

    The U.S. Court of International Trade refused to consolidate a Texas glycine producer's two challenges to the U.S. Department of Commerce's handling of separate scope ruling requests, saying the lawsuits weren't similar enough to hear at once.

  • March 21, 2024

    DOL Urges 5th Circ. To Back Biden Admin. ESG Investing Rule

    The U.S. Department of Labor urged the Fifth Circuit on Thursday to uphold a rule allowing retirement advisers to consider social issues such as climate change when choosing investments, arguing that conservative states challenging the rule haven't shown it defies federal benefits law.

  • March 21, 2024

    FERC Nominees Carefully Walk Climate Line In Senate Hearing

    Federal Energy Regulatory Commission nominees on Thursday told a U.S. Senate panel that the agency isn't a climate change regulator, but they didn't close the door on FERC ever considering climate impacts in its decision making either.

  • March 21, 2024

    Top NJ Lawmakers Vow To Address Ballot Design Dispute

    With a contentious lawsuit about ballot layouts for the New Jersey primary election making its way through federal court, top Democratic and Republican state lawmakers issued an unusual joint public statement this week saying that the legislature should determine ballot design and that they would launch a "public process" on redesign.

  • March 21, 2024

    Bus Co. Will Halt Immigrant Transport To NY During Litigation

    Transportation company Roadrunner Charters will stop transporting immigrants from Texas to New York City during a lawsuit in which the city's Department of Social Services is trying to recoup $708 million for providing emergency services to the new arrivals.

  • March 21, 2024

    IRS Proposes Exceptions For 3rd-Party Summons Notices

    The IRS proposed rules Thursday that would allow some exceptions to a requirement that the agency notify taxpayers within 45 days before issuing summonses to third parties in tax assessment and collection cases, including for certain time-sensitive examinations.

  • March 21, 2024

    Biden's Judicial Nominees Face New Barriers

    President Joe Biden is encountering new hurdles to placing his judicial nominees on the bench, particularly one who would be the first Muslim federal appellate judge if confirmed.

  • March 21, 2024

    Meet The Bar Vet And 'Good Listener' Picked For Mass. Bench

    With a resume that ranges from a stint as a public defender to work on a multibillion-dollar Ponzi scheme suit, the Biden administration's latest pick for the Massachusetts federal bench has impressed former colleagues with his experience and sound temperament — even his mathematical chops.

  • March 21, 2024

    New Suit Aims To Block Immigration Fee Hikes

    The Biden administration is facing a new lawsuit over its controversial immigration fee increases for employers, with an immigrant investor, an investors' advocacy group and a technology trade group alleging the administration failed to adequately justify the fee hikes.

  • March 21, 2024

    8th Circ. Wins SEC Climate Rule Litigation Lottery

    The wave of cases against the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's recently finalized climate disclosure rules will be consolidated and proceed in the Eighth Circuit, the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation ordered Thursday, after the agency requested a random draw.

  • March 21, 2024

    Wyden Probes Swiss Bank's Ties To Billionaire Under Scrutiny

    The Senate Finance Committee's Democratic majority launched an inquiry into Swiss bank Pictet Group's involvement with a U.S. billionaire under criminal investigation, raising questions about the bank's deferred prosecution agreement and $123 million fine by the U.S. Justice Department, committee Chairman Ron Wyden announced Thursday.

  • March 21, 2024

    Sen. Menendez's Wife Keeps Attys After Feds Allege Conflict

    Nadine Menendez, the wife of New Jersey's U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez, told a Manhattan federal judge Thursday that she will stick with her Schertler Onorato Mead & Sears LLP lawyers ahead of their corruption trial after prosecutors alleged an ethical conflict.

  • March 21, 2024

    6th Circ. Judge Doubts Challenge To $39B Student Debt Relief

    A Sixth Circuit judge was skeptical Thursday that two libertarian think tanks had shown the Biden administration's plan to wipe out billions of dollars in student loan debt puts them at a disadvantage to recruit indebted lawyers, saying the groups didn't fully explain who they were competing against.

  • March 21, 2024

    DA Rips Trump For 'Wild' Accusations Over Late Documents

    The Manhattan district attorney is pushing back on claims of misconduct from former President Donald Trump's legal team as the two sides spar over the late production of thousands of pages of documents that have cast doubt on the timing of his hush-money trial.

  • March 21, 2024

    EBSA Gets Level Funding Of $191.1M In Spending Deal

    Spending leaders in the House and Senate agreed Thursday to provide $191.1 million in fiscal year 2024 for the U.S. Department of Labor's sub-agency overseeing employee benefits, a level that's identical to what lawmakers agreed to last fiscal year.

  • March 21, 2024

    USPTO Expands Types Of E-Signatures Allowed For Patents

    The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office will allow filers to sign patent documents using a wider range of third-party electronic signature platforms, including DocuSign and Acrobat Sign, starting Friday.

  • March 21, 2024

    Lawmakers Eye Permanent Status For 10 Federal Judgeships

    A bipartisan group of federal lawmakers has put forward bills in the Senate and House that would make 10 temporary district judgeships permanent in 10 states including Texas, Florida and California.

Expert Analysis

  • Why Fla. High Court Adopting Apex Doctrine Is Monumental

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    The Florida Supreme Court recently solidified the apex doctrine in the Sunshine State, an important development that extends the scope of the doctrine in the state to include both corporate and government officials, and formalizes the requirements for a high-level corporate official to challenge a request for a deposition, says Laura Renstrom at Holland & Knight.

  • Why Biz Groups Disagree On Ending Chevron Deference

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    Two amicus briefs filed in advance of last month's U.S. Supreme Court oral arguments in Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo highlight contrasting views on whether the doctrine of Chevron deference promotes or undermines the stable regulatory environment that businesses require, say Wyatt Kendall and Sydney Brogden at Morris Manning.

  • US-Chile Tax Treaty May Encourage Cross-Border Investment

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    Provisions in the recently effective U.S.-Chile bilateral income tax treaty should encourage business between the two countries, as they reduce U.S. withholding tax on investment income for Chilean taxpayers, exempt certain U.S. taxpayers from Chilean capital gains tax, and clarify U.S. foreign tax credit rules, say attorneys at Kramer Levin.

  • SEC Regs Give Banks Chance To Step Up Cyber Safety Game

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    Just as the Sarbanes-Oxley Act forced financial institutions to undertake best practices in recordkeeping, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s recently effective cybersecurity regulations stand to similarly drive those same enterprises to seek out and implement best practices in cybersecurity, to everyone's benefit, says James Gerber at SimSpace.

  • A Look Ahead For The Electric Vehicle Charging Industry

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    This will likely be an eventful year for the electric vehicle market as government efforts to accelerate their adoption inevitably clash with backlash from supporters of the petroleum industry, say Rue Phillips at SkillFusion and Enid Joffe at Green Paradigm Consulting.

  • Opinion

    Oregon Law Would Compromise Management Service Orgs

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    If passed, a proposed Oregon law would materially limit physician corporate practice of medicine structures, causing significant disruption to the provision of medicine and hindering professional corporations' ability to focus on the clinical components of their practice, say Christina Bergeron and William Shefelman at Ropes & Gray.

  • A Post-Mortem Analysis Of Stroock's Demise

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    After the dissolution of 147-year-old firm Stroock late last year shook up the legal world, a post-mortem analysis of the data reveals a long list of warning signs preceding the firm’s collapse — and provides some insight into how other firms might avoid the same disastrous fate, says Craig Savitzky at Leopard Solutions.

  • How DOD Can Improve Flexibility Under Proposed Cyber Rule

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    The U.S. Department of Defense should carefully address some of the more nuanced aspects of the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification program to avoid unintended consequences, specifically the proposal to severely limit contractor use of plans of actions and milestones, say Joshua Duvall at Maynard Nexsen and Sandeep Kathuria at L3Harris Technologies.

  • Reassessing Trade Secrets Amid Proposed Noncompete Ban

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    The Federal Trade Commission's proposed ban on noncompete agreements as well as state bans make it prudent for businesses to reevaluate and reinvigorate approaches to trade secret protection, including knowing what information employees are providing to vendors, and making sure confidentiality agreements are put in place before information is shared, says Rob Jensen at Wolf Greenfield.

  • Predicting DeFi Regulations At Home And Abroad In 2024

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    Though decentralized finance has advocates on both sides of the Atlantic in figures like U.S. SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce and U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, DeFi in 2024 seems likely to be folded into existing regulatory frameworks in the U.K. and EU, while anti-crypto scrutiny may discourage DeFi’s growth in the U.S., say Daniel Csefalvay and Eric Martin at BCLP.

  • Opinion

    Exxon Court Should Clarify Shareholder Proposal Exclusion

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    ExxonMobil last month took the unusual action of asking a Texas federal judge whether a proposal from climate activists seeking to limit oil and gas sales could be excluded from its 2024 proxy statement, and the court should use this opportunity to reevaluate SEC policy and set clear limits on when shareholder proposals can be included, says Stephen Bainbridge at UCLA School of Law.

  • Mitigating The Risk Of Post-Closing M&A Earnout Disputes

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    Today's uncertain deal environment makes a well-crafted earnout an excellent way for parties to accomplish a desired transaction that would not otherwise occur, but transacting parties also need to take key steps to avoid the risk of post-closing disputes that earnouts can present, say Chad Barton and Claire Lydiard at Holland & Knight.

  • NYC Cos. Must Prepare For Increased Sick Leave Liability

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    A recent amendment to New York City's sick leave law authorizes employees for the first time to sue their employers for violations — so employers should ensure their policies and practices are compliant now to avoid the crosshairs of litigation once the law takes effect in March, says Melissa Camire at Fisher Phillips.

  • Understanding SEC's Focus Amid Lack Of Final AI Rules

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    Although the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's proposed rules to govern artificial intelligence are likely far from being finalized, understanding existing regulatory provisions that could address AI risks with respect to development, disclosure, compliance and data protection could help firms anticipate and avoid pitfalls, say attorneys at Skadden.

  • What's On The Horizon In Attorney General Enforcement

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    A look at recent attorney general actions, especially in the areas of antitrust and artificial intelligence, can help inform businesses on what they should expect in terms of enforcement trends as 10 attorney general races play out in 2024, say attorneys at Cozen O'Connor.

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