Public Policy

  • April 30, 2024

    Colo. Beats Challenge To Fees In Transportation Funding Law

    A conservative group has not shown that fees passed in a 2021 transportation funding package in Colorado exceeded the legislature's taxing authority, a state judge said, throwing out the group's challenge to the fees.

  • April 30, 2024

    EPA Chief Faces House Appropriators Hostile To Agency Regs

    Former Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke grilled U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Michael Regan at a congressional budget hearing Tuesday, telling him a new coal-fired power plant emissions rule threatens to increase ratepayer costs.

  • April 30, 2024

    5th Circ. Backs La. Enviro Dept. In Gas Facility Permit Dispute

    A Fifth Circuit panel upheld the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality's permitting decision for a liquefied natural gas export facility, rejecting concerns raised by the Sierra Club that the facility's emissions will surpass national ambient air quality standards.

  • April 30, 2024

    Sens. Warn Of Crypto's Role In Helping Russia Skirt Sanctions

    Two U.S. senators have asked multiple government agencies for additional information on what authorities regulators may have to block rogue foreign actors' growing use of cryptocurrency like Tether to skirt U.S. sanctions, which is posing a threat to national security.

  • April 30, 2024

    3rd Circ. Denies Rehearing In Pa. Mail-In Ballot Case

    The Third Circuit has rejected a do-over of its decision not to count Pennsylvania mail-in ballots with missing or incorrect dates on their outer envelopes, denying a request from voting rights groups for a rehearing Tuesday.

  • April 30, 2024

    8th Circ. Orders BASF Damages Trial In Herbicide Row

    An Eighth Circuit panel on Tuesday once again directed a Missouri federal court to hold a trial to assess punitive damages for BASF Corp. in litigation alleging the sale of herbicide-resistant seeds led to the destruction of a farm's peach trees when herbicide drifted from neighboring farms.

  • April 30, 2024

    6th Circ. Nominee Denies Ethics Accusations Again

    A nominee for the Sixth Circuit provided more detail to bolster his denial of claims of ethical misconduct during his time as a prosecutor, as outlined in a follow-up questionnaire.

  • April 30, 2024

    Kimmel Calls Mocking Santos' Cameo Vids 'Classic' Fair Use

    Late-night TV host Jimmy Kimmel has urged a Manhattan federal court to toss a copyright complaint from indicted former congressman George Santos over Cameo clips the comedian tricked him into making for fodder on his show, saying videos to "mock a controversial political figure" are a "quintessential example" of fair use.

  • April 30, 2024

    Feds Endorse Easing Marijuana Status In Big Policy Shift

    Federal drug enforcers will recommend loosening restrictions on cannabis for the first time since the drug was made federally illegal decades ago, the U.S. Department of Justice announced Tuesday.

  • April 30, 2024

    IRS Updates Guidance For Clean Jet Fuel Tax Credits

    The Internal Revenue Service released guidance Tuesday that updated an environmental model that manufacturers of a low-carbon alternative to conventional jet fuel, such as ethanol, can use to qualify for a new tax credit and provided a safe harbor for producers to meet the incentive's requirements.

  • April 30, 2024

    FTC Says Novant Wants Court To Ignore Local Competition

    Novant Health can't ask a federal judge to ignore evidence that buying two North Carolina hospitals will stymie competition in the region just because those facilities are supposedly struggling and the proposed deal might shore up resources, the Federal Trade Commission said in a brief doubling down on its bid to block the $320 million buyout.

  • April 30, 2024

    New Florida Moms To Be Excused From Jury Duty

    Florida women who have recently given birth will soon be excused from jury duty, with Gov. Ron DeSantis signing a bipartisan bill into law last week.

  • April 30, 2024

    DC Bar Prosecutors Say Jeffrey Clark 'Betrayed His Oath'

    Attorney disciplinary authorities in Washington, D.C., have urged an ethics hearing committee to recommend disbarring former U.S. Department of Justice official Jeffrey Clark, saying he "betrayed his oath" to the Constitution by aiding former President Donald Trump's efforts to undermine the 2020 elections, and "is not fit to be a member of the District of Columbia Bar."

  • April 30, 2024

    Sens. Want Clarity On Foreign College Athletes' NIL Rights

    Lawmakers on Monday pressed the Biden administration for guidance on the ability of foreign-born college athletes to earn money through advertisements and publicity deals, stressing that imprecise visa rules have confused the athletes.

  • April 30, 2024

    Ex-Mass. Pol Can't Sink Fraud Case With 'Imaginative' Attacks

    A Boston federal judge on Tuesday rejected what he called an "imaginative and novel" effort by a former Massachusetts politician to dismiss charges of lying to get COVID-19 relief funds and underreporting income on his taxes.

  • April 30, 2024

    High Court Won't Stay Texas' Porn Site Age Check Law

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday declined to stay a Fifth Circuit decision that allowed a portion of a Texas law requiring visitors to adult-oriented websites to prove their age before accessing content.

  • April 30, 2024

    State Telecom Roundup: Tech Companies As Public Utilities

    It's long-settled law that common carriers and public utilities can't discriminate or deny service without good reason, which is perhaps why there is a push in at least three different states to have the definition of a common carrier expanded to cover tech titans like Google and Facebook.

  • April 30, 2024

    Trump Held In Contempt For Trashing Witnesses In NY Trial

    A New York state judge on Tuesday found former President Donald Trump in contempt of court for repeatedly violating a gag order in his criminal hush money case by publicly attacking expected witnesses, including his former attorney Michael Cohen.

  • April 30, 2024

    Coverage Recap: Day 5 Of Trump's NY Hush Money Trial

    Law360 reporters are providing live updates from the Manhattan criminal courthouse as Donald Trump goes on trial for allegedly falsifying business records related to hush money payments ahead of the 2016 election. Here's a recap from day five.

  • April 30, 2024

    EPA Finalizes Methylene Chloride Ban

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Tuesday finalized a rule banning all consumer uses and most industrial and commercial uses of methylene chloride, a chemical regulators say can increase cancer risks and cause reproductive damage with repeat exposure. 

  • April 29, 2024

    Judge Rejects 2 Challenges To Medicare Drug Price Talks

    A New Jersey federal judge on Monday shot down a pair of challenges to the Medicare drug price negotiations, extending a string of court victories for the Biden administration as it defends the talks as entirely voluntary.

  • April 29, 2024

    'Hell No': Judge Rejects Ex-NSA Worker's Lighter Sentence Bid

    A Colorado federal judge on Monday sentenced a former National Security Agency employee to nearly 22 years in prison for trying to sell classified national security information to someone he believed to be a Russian agent, calling the conduct "as close to treasonous as you can get."

  • April 29, 2024

    Aviation Co. Fights Delay Of Russian Planes Coverage Suit

    A Florida-based aircraft leasing company has pushed back on its insurers' request to pause its coverage suit for $700 million worth of airplanes reappropriated by Russian airlines after the Ukraine war began, saying the insurers' own litigation against reinsurers should have no bearing on its coverage claims.

  • April 29, 2024

    5th Circ. Urged To Block CFPB's Credit Card Late Fee Rule

    Banking industry trade groups have called for the Fifth Circuit to act quickly to put the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's $8 credit card late fee standard on hold, arguing that large credit card issuers stand to suffer "substantial" losses if it goes into effect even for just one day.

  • April 29, 2024

    9th Circ. Upholds NRC's Exemption For Diablo Canyon Plant

    A Ninth Circuit panel ruled Monday that the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission did not act arbitrarily or capriciously when it allowed Pacific Gas & Electric Co. to belatedly renew its license to continue operating California's last remaining nuclear power plant.

Expert Analysis

  • Weisselberg's Perjury At Trial Spotlights Atty Ethics Issues

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    Former Trump Organization executive Allen Weisselberg’s recent guilty plea for perjury in the New York attorney general's civil fraud trial should serve as a reminder to attorneys of their ethical duties when they know a client has lied or plans to lie in court, and the potential penalties for not fulfilling those obligations, say Hilary Gerzhoy and Julienne Pasichow at HWG.

  • Practicing Law With Parkinson's Disease

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    This Parkinson’s Awareness Month, Adam Siegler at Greenberg Traurig discusses his experience working as a lawyer with Parkinson’s disease, sharing both lessons on how to cope with a diagnosis and advice for supporting colleagues who live with the disease.

  • Texas Hair Bias Ruling Does Not Give Employers A Pass

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    A Texas state court’s recent decision, holding that a school could discipline a student with locs for refusing to cut his hair, should not be interpreted by employers as a license to implement potentially discriminatory grooming policies, says Dawn Holiday at Jackson Walker.

  • When Trade Secret Protection And Nat'l Security Converge

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    The Trump administration's anti-espionage program focused on China is over, but federal enforcement efforts to protect trade secrets and U.S. national security continue, and companies doing business in high-risk jurisdictions need to maintain their compliance programs to avoid the risk of being caught in the crosshairs of an investigation, say attorneys at Baker McKenzie.

  • Opinion

    Aviation Watch: Not All Airline Mergers Hurt The Public

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    The U.S. Department of Justice's actions to block recent attempted airline mergers have been touted as serving the interests of the consumers — but given the realities of the deregulated air travel market, a tie-up like the one proposed between JetBlue and Spirit might have been a win for the public, says Alan Hoffman, a retired attorney and aviation expert.

  • The Merger Cases That Will Matter At ABA Antitrust Meeting

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    While the American Bar Association's Antitrust Spring Meeting this week will cover all types of competition law issues in the U.S. and abroad, expect the federal agencies' recent track record in merger enforcement to be a key area of focus on the official panels and in cocktail party chatter, say attorneys at Freshfields.

  • How Banks Should Respond To Calif. AG's Overdraft Warning

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    Banks and credit unions should heed recent guidance from California’s attorney general, along with warnings by consumer regulators of all stripes, regarding unfair fee practices by properly disclosing their fees and practices, and ensuring the amounts charged mirror federal benchmarks, say Brett D. Watson and Madeline Suchard at Cozen O'Connor.

  • Calif. Verdict Showcases SEC's New 'Shadow Trading' Theory

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    Last week's insider trading verdict, delivered against biopharmaceutical executive Matthew Panuwat by a California federal jury, signals open season on a new area of regulatory enforcement enabled by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's shadow trading theory, say Perrie Weiner and Aaron Goodman at Baker McKenzie.

  • Cos. Should Prepare For Foreign Data Transfer Regulations

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    A new regulatory regime designed to protect U.S. sensitive data from countries of concern may complicate an already intricate geopolitical landscape and affect even companies beyond the data industry, but with careful preparation, such companies can endeavor to minimize the effect on their business operations and ensure compliance, say David Plotinsky and Jiazhen Guo at Morgan Lewis.

  • Series

    Playing Hockey Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Nearly a lifetime of playing hockey taught me the importance of avoiding burnout in all aspects of life, and the game ultimately ended up providing me with the balance I needed to maintain success in my legal career, says John Riccione at Taft.

  • A Closer Look At Antitrust Agencies' Chat Platforms Guidance

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    Following the U.S. antitrust agencies' clarification that companies' preservation obligations extend through applications that automatically delete communications, firms should look at new compliance measures, including keeping control over retention settings, say John Ingrassia and Tim Burroughs at Proskauer.

  • Expect CFPB Enforcement To Continue Ramping Up

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    From hiring and structural changes to continuous external pressure from a variety of sources, all signs indicate that the recent rise of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's public enforcement activity will continue throughout the rest of the year, despite ongoing litigation that could upend everything, say attorneys at Paul Hastings.

  • ESG Challenges In Focus After Sierra Club Opposes SEC Rule

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    The Sierra Club's recent objection to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's climate-related disclosures for investors presents an unusual — pro-disclosure — legal challenge and an opportunity to take a close look at the varying critiques of ESG regulations, say Colin Pohlman, and Jane Luxton and Paul Kisslinger at Lewis Brisbois.

  • Opinion

    Why Supreme Court Should Allow Repatriation Tax To Stand

    If the U.S. Supreme Court doesn't reject the taxpayers' misguided claims in Moore v. U.S. that the mandatory repatriation tax is unconstitutional, it could wreak havoc on our system of taxation and result in a catastrophic loss of revenue for the government, say Christina Mason and Theresa Balducci at Herrick Feinstein.

  • For Lawyers, Pessimism Should Be A Job Skill, Not A Life Skill

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    A pessimistic mindset allows attorneys to be effective advocates for their clients, but it can come with serious costs for their personal well-being, so it’s crucial to exercise strategies that produce flexible optimism and connect lawyers with their core values, says Krista Larson at Stinson.

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