Public Policy

  • May 13, 2024

    Kroger Says Wash. AG's Merger Suit Ignores Costco's Impact

    The Washington state attorney general's challenge to Kroger's proposed $24.6 billion acquisition of rival grocery giant Albertsons ignores key economic realities, the companies argued in recent state court filings, including fierce competition from Costco and other big-box retailers.

  • May 13, 2024

    House Bill Seeks More Commerce Dept. Control Of AI Exports

    Technology companies may soon be required to implement security checks before collaborating with Chinese artificial intelligence labs with military ties, under a bipartisan bill introduced last week in the U.S. House of Representatives.

  • May 13, 2024

    New FCC Rules Preempt NY Broadband Price Cap, Prof Says

    A Second Circuit ruling that revived New York's low-price broadband law in April should be reversed because the Federal Communications Commission's recent decision not to regulate rates for internet services preempts the Empire State's price cap, a law professor said Friday.

  • May 13, 2024

    Nancy Pelosi's Would-Be Kidnapper Merits 40 Years, Feds Say

    Federal prosecutors are urging a California federal judge to impose a 40-year prison sentence on the man convicted of attempting to kidnap then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and of assaulting her husband, while the would-be kidnapper is asking for 14 years.

  • May 13, 2024

    SEC Says Biotech Co., Atty Should Pay $14M For Investor Lies

    Federal securities regulators have said a Colorado biotech startup and two of its founders should pay more than $14 million in ill-gotten profits, including interest, for lying to investors about the company's financial position, arguing that the founders showed a "total disregard" for investors.

  • May 13, 2024

    Schumer Urges FTC To Block Hess-Chevron Deal, Jabs Trump

    U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said he was "sounding the alarm" against Chevron Corp.'s planned $53 billion acquisition of Hess Corp. in a post on social media platform X, urging the Federal Trade Commission to halt the deal while criticizing former President Donald Trump for a reported meeting with oil executives.

  • May 13, 2024

    Alaska House Passes Bill To Levy 7% Marijuana Retail Tax

    Alaska would update its marijuana tax regime by levying a 7% tax on sales and phasing out the current $50 per ounce excise tax as part of a bill passed by the state House of Representatives.

  • May 13, 2024

    Airlines Ask 5th Circ. To Void DOT 'Junk Fees' Disclosure Rule

    A lead lobbying group for major U.S. airlines has asked the Fifth Circuit to vacate a recent final rule from the U.S. Department of Transportation requiring airlines to clearly disclose add-on fees upfront, saying the agency overstepped with a needless rule that will only confuse consumers.

  • May 13, 2024

    Mich. Played 'Word Games' With Mail Ballot Rules, Judge Says

    A Michigan claims court judge on Monday seemed to be leaning toward striking mail-in ballot guidance issued to the state's election clerks, suggesting there wasn't support in the state's constitution or election laws for presuming voters' signatures are valid.

  • May 13, 2024

    FCC Defends 'Lead Generator' Robocall Rule To GOP Sens.

    The head of the Federal Communications Commission is defending the agency's new "single seller" rule meant to limit robocalls and texts from comparison shopping sites, telling lawmakers that it will protect consumers from unwanted marketing.

  • May 13, 2024

    EPA Wrongly Approved New Chevron Chemicals, Group Says

    A Mississippi community group has asked the D.C. Circuit to revoke the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's authorization for Chevron Corp. to produce 18 new chemicals derived from plastic waste "despite their extreme health risks."

  • May 13, 2024

    Mass. Tax Board Rejects Plea To Cut Home Valuation

    A Massachusetts homeowner's argument that his property was overvalued because its assessment increased by a higher percentage than those of neighboring properties was rejected by the state's tax appeals board in a decision released Monday.

  • May 13, 2024

    Vietnamese Fish Exporter Sues Over 'Vague' Duty Instructions

    A Vietnamese frozen fish fillet producer filed suit at the U.S. Court of International Trade, claiming the U.S. Department of Commerce erroneously calculated an anti-dumping duty rate for its products and then issued instructions subjecting it to a higher rate.

  • May 13, 2024

    11th Circ. Says Ga. County's Trans Health Ban Violates Title VII

    A split Eleventh Circuit panel upheld a win Monday for a transgender sheriff's deputy who challenged a Georgia county health plan's refusal to pay for gender-affirmation surgery, ruling the coverage exclusion violated federal anti-discrimination law.

  • May 13, 2024

    FERC Powers Up Major Rewrite Of Grid Planning Policy

    The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on Monday finalized a long-awaited overhaul of how major electric transmission projects are planned and paid for, with the agency's Republican commissioner claiming his Democratic colleagues are unlawfully favoring clean energy at the expense of state electricity authority.

  • May 13, 2024

    Pa. Supreme Court Snapshot: Kleinbard Bill Battle Starts May

    The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania will weigh the spending powers of district attorneys in a Kleinbard LLC bill battle and whether an appeals court overstepped by greenlighting a hospital closure when the May argument lineup begins Tuesday.

  • May 13, 2024

    FEMA Wrongly Denied Atlanta $1.2M In Funds, City Says

    Atlanta has slapped the Federal Emergency Management Agency with a complaint in Georgia federal court accusing the agency of wrongly denying the city's challenge of its rejected request for more than $1.2 million in public assistance to repair damage to a wastewater treatment plant.

  • May 13, 2024

    Former HUD Secretary Fudge To Chair Taft Public Policy Team

    Marcia L. Fudge, the second Black woman in U.S. history to lead the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, has joined Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP as a partner and as firm wide chair of public policy, the firm announced Monday.

  • May 13, 2024

    Texas, Mo. Say Border Contractors Lack Interests To Defend

    Texas and Missouri have slammed contractors' attempts to defend the Biden administration's plans to use border wall construction funds to remediate existing barriers, telling a Texas federal court that the group lacks a direct interest in the case's outcome.

  • May 13, 2024

    Uber, Lyft Put Driver Work Fight In Reverse As Trial Begins

    A high-stakes battle over the employment status of drivers for Uber and Lyft kicked off in Massachusetts on Monday, as the companies sought to flip the government allegations by arguing that the ride-hailing giants work for their drivers, not the other way around.

  • May 13, 2024

    'Gamesmanship' Lecture Launches Menendez Bribery Trial

    The corruption trial of U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez started Monday with a stern admonition from U.S. District Judge Sidney Stein after the government and defense lawyers squabbled over pretrial disclosures, and a message that the jury may be in for a long haul. 

  • May 13, 2024

    Rail Worker Wage Case Won't Get High Court Review

    The U.S. Supreme Court won't intervene in a pending Massachusetts lawsuit against the operator of a freight rail line over whether its employees are covered by the state's Prevailing Wage Act, declining Monday to review the case.

  • May 13, 2024

    Cohen Says Trump Knew Hush Money Records Were False

    Donald Trump's former attorney Michael Cohen took the witness stand Monday in the ex-president's New York criminal case, testifying that his longtime "boss" directed him to make hush money payments to alleged paramours and that Trump later agreed to the "legal services" label for a six-figure reimbursement despite seeing paperwork that showed otherwise.

  • May 13, 2024

    Justices Reject COVID App Makers' Last-Ditch Apple Appeal

    The U.S. Supreme Court dealt the latest blow Monday to app developers who've struck out at every turn on antitrust allegations over Apple's rejection of COVID-19-tracking and bitcoin apps, refusing to look at a Ninth Circuit's refusal to revive the lawsuit.

  • May 13, 2024

    Coverage Recap: Day 12 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 Monday, day 12 of the trial.

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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