Public Policy

  • March 25, 2024

    EPA Takes Heat Over Latest Renewable Fuel Regs

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's latest renewable fuel blending requirements took a legal beating from all sides Friday, with refiners, biofuel producers and environmentalists urging the D.C. Circuit to send the agency back to the drawing board.

  • March 25, 2024

    Cannabis Bill Roundup: NY Targets Illicit Pot Sellers

    New York lawmakers introduced legislation to punish unlicensed cannabis sellers, Hawaii legislators made modifications to a proposal to legalize recreational marijuana, and a Connecticut bill targeting synthetic cannabinoids was referred to a legislative research office. Here are the major moves in cannabis legislation from the past week.

  • March 25, 2024

    Justices' Immunity Review Too Soon In Terrorism Suit, Bank Says

    A Lebanese bank has urged the U.S. Supreme Court not to review a Second Circuit ruling that it could have sovereign immunity over terrorism victims' claims that it funded Hezbollah, saying the appeals court had not offered a final ruling appropriate for review.

  • March 25, 2024

    Kamala Harris Touts Central American Economic Investments

    Vice President Kamala Harris announced Monday that the Partnership for Central America has drawn $5.2 billion in investments to boost economic opportunities and reduce migration from Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala, with $1 billion of that marking new private-sector funding.

  • March 25, 2024

    5th Circ. Told Procurement Act Limits Biden's Wage Power

    The Biden administration lacks authority to implement a $15-per-hour minimum wage for government contractors, three Southern states told the Fifth Circuit, because the Procurement Act only empowers the executive branch to trim federal expenditures.

  • March 25, 2024

    Rep. Kim Still Suing Over NJ Ballot Issue Post-Murphy Exit

    U.S. Rep. Andy Kim, D-N.J., is not dropping his lawsuit challenging the fairness of New Jersey's layout for the primary election ballot despite the fact that his opponent for the Democratic nomination for the Senate, New Jersey first lady Tammy Murphy, ended her campaign on Sunday.

  • March 25, 2024

    Spending Bill Gives $260M To DOL Wage Division

    The U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division is expected to receive $260 million through the end of the fiscal year after President Joe Biden signed off on the latest bipartisan government funding bill.

  • March 25, 2024

    Ohio AG Says Pol Used Campaign Funds For Bribery Case Fees

    The legal woes of former Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder were compounded Monday with state charges that he used campaign money to cover legal fees stemming from his blockbuster conviction in federal court over the FirstEnergy Corp. bailout scandal.

  • March 25, 2024

    Black La. Residents Ask 5th Circ. To Revive Pollution Suit

    Black Louisianans are asking the Fifth Circuit to revive their lawsuit that alleges St. James Parish's government and the state Legislature intentionally approved harmful petrochemical facilities in predominantly Black districts and protected predominantly white districts from those facilities.

  • March 25, 2024

    'Mini' Arguments Loom Large On Mich. High Court's Docket

    A court rule unique to Michigan allows state Supreme Court justices to hear oral arguments without formally granting review in a case. The court has increasingly used the mechanism over the last decade, but it has divided the appellate bar. 

  • March 25, 2024

    Justices Nix Lenient Drug Sentence After 'Safety Valve' Ruling

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday vacated a 100-month sentence given to a woman who pled guilty to drug offenses and remanded the case to the Fourth Circuit after the justices recently clarified which defendants qualify for "safety valve" relief under a 2018 federal law.

  • March 25, 2024

    High Court Won't Weigh In On ND Mineral Rights Takings Suit

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to wade into a fight over oil and gas mineral rights underneath a North Dakota lake, rejecting former rights owners' argument that states' sovereign immunity does not protect them from takings claims in federal court.

  • March 25, 2024

    Texas Judge Extends Stay On Border Wall Funding Order

    A Texas federal judge briefly extended a pause on an injunction directing the Biden administration to use funding Congress appropriated to build physical barriers on the Southwest border for that purpose, as the administration asks for clarification of the order, saying it could otherwise make it hard to build anything.

  • March 25, 2024

    Justices Won't Review Nullification Of Puerto Rico Labor Law

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to review a First Circuit finding that Puerto Rico's fiscal management board was within its authority to void a 2022 labor law expanding some benefits for private employees because it had not been given an opportunity to review the legislation.

  • March 25, 2024

    Farmers, Attys Say USDA Bias Payouts Can't Snub Fee Deals

    A pair of law firms from Ohio and Florida and their farmer clients have asked a federal judge to block the U.S. Department of Agriculture from paying out $2.2 billion in assistance directly to minority farmers it discriminated against, claiming the government disregarded contingent-fee agreements between the firms and the farmers.

  • March 25, 2024

    Minn. Bill Seeks Tax Credit For Building Conversions

    Minnesota would allow tax credits for certain costs related to the conversion of underutilized buildings to other commercial uses under legislation introduced Monday in the state Senate.

  • March 25, 2024

    Trump Gets Late Reprieve After Failing To Post $465M Bond

    A New York appellate panel said Monday that Donald Trump can pause enforcement of the state attorney general's $465 million civil fraud judgment by posting just $175 million while he appeals, after the former president complained that he was unable to secure a bond for the entire amount.

  • March 25, 2024

    FTX Clawbacks Unlikely To Help Bankman-Fried At Sentencing

    FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried probably won't find much success in arguing for a shorter prison term based on the billions of dollars recovered by the shuttered crypto exchange's bankruptcy estate, experts told Law360 ahead of this week's much-anticipated sentencing hearing.

  • March 25, 2024

    Justices Preserve Obama-Era Forest Monument Expansion

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to review two appellate court rulings upholding former President Barack Obama's expansion of the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument on the Oregon-California border.

  • March 25, 2024

    Trump Can't Dismiss Hush Money Case, Trial Set For April

    A New York state judge on Monday emphatically denied Donald Trump's motion to dismiss the Manhattan district attorney's hush money case in the wake of a late evidence dump by federal prosecutors, scolding the former president's attorney and setting trial for April 15.

  • March 22, 2024

    Golfers Demand City Of LA End Tee Time Black Market

    Los Angeles golfers have sued the city claiming it's failing to stop black-market brokers from snatching up affordable tee times on municipal courses and reselling them for a profit.

  • March 22, 2024

    Feds Urge Justices To Reject Idaho's Abortion Ban Revival Bid

    The federal government said Idaho is pushing inconsistent positions on healthcare law as it tries to reinstate its abortion prohibition, telling the U.S. Supreme Court that the state still hasn't clearly articulated when it thinks abortions are federally required to save a person's life.

  • March 22, 2024

    Power Line's Refuge Crossing To Stay On Hold For Now

    A Wisconsin federal judge on Friday extended an order temporarily blocking the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service from executing a land swap that would allow the nearly completed Cardinal-Hickory Creek high-voltage transmission line to cross part of the Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge.

  • March 22, 2024

    Hostile Rancher Killed Migrant, Az. Prosecutors Tell Jury

    Arizona prosecutors went to trial Friday against a borderlands rancher they allege killed a migrant trespasser after a history of hostility toward border-crossers, while the man's counsel said he properly reported finding a dead body despite his deep fear that blame could be misdirected at him.

  • March 22, 2024

    Up Next At High Court: Abortion, Jury Trials And Estate Tax

    The U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments this week over the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's decision expanding access to popular abortion pill mifepristone as well as whether juries should determine a defendants' eligibility for repeat offender enhanced sentencing under the Armed Career Criminal Act and how long federal employees have to appeal adverse employment decisions.

Expert Analysis

  • The Corporate Transparency Act Isn't Dead Yet

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    After an Alabama federal court's ruling last week rendering the Corporate Transparency Act unconstitutional, changes to the law may ultimately be required, but ongoing compliance is still the best course of action for most, says George Singer at Holland & Hart.

  • A Former Bankruptcy Judge Talks 'Undue Hardship'

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    Former U.S. bankruptcy judge Robert Gordon reflects on his journey from student borrower to judicial observer, highlighting the challenges faced by modern students burdened with student loan debt and advocating for reform in bankruptcy laws, particularly regarding the "undue hardship" element of discharge.

  • Employers, Prep For Shorter Stock Awards Settlement Cycle

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    Companies that provide equity compensation in the form of publicly traded stock will soon have one less day to complete such transactions under U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and Nasdaq rules — so employers should implement expedited equity compensation stock settlement and payroll tax deposit procedures now, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • Complying With Enforcers' Ephemeral Messaging Guidance

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    Given federal antitrust enforcers’ recently issued guidance on ephemeral messaging applications, organizations must take a proactive approach to preserving short-lived communications — or risk criminal obstruction charges and civil discovery sanctions, say attorneys at Manatt.

  • New FinCEN Guide Provides Useful BOI Context For Banks

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    Financial institutions should review a new Financial Crimes Enforcement Network compliance guide for helpful details about how the agency's beneficial ownership information database should be used, though questions remain about the access rule and whether it will truly streamline bank borrowers' Corporate Transparency Act due diligence, says George Singer at Holland & Hart.

  • Demystifying IRS' Claims Of $851B Return On Investment

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    The IRS' recently released analysis, estimating a $851 billion return on the government’s $80 billion investment in the agency, represents a huge increase over its 2022 estimate and that of the Congressional Budget Office and may be best viewed as a best-case scenario, says Joyce Beebe at the Baker Institute.

  • Conn. Data Privacy Enforcement Takeaways For Cos.

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    In light of the Connecticut attorney general's recently released report on its enforcement of the Connecticut Data Privacy Act, which focuses on companies' privacy policies, protections of sensitive data and more, businesses can expect increased enforcement scrutiny — especially in areas that are the subject of consumer complaints, say Paul Pittman and Abdul Hafiz at White & Case.

  • How Firms Can Ensure Associate Gender Parity Lasts

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    Among associates, women now outnumber men for the first time, but progress toward gender equality at the top of the legal profession remains glacially slow, and firms must implement time-tested solutions to ensure associates’ gender parity lasts throughout their careers, say Kelly Culhane and Nicole Joseph at Culhane Meadows.

  • Opinion

    NY Shouldn't Pair 421-a Restoration And Good Cause Eviction

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    The good cause eviction system of rent control should not be imposed in New York, nor should its legislation be tied to renewal of the 421-a tax abatement program, which New York City desperately needs, says Alexander Lycoyannis at Holland & Knight.

  • Opinion

    OFAC Should Loosen Restrictions On Arbitration Services

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    The Office of Foreign Assets Control regulations should be amended so that U.S. persons can provide arbitration services to sanctioned parties — this would help align OFAC policy with broader U.S. arbitration policy, promote efficiency, and effectively address related geopolitical and regulatory challenges, says Javier Coronado Diaz at Diaz Reus.

  • Proposed RCRA Regs For PFAS: What Cos. Must Know

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    Two rules recently proposed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency would lead to more per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances being regulated under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, and would increase the frequency and scope of corrective action — so affected industries should prepare for more significant cleanup efforts, say attorneys at Alston & Bird.

  • 7 Common Myths About Lateral Partner Moves

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    As lateral recruiting remains a key factor for law firm growth, partners considering a lateral move should be aware of a few commonly held myths — some of which contain a kernel of truth, and some of which are flat out wrong, says Dave Maurer at Major Lindsey.

  • Basics Of Bank Regulators' Push For Discount Window Use

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    As the Federal Reserve and Office of the Comptroller of the Currency emphasize short-term liquidity risk management as central to preventing spring 2023-style bank collapses, banks should carefully tune into regulators’ remarks encouraging use of the Fed’s discount window, which some policymakers identify as a key component in the evolution of liquidity regulation and backstop lending, say attorneys at Arnold & Porter.

  • Proposed Hydrogen Tax Credit Regs May Be Legally Flawed

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    While the recently proposed regulations for the new clean hydrogen production tax credit have been lauded by some in the environmental community, it is unclear whether they are sufficiently grounded in law, result from valid rulemaking processes, or accord with other administrative law principles, say Hunter Johnston and Steven Dixon at Steptoe.

  • No AI FRAUD Act Is A Significant Step For Right Of Publicity

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    The No Artificial Intelligence Fake Replicas and Unauthorized Duplications Act's proposed federal right of publicity protection, including post-mortem rights, represents a significant step toward harmonizing the landscape of right of publicity law, Rachel Hofstatter and Aaron Rosenthal at Honigman.

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