Public Policy

  • May 23, 2024

    RFK Jr.'s Anti-Vax Suit Against Wash. AG Tossed

    A Washington federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit brought by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on behalf of NBA legend John Stockton trying to shield doctors who make anti-vaccine statements, ruling claims that a medical board probe has chilled speech are speculative.

  • May 23, 2024

    Feds Ask 5th Circ. To Weigh Highway GHG Rule Vacatur

    The Biden administration has asked the Fifth Circuit to review a Texas district court's recent decision vacating a Federal Highway Administration rule that would've required states to set targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions from federally funded highway projects.

  • May 23, 2024

    DOJ Has A Long Set To Play Against Live Nation-Ticketmaster

    The U.S. Department of Justice antitrust lawsuit announced Thursday against Live Nation and Ticketmaster's dominance over performing artists, venues and tickets may have been 14 years in the making, but it still has a long road ahead in New York federal court.

  • May 23, 2024

    NJ Justices Toss Direct Appeals Over Hospital Contract Bid

    The New Jersey Supreme Court ruled Thursday that an independent state-owned teaching hospital's conduct cannot be challenged directly in the state's intermediate appellate court because it isn't considered an administrative agency, affirming the dismissal of two protests over the hospital's selection of a pharmacy vendor.

  • May 23, 2024

    House Members Approve Closing Delta-8 Hemp 'Loophole'

    A U.S. House of Representatives committee on Thursday approved a major change to the statutory definition of hemp and hemp products — which would effectively rewrite national hemp policy if it became law — in the next version of the federal Farm Bill.

  • May 23, 2024

    ACLU Follows DOJ In Bid To Block Okla. Immigration Law

    The American Civil Liberties Union on Thursday filed a lawsuit challenging an Oklahoma law criminalizing the presence of undocumented immigrants in the state, mirroring a similar suit the U.S. Department of Justice filed the day prior.

  • May 23, 2024

    White House Pushes Back On GOP's Nominee Complaints

    Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., is withholding his go-ahead for a nominee to serve as a U.S. district judge in the Southern District of Florida, alleging that the White House did not work with him. The White House says otherwise.

  • May 23, 2024

    Proposal To Expand PTAB Practitioners Divides Atty Groups

    Patent lawyers and others have chimed in on proposed plans from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office that would potentially "designate nonregistered practitioners" to litigate at the Patent Trial and Appeal Board, with some urging the agency to let nonpatent lawyers argue there, while others warn it could "dilute the importance of the registration process."

  • May 23, 2024

    Alaskan Youth Sue State Over $43B Natural Gas Project

    A group of children is suing Alaska to stop a $43 billion liquefied natural gas project, alleging the endeavor violates their rights under the state constitution to a climate system capable of sustaining human life, liberty and dignity.

  • May 23, 2024

    House Panel Pushes AM Radio Bill Forward

    Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle came together to bump a popular proposal to prevent automakers from removing AM radios from their vehicles through to the full committee, with the bill sailing through markup Thursday morning.

  • May 23, 2024

    22 States Seek To Defend EPA Heavy-Duty Truck GHG Rule

    A coalition of 22 Democrat-led states and four cities moved to intervene on Thursday in defense of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's final rule establishing greenhouse gas emission standards for heavy-duty vehicles, arguing that vacating the rule would lead to direct injuries to state lands and resources.

  • May 23, 2024

    Feds Agree To Clean, Close Dump Site For Tribal Nations

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has reached an agreement with the Bureau of Indian Affairs to properly clean and shut down a 70-year-old solid waste dump site on tribal lands in northern Arizona, saying federal law requirements for its closure haven't been followed since 1997.

  • May 23, 2024

    White House Says 1st Circ. Judge Didn't Aid Daughter's Nom

    The White House said Thursday that a First Circuit judge played no part in his daughter's nomination to the appeals court, and plans to retire if she's confirmed.

  • May 23, 2024

    Thomas Sees No Role For Courts In Election Map Fights

    While his Supreme Court colleagues sparred over evidence standards Thursday in a 6-3 decision rejecting claims that South Carolina's congressional map diluted the power of Black voters, Justice Clarence Thomas wrote a solo opinion to argue the country's founders never intended courts to referee election map fights.

  • May 23, 2024

    FCC Aims To Reduce Risk From China-Controlled Test Labs

    The Federal Communications Commission pushed Thursday for new rules to prevent foreign adversaries, mainly the Chinese Communist Party, from playing a role in testing and certifying communications equipment in the U.S. market.

  • May 23, 2024

    Ill. Justices OK $28M Tax Value Appeal Without Payment

    A power company's property in Illinois was not required to pay disputed property taxes before appealing a valuation, the Illinois Supreme Court affirmed Thursday, upholding a reduction in the assessment of about $28 million.

  • May 23, 2024

    FERC Cements 1-Year Window For State, Tribal Water Permits

    The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on Thursday said it will give states and tribes one year to act on water quality certificate requests from developers of any energy project seeking agency approval, the maximum amount of time allowed under the Clean Water Act.

  • May 23, 2024

    NC GOP Wants 'Citizen-Only' Voting Question On Ballots

    North Carolina Republicans on Thursday pushed to amend the state constitution to clarify that only U.S. citizens may vote in the state.

  • May 23, 2024

    Enforcers Want To Know Where Roll-Ups Are Happening

    The Federal Trade Commission and U.S. Department of Justice are asking for help finding industries where serial acquisitions and roll-up strategies are being used, building on a probe of the healthcare sector launched earlier this year.

  • May 23, 2024

    Conn. To Expand Paid Sick Leave To Smaller Businesses

    More employees in Connecticut will soon become eligible for paid sick leave after the state's governor gave his blessing on a bill that expands the state's time-off requirements to include smaller businesses.

  • May 23, 2024

    Length A 'Red Herring' In Black Student's Hair Bias Case

    A Black Texas high school student claiming his Houston-area district is discriminating against him for wearing his hair in locs told a Galveston judge Thursday the district forces students to choose a religion if they want to style their hair outside the district's dress code, as he fought off multiple dismissal bids.

  • May 23, 2024

    Ga. Judge Says Disorderly Law 'Likely Survives' Challenge

    A federal judge has declined to grant a Georgia man's request to block enforcement of the disorderly conduct ordinance he was arrested under in 2021, finding the law "likely survives" a constitutional challenge to its alleged limits on free speech rights.

  • May 23, 2024

    Commerce Must Rethink German Steel Duties A 4th Time

    The U.S. Department of Commerce failed a third time to convince the trade court that its assessment of a German steel company's energy costs is correct, with the court ordering it to once again rethink duties on the company's exports.

  • May 23, 2024

    AT&T Stands To Gain Billions From 4.9 GHz, Report Says

    A group representing Verizon and T-Mobile is renewing its effort to stop AT&T-affiliate FirstNet from gaining further control of the 4.9 gigahertz public safety band, this time arguing that AT&T stands to gain over $3 billion worth of spectrum if the Federal Communications Commission extends FirstNet's authority.

  • May 23, 2024

    Senate Chairs Seek Info On Trump Meeting With Oil Cos.

    The chairs of the Senate's tax and budget committees said Thursday that they were investigating a meeting with former President Donald Trump, oil and energy companies, a trade association where Trump reportedly sought $1 billion in exchange for policy favors.

Expert Analysis

  • Action Steps To Address New Restrictions On Outbound Data

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    Companies should immediately assess all their data-based operations so they can consider strategies to effectively mitigate new compliance risks brought on by recently implemented transaction restrictions, including a Justice Department proposal and landmark data legislation, say attorneys at Wiley.

  • E-Discovery Quarterly: Recent Rulings On Text Message Data

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    Electronically stored information on cellphones, and in particular text messages, can present unique litigation challenges, and recent court decisions demonstrate that counsel must carefully balance what data should be preserved, collected, reviewed and produced, say attorneys at Sidley.

  • CFPB Reality Check: Video Game Cash Is Still Money

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    The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's recent report examining payments within online video games indicates that financial services offered within the game marketplace are quickly evolving to the point where they are indistinguishable from traditional financial services subject to regulation, say attorneys at Sheppard Mullin.

  • What CRA Deadline Means For Biden Admin. Rulemaking

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    With the 2024 election rapidly approaching, the Biden administration must race to finalize proposed agency actions within the next few weeks, or be exposed to the chance that the following Congress will overturn the rules under the Congressional Review Act, say attorneys at Covington.

  • 5 Takeaways From FDA's Biosimilars Promotion Guidance

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    New draft guidance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration expands upon other recent efforts to clarify expectations for biosimilar and interchangeable labeling, highlighting a number of potential missteps that could draw attention from regulators, say attorneys at Arnold & Porter.

  • The Legal Issues Raised In Minn. Rate Exportation Opt-Out Bill

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    A recent Minnesota House bill would amend state law by opting out of the federal interest rate preemption and introduce several legal gray areas if passed, including issues regarding loan location, rates on credit card loans and values of state charters, says Karen Grandstrand at Fredrikson & Byron.

  • Rebuttal

    Time For Congress To Let Qualified Older Pilots Keep Flying

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    While a previous Law360 guest article affirmed the current law requiring airline pilots to retire at age 65, the facts suggest that the pilots, their unions, the airlines and the flying public will all benefit if Congress allows experienced, medically qualified aviators to stay in the cockpit, say Allen Baker and Bo Ellis at Let Experienced Pilots Fly.

  • Does Expert Testimony Aid Preliminary IPR Responses?

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    Dechert attorneys analyze six years of patent owners' preliminary responses to inter partes review petitions to determine whether the elimination of the presumption favoring the petitioner as to preinstitution testimonial evidence affected the usefulness of expert testimony in responses.

  • Fostering Employee Retention Amid Shaky DEI Landscape

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    Ongoing challenges to the legality of corporate diversity, equity and inclusion programs are complicating efforts to use DEI as an employee retention tool, but with the right strategic approach employers can continue to recruit and retain diverse talent — even after the FTC’s ban on noncompetes, says Ally Coll at the Purple Method.

  • Are Concessions In FDA's Lab-Developed Tests Rule Enough?

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    Although the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's new policy for laboratory-developed tests included major strategic concessions to help balance patient safety, access and diagnostic innovation, the new rule may well face significant legal challenges in court, say Dominick DiSabatino and Audrey Mercer at Sheppard Mullin.

  • 5 Climate Change Regulatory Issues Insurers Should Follow

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    The climate change landscape for insurers has changed dramatically recently — and not just because of the controversy over the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's climate-related risk disclosure rules, says Thomas Dawson at McDermott.

  • How New Rule Would Change CFIUS Enforcement Powers

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    Before the May 15 comment deadline, companies may want to weigh in on proposed regulatory changes to enforcement and mitigation tools at the disposal of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, including broadened subpoena powers, difficult new mitigation timelines and higher maximum penalties, say attorneys at Venable.

  • What's Extraordinary About Challenges To SEC Climate Rule

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    A set of ideologically diverse legal challenges to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's climate disclosure rule have been consolidated in the Eighth Circuit via a seldom-used lottery system, and the unpredictability of this process may drive agencies toward a more cautious future approach to rulemaking, say attorneys at Thompson Coburn.

  • 8 Questions To Ask Before Final CISA Breach Reporting Rule

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    The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency’s recently proposed cyber incident reporting requirements for critical infrastructure entities represent the overall approach CISA will take in its final rule, so companies should be asking key compliance questions now and preparing for a more complicated reporting regime, say Arianna Evers and Shannon Mercer at WilmerHale.

  • Series

    Swimming Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Years of participation in swimming events, especially in the open water, have proven to be ideal preparation for appellate arguments in court — just as you must put your trust in the ocean when competing in a swim event, you must do the same with the judicial process, says John Kulewicz at Vorys.

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