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Public Policy
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May 16, 2024
DC Judge Reluctantly Holds That Hyatt Forfeited Patents
A D.C. federal judge on Thursday found the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has sufficiently proven that inventor Gilbert Hyatt forfeited the right to receive certain patents based on decades of delay, but made clear that his finding was the result of a Federal Circuit mandate, not how he thought the case should be approached.
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May 16, 2024
Democrats Prod Justice Thomas on RV Loan, Tax Treatment
Two Senate Democrats have asked U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas' attorney to respond to what they called a failure to answer their questions about the justice's $267,000 loan from a healthcare industry executive to finance a luxury recreational vehicle, saying the loan treatment could have violated federal tax laws.
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May 16, 2024
FCC To Pull Phone Co.'s Authorization To Operate In US
The Federal Communications Commission said Thursday it plans to revoke a telecom company's authorization to operate in the U.S. after the business failed to comply with an agreement with federal agencies stemming from a security review.
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May 16, 2024
La. Parties Split On How Voting Law Alters Consent Decree
A civil rights group told the Fifth Circuit on Thursday that a Louisiana state law enacted two weeks before the court reconsidered whether to dissolve a 30-year-old voting consent decree was enough to end its dispute, but disagreed with the state over the dissolution process for the consent decree determining how the state's high court justices are chosen.
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May 16, 2024
Senate Passes Bill To Block SEC Crypto Accounting Guidance
The U.S. Senate voted Thursday to send a bill overturning the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's controversial crypto accounting guidance to the president's desk, though without the necessary votes to override the White House's planned veto.
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May 16, 2024
FDIC's Gruenberg Scolded By Senators Over Agency Culture
Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Chairman Martin Gruenberg on Thursday faced a second round of congressional reprimand from both sides of the political aisle over his agency's workplace misconduct scandal, but Senate Democrats seemed ready to let Gruenberg clean up the mess himself and continue his tenure.
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May 16, 2024
African Tax Admins Promote Use Of Voluntary Disclosures
Voluntary disclosure programs have been very effective when countries launch them in anticipation of complying with an international standard on automatic exchanges of financial account information, the African Tax Administration Forum said Thursday in guidance on the programs.
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May 16, 2024
DOL Unveils Long-Delayed Abandoned Retirement Plan Rules
After being sidelined for more than a decade, a plan for expanding U.S. Department of Labor rules for terminating retirement plans abandoned by employers are moving forward again, the agency reported Thursday, along with a long-delayed role in the process for bankruptcy trustees.
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May 16, 2024
New BLM Plans Sunset Federal Coal Leasing In Wyo., Mont.
The U.S. Bureau of Land Management on Thursday unveiled court-ordered, revised resource management plans for coal-rich areas of Montana and Wyoming that end future coal leasing in the regions, a move blasted by congressional representatives of those states.
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May 16, 2024
Oil & Gas Groups Challenge DOI Overhaul Of Leasing Regs
A coalition of oil and gas groups has slapped the U.S. Department of the Interior with a lawsuit in Wyoming federal court seeking to unravel the agency's final rule boosting bonding requirements, royalty rates and minimum bids for its onshore federal oil and gas leasing program.
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May 16, 2024
Firm Seeks To Force IRS To Process Worker Retention Credits
A tax advisory firm helping businesses apply for the pandemic-era employee retention credit has asked an Arizona federal court to force the IRS to resume processing claims, saying the moratorium in place since September violates the Administrative Procedure Act.
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May 16, 2024
No Relief For Struggling SPACs Under Buyback Tax Proposal
Special-purpose acquisition companies won't get sought-after relief from a new 1% tax on stock buybacks under a recent Treasury Department proposal that otherwise provides helpful clarity on the tax's implications for the subdued SPAC market, lawyers say.
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May 16, 2024
Judge Ends ICE's 'Knock And Talk' Immigrant Arrest Tactic
A California federal court has struck down U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's policy of entering immigrants' private property without authorization for arrest, ruling that the practice violated the immigrants' Fourth Amendment protections against unlawful seizure.
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May 16, 2024
Conn. Justices Snatch Debt Collection Practice Of Law Case
The Connecticut Supreme Court has opted to hear a case that questions whether the state's banking commissioner or its judicial branch has the power to regulate debt collection activities that occur under the purview of law firms, leapfrogging the case over the state's intermediate appellate court and into the state's highest court.
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May 16, 2024
Ohio Justice Seeks To Add Appeals Judge To Party Label Suit
Ohio Supreme Court Justice Jennifer Brunner asked a federal judge to let her amend her challenge to a new state law requiring certain judicial candidates to list their political party affiliation beside their name on the ballot, arguing that her claims also apply to an intermediate appellate judge.
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May 16, 2024
Calif. Bar Halts Plans To Develop New Bar Exam
The State Bar of California has shelved a plan to develop its own online bar exam, a shift that could save the cash-strapped organization up to $4 million per year, but drew opposition from law school deans concerned about its ambitious rollout timeline.
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May 16, 2024
Nantucket Accused Of Biased Car-Rental Licensing
A Nantucket couple has sued the island town's government in Massachusetts federal court, alleging it enforced an illegal and racially biased bylaw enacted 27 years ago to shut down their car rental business.
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May 16, 2024
Coverage Recap: Day 14 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 Thursday, day 14 of the trial.
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May 16, 2024
Ga. High Court Candidate Can't Stop Abortion Remarks Probe
Georgia Supreme Court candidate John Barrow can't pause a state ethics commission's investigation into his pro-abortion rights comments on the campaign trail, a federal judge ruled on Thursday, tossing Barrow's lawsuit and citing several flaws right out of the gate.
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May 16, 2024
DC Judge Mulls Dominion's DQ Bid For Pro-Trump Mich. Atty
Lawyers for Dominion Voting Systems pursuing defamation claims against former Overstock.com CEO Patrick Byrne fought Thursday to disqualify the Michigan attorney representing him, insisting to a D.C. federal judge that disqualification is the most appropriate remedy for the lawyer's leak of Dominion's confidential discovery documents.
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May 16, 2024
Fla. Seeks To Halt Biden's ACA Trans Discrimination Rule
Florida urged a federal court to stop recently finalized regulations clarifying gender identity-based discrimination under the Affordable Care Act from taking effect, saying the new rules would force the state to abandon its health and safety laws or lose funding from the federal government.
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May 16, 2024
Mayer Brown Recruits Akin Gump Public Policy Pro In LA
Mayer Brown LLP has brought back a public policy and regulatory expert from Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP, where he spent over a decade leading its California public law and policy practice.
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May 16, 2024
HUD Calls Pa. Medical Marijuana Housing Suit Premature
A Pennsylvania housing authority and two would-be residents acted hastily in suing the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, since HUD hadn't formally threatened to pull the authority's funding over a state court order to offer assistance to medical marijuana users, a HUD lawyer told a federal judge Thursday.
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May 16, 2024
Biden Admin Proposes To Loosen Restrictions On Marijuana
President Joe Biden on Thursday announced that his administration has formally recommended relaxing restrictions on marijuana, marking the most significant federal policy shift on cannabis since the drug was criminalized more than 50 years ago.
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May 16, 2024
Senate Confirms South Dakota State Judge To Federal Bench
The Senate voted 90-4 on Thursday to confirm Judge Camela C. Theeler to the District of South Dakota.
Expert Analysis
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New Proposal Signals Sharper Enforcement Focus At CFIUS
Last week's proposed rule aimed at broadening the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States' enforcement authority over foreign investments and increasing penalties for violations signals that CFIUS intends to continue expanding its aggressive monitoring of national security issues, say attorneys at Kirkland.
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4 Ways AI Tools Can Improve Traditional Merger Analyses
Government officials at the American Bar Association's annual antitrust spring meeting last week reinforced the view that competition cases will increasingly rely on sophisticated data analysis, so companies will likewise need to use Big Tech quantitative techniques to improve traditional merger analyses, say Patrick Bajari, Gianmarco Calanchi and Tega Akati-Udi at Keystone.
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What FinCEN Proposed Customer ID Number Change Means
The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network's recent request for comment on changing a requirement for banks to collect full Social Security numbers at account sign-up represents an important opportunity for banks to express their preferability, as communicating sensitive information online may carry fraud or cybersecurity risks, say attorneys at Crowell & Moring.
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How China's IP Proposal Could Affect US Brands' TM Strategy
Proposed amendments to China's Trademark Law aimed at improving the application and enforcement processes could make some common U.S. brand protection strategies moot, and may require brand owners to more carefully explain marks' use or nonuse, say attorneys at Neal Gerber.
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Traversing The Web Of Nonjudicial Grievance Mechanisms
Attorneys at Covington provide an overview of how companies can best align their environmental and human rights compliance with "hard-law" requirements like the EU's recently approved Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive while also navigating the complex global network of existing nonjudicial grievance mechanisms.
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An NYDFS-Regulated Bank's Guide To Proper Internal Audits
As certification deadlines for compliance with the New York State Department of Financial Services’ transaction monitoring and cybersecurity regulations loom, lawyers should remember that the NYDFS offers no leeway for best efforts — and should ensure robust auditing and recordkeeping processes for clients, say attorneys at Arnall Golden.
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A Look At Global Employee Disconnect Laws For US Counsel
As countries worldwide adopt employee right to disconnect laws, U.S. in-house counsel at corporations with a global workforce must develop a comprehensive understanding of the laws' legal and cultural implications, ensuring their companies can safeguard employee welfare while maintaining legal compliance, say Emma Corcoran and Ute Krudewagen at DLA Piper.
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Opinion
States Should Follow Federal Lead On Expert Evidence Rules
The recently amended Federal Rule of Evidence 702 will help ensure expert testimony in federal courts reflects adequate data and reliable methods properly applied to a given case, and state courts — home to the overwhelming majority of U.S. litigation — should adopt similar changes, says retired attorney Michael Harrington.
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Opinion
Post-Moelis Del. Corp. Law Proposal Would Hurt Stockholders
The proposed Delaware General Corporation Law amendment in response to the Court of Chancery's recent opinion in West Palm Beach Firefighters' Pension Fund v. Moelis would upend the foundational principle of corporate law holding that directors govern corporations in the interest of stockholders — and the potential harm would be substantial, say attorneys at Block & Leviton.
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Strategies For Navigating Compliance Monitorships
As independent compliance monitorships continue to be a favored tool of the government in resolving corporate enforcement matters, counsel should have a firm grasp on best practices for selecting a monitor, preparing the company and ensuring a productive relationship between the parties, say attorneys at WilmerHale.
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How DEI Programs Are Being Challenged In Court And Beyond
In the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court's affirmative action decision last year declaring the consideration of race in university admissions unconstitutional, employers should keep abreast of recent litigation challenging diversity, equity and inclusion training programs, as well as legislation both supporting and opposing DEI initiatives in the workplace, say attorneys at Skadden.
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An Energy Industry Case Study In Expropriation Risk
Andrés Chambouleyron at Berkeley Research breaks down how expropriation risk and damage mitigation calculations vary considerably by different energy sources, and uses Argentina as a case study for how energy investors might protect their interests.
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Blocked JetBlue-Spirit Deal Illustrates New Antitrust Approach
The U.S. Department of Justice’s recent successful block of a merger between JetBlue Airways and Spirit Airlines demonstrates antitrust enforcers’ updated and disparate approach to out-of-market benefits versus out-of-market harms, say Lisa Rumin and Anthony Ferrara at McDermott.
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At 'SEC Speaks,' A Focus On Rebuilding Trust Amid Criticism
At the Practising Law Institute's SEC Speaks conference last week, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission leadership highlighted efforts to rebuild and restore trust in the U.S. capital markets by addressing investor concerns through regulatory measures and enforcement actions, emphasizing the need for cooperation from market participants, say attorneys at Perkins Coie.
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Series
Fla. Banking Brief: All The Notable Legal Updates In Q1
Early 2024 developments that could have a notable impact on Florida's finance community include progress on a bill that would substantially revise the state Securities and Investor Protection Act, and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's final rule capping late fees for larger credit card issuers, say Benjamin Weinberg and Megan Riley at Leon Cosgrove.