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Public Policy
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October 09, 2024
NY Tribe Urges Court To Keep Door Open On 911 Lawsuit
The Cayuga Nation is fighting a bid by two New York counties to dismiss its lawsuit over their alleged refusals to forward 911 calls to tribal police, arguing that on its face, it's hard to deny that something is amiss in the municipalities' efforts to ensure its reservation members' protection.
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October 09, 2024
Louisiana Judge Reopens EPA's Enforcement Against Denka
A Louisiana federal judge on Tuesday reopened the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's lawsuit alleging some of a neoprene manufacturer's air emissions pose a health threat to the surrounding community.
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October 09, 2024
Unclear Road For $275M Biz Tax Plan, DC Panel Chair Says
The District of Columbia Tax Revision Commission may scrap a proposal for a business activity tax that could raise $275 million annually to reduce other business taxes, the panel chair said Wednesday.
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October 09, 2024
SEC Equity Trading Reforms Spark DC Circ. Challenge
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is facing a legal challenge in the D.C. Circuit over recent equity trading regulatory changes that allow stocks to be quoted in half-penny increments and lower access fee caps.
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October 09, 2024
EPA Will Clean Up 7 Abandoned Mines On Navajo Land
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said it has committed to cleaning up seven abandoned uranium mine sites via projects aimed at addressing more than 1 million cubic yards of contaminated soil and restoring approximately 260 acres of Navajo Nation land.
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October 09, 2024
NYC Housing Bribe Case Is 'Guilt By Association,' Jury Told
Counsel for a New York City public housing superintendent accused of taking nearly $38,000 in bribes told a Manhattan federal jury Wednesday that the defendant is a victim of "guilt by association," kicking off the first trial after an antibribery sweep saw 70 people charged.
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October 09, 2024
12 More NJ Towns Join Affordable Housing Suit
Twelve more New Jersey municipalities have joined a lawsuit challenging new legislation intended to create more affordable housing, bringing the number of plaintiffs to 21.
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October 09, 2024
USPTO Won't Let Non-Patent Attys Take Lead At PTAB
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on Wednesday announced it would not move forward with its proposal to allow attorneys who don't belong to the patent bar serve as lead counsel at the Patent Trial and Appeal Board.
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October 09, 2024
Lame-Duck Judiciary Confirmations? Wait And See
Democrats have been signaling that they want to surpass former President Donald Trump's record on judicial confirmations, but President Joe Biden's prospects for the post-election period are likely going to be contingent on the election results, according to an analysis published Wednesday.
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October 09, 2024
Ex-NC Govs. Back Cooper In Power Struggle With Lawmakers
Five former governors of North Carolina have thrown their support behind the current Democratic governor as he wrestles with Republican lawmakers over appointment powers, telling the state appeals court that the legislature has trampled on "bedrock constitutional principle" by seeking to divest the governor of his ability to select members of executive branch agencies.
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October 09, 2024
47 Members Of Congress Urge EPA To Ban Paraquat
Democratic Rep. Greg Casar from Texas led a coalition of 46 members of Congress in urging the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to ban the use of a herbicide known as Paraquat, calling it a toxic substance "linked to life-threatening diseases and grave impacts on the environment."
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October 09, 2024
Final Treasury Rules Shut Off Inclusion For Repatriated IP
The U.S. Treasury Department adopted final rules Wednesday that shut off an annual income inclusion associated with intangibles for companies in certain situations that have transferred intellectual property back to the U.S. from overseas.
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October 08, 2024
NY Discharge Law Usurps Feds, Nuclear Plant Owner Says
The owner of the shuttered Indian Point nuclear power plant on Monday urged a federal judge to invalidate a New York state law banning discharges of radioactive material into the Hudson River, saying it's clearly preempted by federal nuclear safety authority and violates the Constitution's supremacy clause.
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October 08, 2024
Texas Looks To Sink Suit Challenging Anti-ESG Law
Texas officials have asked a federal court to toss claims brought against them over a law restricting state investments with financial firms and businesses that want to reduce their reliance on fossil fuels, arguing they have sovereign immunity and the law doesn't violate the First Amendment.
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October 08, 2024
PetroSaudi Says US Not Entitled To All Of $380M Award
A PetroSaudi unit said it wants a California federal court to make clear that only 5% of funds should go to the Biden administration in a dispute over the proceeds of a nearly $380 million arbitral award allegedly tied to embezzled 1Malaysia Development Berhad funds.
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October 08, 2024
Wash. Families Claim Judicial Bias In Tribal Eviction Saga
A trial judge for Washington state's Nooksack Indian Tribe has paused a series of evictions against a group of families after they argued judges on a tribal appeals court were biased for ruling they can be removed from homes purchased using a federal tax credit program.
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October 08, 2024
Minn. County And Feds Must Meet In Person Over Land Fight
A Minnesota federal judge has ordered counsel for a county and two townships to meet in person with U.S. Department of the Interior representatives for settlement talks involving claims the DOI wrongly acquired about 3,239 acres of land into trust for an Ojibwe tribe.
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October 08, 2024
ND Secretary Of State Can Skip Arguments In VRA Row
The Eighth Circuit is excusing North Dakota Secretary of State Michael Howe from participating in upcoming arguments in his attempt to reverse a lower court's order that required state lawmakers to correct Section 2 Voting Rights Act violations against two tribes, according to a Monday order from the court.
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October 08, 2024
5th Circ. Urged To Seal Industry Win Over CFPB Exam Policy
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and other trade groups on Monday defended their Texas federal court win against a Consumer Financial Protection Bureau policy to expand the agency's anti-discrimination oversight, telling the Fifth Circuit that the agency's effort to reverse its loss is revealingly substance-light.
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October 08, 2024
Dem Rep. Reintroduces Death Row Appeal Bill
U.S. Rep. Hank Johnson, D-Ga., announced Tuesday that he is reintroducing a bill that would ensure inmates on death row would have the opportunity to present new evidence pointing to their innocence.
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October 08, 2024
TMX Unit Can't Sue In Texas To Void $52M Pa. Fine, Court Told
The secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Banking and Securities has urged a Texas federal judge to toss a suit from an affiliate of consumer lending company TMX Finance, challenging an order from the department seeking more than $52 million in civil penalties over claims tied to loan agreements that allegedly carry interest rates up to 720%.
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October 08, 2024
Texas AG Says USCIS Must Hand Over Voter Citizenship Data
Texas is re-upping its demand that U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services turn over any information it has regarding the citizenship status of nearly half a million people the state believes might be illegally registered to vote.
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October 08, 2024
SEC Texting Sweep: Message Received, Guidance Needed
After financial firms have paid billions of dollars in recordkeeping fines around employees' use of off-channel communications, recent criticism of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's approach by its Republican members has drawn support from attorneys who worry the agency is pushing for an impossible standard of perfect compliance.
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October 08, 2024
Jackson, Kagan Target Loper Bright In Ghost Gun Case
U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson was uncharacteristically quiet during initial arguments Tuesday over the federal government's authority to regulate ghost guns. While her colleagues debated whether kits of unassembled parts qualify as firearms, she waited patiently to post a different question: Can courts now toss agency interpretations they don't like?
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October 08, 2024
FCC Chair Denounces Fla. Officials' Threat Over Abortion Ads
The head of the Federal Communications Commission on Tuesday blasted Florida officials for suggesting broadcast stations could be unlawfully airing ad claims by an abortion rights group.
Expert Analysis
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Ruling On Foreign Dividend Break Offers 2 Tax Court Insights
In Varian v. Commissioner, the U.S. Tax Court allowed a taxpayer's deduction for dividends from foreign subsidiaries, providing clarity on how the U.S. Supreme Court’s Loper Bright decision may affect challenges to Treasury regulations, and revealing a potential disallowance of foreign tax credits, say attorneys at Davis Polk.
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How Loper Bright Is Affecting Pending FCC Litigation
Pending challenges against Federal Communications Commission orders at the Sixth and Eleventh Circuits following the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Loper Bright highlight that counsel must be familiar with the statutes, regulations and precedent relevant to the FCC to best navigate the rapidly changing compliance landscape, say attorneys at Davis Wright.
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What PCOAB's Broadened Liability Rule Means For Auditors
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s recent vote agreeing to lower the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board's liability standard, allowing the board to charge individual auditors whose mere negligence leads firms into PCOAB violations, may erode inspection cooperation, shrink the talent pool and have anticompetitive outcomes, say attorneys at BakerHostetler.
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USPTO Guidance Suggests 2 Strategies For AI Inventions
Analyzing the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's recent guidance, it appears that there are at least two paths for establishing that an artificial intelligence invention is eligible for protection, and that which strategy to use may turn on how broadly the invention is applied, says William Morriss at Frost Brown.
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Employer Tips For PUMP Act Compliance As Law Turns 2
Enacted in December 2022, the Providing Urgent Maternal Protections for Nursing Mothers Act requires employers to provide reasonable break time and a private space for employees to express breast milk, but some companies may still be struggling with how to comply, say attorneys at Alston & Bird.
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4 Takeaways From The FDIC's Proposed Recordkeeping Rule
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.'s new proposed rule would impose recordkeeping and other compliance requirements on custodial deposit accounts with transactional features, and practitioners should be aware of four important factors, including who is affected and who is exempt, say attorneys at Covington.
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Series
Round-Canopy Parachuting Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Similar to the practice of law, jumping from an in-flight airplane with nothing but training and a few yards of parachute silk is a demanding and stressful endeavor, and the experience has bolstered my legal practice by enhancing my focus, teamwork skills and sense of perspective, says Thomas Salerno at Stinson.
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Navigating Restrictions Following Biotech Bill House Passage
Ahead of the BIOSECURE Act’s potential enactment, companies that obtain equipment from certain Chinese biotechnology companies should consider whether the act would restrict their ability to enter into contracts with the U.S. government and what steps they might take in response, say attorneys at Ropes & Gray.
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Dealmaker Lessons From CFIUS' New Enforcement Webpage
The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States’ recently launched webpage, which details the actions — and inactions — that led to enforcement activity, provides important insights for dealmakers about filing requirements, mitigation commitments and the cost of noncompliance, say attorneys at Dechert.
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Presidents And Precedents May Direct Khan's Future Course
While the Sept. 25 technical expiration of Federal Trade Commission Chair Lina Khan's term demands no immediate action, it does invite an analysis of commission policy and post-election possibilities, says Axinn's Richard Dagen, a former FTC official.
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SEC Settlement Holds Important Pay-To-Play Lessons
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s recent fine of an investment adviser, whose new hire made a campaign contribution within a crucial lookback period, is a seasonable reminder for public fund managers to ensure their processes thoroughly screen all associates for even minor violations of the SEC’s strict pay-to-play rule, say attorneys at Lowenstein Sandler.
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What's In Colorado's 1st-Of-Its-Kind Neural Privacy Law
Colorado recently became the first U.S. state to directly regulate neurotechnology with new legislation amending the Colorado Privacy Act to specifically protect biological and neural data, offering an example of how lawmakers can tackle the perceived regulation gaps in this area, say attorneys at Goodwin.
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What To Expect From Calif. Bill Regulating PE In Healthcare
A California bill currently awaiting Gov. Gavin Newsom's approval, intended to increase oversight over private equity and hedge fund investments in healthcare, is emblematic of recent increased scrutiny of investments in the space, and may affect transactions and operations in California in a number of ways, say attorneys at Ropes & Gray.
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7 Takeaways For Companies After Justices' Bribery Ruling
The U.S. Supreme Court’s Snyder v. U.S. decision this summer, holding that a federal law does not criminalize after-the-fact gratuities made to public officials, raises some key considerations for companies that engage with state, local and tribal governments, say attorneys at BakerHostetler.
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Why Now Is The Time For Law Firms To Hire Lateral Partners
Partner and associate mobility data from the second quarter of this year suggest that there's never been a better time in recent years for law firms to hire lateral candidates, particularly experienced partners — though this necessitates an understanding of potential red flags, say Julie Henson and Greg Hamman at Decipher Investigative Intelligence.