Public Policy

  • August 29, 2024

    SEC Slams Crypto Co.'s Bid To Curb Its Enforcement Powers

    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has moved to rid itself of a lawsuit that aims to limit its ability to oversee the crypto industry, telling a Texas federal judge that there is no evidence that the agency's staff was even aware of the startup that is suing to head off a non-existent enforcement action.

  • August 29, 2024

    FCC's New Rules For Rural 5G Fund Stir Controversy

    The Federal Communications Commission said Thursday it had adopted a framework for the 5G Fund for Rural America to auction up to $9 billion in its first phase to fill gaps in mobile broadband, but not all stakeholders are pleased with the rules.

  • August 29, 2024

    Pa. State Courts Can Make Juvenile Immigrant Determinations

    The Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled Thursday that state custody courts can make determinations about whether immigrant youth qualify for special immigrant juvenile protections in cases where a parent living in the U.S. is awarded sole custody, rather than a foster parent or state agency.

  • August 29, 2024

    Madigan Seeks To Block Ex-Alderman's Expert Testimony

    Attorneys for ex-Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan and his co-defendant on Thursday grilled a potential expert witness the government wants to call at their forthcoming racketeering trial, attempting to cast doubts on his knowledge of how Madigan's ward operated and highlighting his public opposition to Chicago's Democratic establishment.

  • August 29, 2024

    States, Industry Ask High Court To Block EPA Methane Rule

    A group of states and fossil fuel industry players have asked the U.S. Supreme Court to reverse the D.C. Circuit's decision not to block the implementation of a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency final rule strengthening methane emissions control requirements for oil and gas infrastructure.

  • August 29, 2024

    DOI Stands By Its Mining Ban On 28M Acres In Alaska

    The U.S. Department of the Interior has finalized a decision to continue protections on 28 million acres of land in Alaska, a move that bans oil and gas drilling activity in the region and reverses a decision made in the Trump administration's final days to open up the area for development.

  • August 29, 2024

    Auto Tech Org. Pushes FCC To Speed Up Smart Car 5G Rules

    The 5G Automotive Association is asking the Federal Communications Commission to push the gas and schedule a vote on rules that would bring advanced vehicle communications technology to the 5.9 gigahertz band.

  • August 29, 2024

    FCC Rolls Out Rules For Drones' Use Of 5 GHz Band

    The Federal Communications Commission on Thursday announced it had adopted initial rules for the use of drones in the 5 gigahertz band by allowing operators to obtain frequency assignments.

  • August 29, 2024

    Comer Tells PBMs To Correct Record On Role In Drug Pricing

    Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., chair of the House Oversight and Accountability Committee, is demanding that the heads of three major pharmacy benefit managers "correct the record" on their testimony made before his committee in July about their roles in drug pricing, including company claims that the PBMs don't steer customers to in-house pharmacies and that they allow non-affiliated pharmacies to negotiate contracts.

  • August 29, 2024

    NLRB Partners With Other Feds In Merger Probes

    The National Labor Relations Board said it's teaming up with the U.S. Department of Justice, the U.S. Department of Labor and the Federal Trade Commission to investigate mergers that present competition concerns for workers.

  • August 29, 2024

    GAO Suggests IRS Improve Retirement Account Oversight

    The Internal Revenue Service needs to beef up its oversight of conflicts of interest between fiduciaries and individual retirement account investors, according to a U.S. Government Accountability Office report.

  • August 29, 2024

    DOJ Calls Former Googler's Ad Tech Testimony 'Essential'

    The U.S. Department of Justice urged a Virginia federal judge Wednesday not to let former Google vice presidents and other company managers avoid testifying at next month's advertising technology monopolization trial, arguing their testimony is important and was properly subpoenaed.

  • August 29, 2024

    Democrats Condemn Lawsuit Against New Green Card Rule

    Two Democratic senators from Western states rallied on Thursday for the Biden administration's new program to grant parole to noncitizen spouses and stepchildren of U.S. citizens seeking green cards, which a federal court recently halted temporarily.

  • August 29, 2024

    5th Circ. Got Biofuel Ruling Right, Refiners Tell Justices

    The U.S. Supreme Court shouldn't review a Fifth Circuit decision vacating the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's denial of small refiners' requests for exemptions from their renewable-fuel program obligations, the refiners told the justices Wednesday.

  • August 29, 2024

    HHS Withdraws Appeal In Hospital Web-Tracking Clash

    The Biden administration on Thursday abandoned its appeal of a federal court decision that knocked down new guidance restricting how hospitals can use web-tracking tools, handing the American Hospital Association a victory in a closely watched case.

  • August 29, 2024

    Colo. Group Asks US Justices To Revive Ballot Law Dispute

    A Colorado organization asked the U.S. Supreme Court to review a lower-court decision upholding a state law requiring financial impacts be included in the titles of some tax-related ballot initiatives.

  • August 29, 2024

    FTC Wants Kroger's Constitution Suit To Follow Merger Case

    The Federal Trade Commission is sparring with Kroger over where, and when, to handle the grocery giant's constitutional counterattack to the FTC's merger challenge, with the agency teeing up a bid to move the company's Ohio federal court suit to Oregon, where it's defending the proposed Albertsons purchase.

  • August 29, 2024

    Publishers, Authors Sue Fla. Over School Library Book Bans

    Six publishing houses; five bestselling authors, including Jodi Picoult and Laurie Halse Anderson; and two parents of schoolchildren filed a challenge Thursday to a Florida state law that restricts books in school libraries in what they say is an overly broad, unconstitutional manner.

  • August 29, 2024

    6th Circ. Tosses Atty's Challenge To Court Recording Ban

    A Michigan attorney who was held in contempt for posting a screenshot of a Zoom hearing on Facebook can't use the First Amendment to challenge a prohibition on recording courtroom proceedings, because he lacks standing, the Sixth Circuit has ruled.

  • August 29, 2024

    Advocacy Groups Back Ga. Bid To Undo Election Law Block

    Two advocacy groups are joining Georgia's push for the Eleventh Circuit to overturn an injunction blocking part of a controversial Peach State election law, arguing the lower court's ruling reimagines the Civil Rights Act to impede an absentee ballot requirement that is focused on election integrity and has nothing to do with racial discrimination.

  • August 29, 2024

    5th Circ. Says Pot Use Doesn't Bar Gun Ownership

    The Fifth Circuit on Wednesday ruled that a federal law barring firearm possession by marijuana users is unconstitutional specifically as it pertains to a nonviolent user who was not actively intoxicated at the time of her encounter with law enforcement.

  • August 29, 2024

    Public Interest Groups Back FCC On School Wi-Fi Funds

    A trio of advocacy groups have urged the Federal Communications Commission to reject a petition to throw out its school Wi-Fi funding plan brought by the same litigants who also are suing the FCC in the Fifth Circuit over a similar initiative for school buses.

  • August 29, 2024

    Colo. Lawmakers OK Further Property Tax Rate Cuts

    The Colorado Legislature approved a bill Thursday that would cut assessment rates and limit local property tax growth as part of an agreement to stop two ballot initiatives critics say would devastate funding for schools and other local services.

  • August 29, 2024

    GOP States Ask Justices To Undo Trans Patients' 4th Circ. Win

    A group of two dozen Republican attorneys general told the U.S. Supreme Court it should review a Fourth Circuit decision barring West Virginia and North Carolina from excluding coverage of gender-affirming medical care for transgender people, arguing states need the power to control controversial nascent treatments.

  • August 29, 2024

    Former Ohio House Legal Chief Rejoins Barnes & Thornburg

    Barnes & Thornburg announced Wednesday that it is welcoming back an Ohio-based attorney after his stint as chief legal counsel for the state House of Representatives.

Expert Analysis

  • Series

    After Chevron: Various Paths For Labor And Employment Law

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    Labor and employment law leans heavily on federal agency guidance, so the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to toss out Chevron deference will ripple through this area, with future workplace policies possibly taking shape through strategic litigation, informal guidance, state-level regulation and more, says Alexander MacDonald at Littler.

  • Series

    Boxing Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Boxing has influenced my legal work by enabling me to confidently hone the skills I've learned from the sport, like the ability to remain calm under pressure, evaluate an opponent's weaknesses and recognize when to seize an important opportunity, says Kirsten Soto at Clyde & Co.

  • What NYC's Green Fast Track Means For Affordable Housing

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    New York City's Green Fast Track for Housing initiative, which went into effect last month, aims to speed up the environmental review process for modest residential developments and could potentially pave the way for similar initiatives in other cities, say Vivien Krieger and Rachel Scall at Cozen O'Connor.

  • Series

    After Chevron: No Deference, No Difference For SEC Or CFTC

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    The Chevron doctrine did not fundamentally alter the interplay between the courts and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission in the development of the securities and commodities laws — and its demise will not do so either, says Dan Berkovitz at Millennium Management.

  • Opinion

    Industry Self-Regulation Will Shine Post-Chevron

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's Loper decision will shape the contours of industry self-regulation in the years to come, providing opportunities for this often-misunderstood practice, says Eric Reicin at BBB National Programs.

  • Justices' Bribery Ruling: A Corrupt Act Isn't Necessarily Illegal

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    In its Snyder v. U.S. decision last week, the U.S. Supreme Court held that a bribery law does not criminalize gratuities, continuing a trend of narrowing federal anti-corruption laws and scrutinizing public corruption prosecutions that go beyond obvious quid pro quo schemes, say Carrie Cohen and Christine Wong at MoFo.

  • 3 Ways Agencies Will Keep Making Law After Chevron

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    The U.S. Supreme Court clearly thinks it has done something big in overturning the Chevron precedent that had given deference to agencies' statutory interpretations, but regulated parties have to consider how agencies retain significant power to shape the law and its meaning, say attorneys at K&L Gates.

  • Roundup

    After Chevron

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    In the month since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the Chevron deference standard, this Expert Analysis series has featured attorneys discussing the potential impact across 26 different rulemaking and litigation areas.

  • Takeaways From New HHS Substance Use Disorder Info Rules

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    A new U.S. Department of Health and Human Services rule continues the agency's efforts to harmonize complex rules surrounding confidentiality provisions for substance use disorder patient records, though healthcare providers will need to remain mindful of different potentially applicable requirements and changes that their compliance structures may require, say attorneys at Ropes & Gray.

  • Series

    After Chevron: Expect Few Changes In ITC Rulemaking

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's opinion overruling the Chevron doctrine will have less impact on the U.S. International Trade Commission than other agencies administering trade statutes, given that the commission exercises its congressionally granted authority in a manner that allows for consistent decision making at both agency and judicial levels, say attorneys at Polsinelli.

  • Opinion

    Reform NEPA To Speed Mining Permits, Clean Energy Shift

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    It is essential to balance responsible regulatory oversight with permit approvals for mining projects that are needed for the transition to renewable energy — and with the National Environmental Policy Act being one of the leading causes of permit delays, reform is urgently needed, say Ana Maria Gutierrez and Michael Miller at Womble Bond.

  • Series

    Calif. Banking Brief: All The Notable Legal Updates In Q2

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    The second quarter of 2024 in California, which saw efforts to expand consumer protection legislation and enforcement actions in areas of federal focus like medical debt and student loans, demonstrated that the state's role as a trendsetter in consumer financial protection will continue for the foreseeable future, say attorneys at Sheppard Mullin.

  • 6 PTAB Events To Know From The Last 6 Months

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    The first half of 2024 brought a flurry of Patent Trial and Appeal Board developments that should be considered in post-grant strategies, including proposed rules on discretionary denial and director review, and the first decisions of the Delegated Rehearing Panel, say attorneys at Fish & Richardson.

  • Key Takeaways From High Court's Substitute Expert Decision

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    The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent Smith v. Arizona decision, holding that the confrontation clause generally bars prosecutors’ use of a substitute expert witness at trial, will have the most impact in narcotics and violent crime cases, but creative defense lawyers may find it useful in white collar cases, too, say Joshua Naftalis and Melissa Kelley at Pallas Partners.

  • Opinion

    Atty Well-Being Efforts Ignore Root Causes Of The Problem

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    The legal industry is engaged in a critical conversation about lawyers' mental health, but current attorney well-being programs primarily focus on helping lawyers cope with the stress of excessive workloads, instead of examining whether this work culture is even fundamentally compatible with lawyer well-being, says Jonathan Baum at Avenir Guild.

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