Public Policy

  • May 13, 2024

    FERC Powers Up Major Rewrite Of Grid Planning Policy

    The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on Monday finalized a long-awaited overhaul of how major electric transmission projects are planned and paid for, with the agency's Republican commissioner claiming his Democratic colleagues are unlawfully favoring clean energy at the expense of state electricity authority.

  • May 13, 2024

    Pa. Supreme Court Snapshot: Kleinbard Bill Battle Starts May

    The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania will weigh the spending powers of district attorneys in a Kleinbard LLC bill battle and whether an appeals court overstepped by greenlighting a hospital closure when the May argument lineup begins Tuesday.

  • May 13, 2024

    FEMA Wrongly Denied Atlanta $1.2M In Funds, City Says

    Atlanta has slapped the Federal Emergency Management Agency with a complaint in Georgia federal court accusing the agency of wrongly denying the city's challenge of its rejected request for more than $1.2 million in public assistance to repair damage to a wastewater treatment plant.

  • May 13, 2024

    Former HUD Secretary Fudge To Chair Taft Public Policy Team

    Marcia L. Fudge, the second Black woman in U.S. history to lead the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, has joined Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP as a partner and as firm wide chair of public policy, the firm announced Monday.

  • May 13, 2024

    Texas, Mo. Say Border Contractors Lack Interests To Defend

    Texas and Missouri have slammed contractors' attempts to defend the Biden administration's plans to use border wall construction funds to remediate existing barriers, telling a Texas federal court that the group lacks a direct interest in the case's outcome.

  • May 13, 2024

    Uber, Lyft Put Driver Work Fight In Reverse As Trial Begins

    A high-stakes battle over the employment status of drivers for Uber and Lyft kicked off in Massachusetts on Monday, as the companies sought to flip the government allegations by arguing that the ride-hailing giants work for their drivers, not the other way around.

  • May 13, 2024

    'Gamesmanship' Lecture Launches Menendez Bribery Trial

    The corruption trial of U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez started Monday with a stern admonition from U.S. District Judge Sidney Stein after the government and defense lawyers squabbled over pretrial disclosures, and a message that the jury may be in for a long haul. 

  • May 13, 2024

    Rail Worker Wage Case Won't Get High Court Review

    The U.S. Supreme Court won't intervene in a pending Massachusetts lawsuit against the operator of a freight rail line over whether its employees are covered by the state's Prevailing Wage Act, declining Monday to review the case.

  • May 13, 2024

    Cohen Says Trump Knew Hush Money Records Were False

    Donald Trump's former attorney Michael Cohen took the witness stand Monday in the ex-president's New York criminal case, testifying that his longtime "boss" directed him to make hush money payments to alleged paramours and that Trump later agreed to the "legal services" label for a six-figure reimbursement despite seeing paperwork that showed otherwise.

  • May 13, 2024

    Justices Reject COVID App Makers' Last-Ditch Apple Appeal

    The U.S. Supreme Court dealt the latest blow Monday to app developers who've struck out at every turn on antitrust allegations over Apple's rejection of COVID-19-tracking and bitcoin apps, refusing to look at a Ninth Circuit's refusal to revive the lawsuit.

  • May 13, 2024

    Coverage Recap: Day 12 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 Monday, day 12 of the trial.

  • May 10, 2024

    Epic Judge Raises Eyebrows About Apple's New 27% App Fee

    The California federal judge overseeing Epic's antitrust case against Apple challenged the terms the tech giant is using to comply with her order to allow app developers to send users to outside payment platforms, saying Friday that Apple appears to be trying to maintain its past revenue with a new 27% fee.

  • May 10, 2024

    Immigration Court Backlog Swells To Nearly 3.6M Cases

    The number of pending deportation cases in courts across the country has swelled to almost 3.6 million as of the end of April, almost 1.3 million of which are asylum cases, while many immigrants continue to get deported without legal representation, according to a report issued by Syracuse University's Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse on Wednesday.

  • May 10, 2024

    Ill. Residents Ask Court To Void Alaskan Tribal Co. Loans

    Six borrowers accusing an Alaska-based tribal lending company of making usurious loans at annual rates of as much as 700% or more have filed suit in Illinois federal court, saying it violated racketeering laws and must void the already existing debt.

  • May 10, 2024

    Cos. Sufficiently Alleged DOL Retaliation Over Atty, Judge Says

    The U.S. Department of Labor failed Friday to trim a lawsuit challenging three companies' five-year ban from the H-2B program after a Texas federal judge ruled that the companies sufficiently alleged that the department retaliated against them because of their attorney choice.

  • May 10, 2024

    Congress Wants Microsoft Prez To Testify On Security Failures

    A congressional committee has asked Microsoft President Brad Smith to testify at a public hearing about the company's cybersecurity measures and response to recent successful attacks against government officials by Russian and Chinese hackers, according to a letter posted Friday on social media platform X.

  • May 10, 2024

    Pharma Cos., FDA Debate 'Same Drug' In Orphan Drug Case

    Two pharmaceutical companies and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration faced off in D.C. federal court Friday over allegations that the federal agency wrongly approved a treatment that rivals Jazz Pharma's narcolepsy drug despite Jazz's exclusivity rights under the Orphan Drug Act.

  • May 10, 2024

    Ariz. GOP Wants A Say In VRA Dispute Headed For 9th Circ.

    The Arizona Republican Party wants to intervene in a Voting Rights Act dispute headed for the Ninth Circuit, arguing that it intends to defend the validity of the provisions of two state redistricting laws that a lower court found violated federal law.

  • May 10, 2024

    Eastman Withdraws From Colo. Suit Amid Disbarment Case

    Former Donald Trump lawyer John C. Eastman withdrew as an attorney in a Colorado civil suit on Friday as the California Supreme Court is set to consider a recommendation for the attorney's disbarment.

  • May 10, 2024

    Okla. Tells Justices 10th Circ. Wrong On PBM Law

    Oklahoma's insurance department Friday asked the U.S. Supreme Court to take up its petition seeking review of a Tenth Circuit decision overturning portions of a state law regulating pharmacy benefit managers, arguing that high court intervention is needed to resolve disagreement among the circuits on federal preemption.

  • May 10, 2024

    Pa. Commission Had Right To Deny Grid Project, 3rd Circ. Told

    The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission called on the Third Circuit on Friday to reinstate its rejection of a transmission power project approved by regional grid operator PJM Interconnection, arguing a federal district court wrongly deemed the decision unconstitutional.

  • May 10, 2024

    Trade Court Lets Solar Duties Suit Proceed Over Feds' Protest

    U.S. solar panel manufacturers' suit over a two-year pause on new duties for competitors from four Southeast Asian countries survived the government's push for dismissal this week, with the trade court affirming its authority over the case.

  • May 10, 2024

    4th Circ. Judge Suspects 'Abuse' In Land Donor Tax Case

    The Fourth Circuit appeared poised Friday to rule that a couple owes taxes and penalties after claiming an inflated $5.1 million valuation on donated land for deductions, with one judge positing he believed the couple had engaged in "abuse" of a conservation donation.

  • May 10, 2024

    Oil Giants Say Tribal Climate Change Row Must Stay Federal

    Several giant oil companies are fighting a bid by two Native American tribes to remand their consolidated case to state court, telling a Washington federal district court that the claims brought by tribes have always been governed by federal law.

  • May 10, 2024

    Sens. Lament Broadband Subsidy's Absence From FAA Bill

    Senators from both parties are upset that the Federal Aviation Authorization bill, which the Senate passed 88-4 on Thursday night, did not include provisions to bolster the pandemic-era broadband assistance program.

Expert Analysis

  • How Harsher Penalties For AI Crimes May Work In Practice

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    With recent pronouncements from the U.S. Department of Justice that prosecutors may seek sentencing enhancements for crimes committed using artificial intelligence, defense counsel should understand how the sentencing guidelines and statutory factors will come into play, says Jennie VonCannon at Crowell & Moring.

  • Opinion

    NIST March-In Framework Is As Problematic As 2021 Proposal

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    While the National Institute of Standards and Technology's proposed march-in framework on when the government can seize patents has been regarded as a radical departure that will support lowering prescription drug costs, the language at the heart of it is identical to a failed 2021 notice of proposed rulemaking, says attorney Kelly Morron.

  • AI In Performance Management: Mitigating Employer Risk

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    Companies are increasingly turning to artificial intelligence tools in performance management, exposing organizations to significant risks, which they can manage through employee training, bias assessments, and comprehensive policies and procedures related to the new technology, say Gregory Brown and Cindy Huang at Jackson Lewis.

  • Legal Issues When Training AI On Previously Collected Data

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    Following the Federal Trade Commission's recent guidance about the use of customer data to train artificial intelligence models, companies should carefully think through their terms of service and privacy policies and be cautious when changing them to permit new uses of previously collected data, says James Gatto at Sheppard Mullin.

  • Protested CFPB Supervisory Order Reveals Process, Priorities

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    The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s order announcing its first use of special oversight power to place installment lender World Acceptance Corp. under supervision despite resistance from the company provides valuable insight into which products and practices may draw bureau scrutiny, and illuminates important nuances of the risk assessment procedures, say Josh Kotin and Michelle Rogers at Cooley.

  • Series

    Riding My Peloton Bike Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Using the Peloton platform for cycling, running, rowing and more taught me that fostering a mind-body connection will not only benefit you physically and emotionally, but also inspire stamina, focus, discipline and empathy in your legal career, says Christopher Ward at Polsinelli.

  • The Challenges SEC's Climate Disclosure Rule May Face

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    Attorneys at Debevoise examine potential legal challenges to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's new climate-related disclosure rule — against which nine suits have already been filed — including arguments under the Administrative Procedure Act, the major questions doctrine, the First Amendment and the nondelegation doctrine.

  • Ala. Frozen Embryo Ruling Creates Risks for Managed Care Orgs

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    The Alabama Supreme Court's decision in LePage v. Center for Reproductive Medicine last month, declaring that frozen embryos count as children, has not only upended the abortion debate but also raised questions for managed care organizations and healthcare providers that provide, offer or facilitate fertility treatment nationwide, say attorneys at Reed Smith.

  • Tips For Healthcare M&A Amid Heightened Antitrust Scrutiny

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    As the Biden administration maintains its aggressive approach to antitrust merger enforcement, prudent healthcare M&A counsel will consider practical advice when contemplating their next transaction, including carefully selecting a merger partner and preparing for a potentially long waiting period prior to closing, say attorneys at Davis Wright.

  • New Eagle Take Permit Rule Should Help Wind Projects Soar

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    The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's recently issued final rule revising the eagle take permit process should help wind energy developers obtain incidental take permits through a more transparent and expedited process, and mitigate the risk of improper take penalties faced by wind projects, says Jon Micah Goeller at Husch Blackwell.

  • Compliance Steps After ABA White Collar Crime Conference

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    Senior law enforcement officials’ statements this month at the American Bar Association's white collar crime conference suggest government enforcement efforts this year will increasingly focus on whistleblower incentives, artificial intelligence and data protection, and companies will need to update their compliance programs accordingly, say attorneys at Baker McKenzie.

  • Opinion

    Justices' Trump Ballot Ruling May Spark Constitutional Crisis

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    The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent ruling that former President Donald Trump must be reinstated to Colorado’s primary ballot endorses an unnecessarily broad legal theory of disqualification from federal office, raising constitutional questions that will only become more urgent as the next presidential election nears, says Devon Ombres at the Center for American Progress.

  • Investment Advisers Should Prep For Money Laundering Regs

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    Investment advisers should prepare for a Financial Crimes Enforcement Network proposed rule that would significantly expand anti-money laundering and counter-financing of terrorism obligations by assessing illicit financing risks, and expect examiners to scrutinize unregistered advisers and those with certain foreign clients, say attorneys at Paul Weiss.

  • Spartan Arbitration Tactics Against Well-Funded Opponents

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    Like the ancient Spartans who held off a numerically superior Persian army at the Battle of Thermopylae, trial attorneys and clients faced with arbitration against an opponent with a bigger war chest can take a strategic approach to create a pass to victory, say Kostas Katsiris and Benjamin Argyle at Venable.

  • EU Inquiry Offers First Insight Into Foreign Subsidy Law

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    The European Commission's first in-depth investigation under the Foreign Subsidies Regulation into a public procurement process, and subsequent brief on regulatory trends, sheds light on the commission's approach to such cases, as well as jurisdictional, procedural and substantive issues under the regulation, says Matthew Hall at McGuireWoods.

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