Public Policy

  • April 22, 2024

    Conn. Lawmaker Wants To Allow Suits For AI Discrimination

    Connecticut citizens should be able to bring private lawsuits if an artificial intelligence system discriminates against them, a key lawmaker said Monday as the state's judiciary committee voted to advance a bill regulating the use of AI programs that can make significant decisions for consumers in the state.

  • April 22, 2024

    Estate Rep, Not Trustee, Ruled Proper Defendant In Death Suit

    A Minnesota appeals panel has thrown out a wrongful death suit filed by the daughter of a passenger killed in a car-motorcycle crash, saying that under state law she needed to file the suit against the personal representative of the driver's estate, not its trustee.

  • April 22, 2024

    Chamber Planning Prompt Challenge Of FTC Noncompete Ban

    U.S. Chamber of Commerce officials vowed Monday to immediately challenge an impending Federal Trade Commission rule that would ban essentially all noncompete agreements that employers impose on their workers, raising concerns focused principally on opening a "Pandora's box" of rulemaking they say is beyond FTC authority.

  • April 22, 2024

    Ayahuasca Church Settles Religious Freedom Suit With Feds

    A Phoenix-based church that uses the psychedelic ayahuasca as a sacrament announced Monday that it had reached a legal settlement in Arizona federal court with a slew of federal agencies to ensure its religious right to access the federally controlled substance.

  • April 22, 2024

    Colo. Sales Tax Can't Touch Netflix Subscriptions, Judge Says

    A Colorado judge has sided with Netflix Inc. in a fight with the state over whether its streaming service subscriptions are subject to sales tax, finding that because the subscriptions can't be physically touched, they don't fit the law's definition of "tangible" property.

  • April 22, 2024

    New Atlanta-Area City Beats Constitutional Challenge

    A Georgia state court judge Friday tossed a lawsuit challenging the legitimacy of a newly incorporated city in suburban Atlanta, ruling that a provision of the cityhood referendum allowing it to create a special tax district wasn't a violation of the state constitution.

  • April 22, 2024

    NY Becomes First State In US To Mandate Paid Prenatal Leave

    With its budget passage Saturday, New York became the first state in the U.S. to implement paid leave for pregnant employees to attend doctors' appointments, expanding its paid sick time requirements to create a new bank of up to 20 hours for this purpose.

  • April 22, 2024

    Congress Can Enact Corp. Transparency, Orgs Tell 11th Circ.

    Congress is empowered to require American companies to report their beneficial owners to the federal government because there is ample evidence they've previously been used to fund hostile foreign actors, evade sanctions and traffic drugs, two think tanks told the Eleventh Circuit in an amici brief.

  • April 22, 2024

    US Tile Cos. Say India Is Impeding Recovery From China Imports

    Nine U.S. tile makers called on the federal government to impose anti-dumping and countervailing duties on ceramic tiles from India, saying a surge of India-origin tiles thwarts their ability to recover from unfairly priced Chinese imports already hit with duties.

  • April 22, 2024

    With Power Rules On Deck, EPA Awards $7B In Solar Grants

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Monday said it awarded $7 billion in grants to boost residential solar energy development in low-income communities, kicking off a climate change-focused week in which the agency is expected to release pollution control rules for the power sector.

  • April 22, 2024

    As DA Aims High, Trump Defense Gets 'Down And Dirty'

    Donald Trump lifted the curtain Monday on his strategy to win over jurors in his New York criminal hush-money trial, as a lawyer for the former president hammered the state's "liar" star witness and rejected the prosecution's quixotic framing of the case, experts observed.

  • April 22, 2024

    DEA Tells 9th Circ. 'Right To Try' Doesn't Rewrite CSA

    The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration is urging the Ninth Circuit to reject an appeal by a doctor who seeks to administer psilocybin to terminal cancer patients to treat depression, saying the Right to Try Act doesn't waive the Controlled Substances Act's prohibitions or authorize the DEA to do so.

  • April 22, 2024

    Ralph Lauren Can Continue Appeal Of COVID Coverage Loss

    The Third Circuit on Monday lifted a stay that sidelined a Ralph Lauren Corp. appeal of a district judge's ruling that the fashion retailer failed to show insurable physical damage to stores from the COVID-19 pandemic, sending the case to an appellate motions panel with three similar actions.

  • April 22, 2024

    DC Judge Backs Feds' Power To Sanction Ex-Afghan Officials

    A D.C. federal judge shaved down a lawsuit challenging U.S. financial and immigration sanctions against two former Afghan lawmakers, stressing that the executive branch has sweeping authority to issue sanctions on individuals it finds to be corrupt.

  • April 22, 2024

    Calif. High Court Says Pretrial Inmates Can't Get Min. Wage

    The California Supreme Court on Monday ruled that pretrial detainees who work while in jail are not entitled to minimum wage and overtime claims under California's labor law, finding the state's penal code permitting such work covers nonconvicted individuals.

  • April 22, 2024

    Oregon Judge Won't Delay Youth Climate Trial

    An Oregon federal judge denied the U.S. Department of Justice's 14th request to pause a suit filed by young people claiming their rights are being violated by federal policies that are worsening climate change, and also told the Ninth Circuit to reject the agency's latest attempted appeal in the long-running litigation.

  • April 22, 2024

    High Court Probes Homeless 'Status' In Camping Ban Suit

    U.S. Supreme Court justices probed the limits of what might be considered criminalizing status amid oral arguments Monday over whether an Oregon city's law banning camping on public property violates the Eighth Amendment's bar on cruel and unusual punishment.

  • April 22, 2024

    Immigration Orgs Fight Feds' Bid To Win Fee Hikes Dispute

    Nonprofit legal service providers fired back Friday against the federal government's bid to defeat the groups' lawsuit challenging Trump-era increases to immigration court fees, arguing that the government's final rule, which could raise certain fees by 700%, is arbitrary, capricious and unlawful.

  • April 22, 2024

    DOJ Legal Counsel Must Disclose Interagency Rulings: Judge

    Opinions from the U.S. Department of Justice's Office of Legal Counsel on interagency disputes should be made available for public review, a judge has found, siding with an open government watchdog in a long-running records dispute.

  • April 22, 2024

    Senate OKs Permanent Status For 10 Fed. District Judgeships

    The U.S. Senate has unanimously passed a bill put forth by a bipartisan group of lawmakers that would transition 10 previously temporary district court judgeships in 10 states to permanent posts, including in Texas, California and Florida.

  • April 22, 2024

    Conn. Agency Defends Ability To Challenge Judicial Branch

    The Connecticut Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities' prosecutorial arm has defended its ability to challenge the Connecticut Judicial Branch's handling of an attorney's reinstatement process, arguing the case wouldn't violate the separation of powers between the bodies.

  • April 22, 2024

    Prosecutors, Pols And Partners Among Pa. AG Hopefuls

    Two district attorneys, two state lawmakers and partners from Montgomery McCracken Walker & Rhoads LLP and Curtin & Heefner LLP are among the attorneys hoping voters will give them a shot at succeeding Michelle Henry as Pennsylvania's attorney general.

  • April 22, 2024

    Catching Up With Delaware's Chancery Court

    Last week, Delaware's Chancery Court news included a Tesla announcement about moving to Texas, a midcase appeal of Tripadvisor's move to Nevada, and United Airlines' escape from a stockholder suit. Disputes about board entrenchment, squeeze-out mergers, co-founder fallouts and deadly ice cream moved ahead.

  • April 22, 2024

    11 State AGs Urge Senate To Confirm Mangi For 3rd Circ.

    A group of 11 attorneys general is calling on the Senate to confirm Adeel Mangi, nominee for the Third Circuit, who would be the first federal Muslim appellate judge if confirmed, condemning allegations that he is antisemitic or anti-law enforcement.

  • April 22, 2024

    Trump, NY AG Reach Deal To OK $175M Fraud Appeal Bond

    Donald Trump's lawyers agreed Monday to bond conditions requiring the former president to give up control of his $175 million cash deposit pending appeal of a $465 million civil fraud judgment, staving off scrutiny from both the New York attorney general and the judge who entered the award.

Expert Analysis

  • How Broker-Dealers Can Prepare For New Remote Work Rules

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    Securities regulators recently expanded broker-dealers' ability to permit flexible remote working arrangements through the introduction of residential supervisory locations, a welcome change that better allows broker-dealers to attract and retain talent, say attorneys at King & Spalding.

  • Series

    Cheering In The NFL Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Balancing my time between a BigLaw career and my role as an NFL cheerleader has taught me that pursuing your passions outside of work is not a distraction, but rather an opportunity to harness important skills that can positively affect how you approach work and view success in your career, says Rachel Schuster at Sheppard Mullin.

  • Perspectives

    Compassionate Release Grants Needed Now More Than Ever

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    After the U.S. Sentencing Commission's recent expansion of the criteria for determining compassionate release eligibility, courts should grant such motions more frequently in light of the inherently dangerous conditions presented by increasingly understaffed and overpopulated federal prisons, say Alan Ellis and Mark Allenbaugh at the Law Offices of Alan Ellis.

  • Communication Is Key As CFPB Updates Appeals Process

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    Though a recently updated Consumer Financial Protection Bureau rule expands financial institutions' abilities to appeal supervisory decisions, creating strong relationships and open communication channels with CFPB examiners may help resolve disputes faster than the more cumbersome formal process, says Jason McElroy at Saul Ewing.

  • Considerations For Disclosing AI Use In SEC Filings

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    Recent remarks from U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler should be heard as a clarion call for public companies to disclose artificial intelligence use, with four takeaways on what companies should disclose, says Richard Hong at Morrison Cohen.

  • Unpacking The New Russia Sanctions And Export Controls

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    Although geographically broad new prohibitions the U.S., U.K. and EU issued last week are somewhat underwhelming in their efforts to target third-country facilitators of Russia sanctions evasion, companies with exposure to noncompliant jurisdictions should pay close attention to their potential impacts, say attorneys at Shearman.

  • Args In APA Case Amplify Justices' Focus On Agency Power

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    In arguments last week in Corner Post v. Federal Reserve, the U.S. Supreme Court justices paid particular importance to the possible ripple effects of their decision, which will address when a facial challenge to long-standing federal rules under the Administrative Procedure Act first accrues and could thus unleash a flood of new lawsuits, say attorneys at Snell & Wilmer.

  • After TikTok, Tiptoeing Toward Patent Transfer Alignment

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    Following the Fifth Circuit's TikTok decision, which aimed to standardize transfer analysis in patent cases, the Federal Circuit and Texas federal courts facing transfer requests have taken small steps to consider the practical realities of patent litigation, reinforcing the intensely factual focus of the analysis, says Charles Fowler at McKool Smith.

  • Mitigating Whistleblower Risks After High Court UBS Ruling

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    While it is always good practice for companies to periodically review whistleblower trainings, policies and procedures, the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent whistleblower-friendly ruling in Murray v. UBS Securities helps demonstrate their importance in reducing litigation risk, say attorneys at Arnold & Porter.

  • What Recent Setbacks In Court Mean For Enviro Justice

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    Two courts in Louisiana last month limited the federal government's ability to require consideration of Civil Rights Act disparate impacts when evaluating state-issued permits — likely providing a framework for opposition to environmental justice initiatives in other states, say attorneys at King & Spalding.

  • New Hydrogen Regulations Show The Need For IP Protections

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    The introduction of hydrogen regulations, such as the IRS' proposed tax credit for clean hydrogen under the Inflation Reduction Act, are reshaping the competitive landscape, with intellectual property rights an area of increased emphasis, say Evan Glass and James De Vellis at Foley & Lardner.

  • Setting The Stage For High Court BofA Escrow Interest Case

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    Dori Bailey and Curtis Johnson at Bond Schoeneck examine relevant legislation and case law dating back 200 years ahead of oral arguments at the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday in Cantero v. Bank of America, the outcome of which will determine whether state laws governing mortgage escrow accounts can be enforced against national banks.

  • DC's Housing Tax Break Proposal: What's In It, What's Missing

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    Proposed Washington, D.C., rules implementing the Housing in Downtown Tax Abatement program — for commercial property owners who convert properties into residential housing — thoroughly explain the process for submitting an application, but do not provide sufficient detail regarding the actual dollar value of the abatements, says Daniel Miktus at Akerman.

  • What To Know About OCC Proposals For Bank Merger Review

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    The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency's proposed changes to the agency's bank merger review process could exacerbate industry concerns with long and unpredictable processing periods because the proposal is ambiguous with respect to how the OCC will view certain transactions, say attorneys at Simpson Thacher.

  • 6 Pointers For Attys To Build Trust, Credibility On Social Media

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    In an era of information overload, attorneys can use social media strategically — from making infographics to leveraging targeted advertising — to cut through the noise and establish a reputation among current and potential clients, says Marly Broudie at SocialEyes Communications.

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