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May 22, 2013
White House Taps Acting GSA Admin For Full-Time Post
President Obama announced Wednesday that he will nominate Dan Tangherlini, the acting administrator of the General Services Administration, to stay on as head of the agency, citing Tangherlini's efforts to repair the GSA's tarnished reputation following an infamous Las Vegas training conference scandal.
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May 21, 2013
Ex-Pa. Justice Moves To Overturn Corruption Conviction
Disgraced former Pennsylvania Supreme Court Justice Joan Orie Melvin on Monday launched an appeal challenging her February conviction on charges that she ordered her state-funded staff to work on two political campaigns as she sought a seat on the state’s highest court.
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May 20, 2013
Wiley Rein Lures Enviro Pro From Van Ness Feldman
A veteran natural resources attorney has jumped to Wiley Rein LLP's environment and safety practice in Washington, D.C., after more than a decade as partner at Van Ness Feldman LLP, the 275-attorney Wiley Rein announced Monday.
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May 16, 2013
Senate Confirms Moniz As Energy Secretary
The U.S. Senate on Thursday overwhelmingly confirmed Massachusetts Institute of Technology physicist Ernest Moniz as the new energy secretary, with not a single senator casting a dissenting vote.
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May 16, 2013
Pa. Rep. Proposes Natural Gas Tax To Fund Transportation
A Pennsylvania state lawmaker unveiled a package of bills Wednesday that would fund transportation projects and infrastructure across the commonwealth by imposing a severance tax on natural gas extracted from the Marcellus Shale and closing a loophole allowing companies to shift certain taxable assets out of state.
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May 15, 2013
Senate Overwhelmingly Confirms First CMS Chief Since 2006
The U.S. Senate on Wednesday voted resoundingly to make Marilyn Tavenner the first confirmed chief of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services in seven years, a rare instance of bipartisan accord on health care that underscored the nominee’s apolitical style.
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May 15, 2013
SEC Taps Ropes & Gray Partner To Lead Corp. Finance Unit
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission announced two changes to its finance unit Wednesday, tapping Ropes & Gray LLP partner Keith F. Higgins as the new director of its Division of Corporation Finance and naming the division's Acting Director Lona Nallengara as SEC chief of staff.
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May 14, 2013
Mintz Levin Adds CPSC Chief Of Staff To Product Safety Group
Mintz Levin Cohn Ferris Glovsky & Popeo PC said Monday that Matthew Howsare, chief of staff and chief counsel to the chairwoman of the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, will join the firm’s consumer product safety practice in its Washington office later this month.
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May 13, 2013
Marcellus Shale Group Snags Buchanan Ingersoll Lobbyist
The Pennsylvania-based Marcellus Shale Coalition announced Monday that it had added a former government relations professional from Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney PC to lead its lobbying efforts.
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May 10, 2013
Nelson Mullins Adds 2 Insurance Regulation Vets In Tenn.
Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough LLP has added two experienced insurance regulation attorneys from Burr & Forman LLP and Hubbard, Berry & Harris PLLC to its Nashville, Tenn., office, the 470-attorney firm announced Thursday.
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May 9, 2013
SEC Asset Management Chief Jumps To Prudential
Bruce Karpati, who oversaw a recent private equity industry crackdown as head of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's asset management unit, has left the agency to become chief compliance officer for Prudential Financial Inc.'s mutual fund business, he said Thursday.
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May 7, 2013
Twitter Legal Director Tapped As White House Tech Adviser
The White House has appointed Twitter Inc.’s legal director Nicole Wong as a leading privacy officer advising U.S. Chief Technology Officer Todd Park, according to Tuesday news reports.
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May 6, 2013
Ex-CPSC Commissioner, House Rep. Joins Bracewell In DC
Bracewell & Giuliani LLP has added former Congresswoman and U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission chief Anne Northup to its Washington, D.C., office, where she will advise on issues ranging from energy and environmental policy to international trade and health care, the firm announced Monday.
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May 3, 2013
Davis Wright Snags 3 Energy, Enviro Partners
Davis Wright Tremaine LLP is adding to its stable of partners with environmental litigator Gerald F. George in its San Francisco office and energy and regulation pros Mark L. Perlis and Glenn S. Benson joining its Washington, D.C., team, the firm said Wednesday.
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May 2, 2013
SEC Examinations Director Jumps To FINRA
A top U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission official who led the agency’s national examination program in the aftermath of Bernard Madoff's Ponzi scheme will step down to lead a new division at the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, the agencies announced Thursday.
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May 2, 2013
Obama Picks Froman For USTR, Pritzker For Commerce
President Barack Obama on Thursday nominated White House advisor Mike Froman for U.S. trade representative and selected billionaire businesswoman Penny Pritzker to take over as secretary of commerce.
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May 1, 2013
Obama's FHFA Pick Hangs In Balance Of Fannie, Freddie Battle
In choosing Rep. Mel Watt, D-N.C., to lead the Federal Housing Finance Agency, President Barack Obama put the veteran lawmaker at the center of a battle over the future of Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the role of government in the housing market that could hurt Watt's chances at confirmation.
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April 29, 2013
Obama Taps NC Mayor As Transportation Head
President Barack Obama on Wednesday nominated Charlotte, N.C., Mayor Anthony Foxx as the next secretary for the U.S. Department of Transportation after current chief Ray LaHood announced his exit in January, as the administration signaled a push to ramp up infrastructure investments.
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April 26, 2013
White House Names FTC's Shelanski To Lead Oversight Body
The White House on Thursday nominated Federal Trade Commission official and former Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP attorney Howard Shelanski to head the government oversight body that reviews all agency draft regulations before they are published.
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April 26, 2013
Search For WTO Chief Down To Brazilian, Mexican Candidates
The World Trade Organization said Friday that Brazilian diplomat Roberto Carvalho de Azevedo and Mexico's former trade minister Herminio Blanco are the final two candidates in the running to succeed France's Pascal Lamy as director-general of the global trade organization.
Expert Analysis
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What Exporters Need To Do Before Oct. 15
With less than five months to go until the first round of changes instituting the Export Control Reform Initiative becomes effective, U.S. exporters must get their houses in order. From export classifications to licenses to training, companies must start adjusting now, say attorneys with Nixon Peabody LLP.
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Uncertainty Persists In HHS Religious Health Care Rules
By modifying the definition of an exempt religious institution in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' latest proposals, the government may eventually moot out some of the more difficult cases brought by religious institutions. But between the lines, there are a number of practical issues that persist and may still be addressed, says Mark Chopko of Stradley Ronon Stevens & Young LLP.
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The SEC's Holistic Approach To Cross-Border Swaps
A potentially significant difference from the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission approach to cross-border security-based swap transactions is the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's take on “substituted compliance.” The SEC apparently intends to apply a holistic approach, focusing on equivalence of regulatory outcomes, rather than a precise rule-by-rule comparison, say attorneys with Fried Frank Harris Shriver & Jacobson LLP.
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Good For Business: Florida's LLC Rewrite
Representing a substantial evolution in Florida law, the Florida Revised Limited Liability Company Act will make the state a more desirable location for business owners to use an LLC for their business activities. Companies and counsel should familiarize themselves with a number of key changes to existing law, say Philip Schwartz and Andrew Schwartz of Akerman Senterfitt LLP.
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LNG Export Moratorium Has Ended — What Now?
The U.S. Department of Energy's recent order ending a nearly two-year moratorium on liquefied natural gas export approvals provides important insight into how the department will consider pending and future export applications. However, it also raises many questions and indicates that the DOE will not back down from its controversial position on its authority, say attorneys with Day Pitney LLP.
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NY Creates Tax Uncertainty For Unauthorized Life Insurers
In the past, surprisingly favorable tax treatment was afforded to life insurers that were not licensed to conduct business in New York but that owned real estate investments in the state. But following recent reinterpretation of New York Tax Law, some uncertainty has arisen with respect to how unauthorized life insurers should allocate income for franchise tax purposes, say attorneys with Duane Morris LLP.
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What You Should Know About Data Protection In Mexico
The privacy notice guidelines required by Mexico's privacy law recently went into effect, and Mexico's Federal Institute of Access to Information has already imposed penalties on companies that have not complied. Companies operating in Mexico should immediately implement internal processes in order to prevent significant economic liabilities, says Javiera Medina of Littler Mendelson PC.
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Answers To Your Compensation Committee Rules Questions
Recent changes to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's listing standards for national securities exchanges — including the New York Stock Exchange and NASDAQ — impose specific requirements related to compensation committee members. These rules have generated a number of frequently asked questions among public companies, say Kevin Douglas and Michael Carr of Bass Berry & Sims PLC.
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6 Ways The ACA May Increase Federal Contractors’ Costs
Federal contractors face significant cost increases and compliance requirements as a result of the health insurance reforms in the Affordable Care Act. To minimize costs and compliance risks in the future, companies should take a number of steps in the coming months, say attorneys with Arnold & Porter LLP.
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Bazaarvoice-PowerReviews Merger Case: Where's The Beef?
Reading the U.S. Department of Justice's complaint challenging the consummated merger between Bazaarvoice Inc. and PowerReviews Inc. reminds me of the old Wendy’s commercial in which a little old lady looks at a tiny fast-food hamburger and asks, “Where’s the beef?” The absence of actual evidence of anti-competitive impact sits at odds with successful post-merger challenges, says David Balto of the Law Offices of David A. Balto.