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Cannabis
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May 16, 2024
11th Circ. Denies Ayahuasca Church's Bid For Rehearing
The Eleventh Circuit has refused to grant an en banc rehearing to a Florida church that wanted to use ayahuasca as a sacrament, leaving in place an appellate ruling that the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration properly denied a religious exemption from federal law against the psychedelic substance.
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May 16, 2024
Pa. Pot Co. Says No Deal To Breach In Growth IP Suit
A Pennsylvania cannabis cultivator is asking a federal court to dismiss a suit claiming it broke an oral agreement with a consulting firm and continued to use the firm's trade secrets, saying no oral contract existed, nor was the firm's information trade secrets.
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May 16, 2024
HUD Calls Pa. Medical Marijuana Housing Suit Premature
A Pennsylvania housing authority and two would-be residents acted hastily in suing the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, since HUD hadn't formally threatened to pull the authority's funding over a state court order to offer assistance to medical marijuana users, a HUD lawyer told a federal judge Thursday.
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May 16, 2024
Biden Admin Proposes To Loosen Restrictions On Marijuana
President Joe Biden on Thursday announced that his administration has formally recommended relaxing restrictions on marijuana, marking the most significant federal policy shift on cannabis since the drug was criminalized more than 50 years ago.
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May 15, 2024
Calif. Atty Tells 4th Circ. Dormant Commerce Applies To Pot
A California lawyer who has filed lawsuits challenging state and local cannabis licensure programs spearheaded an appeal at the Fourth Circuit asking it to find that the dormant commerce clause of the U.S. Constitution applies to federally illegal marijuana.
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May 15, 2024
'Excellent' Altria MDL Deal Earns Attys Fees Above Benchmark
A California federal judge on Wednesday awarded $13.65 million in plaintiffs' attorney fees as part of tobacco giant Altria's $45.5 million deal resolving consumer claims in multidistrict litigation alleging the company helped fuel a youth vaping crisis created by e-cigarette maker Juul, saying the "excellent result" merited fees above the normal 25% benchmark.
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May 15, 2024
Prosecutors Fight Full Court Review Of 'Double Odor' Pot Test
North Carolina prosecutors said no review is necessary on a state appellate court's opinion which found that the smell of marijuana combined with the "strong odor of a cologne" as a "cover scent" is enough to give police officers probable cause to search a vehicle, highlighting the hostile tone in the appellant's bid.
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May 15, 2024
Daimler Settles Worker's Suit Claiming Pot Test Got Him Fired
Daimler Truck North America LLC has settled an employee's New Jersey federal court suit claiming he was illegally fired over a positive cannabis test following an accident in a company vehicle, even though he wasn't found at fault for the incident, according to a Wednesday court filing.
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May 15, 2024
Startup Consultant Hits Hemp Co. With $2.1M Fee Suit
A consulting firm focused on helping startup companies raise capital is taking an industrial hemp firm, its owners and a guest lecturer at the University of Michigan's business school to Ohio federal court over $2.1 million in consulting fees it says it never got to collect.
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May 15, 2024
Hemp Co. Settles Sales Dispute With Fla. Regulators
The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services has inked a deal with a hemp-product maker that accused the agency of overstepping its bounds and using stop-sale orders to block it from selling its hemp products outside the state.
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May 14, 2024
Cannabis Co., Wrigley Heir Settle $7M Investor Suit
An investor that sank $7.4 million into cannabis operator Parallel has settled its suit with the company and its former CEO and heir to the Wrigley chewing gum fortune, according to a mediation report filed in Florida federal court.
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May 14, 2024
Cos. Ask NY Court To Invalidate 100s Of Pot Licenses
New York state's beleaguered cannabis oversight agency has been hit with another lawsuit, this one seeking to invalidate hundreds of retail licenses that regulators issued to those most directly affected by the enforcement of marijuana prohibition laws.
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May 14, 2024
Mass. Pot Shop Ordered To Recognize Union, Rehire Workers
A Massachusetts cannabis retailer found to have engaged in union busting must recognize and bargain with a United Food and Commercial Workers local and offer to rehire two fired union supporters, a federal judge ordered Tuesday.
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May 14, 2024
California Pot Worker's Suit Alleges Slurs, Unpaid Overtime
A former worker for a cannabis cultivator and distributor is suing his former employer in California state court, saying he was fired in retaliation for reporting a work environment rife with racial discrimination.
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May 13, 2024
US Tells DC Circ. Ayahuasca Church's Settlement Inapt
Federal regulators are telling the D.C. Circuit to ignore a recent settlement that will allow a Phoenix-based church to continue using ayahuasca in its ceremonies, saying it has nothing to do with the Iowa-based ayahuasca church challenging the IRS's refusal to give it tax-exempt status.
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May 13, 2024
Alaska House Passes Bill To Levy 7% Marijuana Retail Tax
Alaska would update its marijuana tax regime by levying a 7% tax on sales and phasing out the current $50 per ounce excise tax as part of a bill passed by the state House of Representatives.
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May 13, 2024
Medical Pot Patient Drops Discrimination Suit Against US Steel
A former U.S. Steel Corp. employee who says he was wrongly fired for using medically licensed marijuana off the job has quietly dropped his race and disability discrimination suit against the company, according to a filing in Pennsylvania federal court.
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May 10, 2024
NY Gov. Orders Shakeup Of Cannabis Regulatory Agency
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul on Friday announced an overhaul of the state's embattled cannabis regulatory agency, unveiling an investigative audit that showed how "inexperienced" leaders "wasted valuable time and resources," and then declaring $5 million in one-time grants would be awarded to a select group of applicants who took a financial hit by the licensing delays.
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May 10, 2024
Texas Man Gambled Away Hemp Biz Investments, SEC Claims
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has filed suit in Colorado against a Texas man and his purported hemp industry investment businesses, alleging he spent over half of nearly $1.3 million raised from investors over three years on sustaining a lifestyle involving full-time gambling.
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May 10, 2024
NJ State Police Settle Suit Over Expungements Backlog
The New Jersey State Police agreed to speed up the processing of expungements to resolve the Office of the Public Defender's proposed class claims over a backlog of judicial orders that numbered 46,000 as of October, Attorney General Matt Platkin and Public Defender Jennifer N. Sellitti said in a joint statement Friday.
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May 10, 2024
Tobacco Wholesaler Must Post $1.4M Bond Pending IP Appeal
A cigarette rolling paper wholesaler must post a more than $1.4 million bond while the company appeals its portion of a larger $2.3 million verdict for selling counterfeit papers, a Georgia federal judge has ruled.
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May 09, 2024
Skadden-Led Firm Nets $250M In May's Second SPAC Listing
GP-Act III Acquisition Corp., a Skadden-led special-purpose acquisition company backed by multiple private investment firms, began trading on Thursday after completing a $250 million initial public offering, marking the second SPAC listing this month in an otherwise battered market.
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May 09, 2024
Judge Halts DEA's Hearing On Proposed Psychedelics Ban
An administrative law judge with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration has ordered the agency to cancel a June 10 hearing on its proposal to ban two psychedelic substances while a researcher's federal lawsuit challenging the agency's actions plays out in court, according to an order made public Thursday.
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May 09, 2024
Man Says LG Chem Can't Duck NC Courts In Battery Suit
A man suing South Korea-based LG Chem Ltd. over an exploding lithium-ion battery is urging a North Carolina federal district court to find that it has jurisdiction over the company, saying LG has sufficient ties to the state through its marketing and selling of the batteries, even if it doesn't sell directly to customers.
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May 09, 2024
4th Circ. Mulls Scope Of Farm Bill In Virginia Hemp Fight
A Fourth Circuit panel on Thursday pushed attorneys for the state of Virginia and a group of hemp companies and customers to define precisely how much power states have to restrict the production and sale of intoxicating products derived from federally legal hemp.
Expert Analysis
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Tips On Numerical Range From Fed. Circ. Philip Morris Ruling
The Federal Circuit's recent RAI v. Philip Morris decision that a patent provided sufficient written description to support a claimed numerical range offers several takeaways for practitioners, including the need for a cautious approach to criticism of ranges, say attorneys at BCLP.
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What's At Play In Rising Lanham Act Cases At The ITC
Amid an uptick in Lanham Act claims involving false advertising related to medical devices at the U.S. International Trade Commission, Brian Busey and Maryrose McLaughlin at MoFo discuss recent ITC complaints from Eli Lilly and R.J. Reynolds, Lanham Act claim limits under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, and the issues practitioners face in this realm.
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Litigation Inspiration: A Source Of Untapped Fulfillment
As increasing numbers of attorneys struggle with stress and mental health issues, business litigators can find protection against burnout by remembering their important role in society — because fulfillment in one’s work isn’t just reserved for public interest lawyers, say Bennett Rawicki and Peter Bigelow at Hilgers Graben.
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A New Push To Clear Up Marijuana's Foggy Legal Status
A recently publicized U.S. Food and Drug Administration recommendation to reschedule marijuana has reignited discourse over the drug's federal legal status — and although rescheduling would mitigate the legal risks for the industry and drastically increase the resources available for industry participants, the path forward will not be clear cut, say Joseph Cioffi and Louis DiLorenzo at Davis+Gilbert.
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Series
Skiing Makes Me A Better Lawyer
A lifetime of skiing has helped me develop important professional skills, and taught me that embracing challenges with a spirit of adventure can allow lawyers to push boundaries, expand their capabilities and ultimately excel in their careers, says Andrea Przybysz at Tucker Ellis.
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Think Like A Lawyer: Forget Everything You Know About IRAC
The mode of legal reasoning most students learn in law school, often called “Issue, Rule, Application, Conclusion,” or IRAC, erroneously frames analysis as a separate, discrete step, resulting in disorganized briefs and untold obfuscation — but the fix is pretty simple, says Luke Andrews at Poole Huffman.
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How Firms Can Ensure Associate Gender Parity Lasts
Among associates, women now outnumber men for the first time, but progress toward gender equality at the top of the legal profession remains glacially slow, and firms must implement time-tested solutions to ensure associates’ gender parity lasts throughout their careers, say Kelly Culhane and Nicole Joseph at Culhane Meadows.
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7 Common Myths About Lateral Partner Moves
As lateral recruiting remains a key factor for law firm growth, partners considering a lateral move should be aware of a few commonly held myths — some of which contain a kernel of truth, and some of which are flat out wrong, says Dave Maurer at Major Lindsey.
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Series
Cheering In The NFL Makes Me A Better Lawyer
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.
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Series
ESG Around The World: Gulf Cooperation Council
The Gulf Cooperation Council is in the early stages of ESG policy implementation, but recent commitments by both states and corporations — including increases in sustainable finance transactions, environmental commitments, female representation on boards and human rights enforcement — show continuing progress toward broader ESG goals, say attorneys at Cleary.
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6 Pointers For Attys To Build Trust, Credibility On Social Media
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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A Post-Mortem Analysis Of Stroock's Demise
After the dissolution of 147-year-old firm Stroock late last year shook up the legal world, a post-mortem analysis of the data reveals a long list of warning signs preceding the firm’s collapse — and provides some insight into how other firms might avoid the same disastrous fate, says Craig Savitzky at Leopard Solutions.
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Series
Coaching High School Wrestling Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Coaching my son’s high school wrestling team has been great fun, but it’s also demonstrated how a legal career can benefit from certain experiences, such as embracing the unknown, studying the rules and engaging with new people, says Richard Davis at Maynard Nexsen.
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SG's Office Is Case Study To Help Close Legal Gender Gap
As women continue to be underrepresented in the upper echelons of the legal profession, law firms could learn from the example set by the Office of the Solicitor General, where culture and workplace policies have helped foster greater gender equality, say attorneys at Ocean Tomo.
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Reimagining Law Firm Culture To Break The Cycle Of Burnout
While attorney burnout remains a perennial issue in the legal profession, shifting post-pandemic expectations mean that law firms must adapt their office cultures to retain talent, say Kevin Henderson and Eric Pacifici at SMB Law Group.