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Public Policy
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May 15, 2025
Colo. Chief Sacked Firefighters Behind Union Drive, Suit Says
Two former captains and a statewide union sued a Southwest Colorado fire district and its chief Thursday for allegedly stopping a union campaign in its tracks by retaliating against organizers, claiming the chief fired the captains after they organized a vote showing nearly three-quarters of workers backed unionization.
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May 15, 2025
Consumer Bid To Block Capital One-Discover Deal Falters
A California federal judge Wednesday rejected a group of consumers' last-minute bid to delay Capital One Financial Corp.'s impending purchase of Discover Financial Services, unpersuaded that the deal poses serious enough potential antitrust concerns to support a preliminary injunction.
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May 15, 2025
Unions, Groups Seek Injunction To Block Gov't Restructuring
A California federal judge must greenlight a nationwide injunction to stop multiple federal agencies from moving ahead with implementing reorganization and mass termination plans linked to an executive order, a coalition of unions and groups argued, making their request on the heels of a temporary restraining order.
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May 15, 2025
SEC, FINRA Staff Retract 2019 Statement On Crypto Custody
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and Financial Industry Regulatory Authority staff on Thursday withdrew a joint statement from President Donald Trump's first term warning that existing consumer protection safeguards may not be effective or available for digital asset securities.
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May 15, 2025
Broadcasters, Wireless Biz Square Off Over 6 GHz Changes
Big Tech is defending the Federal Communications Commission's move to open the 6 gigahertz band to unlicensed wireless devices, calling attacks from broadcasters "meritless" and saying they've been "debunked" numerous times already.
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May 15, 2025
Justices Wary Of Pausing Sweeping Injunctions In Birthright Case
A majority of the U.S. Supreme Court seemed eager Thursday to limit lower courts' use of universal injunctions generally, but several justices voiced concerns about the effect such a ruling would have on lawsuits challenging the constitutionality of President Donald Trump's executive order that aims to limit birthright citizenship.
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May 15, 2025
Durbin Says White House Skirting Blue-Slip Process For Noms
Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, raised concerns Thursday that the White House is not fully complying with the practice of giving both home state senators a de facto veto over nominees for U.S. attorney and district judgeships.
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May 15, 2025
DEA Says State-Legal Pot Fuels Transnational Crime
The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration said in a report made public Thursday that state-level legalization of marijuana has resulted in a flood of cannabis beyond what those markets require and, despite state regulation, international crime syndicates have largely taken control of the entire American marijuana trade, both legal and not.
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May 15, 2025
Plaintiff's 'Total Victory' Forces End To Southwest Bias Suit
A Texas federal judge intends to issue a final judgment in a nonprofit's suit challenging an award program for Hispanic employees of Southwest Airlines Co., saying the "obstinate plaintiff" has already achieved total victory in the suit.
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May 15, 2025
9th Circ. Doubts Anti-Trans Orgs Can Nix Youth Runaway Law
Ninth Circuit judges questioned Thursday if anti-transgender groups and parents had standing to challenge a Washington state law intended to ensure shelter for runaway teens seeking gender-affirming care, with one judge asking "where are the parents" who have been adversely affected.
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May 15, 2025
Regulatory Rollback Orders Legally Risky, FERC Chair Says
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission is attempting to comply with executive orders that aim to roll back federal regulations, but Chairman Mark Christie said Thursday that implementing the orders could open FERC up to lawsuits and potentially courtroom defeats.
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May 15, 2025
9th Circ. Questions University's Limits On Professor's Speech
Two Ninth Circuit judges cast doubt on the University of Washington's defense in a First Amendment lawsuit on Thursday, questioning why the college would remove a professor's parody of a Native American land acknowledgment from his class syllabus while permitting him to broadcast the same opinions elsewhere in the academic setting.
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May 15, 2025
SEC Focused On 'Rooting Out' AI Abuse, Agency Atty Says
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is focused on "rooting out" the misuse of artificial intelligence by brokerage firms and publicly traded companies, a California audience heard Thursday as agency attorneys tried to combat the perception that the SEC's enforcement arm has gone silent.
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May 15, 2025
Colo. Justices To Weigh Self-Defense In At-Will Firings
The Colorado Supreme Court will consider if the state's at-will employment doctrine has an exception allowing people to challenge their termination for actions taken in self-defense, in the case of a Circle K store clerk who was fired after a confrontation with a robber.
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May 15, 2025
DOD Updates Plans For Trans Service Member Separations
The U.S. Department of Defense on Thursday issued updated guidance for plans to identify and discharge transgender service members after a Supreme Court order allowed it to keep implementing a challenged policy that prohibited them from serving.
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May 15, 2025
Energy Dept. Expands Review Of $15B Worth Of Grants
The U.S. Department of Energy said on Thursday that it's scrutinizing 179 grant awards worth $15 billion that it said were issued under the Biden administration.
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May 15, 2025
UMich Protesters Say Lives 'Upended' By Campus Bans
An attorney for protesters challenging their bans from the University of Michigan campus told a federal judge Thursday that the trespass orders have "upended" their lives because the vast campus intertwines with the city of Ann Arbor and urged the court to find the bans violated their due process.
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May 15, 2025
House Tax Bill's Foreign Rules May Finish Off Energy Perks
House Republicans' mammoth tax bill proposes phasing out two popular clean electricity business tax credits, but additional restrictions on eligible development projects' foreign business ties could have the same effect as immediately repealing them.
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May 15, 2025
Battery Recycler Cites 'Green' Funding Uncertainties In Ch. 15
Lithium battery recycler Li-Cycle asked a New York bankruptcy judge to recognize its Canadian insolvency, saying the current political climate has made investors wary of infusing money needed to tap a $475 million U.S. federal loan.
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May 15, 2025
Harvard Researcher Held By ICE To Be Returned To Mass.
A Harvard Medical School researcher and Russian national taken into custody by immigration officers who found frog embryos in her luggage three months ago will be returned to Massachusetts to face a smuggling charge, a Louisiana federal judge ordered on Thursday.
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May 15, 2025
Conservatives Challenge Title Of Colo. Tax Cut Initiative
A proposed Colorado ballot measure to reduce the state income tax rate by one-hundredth of a percentage point was assigned an unlawfully confusing title by a state board, the conservative activists behind the initiative charged in a petition to the state Supreme Court.
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May 15, 2025
DC Circ. Doubts Jurisdiction In Baristas' NLRB Challenge
A D.C. Circuit panel expressed skepticism Thursday that it had any role in deciding two Starbucks workers' challenge to job protections for National Labor Relations Board members now that the agency agrees with the baristas' argument.
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May 15, 2025
Conn. Justice Warns DMV Rule May Destroy Towing Program
If the Connecticut Department of Motor Vehicles is correct in its interpretation of how towing companies can be paid for certain services, a state police program for clearing wrecks will evaporate because participating will not be profitable, a justice of the state Supreme Court warned Thursday.
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May 15, 2025
SEC-Ripple Deal Hits Speed Bump With NY Judge
The New York federal judge who oversees the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's enforcement case against blockchain firm Ripple Labs declined Thursday to bless a deal that would truncate the penalties and injunctions she levied in her judgment, saying the request was made in a "procedurally improper" way.
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May 15, 2025
Trump Could Claw Back Defense Fees Under New Ga. Law
Georgia taxpayers could end up on the hook for President Donald Trump's legal expenses in his election interference case under a newly signed, Republican-backed state law that allows defendants to seek attorney fees when prosecutors are disqualified from their case.
Expert Analysis
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Action Steps To Prepare For Ramped-Up Export Enforcement
In light of recent Bureau of Industry and Security actions and comments, companies, particularly those with any connection to China, should consider four concrete steps to shore up their compliance programs given the administration's increasingly aggressive approach to export enforcement, say attorneys at Gibson Dunn.
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Series
Law School's Missed Lessons: Mastering Discovery
The discovery process and the rules that govern it are often absent from law school curricula, but developing a solid grasp of the particulars can give any new attorney a leg up in their practice, says Jordan Davies at Knowles Gallant.
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DOJ Signals Major Shift In White Collar Enforcement Priorities
In a speech on Monday, an official outlined key revisions to the U.S. Department of Justice’s voluntary self-disclosure, corporate monitorship and whistleblower program policies, marking a meaningful change in the white collar enforcement landscape, and offering companies clearer incentives and guardrails, say attorneys at McGuireWoods.
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Understanding Compliance Concerns With NY Severance Bill
New York's No Severance Ultimatums Act, if enacted, could overhaul how employers manage employee separations, but employers should be mindful that the bill's language introduces ambiguities and raises compliance concerns, say attorneys at Norris McLaughlin.
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What New Study Means For Recycling Compliance In Calif.
Companies must review the California recycling agency's new study to understand its criteria for assessing claims of product and packaging recyclability under a law that takes effect next year, and then decide whether the risks of making such claims in the state outweigh the benefits, say attorneys at Keller & Heckman.
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Mergers Face Steeper Slopes In State Antitrust Reviews
The New York Supreme Court's recent summary judgment in New York v. Intermountain Management, blocking the acquisition and shuttering of a ski mountain in the Syracuse area, underscores the growing trend among state antitrust enforcers to scrutinize and challenge anticompetitive conduct under state laws, say attorneys at Robins Kaplan.
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Opinion
The IRS Shouldn't Go To War Over Harvard's Tax Exemption
If the Internal Revenue Service revokes Harvard's tax-exempt status for violating established public policy — a position unsupported by currently available information — the precedent set by surviving the inevitable court challenge could undercut the autonomy and distinctiveness of the charitable sector, says Johnny Rex Buckles at Houston Law Center.
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Balancing Deep-Sea Mining Executive Order, Int'l Agreements
President Donald Trump's recent executive order directing exploration and exploitation of deep-sea mineral resources appears to conflict with the evolving international framework regulating such activities, so companies and investors should proceed with care and keep possible future legal challenges in mind, say attorneys at Dentons.
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CFTC Memos Clarify When 'Sorry' Still Gets You Subpoenaed
A pair of Commodity Futures Trading Commission advisories released in February and April open a new path to self-reporting but emphasize that serious breaches still warrant a trip to the penalty box, prompting firms to weigh whether — and how — to disclose potential violations in the future, say attorneys at Pryor Cashman.
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Parsing The SEC's New Increased Co-Investment Flexibility
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's new co-investment exemptive orders simplify processes and reduce barriers for regulated funds — and rulemaking may evolve further to allow investors access to additional investment opportunities and increase available capital for issuers seeking to raise money from fund complexes, say attorneys at Simpson Thacher.
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Cos. Must Assess And Prepare For Cartel-Related FCPA Risks
Given the Trump administration’s strong signaling that it will focus on drug cartels and transnational criminal organizations when it resumes Foreign Corrupt Practices Act enforcement, global businesses should refresh their risk assessments and conduct enhanced due diligence to account for these shifting priorities, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.
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State AGs Shape Regulatory Dynamic In Trump's 1st 100 Days
With President Donald Trump's promised rollback of long-standing federal regulations and enforcement actions just beginning, alongside a flurry of executive orders, what state attorneys general do now will influence the complex state-federal regulatory landscape for years to come, say attorneys at Cozen O'Connor.
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Opinion
New Hospice Regulations Should Enforce Core Principles
As the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Office of Inspector General prepares to research and expand on oversight of Medicare hospice care, the OIG should keep in mind certain core principles, such as an emphasis on preventing the entry of hospices that raise red flags, says Bill Dombi at Arnall Golden.
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AT&T Decision May Establish Framework To Block FCC Fines
The Fifth Circuit's recent decision in AT&T v. FCC upends the commission's authority to impose certain civil penalties, reinforcing constitutional safeguards against administrative overreach, and opening avenues for telecommunications and technology providers to challenge forfeiture orders, say attorneys at HWG.
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Opinion
Int'l Athletes' Wages Should Be On-Campus Employment
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security should recognize participation in college athletics by international student-athletes as on-campus employment to prevent the potentially disastrous ripple effects on teams, schools and their surrounding communities, says Catherine Haight at Haight Law Group.