Public Policy

  • April 19, 2024

    NY Lawmakers Approve Overhauling Cannabis Tax System

    New York is slated to scrap its potency-based tax system for adult-use cannabis and replace it with a more streamlined wholesale tax structure in June under a budget-related bill approved by state lawmakers.

  • April 19, 2024

    Fla. Can't Wage Real Estate War On Foreigners, 11th Circ. Told

    A group of Chinese citizens and a brokerage firm urged the Eleventh Circuit on Friday to block Florida from enforcing a law prohibiting certain foreign nationals from owning land while they challenge the statute's constitutionality, saying it's discriminatory and preempted by federal authority.

  • April 19, 2024

    Commerce Again Ordered To Back Chinese Flooring Duty Data

    The U.S. Court of International Trade on Friday ordered the U.S. Department of Commerce to again justify using Brazilian data when calculating duties for Chinese wood flooring, saying Commerce failed to back its decision with evidence for a second time.

  • April 19, 2024

    IRS Previews New Digital Assets Reporting Form

    The Internal Revenue Service released a draft of a form brokers will have to use for the first time to disclose their digital asset sales to the agency, including instructions for taxpayers whose transactions are subject to the reporting requirements. 

  • April 19, 2024

    NY Nixes Power Deals With Trio Of Offshore Wind Projects

    New York officials on Friday said they wouldn't offer power contracts to a trio of offshore wind projects, the latest setback for the Empire State in efforts to make offshore wind a key component of its clean energy future.

  • April 19, 2024

    NY AG Doubts Trump Insurer Can Cover $175M Bond

    The New York Attorney General's Office told a Manhattan court Friday it has doubts about a California insurer's ability to cover a $175 million bond imposed on Donald Trump after a civil trial in which he was found responsible for conspiring to inflate his wealth for financial gain.

  • April 19, 2024

    Biden Administration Sharply Limits Drilling In Alaska Arctic

    The Biden administration on Friday issued new restrictions on oil and gas leasing across vast swathes of Alaska's Arctic while simultaneously ruling out construction of a controversial road state officials proposed to access mining areas in sensitive wilderness.

  • April 19, 2024

    Bankruptcy Bill Seeks To Aid Sex Abuse Victims

    A bill introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives would help sexual abuse victims by limiting the ability of their abusers to shield themselves by filing for bankruptcy, according to the bipartisan pair backing the proposed legislation.

  • April 19, 2024

    NY Scraps Proposal Impacting Local Broadband Networks

    Public broadband advocates are applauding a budget bill approved by New York's state Legislature that lacks previously proposed language they say would have weakened the state's rollout of locally owned wireless networks.

  • April 19, 2024

    Trump's Trial Is Unprecedented. Attys On Juries? Not So Much

    With two BigLaw attorneys tapped for the jury box in Donald Trump's first-in-history criminal case, Law360 spoke to trial vets who said their own experience in this tables-turned situation shows lawyers can make for highly engaged jurors under the right circumstances.

  • April 19, 2024

    Blumenauer: This 4/20 Will Be The Last For Schedule I Pot

    U.S. Rep. Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore., one of the most ardent champions of marijuana policy reform on Capitol Hill, said Friday that he was optimistic 2024 would be final year that cannabis would remain a Schedule I substance under federal law.

  • April 19, 2024

    Gibbons Atty Won't Testify In Menendez Bribery Trial

    A Gibbons PC lawyer who is counsel for one of U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez's co-defendants in his federal bribery trial set to start next month will not be called to the witness stand after defense lawyers and prosecutors agreed Friday to a stipulation about the facts that would have been part of his testimony.

  • April 19, 2024

    Climate Lawsuits Aren't The SEC's Only Legal Headache

    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has been grabbing headlines over the past couple of months as it attempts to fend off a host of lawsuits challenging recently enacted climate disclosure rules, but the agency has been no stranger to litigation brought by business groups opposing everything from new stock buyback disclosures to the agency's growing private fund oversight to its hands-off approach to crypto rule writing. 

  • April 19, 2024

    Ex-Defender Says High Court Ruling Backs Bias Claims

    A former assistant federal defender urged a North Carolina district court to consider a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling in her sexual harassment lawsuit, arguing the high court's decision backs her claims for employment discrimination against the federal judiciary.

  • April 19, 2024

    The Week In Trump: NY Trial And A High Court Date Loom

    Despite a few snags, jury selection for Donald Trump's hush money trial in Manhattan unfolded relatively quickly, clearing the way for opening statements Monday in the historic case as the former president prepped for a U.S. Supreme Court debate over his supposed immunity.

  • April 19, 2024

    Off The Bench: NCAA Rules, Trans Athlete Win, NBA Pro's Ban

    In this week's Off The Bench, the NCAA formally lifted restrictions on athletes transferring schools and how they can receive name, image and likeness money, West Virginia's transgender sports ban is dealt a blow by the Fourth Circuit, and betting costs an NBA player his career.

  • April 19, 2024

    Cohen Seglias Suit Says DOD Must Unblock Its Web Domain

    Cohen Seglias Pallas Greenhall & Furman PC has sued a communications arm of the Department of Defense over claims a government software system mistakenly flagged the firm's web domain as malware, asking the agency to clear a "bureaucratic quagmire" and lift the block keeping DOD officials from contacting its lawyers.

  • April 19, 2024

    Self-Immolation Near Trump Trial Prompts Security Review

    The New York Police Department is reviewing security protocols for former President Donald Trump's first criminal trial after a fatal incident in which a man set himself on fire across the street from the Manhattan courthouse where the proceeding was taking place Friday, underscoring safety concerns.

  • April 19, 2024

    EPA Says 2 'Forever Chemicals' Are Hazardous Substances

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Friday officially declared two "forever chemicals" to be hazardous materials under federal law, which could bring a host of consequences for Superfund site cleanups and development projects.

  • April 18, 2024

    USPTO Reveals Scaled-Back Plan For New Patent Board Rules

    The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office unveiled proposed Patent Trial and Appeal Board rules Thursday that would codify current policies on when multiple challenges to one patent are permitted and set a new briefing process about discretionary denials, which attorneys say should add clarity.

  • April 18, 2024

    NYC Bar Rips Hochul Plan To Divert Client Trust Interest Cash

    The New York City Bar Association urged Gov. Kathy Hochul Thursday to reconsider her "eleventh-hour" renewed plan to divert $55 million in interest earned on lawyer trust accounts that typically goes toward legal aid for low-income New Yorkers, saying the "deeply troubling" move undermines the independence of the legal profession.

  • April 18, 2024

    Ga.'s Absentee Rules Trample Political Speech, Court Told

    At the close of a trial challenging provisions of Georgia's controversial 2021 election reform law, counsel for a pair of voter engagement groups told a federal judge Thursday the state's increased restrictions on absentee ballot mailers are counterproductive efforts that continue to infringe upon the First Amendment.

  • April 18, 2024

    EU Antitrust Chief Says Merger Tool Not A 'Power Grab'

    The European Commission's top competition enforcer said Thursday the agency has taken a measured approach to using its newly asserted power to review mergers that fall short of local thresholds, as the European trading bloc's high court mulls a challenge of that authority from DNA sequencing company Illumina.

  • April 18, 2024

    Senate Dems Question 4 Biggest Banks Over Fraud Controls

    Two Democratic senators have asked the nation's four largest banks to share their systems to combat wire fraud and protect consumers from the fallout of unauthorized transfers.

  • April 18, 2024

    Trump Wants Cut Of Fundraising That Uses His Name, Image

    Former President Donald Trump is asking for help from Republicans to boost his reelection campaign coffers, with his staffers saying in a letter that GOP fundraisers should split off a portion of the money they collect when using Trump's name, image and likeness in their solicitations for cash.

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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