Public Policy

  • September 16, 2024

    Biden Methane Rule Is Gov't Overstep, ND Judge Rules

    The Biden administration can't enforce a rule aimed at curbing methane gas emissions from federally held oil and gas leases in a coalition of Republican-led states led by North Dakota after a federal judge found the states had sufficiently shown the government may have overstepped its authority.

  • September 16, 2024

    DOL Faces 2 More Suits Over H-2A Farmworker Labor Rule

    The U.S. Department of Labor was hit Friday with two lawsuits attacking its new regulation protecting union-related activities for agricultural workers on seasonal H-2A visas — less than a month after a Georgia federal judge paused the regulation.

  • September 16, 2024

    Treasury Cuts 'Zero Basis' Rule In Final Estate Tax Regs

    The U.S. Treasury Department on Monday said it would not keep a rule that set a zero value for the unreported property of an estate in final regulations on the requirement that an heir's basis in inherited property be consistent with the property's value for estate tax purposes.

  • September 16, 2024

    Banking Pro Returns To Sullivan & Cromwell

    A former deputy general counsel at the Federal Reserve Board has rejoined Sullivan & Cromwell LLP's financial services group as a partner in New York, the firm said Monday.

  • September 16, 2024

    DOJ Special Counsel Hur Among Duo Joining King & Spalding

    King & Spalding LLP announced Monday that Robert Hur, the former special counsel who declined to prosecute President Joe Biden earlier this year over his handling of classified documents, was rejoining the firm alongside fellow U.S. Department of Justice attorney Leah Grossi.

  • September 16, 2024

    Feds Misapplied L-Visa Criteria In Denial, Colombian Biz Says

    A Colombian business has sued U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services after being denied an application to transfer an executive to oversee its American subsidiary, telling a D.C. federal court that the agency misapplied the criteria for approving L-1A visas.

  • September 16, 2024

    2 Former High-Ranking FDNY Officers Charged With Bribery

    Two former high-ranking New York City Fire Department chiefs were charged in a federal indictment unsealed Monday with taking bribes to fast-track fire safety plan reviews and inspections for certain businesses.

  • September 16, 2024

    French EU Commissioner Quits In Dispute With Von Der Leyen

    France's candidate to serve as European Union commissioner for the next five-year mandate resigned abruptly Monday, accusing commission President Ursula von der Leyen of "questionable governance" and of asking France to replace him.

  • September 16, 2024

    Nothing Novel About Trump Ex-Atty's Case, Justices Told

    Former President Donald Trump urged the U.S. Supreme Court to reject his former attorney Michael Cohen's bid for another look at his suit claiming he was imprisoned as payback for his memoir about his time as Trump's so-called fixer, arguing there's nothing novel about the matter.

  • September 16, 2024

    Nebraska Medical Cannabis Initiatives Will Be On Nov. Ballot

    Initiatives to legalize medical marijuana in Nebraska will appear on the ballot come November, despite some evidence of fraud in the signature-collecting petition process, according to state election officials.

  • September 16, 2024

    IRS Floats Definition Of 'Covered Month' For Premium Credit

    The IRS on Monday proposed expanding the definition of a "covered month" for purposes of the health insurance premium tax credit to include the first month of the grace period for which an individual does not pay the premium in full but still receives coverage.

  • September 16, 2024

    IRS Cancels Hearing On 'Basket Contract' Transactions Rule

    The Internal Revenue Service canceled a hearing on proposed rules that would flag what are known as basket option contracts as potentially abusive listed transactions, according to a notice released Monday.

  • September 15, 2024

    Top Atty For NYC Mayor Resigns As Fed. Investigations Mount

    As investigations and high-profile departures continue around New York City's embattled Mayor Eric Adams, his chief counsel resigned Saturday.

  • September 13, 2024

    The 2024 Regional Powerhouses

    The law firms on Law360's list of 2024 Regional Powerhouses reflected the local peculiarities of their states while often representing clients in deals and cases that captured national attention.

  • September 15, 2024

    Cannabis Co. Nabs $150M '1st-Of-Its-Kind' Credit Facility

    Green Thumb Industries Inc. secured a $150 million credit facility led by Valley National Bank as it looks to refinance debt in what the company billed as "a first-of-its-kind credit facility for the U.S. cannabis industry."

  • September 13, 2024

    NJ Jury Puts $26M Price Tag On Land In Development Battle

    A New Jersey federal jury found that the owner of a 22-acre former Michelin Tire & Rubber Co. factory at the heart of a land-taking battle should get $25.6 million from a borough redevelopment agency that argued the parcel would fetch less than a third of that figure on the market.

  • September 14, 2024

    Divided Pa. High Court Revives Ballot Date Requirement

    Three Pennsylvania Supreme Court justices clashed on Friday with colleagues who used jurisdiction grounds to erase a victory for challengers of an election ballot-dating rule, the minority calling for the court to wield its rarely invoked King's Bench authority to review the matter on the merits.

  • September 13, 2024

    NC City Illegally Foiled Affordable Housing Effort, Builder Says

    A coastal North Carolina city conspired to block an affordable housing project near the Camp Lejeune military base, flying in the face of demand, a project developer claimed in North Carolina federal court.

  • September 13, 2024

    Judiciary Panel Dems Endorse Amicus Funding Disclosure

    A plan to overhaul required financial disclosures in appellate amicus briefs has generated strong early reaction, including from two key congressional Democrats who endorsed the proposals.

  • September 13, 2024

    Panama's Ex-Prez Fights Alleged Wrongful Extradition

    Panama's ex-president told the Eleventh Circuit Friday that a lower court wrongly dismissed his lawsuit challenging the extradition to his home country, saying he has standing because the U.S. government violated an international treaty by sending him back to face criminal charges beyond the scope of the original request.

  • September 13, 2024

    NJ Gov. Signs Law To Limit Sale Of 'Intoxicating Hemp'

    New Jersey Governor Philip Murphy on Thursday signed a bill into law aimed at regulating the sale and distribution of intoxicating hemp products in the state, particularly those sold by unauthorized sellers and those sold to people under 21.

  • September 13, 2024

    9th Circ. Ruling Guts Religious Protections, Apaches Say

    The U.S. Supreme Court should stop the federal government from handing over a sacred tribal site in Arizona's Tonto National Forest to a copper mining joint venture owned by Rio Tinto and BHP, the San Carlos Apache Tribe argued, saying that the decision could pose an "existential threat" to Native Americans.

  • September 13, 2024

    Fed. Judges Urged To Stop Clerks From Seeking Political Jobs

    Federal judges should prohibit their law clerks from applying for postclerkship jobs with political organizations, as that may connect the judges' chambers to political activity, a judiciary committee said in ethics guidance issued this week. 

  • September 13, 2024

    16 State AGs Demand DOJ Probe Of Texas Voter Fraud Raids

    A group of 16 state attorneys general implored the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate recent raids by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton's office that were said to be connected to an election integrity investigation but reportedly targeted the Latino population, warning that Paxton risks "undermining the very elections he purports to want to protect."

  • September 13, 2024

    Trio Of BigLaw Mergers Expected To Drive More Deal Talks

    After months of a relatively steady pace of law firm mergers and acquisitions, the trio of proposed BigLaw tie-ups announced in recent days will likely spur more firms toward entertaining similar deal talks, experts say. Here, Law360 offers a snapshot of the proposed deals.

Expert Analysis

  • How Law Firms Can Avoid 'Collaboration Drag'

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    Law firm decision making can be stifled by “collaboration drag” — characterized by too many pointless meetings, too much peer feedback and too little dissent — but a few strategies can help stakeholders improve decision-making processes and build consensus, says Steve Groom at Miles Mediation.

  • Election Outlook: A Precedent Primer On Content Moderation

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    With the 2024 election season now in full swing, online platforms will face difficult and politically sensitive decisions about content moderation, but U.S. Supreme Court decisions from last term offer much-needed certainty about their rights, say Jonathan Blavin and Helen White at Munger Tolles.

  • Banking Compliance Takeaways From Joint Agency Statement

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    Federal bank regulatory agencies’ recent joint statement warning of risks associated with third-party fintech deposit services spotlights a fundamental problem that may arise with bank deposit products that are made through increasingly complex customer relationships, says Tom Witherspoon at Stinson.

  • Workday AI Bias Suit Suggests Hiring Lessons For Employers

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    As state laws and a federal agency increasingly focus on employment bias introduced by artificial intelligence systems, a California federal court's recent decision to allow a discrimination suit to proceed against Workday's AI-driven recruitment software, shows companies should promptly assess these tools' risks, say attorneys at Williams & Connolly.

  • What BIPA Reform Law Means For Biometrics Litigation

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    A recently signed Illinois law amending the Biometric Information Privacy Act limits defendants' liability exposure on a per-scan basis and clarifies that electronic signatures constitute a valid written release, establishing additional issues that courts will need to address in future BIPA litigation, say attorneys at Faegre Drinker.

  • Assessing The Practicality Of Harris' Affordable Housing Plan

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    Vice President Kamala Harris' proposed "Build the American Dream" plan to tackle housing affordability issues takes solid recommendations into account and may fare better than California's unsuccessful attempt at a similar program, but the scope of the problem is beyond what a three-point plan can solve, says Brooke Miller at Sheppard Mullin.

  • Philly Project Case Renews Ongoing Fraud Theory Tug-Of-War

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    In its upcoming term, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear Kousisis v. U.S., a case involving wire fraud convictions related to Philadelphia bridge repair projects, and may once again further rein in prosecutorial attempts to expand theories of fraud beyond core traditional property rights, say Jonathan Halpern and Kyra Rosenzweig at Holland & Knight.

  • Opinion

    Proposed Law Would Harm NYC Hospitality Industry

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    A recently proposed New York City Law that would update hotel licensing and staff coverage requirements could give the city commissioner and unions undue control over the city's hospitality industry, and harm smaller hotels that cannot afford full-time employees, says Stuart Saft at Holland & Knight.

  • Opinion

    Litigation Funding Disclosure Key To Open, Impartial Process

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    Blanket investor and funding agreement disclosures should be required in all civil cases where the investor has a financial interest in the outcome in order to address issues ranging from potential conflicts of interest to national security concerns, says Bob Goodlatte, former U.S. House Representative for Virginia.

  • Regulators Are Revamping Use Of Bank Service Company Act

    Excerpt from Practical Guidance
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    Though the Bank Service Company Act was written six decades ago, banks and service providers should be alert to the evolving ways financial regulators are using the law as a tool for scrutinizing bank-fintech partnerships and third-party service providers that could put consumers at risk, say James Bergin and Paul Lim at Arnold & Porter.

  • Series

    After Chevron: What To Expect In Consumer Protection At FTC

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    Although the Federal Trade Commission's bread-and-butter consumer protection law enforcement actions are unlikely to be affected, the Loper Bright decision may curb the FTC's bolder interpretations of the statutes it enforces, says Mary Engle at BBB National Programs.

  • Carbon Offset Case A Win For CFTC Enviro Fraud Task Force

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    An Illinois federal court's decision in Commodity Futures Trading Commission v. Ikkurty — earning the CFTC a sizeable monetary award that will likely incentivize similar enforcement pursuit — shows the impact of the commission's Environmental Fraud Task Force, say attorneys at Steptoe.

  • RealPage Suit Shows Growing Algorithm, AI Pricing Scrutiny

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    The U.S. Department of Justice's suit against RealPage for helping fix rental rates, filed last week, demonstrates how the use of algorithmic and artificial intelligence tools to assist with pricing decisions is drawing increasing scrutiny and action across government agencies, and specifically at the Federal Trade Commission and the DOJ, say Andre Geverola and Leah Harrell at Arnold & Porter.

  • Whistleblowers Must Note 5 Key Differences Of DOJ Program

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    The U.S. Department of Justice’s recently unveiled whistleblower awards program diverges in key ways from similar programs at other agencies, and individuals must weigh these differences and look first to programs with stronger, proven protections before blowing the whistle, say Stephen Kohn and Geoff Schweller at Kohn Kohn.

  • What NFL Draft Picks Have In Common With Lateral Law Hires

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    Nearly half of law firm lateral hires leave within a few years — a failure rate that is strikingly similar to the performance of NFL quarterbacks drafted in the first round — in part because evaluators focus too heavily on quantifiable metrics and not enough on a prospect's character traits, says Howard Rosenberg at Baretz+Brunelle.

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