Public Policy

  • September 19, 2024

    Judge Keeps Hur Investigation Ghostwriter Tapes Sealed

    A D.C. federal judge said Thursday she would review portions of President Joe Biden's ghostwriter's interview with special counsel Robert Hur's office to see if more of it should be publicly released, but denied a separate request from the Heritage Foundation to make the audio of the same conversation public.

  • September 19, 2024

    New NJ Senator Seeks Postelection Vote On 3rd Circ. Nominee

    New Jersey's new U.S. senator, freshly sworn-in Democrat George Helmy, hopes the Senate will vote after the election on the long-stalled nomination of Adeel Mangi to the Third Circuit, which includes his state.

  • September 19, 2024

    Feds Defend At-Sea Monitoring Rule Despite Chevron Demise

    The federal government is defending its power to require fishermen to partially fund the cost of compliance monitors aboard their ships, arguing to the D.C. Circuit that the demise of the so-called Chevron deference doesn't change the fact that federal law authorizes the at-sea monitoring rules.

  • September 19, 2024

    Ex-La. Assistant DA Indicted In Bribery, Laundering Case

    A former assistant district attorney in Lafayette, Louisiana, has been indicted on allegations he conspired to solicit kickbacks and accept bribes while overseeing the 15th Judicial District Attorney's Office's pretrial intervention program. 

  • September 19, 2024

    Feds, Wis. Military Affairs Office Ink Deal In Pay Bias Suit

    The Wisconsin Department of Military Affairs will pay $175,000 to end a U.S. Department of Justice suit alleging it offered a female job applicant a lower salary than what it paid a man for the same position, according to a filing Thursday in federal court. 

  • September 19, 2024

    Halted DOL Fiduciary Regs Could Open Lane For SEC Action

    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission might need to help clear up confusion about fiduciary investment advice standards in the wake of two Texas judges halting new retirement security regulations from the Labor Department, members of an SEC investor advisory committee said Thursday.

  • September 19, 2024

    Senate Tees Up Vote On Tax Court Nominee

    The U.S. Senate set the stage Thursday to proceed with a vote on one of President Joe Biden's picks to fill an open seat on the U.S. Tax Court.

  • September 19, 2024

    Tax Or Fee, Utility Rates Beyond Review, Ga. Justices Hear

    A Georgia city told the state Supreme Court on Thursday that its use of utility fees to bolster city coffers was not an illegal tax, despite a sports bar owner's claims to the contrary, and that a trial court rightly said it could not decide the matter.

  • September 19, 2024

    Feds Say Menendez Retrial Bid Ignores 'Overwhelming' Proof

    Prosecutors urged a Manhattan federal judge to reject former Sen. Bob Menendez's request for a new trial on corruption and bribery charges, arguing that evidence of his guilt was "overwhelming."

  • September 19, 2024

    AT&T Exec's Bribery Trial Ends With Hung Jury

    An Illinois federal judge declared a mistrial in a key corruption case after jurors told him twice Thursday they could not reach a unanimous verdict on any of the charges against an AT&T executive accused of illegally influencing former Illinois House speaker Michael Madigan.

  • September 19, 2024

    H&R Block Again Asks 8th Circ. To Remove ALJs In Ad Suit

    H&R Block asked the Eighth Circuit to reconsider its denial of the company's request to stop administrative law judges from presiding over its coming false-advertising hearing before the Federal Trade Commission, saying the court's one-sentence ruling lacked any explanation despite the significant constitutional issues involved.

  • September 19, 2024

    Federal Judicial Picks For 3 States Advance To Full Senate

    The U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee sent four judicial nominations to the full Senate on Thursday, including that of a former U.S. attorney nominee whose confirmation was blocked by Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, before he became a vice presidential nominee.

  • September 19, 2024

    Nine Countries Sign Treaty For OECD Min. Tax On Payments

    Indonesia, Turkey, Congo and six other countries signed a multilateral treaty aimed at implementing a 9% minimum tax on income sent from their jurisdictions to low-taxed entities within a corporate group, the OECD said Thursday.

  • September 19, 2024

    Squire Patton Hires Ex-Defense Secretary Mark Esper

    Former Defense Secretary Mark T. Esper, who clashed with former President Donald Trump, has joined Squire Patton Boggs LLP to advise clients on national security matters and domestic and foreign policy, the firm announced Thursday.

  • September 18, 2024

    Kids' Online Safety, Privacy Bills Move To House Floor

    The House Energy and Commerce Committee on Wednesday advanced a pair of bipartisan bills aimed at enhancing children's digital safety and data privacy, despite several lawmakers voicing concerns with recent changes that a sponsor acknowledged left one measure a "weakened version" of the proposal that passed the U.S. Senate. 

  • September 18, 2024

    Google Judge Wonders: Does Ad Tech Benefit Publishers?

    The Virginia federal judge weighing the fate of Google's display advertising placement business zeroed in Wednesday on a key aspect of the search giant's defense against a Justice Department monopolization suit — the assertion that even if company practices disadvantaged rival ad exchanges, they benefited publishers.

  • September 18, 2024

    CFPB Says Fintech's Funding Challenge 'Misconstrues' Law

    The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau told a California federal judge that its lawsuit accusing fintech lender SoLo Funds Inc. of falsely touting interest-free loans on its platforms should proceed despite SoLo's claims that the agency is operating with an illegal funding scheme, among other things.

  • September 18, 2024

    DuPont Heirs Beat ERISA Suit Over 1947 Trust At 3rd Circ.

    The Third Circuit reversed a decision Wednesday and found DuPont heirs aren't liable for Employee Retirement Income Security Act violations in a dispute over who's to blame for underfunding a now-insolvent trust that was created by their grandmother in 1947 and paid the heirs and their workers retirement benefits.

  • September 18, 2024

    FBI Dismantles Chinese Botnet, Urges Victims To Seek Aid

    FBI Director Christopher Wray announced Wednesday that the law enforcement agency has knocked out a botnet operated by a Chinese government-sponsored hacker group that was stealing confidential data by infecting internet-connected devices.

  • September 18, 2024

    Mich. Justices Continue To Fight Over Minimum Wage Ruling

    Michigan's minimum wage will rise to $12.48 an hour in February, the state Supreme Court confirmed Wednesday in an order that settled a debate over how to calculate the new wage floor, but rehashed internal disagreements over the court's July decision to increase the minimum wage.

  • September 18, 2024

    Colo. Urges 10th Circ. To Restore Interest Rate Opt-Out Law

    Colorado has urged the Tenth Circuit to accept its "straightforward interpretation" of an interest rate opt-out law, arguing federal lawmakers would have used other language if they didn't want the state to place more restrictive caps on loans made by banks located outside the state. 

  • September 18, 2024

    SEC Must Clarify Murky Crypto Rules, Ex-Officials Tell House

    Two former U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission officials who now represent crypto businesses told House lawmakers Wednesday that the agency's insistence on analyzing the economic realities of every crypto transaction in lieu of clear rulemaking has put the sector and its attorneys in unworkable situations.

  • September 18, 2024

    Native, Black Groups Ask To Intervene In Voter Rights Suit

    Several nonprofit groups supporting Native American and Black voters have joined to intervene in a conservative think tank's lawsuit in Texas federal court that looks to stop a Biden administration executive order promoting easier access to voting.

  • September 18, 2024

    Loper Bright Undercuts SEC Climate Rule, Fracking Cos. Say

    Two fracking companies suing the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission over its climate disclosure rules have again urged the Eighth Circuit to vacate the measures, offering a diverging interpretation of how the U.S. Supreme Court's decision axing Chevron deference should apply.

  • September 18, 2024

    Rescheduling Pot Would Not Hasten Research, Report Says

    A recently enacted law will continue to make it difficult for medical researchers to conduct studies on marijuana, even if federal restrictions are loosened on the drug, according to a new report published Monday by the Congressional Research Service.

Expert Analysis

  • Considering Noncompete Strategies After Blocked FTC Ban

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    A Texas district court's recent decision in Ryan v. Federal Trade Commission to set aside the new FTC rule banning noncompetes does away with some immediate compliance obligations, but employers should still review strategies, attend to changes to state laws and monitor ongoing challenges, say attorneys at Baker McKenzie.

  • Open Questions 3 Years After 2nd Circ.'s Fugitive Ruling

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    The Second Circuit’s 2021 decision in U.S. v. Bescond, holding that a French resident indicted abroad did not meet the legal definition of a fugitive, deepened a circuit split on the fugitive disentitlement doctrine, and courts continue to grapple with the doctrine’s reach and applicability, say attorneys at Lankler Siffert.

  • Replacing The Stigma Of Menopause With Law Firm Support

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    A large proportion of the workforce is forced to pull the brakes on their career aspirations because of the taboo surrounding menopause and a lack of consistent support, but law firms can initiate the cultural shift needed by formulating thoughtful workplace policies, says Barbara Hamilton-Bruce at Simmons & Simmons.

  • Series

    After Chevron: The Future Of AI And Copyright Law

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    In the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision to overrule the Chevron doctrine, leaders in the artificial intelligence industry may seek to shift the balance of power to courts to exercise more independent statutory interpretation without constraints from the U.S. Copyright Office, says Greg Derin at Signature Resolution.

  • Leveraging Policy Changes To Achieve AI Patent Eligibility

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    With the latest U.S. Patent and Trademark Office guidance in hand and legislation looming in Congress, innovators should file their artificial intelligence patent applications now — and five strategies can maximize their chances of success, says Nicholas Gallo at Troutman Pepper.

  • Crypto Regs Could See A Reset Under The Next President

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    Donald Trump has taken a permissive policy stance favoring crypto, while Kamala Harris has been silent on the issue, but no matter who wins the presidential election, we may see a more lenient regulatory climate toward the digital currency than from the Biden administration, says Liam Murphy at McKool Smith.

  • How DOJ May Change FARA Exemption In Forthcoming Rule

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    Any day now, the U.S. Department of Justice is expected to issue proposed revisions to the Foreign Agents Registration Act regulations, and signs suggest that it will likely narrow one of FARA's broadest exemptions, which may compound public confusion about the law's requirements, says Murad Hussain at Arnold & Porter.

  • Planning Law Firm Content Calendars: What, When, Where

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    During the slower month of August, law firms should begin working on their 2025 content calendars, planning out a content creation and distribution framework that aligns with the firm’s objectives and maintains audience engagement throughout the year, says Jessica Kaplan at Legally Penned.

  • Key Concerns To Confront In FDIC Brokered Deposit Proposal

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    Banks and fintech companies should note several fundamental issues with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.'s recent proposal to widen how it classifies brokered deposits, an attempt to limit prudential risk that could expose the industry and underbanked consumers who rely on bank-fintech apps to widespread unintended consequences, say attorneys at Gibson Dunn.

  • 3 Presidential Privilege Questions After Trump Ruling

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision in Trump v. U.S., carving out a new evidentiary privilege for presidents, leaves unanswered several key questions concerning whether this new privilege is waivable or subject to various exceptions, says Jeremy Bates at Frankfurt Kurnit.

  • What To Expect From Evolving Wash. Development Plans

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    The current round of periodic updates to Washington counties' growth and development plans will need to address new requirements from recent legislation, and will also likely bring changes that should please property owners and developers, says Jami Balint at Seyfarth.

  • 4 Steps To Address New Sanctions Time Bar Extension

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    Recent guidance from the Office of Foreign Assets Control clarifies details of the newly extended statute of limitations for civil and criminal enforcement of U.S. sanctions law, so compliance teams should implement key updates, including to lookback periods and recordkeeping policies, say attorneys at Freshfields.

  • Implementing Proposed AML Rules May Take More Guidance

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    Two recent rules proposed by financial regulators would modernize requirements for programs aimed at countering money laundering and terrorist financing by centering more robust risk assessments, but financial institutions may need more specific guidance before they could confidently comply, say Meghann Donahue and Nikhil Gore at Covington.

  • What To Know About Major Fla. Civil Procedure Rule Changes

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    The Florida Supreme Court recently amended the state's Rules of Civil Procedure, touching on pretrial procedure, discovery, motion and trial practice, and while the amendments are intended to streamline cases, the breadth of the changes may initially present some litigation growing pains, say Brian Briz, Benjamin Tyler and Yarenis Cruz at Holland & Knight.

  • Series

    Playing Golf Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Golf can positively affect your personal and professional life well beyond the final putt, and it’s helped enrich my legal practice by improving my ability to build lasting relationships, study and apply the rules, face adversity with grace, and maintain my mental and physical well-being, says Adam Kelly at Venable.

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