Public Policy

  • June 10, 2024

    Sen. Cassidy Releases Trade Facilitation Framework

    Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., released a policy document Monday outlining priority areas for a forthcoming bill to update U.S. customs law, emphasizing streamlined procedures and technology updates to speed up processing at the border.

  • June 10, 2024

    Feds Want Ex-Army Officer's FTCA Claims Cut From Suit

    A former major general's defamation lawsuit against the U.S. Army over an alleged domestic assault should be partially tossed, the federal government told a Pennsylvania federal judge Friday, arguing that soldiers can't sue the Army for incidents that happened while they were serving.

  • June 10, 2024

    IHS Urges Budget Shift After High Court Healthcare Ruling

    The Indian Health Service, following a divided U.S. Supreme Court decision affirming that the federal government is liable for the reimbursement of millions in administrative healthcare costs for two Native American tribes, is urging Congress to shift its budget appropriations for fiscal year 2026 to protect the agency's overall health.

  • June 10, 2024

    Health Data Co. Says Rival's Request Risks Patient Security

    A healthcare data company pushed back against claims in Maryland federal court that it blocks a rival's access to nursing home patient data used to identify potential complications, saying the rival is asking to disable security measures that prevent attacks on its system.

  • June 10, 2024

    NY Lawmakers Pass Kids Social Media Addiction Bill

    New York lawmakers have passed a bill that will rein in social media algorithms from delivering addictive content to minors and sent it to Gov. Kathy Hochul's desk for approval, which is widely expected.

  • June 10, 2024

    Baltimore Lands $45M Deal With Allergan In Opioid Litigation

    Baltimore has put to rest its claims that Allergan played a part in the opioid crisis, reaching a $45 million settlement with the pharmaceutical company, an amount the city called "unprecedented" in an announcement on Monday.

  • June 10, 2024

    Colo. DA Defends Interviewing Ex-Wife Of Murder Case Judge

    A Colorado district attorney on Monday denied that she botched a high-profile murder case targeting a husband in his wife's disappearance, telling a disciplinary panel that her concerns about the judge's honesty justified sending an investigator to interview the jurist's ex-spouse.

  • June 10, 2024

    NY Governor Appoints New Interim Head Of Pot Regulator

    New York Gov. Kathy Hochul on Monday announced new leadership appointments to the state's cannabis regulator, following the release of an investigative audit that blasted the agency for inefficiencies and precipitated the stepping down of its inaugural executive director.

  • June 10, 2024

    'Junk Fee' Suit Against Hilton Shipped Back To State Court

    A D.C. federal judge has sent back to state court a traveler advocacy group's lawsuit accusing Hilton of tricking hotel guests into paying "junk fees" late in the booking process, rejecting the hotel chain's bid to litigate the proposed class action in federal court.

  • June 10, 2024

    Permanent Residents Say Iowa Removal Law Will Ensnare Them

    Immigrant advocacy group Iowa Migrant Movement for Justice responded on Monday in Iowa federal court to the state's argument that lawful permanent residents are exempted from a law empowering officials to arrest and remove previously deported noncitizens, saying no such exception exists.

  • June 10, 2024

    FCC Urged To Add Missing Persons Code For Tribes

    Tribal leaders urged the Federal Communications Commission to consider adding a missing persons code specific to Indigenous people as it upgrades the Emergency Alert System.

  • June 10, 2024

    Cut Penalties For Rural Buildout Shortcomings, FCC Urged

    A trade group representing electric cooperatives is joining the chorus of industry interests calling for the Federal Communications Commission to reduce penalties for companies that withdraw from federally backed rural broadband projects, saying the commission rules should not be "punitive" when build-outs stop making sense.

  • June 10, 2024

    Deputy Sheriff Denies Lying About Groping In $11M Case

    The wife of a south Georgia sheriff who allegedly assaulted and jailed a man after she said he groped her in a gas station denied her accusations were false in response to an $11 million-plus federal civil rights lawsuit against the couple.

  • June 10, 2024

    Exxon Says Activist Investor Could Still Target Core Business

    Exxon Mobil Corp. sought Monday to keep alive its lawsuit against Arjuna Capital LLC in Texas federal court, arguing that the activist investor could still work behind the scenes to submit climate-related shareholder proposals despite promises in court that it will not.

  • June 10, 2024

    Unclaimed Property Group Backs Disney At Mich. High Court

    An unclaimed property holder trade organization urged the Michigan Supreme Court to affirm that the state waited too long to demand that Disney and a restaurant company remit unclaimed property, arguing that third-party auditors' lax oversight allowed examinations to languish beyond the statute of limitations.

  • June 10, 2024

    USPTO Makes Filing Delist Requests Slightly Easier

    The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office will begin to make it easier for anybody to ask the agency to delist "precedential" administrative board rulings, it announced by email on Monday.

  • June 10, 2024

    Split 4th Circ. Tosses Suit Over 'Forever Chemicals' In NC

    The Fourth Circuit ruled Monday that environmental groups couldn't challenge in district court the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's selection of particular so-called forever chemicals for testing after the agency agreed, at the groups' request, to research the chemicals' effects in North Carolina.

  • June 10, 2024

    Software Alliance Urges Congress To Tackle Deepfakes

    The Software Alliance, a trade group that includes Microsoft Corp., Adobe Inc. and IBM, urged Congress Monday to pass legislation that addresses the proliferation of digital replicas made possible with artificial intelligence, telling lawmakers that unauthorized deepfakes harm artists who rely on their reputation and public recognition.

  • June 10, 2024

    Big Tech Urges US Reprisal Over Canada's Impending DST

    The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative should open formal dispute proceedings with the Canadian government in response to a 3% digital services tax that is expected to soon pass in the Canadian Senate, business groups with members in the U.S. tech industry said Monday.

  • June 10, 2024

    3 Takeaways From Cigna's Win In 9th Circ. Rehab Claim Fight

    The Ninth Circuit's recent decision finding Cigna is off the hook for $8.6 million in out-of-network mental health and substance use disorder treatment claims against employee benefit plans administered by the insurer could discourage similar litigation, benefits attorneys say. Here are three key takeaways from the decision.

  • June 10, 2024

    Mass. House Omits Local-Option Tax From $6B Housing Bill

    A proposal by Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey to allow local-option transfer fees on high-value real estate sales was left out of a housing package worth more than $6 billion passed by the state House of Representatives. 

  • June 10, 2024

    EPA Air Compliance Rule Trumps State Powers, DC Circ. Told

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency usurped state authority when it issued a final rule changing the deadline for states to submit Clean Air Act compliance plans for power plants and other existing facilities within their borders, 25 Republican-led states told the D.C. Circuit.

  • June 10, 2024

    W.Va. Anti-Trans Sports Suit Stayed Amid High Court Bid

    A West Virginia federal judge has temporarily paused a lawsuit from a transgender minor challenging a state law that prohibits biological males from joining girls' teams, arguing it is not in the best interest of taxpayers to proceed while the U.S. Supreme Court weighs whether to take up the case.

  • June 10, 2024

    Menendez Likely Knew About Mercedes Bribe, Jury Told

    A former New Jersey insurance broker testified Monday in New York federal court that he never spoke directly to U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez about providing the down payment and monthly installments for a luxury car for his wife, but indicated that he suspected the senator knew about the arrangement.

  • June 10, 2024

    FTC To Fight Go-Ahead Order On Novant $320M Hospital Deal

    Just days after a district court loss, the Federal Trade Commission said Monday it will ask the Fourth Circuit to step in and block Novant Health from buying two North Carolina hospitals in a $320 million deal the agency contends would harm competition.

Expert Analysis

  • 5 Climate Change Regulatory Issues Insurers Should Follow

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    The climate change landscape for insurers has changed dramatically recently — and not just because of the controversy over the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's climate-related risk disclosure rules, says Thomas Dawson at McDermott.

  • How New Rule Would Change CFIUS Enforcement Powers

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    Before the May 15 comment deadline, companies may want to weigh in on proposed regulatory changes to enforcement and mitigation tools at the disposal of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, including broadened subpoena powers, difficult new mitigation timelines and higher maximum penalties, say attorneys at Venable.

  • What's Extraordinary About Challenges To SEC Climate Rule

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    A set of ideologically diverse legal challenges to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's climate disclosure rule have been consolidated in the Eighth Circuit via a seldom-used lottery system, and the unpredictability of this process may drive agencies toward a more cautious future approach to rulemaking, say attorneys at Thompson Coburn.

  • 8 Questions To Ask Before Final CISA Breach Reporting Rule

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    The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency’s recently proposed cyber incident reporting requirements for critical infrastructure entities represent the overall approach CISA will take in its final rule, so companies should be asking key compliance questions now and preparing for a more complicated reporting regime, say Arianna Evers and Shannon Mercer at WilmerHale.

  • Series

    Swimming Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Years of participation in swimming events, especially in the open water, have proven to be ideal preparation for appellate arguments in court — just as you must put your trust in the ocean when competing in a swim event, you must do the same with the judicial process, says John Kulewicz at Vorys.

  • Key Priorities In FDIC Report On Resolving Big Bank Failures

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    The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.'s report last month on the resolvability of large financial institutions contains little new information, but it does reiterate key policy priorities, including the agency's desire to enhance loss-absorbing capacity through long-term debt requirements and preference for single-point-of-entry resolution strategies, say attorneys at Freshfields.

  • Best Practices For Space Security In Our Connected World

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    NASA's recently published space security guide is another indication that cyber-resilience has become a global theme for the space and satellite sector, as well as a useful reference for companies and organizations reviewing their cybersecurity frameworks or looking to partner with the U.S. agency, says Hayley Blyth at Bird & Bird.

  • Opinion

    SEC Doesn't Have Legal Authority For Climate Disclosure Rule

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    Instead of making the required legal argument to establish its authority, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's climate-related disclosure rule hides behind more than 1,000 references to materiality to give the appearance that its rule is legally defensible, says Bernard Sharfman at RealClearFoundation.

  • What 100 Federal Cases Suggest About Changes To Chevron

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    With the U.S. Supreme Court poised to overturn or narrow its 40-year-old doctrine of Chevron deference, a review of 100 recent federal district court decisions confirm that changes to the Chevron framework will have broad ramifications — but the magnitude of the impact will depend on the details of the high court's ruling, say Kali Schellenberg and Jon Cochran at LeVan Stapleton.

  • FTC Noncompete Rule May Still Face Historical Hurdles

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    The Federal Trade Commission's final rule banning noncompetes might face challenges that could have been avoided with more cautious consideration of the commission's long history of failed lawsuits that went beyond the agency's statutory authority, as well as the mountain of judicial precedent justifying noncompete agreements in employment contracts, say attorneys at BakerHostetler.

  • A Look At Subchapter V As Debt Limit Expiration Looms

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    If proposed legislation to extend Subchapter V’s debt eligibility ceiling sunset date in June is passed, bankruptcy professionals can seek ways to work with their local jurisdictions to advocate for code changes and guidance that bring more efficiencies and clarity to the process, say Matthew Brash at Newpoint Advisors and Melinda Bennett at Stretto.

  • Opinion

    SEC Should Be Allowed To Equip Investors With Climate Info

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    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's new rule to require more climate-related disclosures will provide investors with much-needed clarity, despite opponents' attempts to challenge the rule with misused legal arguments, say Sarah Goetz at Democracy Forward and Cynthia Hanawalt at Columbia University’s Sabin Center for Climate Change.

  • 8 Fla. Statutes That Construction Cos. Should Prepare For

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    In this article, Jason Lambert at Hill Ward discusses a number of recent bills out of the Florida Legislature targeting construction companies in the Sunshine State that have been sent to the governor for signature, at least some of which will have broad impacts that affected companies should prepare for ahead of the July 1 effective date.

  • Game-Changing Decisions Call For New Rules At The NCAA

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    From a newly formed college players union to coaches transferring at the drop of a hat, the National College Athletic Association needs an overhaul, including federal supervision, says Frank Darras at DarrasLaw.

  • End Of Acquitted Conduct Sentencing Can Spark More Reform

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    The U.S. Sentencing Commission’s recent end to factoring acquitted conduct into federal sentences could signal the start of a more constitutionally sound advisory scheme, but Congress and the Supreme Court must first authorize the commission to resolve two constitutional errors baked into its guidelines, say Mark Allenbaugh at SentencingStats.com and Alan Ellis at the Law Offices of Alan Ellis.

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