Public Policy

  • June 04, 2024

    Judiciary Panel Clears 1st MDL Rule, Eyes 'Mouthpiece' Amici

    Top rulemaking gatekeepers for the federal judiciary Tuesday capped off seven years of strife in the defense and plaintiffs bars by backing a milestone measure aimed at optimizing multidistrict litigation, and then promptly greenlighted an entirely different war of words over new efforts to ferret out amicus briefs from "paid mouthpieces" masquerading as independent experts.

  • June 04, 2024

    Mitch McConnell Slams 7th Circ. Nom's 'Sheer Incompetence'

    Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell tore into Seventh Circuit nominee U.S. District Judge Nancy L. Maldonado on the Senate floor Tuesday, criticizing her case backlog and saying that she has distinguished herself "with sheer incompetence."

  • June 04, 2024

    Trump Wants Gag Orders Terminated In Wake Of Guilty Verdict

    Donald Trump asked a New York County judge to terminate gag orders restricting the former president from making out-of-court statements during his criminal trial, arguing that the "restrictions" on his First Amendment rights are no longer warranted now that the trial has come to an end.

  • June 04, 2024

    Monsanto Tries To Flip $1B PCB Losses As Plaintiffs Press On

    Monsanto is moving to capitalize on a Washington state appellate victory it claims casts doubt on more than $1.1 billion in PCB poisoning verdicts, while plaintiffs are staking out positions to defend — and even build on — their blockbuster wins.

  • June 04, 2024

    GOP Spending Bill Aims To Cut SEC Budget, Nix Climate Rule

    The Republican-led House Appropriations Committee released a spending bill Tuesday that threatens to cut funding for financial service agencies and prevent the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission from funding its controversial climate disclosure rules and bar Consumer Financial Protection Bureau spending on a contentious rule, as well.

  • June 04, 2024

    House DHS Budget Bill Takes Aim At Biden Priorities

    The House Appropriations Committee released a $64.8 billion funding bill for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security for next fiscal year, with a bevy of priorities and policy riders aimed at countering or undoing Biden administration immigration priorities.

  • June 04, 2024

    CFPB Seeks Traffic Cop For Parallel Small-Biz Data Rule Suits

    The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau on Tuesday asked a Kentucky federal judge to stay an industry lawsuit challenging the agency's small-business lender reporting requirements, saying a largely identical challenge filed earlier in Texas should take precedence.

  • June 04, 2024

    Rep. Gaetz Backs FTC's Noncompete Ban In Court

    Rep. Matt Gaetz threw his support behind the Federal Trade Commission on Tuesday in a court battle over the agency's new rule banning employee noncompete clauses, arguing that Congress has repeatedly affirmed the commission's authority to make competition rules.

  • June 04, 2024

    9th Circ. Backs Agency Denial Of Partnership's Crop Policy

    The Federal Crop Insurance Corp. reasonably interpreted a policy that was canceled by an insurer after a farming partnership filed a claim seeking the full $1.9 million limit, the Ninth Circuit ruled Tuesday, affirming a decision backing the FCIC's conclusion that the operation didn't qualify for coverage.

  • June 04, 2024

    FDA Advisers Rebuff Bid To Treat PTSD With MDMA

    A panel of public health experts on Tuesday dealt a blow to a historic effort to regulate MDMA therapy for post-traumatic stress disorder, saying although the positive effects shown in clinical trials are promising, the proposal was hindered by too many confounding factors.

  • June 04, 2024

    Recreational Marijuana To Be On SD Ballot For 3rd Time

    Recreational marijuana advocates have successfully put a measure on South Dakota's November ballot, giving state voters a third shot at legalizing the drug just two years after they declined to do so.  

  • June 04, 2024

    Shrimp Group Tries To Revive Commerce's Abandoned Duties

    A shrimp producer trade group advocated at the Federal Circuit on Tuesday for anti-dumping duty rates that the U.S. Department of Commerce has abandoned, after the agency recalculated and lowered the rates following an order from the U.S. Court of International Trade.

  • June 04, 2024

    Judge Skeptical School Mask Opponent Can Duck Sanctions

    A Washington state appellate judge appeared doubtful Monday that $30,000 in sanctions for a man and his attorneys were unwarranted, after a trial court judge found his school board recall petitions were meant to bully board members into flouting a state COVID-19 mask mandate.

  • June 04, 2024

    Bill Would Give Tribes Stronger Say In Forest Protection

    U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski has introduced legislation that would correct oversights and expand the language of the Tribal Forest Protection Act, arguing that the law has proved too restrictive for Indigenous communities and prevented Alaskan Native corporations from participating in its programs entirely.

  • June 04, 2024

    Airbus' Satcom Unit Fined $44K For Anti-Boycott Violations

    The U.S. Department of Commerce announced a penalty of $44,750 against Airbus DS Government Solutions Inc. on Tuesday after the company self-reported three violations of federal regulations prohibiting U.S. companies from supporting boycotts against Israel.

  • June 04, 2024

    Justices Raise Doubt Hospital System Must Face Wage Claims

    The California Supreme Court appeared open Tuesday to undoing a finding that a hospital system is not a public entity and must face workers' meal- and rest-break claims, with one justice noting that state law repeatedly calls the system a public entity and saying, "So what do we make of that?"

  • June 04, 2024

    'Ghost Gun' Makers Ask 2nd Circ. To Weigh In On NY AG Case

    A group of companies being sued by the New York attorney general over their distribution of so-called ghost gun kits is asking the Second Circuit to weigh in on the case and decide whether the parts kits can be considered "firearms" and if they are entitled to immunity under federal firearms law.

  • June 04, 2024

    Chief Justice's Leadership Is Falling Short, Schumer Says

    Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer on Tuesday criticized U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts for what he sees as lackluster efforts to address ethical impropriety among high court members.

  • June 04, 2024

    Ga. County Wants 11th Circ. To Rethink Trans Care Ban Ruling

    A Georgia county that lost a legal challenge to a provision of its health plan that bars coverage for gender-affirming surgery has asked the full Eleventh Circuit to revisit the decision, arguing that an opinion last month wrongly found the policy discriminates against transgender people, rather than being isolated to a single procedure.

  • June 04, 2024

    2nd Circ. Says ERISA Blocks Cigna Bill Backpedaling Suit

    The Second Circuit affirmed the dismissal of a podiatric medicine provider's suit alleging Cigna illegally backtracked on covering a patient's $200,000 bill, ruling that a lower court was right to find that federal benefits law blocks the healthcare provider's breach of contract claims.

  • June 04, 2024

    Telecom Org. Says Expanding Universal Fund Only Way To Go

    The head of a major telecommunications industry group is urging Congress to tap big tech in order to keep the Universal Service Fund afloat, saying in a new article that "the solution to affordable connectivity is staring us in the face."

  • June 04, 2024

    DOJ Remains 'Clear Eyed' About No-Poach Prosecutions

    A senior U.S. Department of Justice Antitrust Division prosecutor continued Tuesday to emphasize the importance of criminal cases accusing employers of fixing wages or curtailing recruitment and hiring of workers from rivals, asserting that despite courtroom defeats, enforcers are trying to learn from past failures.

  • June 04, 2024

    Meta, Texas Strike Deal To End State's Biometric Privacy Suit

    Meta Platforms Inc. and Texas' attorney general have agreed to settle the state's suit accusing the social media giant of using its facial recognition technology to illegally collect Facebook users' biometric information without their consent, the parties told a state court. 

  • June 04, 2024

    Airlines Seek Shield From Chicago's New Paid Sick Leave Law

    The trade group representing the largest U.S. airlines alleged in a federal lawsuit Tuesday that Chicago's new paid sick leave law cannot be enforced against airlines because it interferes with flight crew staffing and scheduling in violation of federal law and collective bargaining agreements.

  • June 04, 2024

    Sen. Leaders Press Biden's Tax Court Nominees On Fairness

    Senate Finance Committee leaders pressed President Joe Biden's three new judicial nominees for the U.S. Tax Court to explain Tuesday how they would extend fair treatment to taxpayers if they are confirmed.

Expert Analysis

  • To Make Your Legal Writing Clear, Emulate A Master Chef

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    To deliver clear and effective written advocacy, lawyers should follow the model of a fine dining chef — seasoning a foundation of pure facts with punchy descriptors, spicing it up with analogies, refining the recipe and trimming the fat — thus catering to a sophisticated audience of decision-makers, says Reuben Guttman at Guttman Buschner.

  • What Junk Fee Law Means For Biz In California And Beyond

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    Come July 1, companies doing business in California must ensure that the price of any good or service as offered, displayed or advertised is inclusive of all mandatory fees and other charges in compliance with S.B. 478, which may have a far-reaching impact across the country due to wide applicability, say Alexandria Ruiz and Amy Lally at Sidley Austin.

  • EPA Heavy-Duty Vehicle GHG Rules Face Bumpy Road Ahead

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    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's new standards to reduce greenhouse gas emissions for owners and operators of heavy-duty vehicles are facing opposition from both states and the transportation industry, and their arguments will mirror two pending cases challenging the EPA's authority, says Grant Laizer at Adams and Reese.

  • 8 Steps Companies Should Take After An Internal Investigation

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    Given the U.S. Department of Justice’s increasing focus on corporate compliance and remediation of misconduct, companies must follow through in several key ways after an internal investigation to ensure history does not repeat itself, say Jonathan Aronie and Joseph Jay at Sheppard Mullin.

  • Circuit Judge Writes An Opinion, AI Helps: What Now?

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    Last week's Eleventh Circuit opinion in Snell v. United Specialty Insurance, notable for a concurrence outlining the use of artificial intelligence to evaluate a term's common meaning, is hopefully the first step toward developing a coherent basis for the judiciary's generative AI use, says David Zaslowsky at Baker McKenzie.

  • Opinion

    US Solar Import Probe's Focus On China Is Misguided

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    The U.S. Department of Commerce's recent anti-dumping and countervailing duty investigation focuses on the apparent Chinese ownership of solar device importers in four Southeast Asian countries — a point that is irrelevant under the controlling statute, says John Anwesen at Lighthill.

  • DC Circ. Ruling Heightens HHS Contract Pharmacy Challenges

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    The D.C. Circuit's recent ruling that the Section 340B program does not bar manufacturers from restricting deliveries of discounted drugs to contract pharmacies represents a second strike against the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' current contract pharmacy policy and raises the stakes surrounding an upcoming Seventh Circuit ruling on the same issue, say attorneys at Foley Hoag.

  • Ohio Tax Talk: The Legislative Push For Property Tax Relief

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    As Ohio legislators attempt to alleviate the increasing property tax burden, four recent bills that could significantly affect homeowners propose to eliminate replacement property tax levies, freeze property taxes for longtime homeowners, adjust homestead exemptions annually for inflation, and temporarily expand the homestead exemption, say Raghav Agnihotri and Rachael Chamberlain at Frost Brown.

  • Aviation Watch: Mostly Smooth Landing For New FAA Law

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    The recently signed Federal Aviation Administration Reauthorization Act enhances air safety in several key ways, including strengthened passenger rights and cockpit voice recorder requirements, but an expansion of slot exemptions at Reagan National Airport is a notable misstep, says Alan Hoffman, a retired attorney and aviation expert.

  • Series

    In The CFPB Playbook: Regulatory Aims Get High Court Assist

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    Newly emboldened after the U.S. Supreme Court last month found that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's funding is constitutional, the bureau has likely experienced a psychic boost, allowing its already robust enforcement agenda to continue expanding, say attorneys at Husch Blackwell.

  • NY Public Campaign Funding May Attract Scrutiny From Feds

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    The upcoming elections across New York this year will be the first under the state’s public campaign finance program — which may broaden federal prosecutors' purview to target state election fraud and corruption, says Jarrod Schaeffer at Abell Eskew.

  • FTC Theories Of Harm After Anesthesia Co. Ruling

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    As Federal Trade Commission litigation against U.S. Anesthesia Partners proceeds following a Texas federal court's recent decision to dismiss a private equity sponsor from the suit, the case attempts to incorporate and advance some of the commission's theories of competitive harm from the final 2023 Merger Guidelines, say attorneys at Mintz.

  • National Security And The Commercial Space Sector: Part 2

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    Strategy documents recently published by the U.S. Department of Defense and the U.S. Space Force confirm the importance of the commercial space sector to the DOD, but say little about achieving the institutional changes needed to integrate commercial capabilities in support of national security in space, say Jeff Chiow and Skip Smith at Greenberg Traurig.

  • FTC Hearing On Fake Review Rule Stressed Compliance Costs

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    The Federal Trade Commission is likely to finalize its proposed rule to prohibit marketers from using deceptive practices in their product reviews after an informal hearing covered arguments over whether costs of implementing the rule, such as review moderation and software maintenance, would be minimal, says Jeffrey Edelstein at Manatt.

  • FTC Focus: Exploring The Meaning Of Orange Book Letters

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    The Federal Trade Commission recently announced an expansion of its campaign to promote competition by targeting pharmaceutical manufacturers' improper Orange Book patent listings, but there is a question of whether and how this helps generic entrants, say Colin Kass and David Munkittrick at Proskauer.

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