Public Policy

  • May 08, 2024

    Texas Says Asylum Rule Fight Withstands Toss Of La. Suit

    Texas is urging a federal judge to preserve its challenge to a Biden administration rule broadening immigration officers' power to expedite asylum applications, saying a recent decision in Louisiana throwing out nearly identical claims has no bearing on its case.

  • May 08, 2024

    Pa. Panel Scrutinizes Missteps In 2020 Election Machine Fracas

    The Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court on Wednesday brought up apparent missteps by both sides of a fight stemming from third-party inspections of a conservative county's voting machines, started by the county commissioners falling in with the hunt for fraud in the 2020 election and the state pushing back.

  • May 08, 2024

    Colo. Sheriff Fights State Law That Let His Deputies Unionize

    A Colorado county sheriff whose staff is unionizing has sued the state over the 2023 law that gave his workers the right to organize, seeking a declaration that the law does not apply to his office.

  • May 08, 2024

    Digitex Founder Pleads Guilty To Bank Secrecy Act Violation

    The founder of Digitex Futures Exchange has pled guilty to violating the Bank Secrecy Act by refusing to implement policies designed to prevent money laundering on his cryptocurrency futures platform.

  • May 08, 2024

    Sens. Call For Revamp Of SEC's Nixed Stock Buyback Rules

    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission should "promptly" reissue disclosure rules vacated by the Fifth Circuit last year so that companies are required to publicly disclose more information on their share repurchase plans, a bipartisan pair of U.S. senators told the agency's leader on Monday.

  • May 08, 2024

    Bill To Undo SEC Crypto Accounting Bulletin Passes House

    Lawmakers in the U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday voted to overturn the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's controversial cryptocurrency accounting guidance despite protests from Democrats to take a more targeted approach to amend the directive and a White House pledge to veto the bill.

  • May 08, 2024

    Legal Access Program Being Set Up For Separated Families

    The Biden administration has tapped the Acacia Center for Justice to manage a court-ordered legal access program to help migrant families stay in the U.S. after they were separated under a Trump-era policy to prosecute anybody caught entering the country unlawfully.

  • May 08, 2024

    Upstate NY Cities Aim To Join Rent-Regulated Ranks

    After a 2019 tweak to state law allowed localities beyond New York City and its surrounding counties to opt into rent stabilization for the first time since the original legislation was passed in 1974, a smattering of upstate cities have attempted to do just that, to varying degrees of success.

  • May 08, 2024

    Calif. Justices Weigh Striking Anti-Tax Ballot Initiative

    California Supreme Court justices sought to understand Wednesday if a measure approved for the November ballot that would make it harder to raise taxes would eliminate lawmakers' ability to tax and would illegally revise — rather than amend — the state constitution.

  • May 08, 2024

    4th Circ. Says Purpose Of Inmate Labor Affects Classification

    The primary purpose of prisoners' work at a Baltimore County recycling plant should determine whether a group of incarcerated people were employees under federal law, a Fourth Circuit panel ruled Wednesday, rejecting the county's view that any amount of rehabilitative-oriented work spared it from minimum wage obligations.

  • May 08, 2024

    In Final Memo, Blumenauer Eyes Path Forward For Cannabis

    Rep. Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore., a longtime champion of cannabis reform in Congress who plans to retire this year, is calling marijuana reform a "winning issue" for policymakers and outlined numerous actions both legislators and federal agencies can take to move the issue forward.

  • May 08, 2024

    9th Circ. Says Calif. Can Give Gun Buyer Info To Researchers

    The Ninth Circuit on Wednesday declined to revive a constitutional challenge to a California law requiring the state to provide biographical information about firearm purchasers and those with carry-conceal permits to accredited research institutions studying gun violence, saying the information at issue isn't highly personal and doesn't implicate the right to privacy. 

  • May 08, 2024

    Mont. Tribe Says Feds Must Sign Law Enforcement Contract

    The Northern Cheyenne Tribe has accused the U.S. government of failing to provide the tribe with adequate law enforcement services, urging a Montana federal judge to order it to sign a tribal self-determination contract with an annual funding amount of at least $325,829.

  • May 08, 2024

    GOP Bill Aims To Fund Southwestern States' Border Barriers

    States along the southwestern U.S.-Mexican border looking to build physical barriers or update existing ones could receive federal grants to do so under new legislation from a pair of Republican members of the House of Representatives.

  • May 08, 2024

    Auto Cos. Brace For EV Battery Compliance Hurdles

    New federal regulations aimed at shoring up the domestic electric vehicle manufacturing supply chain give automakers a much-needed two-year cushion to navigate a compliance minefield, and to figure out how to reinvigorate the recent waning consumer demand for electric vehicles.

  • May 08, 2024

    IP Owners Call For PTAB Amendment Plan To Be Permanent

    The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has received a series of comments on its plans to formalize a Patent Trial and Appeal Board pilot program to assist patent owners in amending challenged claims, including from groups such as the Intellectual Property Owners Association and the Council for Innovation Promotion.

  • May 08, 2024

    Vape Fluid Co. Urges Justices To Take Up FDA Challenge

    Lotus Vaping Technologies LLC is urging the U.S. Supreme Court to hear its appeal of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's denial of its application to market bottled flavored e-cigarette fluids, saying the case provides an appropriate vehicle to examine the FDA's policies.

  • May 08, 2024

    Coordinators Resist Bid To Open 800 MHz Assignments

    The Association of American Railroads is warning the Federal Communications Commission not to accept a proposal from the wireless industry that would remove frequency coordinators' requirement to concur with one another when operating in bands below 800 MHz reserved for business and industrial purposes.

  • May 08, 2024

    In Story Of Sex And Lies, Can Cohen Write Final Chapter?

    The Manhattan District Attorney's Office has told a story of scandal and scheming to the jury in Donald Trump's criminal hush money trial, setting the stage for the prosecution's star witness to take the stand and wrap up the narrative.

  • May 08, 2024

    ABA Will Study Rape Questions' Necessity For Bar Applicants

    An American Bar Association commission will issue a report and recommendations by August on the practice of requiring would-be lawyers to disclose and discuss their experiences of sexual violence during the attorney licensure process.

  • May 08, 2024

    Ethics Panel Says Philly Judge's Political Posts Flouted Rules

    In a case of first impression, Pennsylvania's Court of Judicial Discipline has ruled that a state court judge violated ethics rules by making political comments online that called into question his impartiality.

  • May 08, 2024

    NC Court Clerks, Administrators Escape Digital Courts Suit

    Plaintiffs in a proposed class action have voluntarily dropped North Carolina court administrators and clerks from a lawsuit alleging that flaws in the state's electronic court filing system led to unlawful arrests and longer jail stays.

  • May 08, 2024

    Skadden Taps SoFi Bank, Shearman Attys For Co-Lead Roles

    Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom LLP has hired two new co-leaders of its financial institutions regulatory group to advise banks, financial institutions and other market participants on regulatory and legislative developments, the firm announced Wednesday.

  • May 08, 2024

    Dems Propose Scrapping Title VII Damages Caps

    House and Senate Democrats unveiled legislation Wednesday that would eliminate ceilings on the amount of damages workers can receive under federal civil rights law if a jury finds they've been discriminated against, a proposal the lawmakers say would correct outdated limits.

  • May 08, 2024

    Mass. Justices May Give Green Light To Tip Ballot Measure

    Massachusetts' high court justices appeared skeptical Wednesday of arguments by a group of restaurant owners seeking to kill a ballot question that, if approved, would gradually raise the minimum wage for tipped workers to the state's $15-per-hour standard.

Expert Analysis

  • 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.

  • What The NIL Negotiation Rules Injunction Means For NCAA

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    A Tennessee federal court's recent preliminary injunction reverses several prominent and well-established NCAA rules on negotiations with student-athletes over name, image and likeness compensation and shows that collegiate athletics is a profoundly unsettled legal environment, say attorneys at Pillsbury.

  • Md. May See Vigorous Resale Price Maintenance Enforcement

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    In Maryland, indications of a new focus on resale price maintenance agreements are significant because state prosecution in this area has been rare, particularly outside California, say attorneys at DLA Piper.

  • What 2 Years Of Ukraine-Russia Conflict Can Teach Cos.

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    A few key legal lessons for the global business community since Russia's invasion of Ukraine could help protect global commerce in times of future conflict, including how to respond to disparate trade restrictions and sanctions, navigate war-related contract disputes, and protect against heightened cybersecurity risks, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • Takeaways From EPA's New Methane Emission Rules

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    Attorneys at V&E examine two new Clean Air Act rules for the oil and gas industry, explaining how they expand methane and volatile organic compound emission reduction requirements and amplify U.S. Environmental Protection Agency enforcement risks.

  • Uncertainty Surrounds Patent Eligibility Restoration Bill

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    A recent U.S. Senate hearing regarding the Patent Eligibility Restoration Act, a bill that aims to overhaul patent eligibility law and establish clearer statutory exclusions, marks a pivotal moment in the ongoing patent eligibility debate, but the law’s fate remains uncertain as discussions continue, say attorneys at Marshall Gerstein.

  • CSA Case Could Shift Intrastate Commercial Cannabis

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    In Canna Provisions v. Merrick Garland, cannabis companies argue that the Controlled Substances Act is unconstitutional as applied to intrastate commercial cannabis activity; the Massachusetts federal court's eventual decision will be important to the cannabis industry for several reasons, including that the threat of federal enforcement would disappear overnight, says Hilary Bricken at Husch Blackwell.

  • How AI May Be Used In Fintech Fraud — And Fraud Detection

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    Recent enforcement actions in the fintech and finance industries show that the government is increasingly pursuing fraud enabled by artificial intelligence — at the same time it’s using AI innovations to enforce regulations and investigate fraud, say attorneys at ArentFox Schiff.

  • Antitrust Enforcers' Views On Info Exchanges Are Evolving

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    As antitrust enforcers' views on information exchanges between competing companies have matured in response to technological advances, companies would do well to reconsider whether the exchanges in which they participate meet the most recent compliance benchmarks, say attorneys at Norton Rose.

  • Takeaways From Groundbreaking Data Transfer Order

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    A recent first-of-its-kind executive order and related proposed rulemaking lay the groundwork for important outbound U.S. data protections, but they may have unintended consequences related to the types of data and the subjects within their scope, say attorneys at Kirkland.

  • Takeaways From NLRB Advice On 'Outside' Employment

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    Rebecca Leaf at Miles & Stockbridge examines a recent memo from the National Labor Relations Board’s Division of Advice that said it’s unlawful for employers to restrict secondary or outside employment, and explains what companies should know about the use of certain restrictive covenants going forward.

  • FARA Enforcement May Soon Be In The Halls Of Higher Ed

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    Given Congress’ increased attention to rising foreign influence on U.S. college campuses, the U.S. Department of Justice may soon turn the Foreign Agents Registration Act spotlight on educational institutions and groups, which will need to review their possible obligations under the statute, says Tessa Capeloto at Wiley.

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