Public Policy

  • June 13, 2024

    CFPB's Chopra Sees 'Pressing Need' For Data Protections

    Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Rohit Chopra zeroed in on data usage and privacy during a Thursday hearing with House lawmakers, calling for sharper limits on what financial firms can do with customer data while also seeking to assuage concerns about his agency's plans for data sharing and data broker rules.

  • June 13, 2024

    Menendez Trial Delayed After Co-Defendant Gets COVID

    The bribery trial against U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez and associates has been halted for at least two days because co-defendant Fred Daibes has COVID-19, a judge said Thursday afternoon.

  • June 13, 2024

    Ex-Colo. DA Rips Current Prosecutor Over Conduct In Murder Case

    A prominent former Colorado district attorney on Thursday roundly criticized a sitting prosecutor accused of misconduct, noting her freewheeling commentary about ongoing cases led to dismissals and suggested she refused to acknowledge the team she led had been "a bunch of disorganized, sloppy lawyers." 

  • June 13, 2024

    Tribal Casino Tells 7th Circ. Ill. City Rigged Proposal Votes

    A proposed tribal casino has asked the Seventh Circuit to undo a lower court ruling that found Waukegan, Ill., did not intentionally discriminate against it when the city chose three other competitors to operate casinos, saying the city ran a rigged review process.

  • June 13, 2024

    House Hearing On NY Trump Prosecutors Flirts With Chaos

    The House Judiciary Committee spiraled Thursday morning after Rep. Matt Gaetz demanded a vote to subpoena Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, who charged former President Donald Trump with 34 felonies, of which he has been convicted, and the Republican chair of the committee had to call for a recess.

  • June 13, 2024

    Vt. Gov. Blocks 'Outlier' Data Privacy Bill With Lawsuit Trigger

    Vermont's governor on Thursday vetoed a legislative proposal that would have given consumers not only new data privacy rights but also the rare opportunity to sue large businesses for certain violations, expressing concerns with the significant "risks" created by the "outlier" measure and urging the Legislature to instead embrace the model adopted by Connecticut and more than a dozen other states.

  • June 13, 2024

    FTC's Ferguson Says He's A Law Enforcer, Not A Policymaker

    Recently minted Federal Trade Commissioner Andrew Ferguson said Thursday that he views his new role as a law enforcer and not a policymaker and said the biggest issue for antitrust law right now is dealing with Big Tech.

  • June 13, 2024

    Ending Flores Settlement Won't Endanger Children, Feds Say

    The Biden administration said a recent regulation it contends warrants winding down the 27-year-old Flores settlement governing health and safety standards for minors in immigration detention can address concerns that human rights organizations raised about the continued use of unlicensed facilities.

  • June 13, 2024

    FERC Faces Chorus Of Calls To Rethink Grid Policy Overhaul

    Dozens of requests that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission reconsider parts or all of its sweeping revision of its regional transmission planning policies have been filed, some of which could telegraph future court challenges if the agency ultimately sticks to its guns. Here's a roundup of the notable issues raised in the rehearing requests for FERC Order No. 1920.

  • June 13, 2024

    FCC Wants To Revamp Citizens Broadband Radio Service

    The head of the Federal Communications Commission on Thursday asked fellow members to back an overhaul of the Citizens Broadband Radio Service, a spectrum-sharing arrangement developed during Barack Obama's presidency.

  • June 13, 2024

    Chinese Officials Promise Response On EV Tariffs

    A Chinese Foreign Ministry official told reporters on Thursday that Beijing "will take all measures necessary" to combat planned European Union tariffs on its electric-vehicle exports, after Brussels announced preliminary countervailing duty rates of up to 38.1%.

  • June 13, 2024

    NJ Justices Create New Liability Rule For Property Owners

    The New Jersey Supreme Court on Thursday voted 4-3 to craft a new rule stating that owners of commercial vacant lots have a duty to maintain the public sidewalks abutting the lots, and reinstated a woman's trip-and-fall injury suit.

  • June 13, 2024

    Mich. Judge Calls 'Foul' On Mail-In Ballot Signature Guidance

    A Michigan judge on Wednesday struck down guidance issued to election clerks to presume signatures on mail-in ballots are valid, siding with Republican groups who argued that the guidance was incompatible with state law.

  • June 13, 2024

    Bill Banning College Athletes As Workers Gets Committee Nod

    A U.S. House of Representatives panel on Thursday moved new legislation that would prohibit classifying student-athletes as employees of any institution, conference or association to the floor for a vote, as the bill's sponsor pushed back at what he described as the influence of big labor.

  • June 13, 2024

    Senate Finance Panel OKs 3 Tax Court Judges, Treasury IG

    The Senate Finance Committee overwhelmingly approved Thursday the nominations of three judges for the U.S. Tax Court and a new inspector general for the U.S. Department of the Treasury, a post that has lacked a Senate-confirmed nominee for five years.

  • June 13, 2024

    Chamber Asks DC Circ. To Reject EPA's PFAS Designation

    Three business groups, spearheaded by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, have gone to the D.C. Circuit to challenge the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's recent decision to declare two "forever chemicals" to be hazardous materials under federal law.

  • June 13, 2024

    Bill To Expand DC Sports Betting Survives Council Challenge

    Washington, D.C., moved a step closer to opening its sports betting market to more operators Wednesday when the city council passed a fiscal-year budget that included a bill to increase the number of license holders, while rejecting an amendment that would take the bill out of the budget altogether.

  • June 13, 2024

    New Hampshire Bill To Legalize Marijuana Dies In State House

    An effort to legalize marijuana for adult recreational use in the state of New Hampshire is effectively dead after the state House of Representatives on Thursday voted narrowly to table the bill for the remainder of the session.

  • June 13, 2024

    Hemp Co. Sues SD Gov. Over New Cannabinoid Law

    A South Dakota hemp company on Thursday filed a federal lawsuit against the state's governor and attorney general over a new law due to take effect next month that would ban the processing of hemp derivatives into intoxicating products.

  • June 13, 2024

    Republican Sens. Want To Block DOL OT Exemption Rule

    Republican senators unveiled a Congressional Review Act resolution Thursday aiming to roll back the U.S. Department of Labor's new rule increasing the salary thresholds for overtime exemptions for administrative, executive and professional employees, saying the final rule will raise prices and cut jobs.

  • June 13, 2024

    Michigan Supreme Court Curbs Voter Interference Law

    The Michigan Supreme Court narrowed the reach of a law criminalizing voter intimidation Thursday due to fears it could be used to chill political speech, sending prosecutions for robocalls that aimed to suppress Black voter turnout back to an appellate panel for more review.

  • June 13, 2024

    Cannabis Cos. Make Deal Ahead Of Expected DEA Downgrade

    An attorney and cannabis entrepreneur is betting that the federal government will reschedule marijuana before winter, announcing his equipment manufacturing firm will ally with a Native American-owned cannabis oil processing company to build out a pharmaceutical cannabis extraction facility.

  • June 13, 2024

    DOE Can't Limit Water Usage In Dishwashers, Shoppers Say

    Two men sued the U.S. Department of Energy in Texas federal court over the agency's new rules that govern how efficiently household appliances need to manage water usage, saying in a Thursday complaint that the agency surpassed its statutory authority and flouted a previous Fifth Circuit decision.

  • June 13, 2024

    FAA Chief Vows Diligent Boeing Oversight In Senate Hearing

    The Federal Aviation Administration's chief told a Senate panel Thursday that the regulator has diligently stepped up oversight of Boeing's manufacturing since January's harrowing midair door plug blowout on a 737 Max 9 jet, an incident that prompted multiple probes into Boeing's safety culture and quality control.

  • June 13, 2024

    North Carolina Lawmakers Mull Outlawing 'Gas Station Heroin'

    A bill to make the drug tianeptine a scheduled substance in the Tar Heel state that passed in the North Carolina House of Representatives this week has been kicked over to the state Senate for consideration.

Expert Analysis

  • 2 Regulatory Approaches To Psychedelic Clinical Trials

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    Comparing the U.S. and Canada's regulatory frameworks for clinical trials of psychedelic drugs can be useful for designing trial protocols that meet both countries' requirements, which can in turn help diversify patient populations, bolster data robustness and expedite market access, say Kimberly Chew at Husch Blackwell and Sabrina Ramkellawan at AxialBridge.

  • Why Jurors Balk At 'I Don't Recall' — And How To Respond

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    Jurors often react negatively to a witness who responds “I don’t remember” because they tend to hold erroneous beliefs about the nature of human memory, but attorneys can adopt a few strategies to mitigate the impact of these biases, say Steve Wood and Ava Hernández at Courtroom Sciences.

  • How Federal And State Microfiber Pollution Policy Is Evolving

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    Growing efforts to address synthetic microfiber pollution may create compliance and litigation issues for businesses in the textile and apparel industries, so companies should track developing federal and state legislation and regulation in this space, and should consider associated greenwashing risks, says Arie Feltman-Frank at Jenner & Block.

  • Series

    Fishing Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Atop the list of ways fishing makes me a better lawyer is the relief it offers from the chronic stress of a demanding caseload, but it has also improved my listening skills and patience, and has served as an exceptional setting for building earnest relationships, says Steven DeGeorge​​​​​​​ at Robinson Bradshaw.

  • Best Practices For Responding To CBP's Solar Questionnaire

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    U.S. Customs and Border Protection's recently introduced questionnaire to solar importers imposes significant burdens, with the potential for supply chain disruptions and market consolidation, but taking certain steps can assist companies in navigating the new requirements, say Carl Valenstein and Katelyn Hilferty at Morgan Lewis.

  • Exploring Alternatives To Noncompetes Ahead Of FTC Ban

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    Ahead of the Sept. 4 effective date for the Federal Trade Commission's noncompete ban, employers should seek new ways to protect their proprietary and other sensitive information, including by revising existing confidentiality and nondisclosure agreements, says Harvey Linder at Culhane.

  • Parsing Controversial Del. General Corporation Law Proposals

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    In response to issues raised in three recent high-profile Delaware Court of Chancery decisions, many amendments to the Delaware General Corporation Law were quickly proposed that, if enacted, would bring significant changes likely to be hotly debated — and litigated — for the foreseeable future, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • A Look At US-EU Consumer Finance Talks' Slow First Steps

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    The unhurried and informal nature of planned discussions between the U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the European commissioner for justice and consumer protection suggests any coordinated regulatory action on issues like AI and "buy now, pay later" services is still a ways off, say attorneys at DLA Piper.

  • Opinion

    It's Time To Defuse The Ticking Time Bomb Of US Landfills

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    After recent fires at landfills in Alabama and California sent toxic fumes into surrounding communities, it is clear that existing penalties for landfill mismanagement are insufficient — so policymakers must enact major changes to the way we dispose of solid waste, says Vineet Dubey at Custodio & Dubey.

  • 5th Circ. Venue-Transfer Cases Highlight Mandamus Limits

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    Three ongoing cases filed within the Fifth Circuit highlight an odd procedural wrinkle that may let district courts defy an appellate writ: orders granting transfer to out-of-circuit districts, but parties opposing intercircuit transfer can work around this hurdle to effective appellate review, says Charles Fowler at McKool Smith.

  • A Healthier Legal Industry Starts With Emotional Intelligence

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    The legal profession has long been plagued by high rates of mental health issues, in part due to attorneys’ early training and broader societal stereotypes — but developing one’s emotional intelligence is one way to foster positive change, collectively and individually, says attorney Esperanza Franco.

  • 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.

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