Public Policy

  • May 07, 2024

    DOJ's 'Dr. Doom' Sees AI's Crime-Fighting Abilities, And Risks

    The U.S. Department of Justice is using artificial intelligence to bolster its investigations, including into the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, said U.S. Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco on Tuesday at a cybersecurity conference at which she dove into the beneficial uses of AI alongside its threats to security and democracy.

  • May 07, 2024

    85 Lawmakers Join Chorus Opposing Space Force Transfers

    A bipartisan group of 85 federal lawmakers on Tuesday joined all 50 state governors in opposing a proposal to allow Air National Guard units to be transferred to the U.S. Space Force without gubernatorial approval, arguing the measure would undermine "the integrity and longstanding mission of the National Guard."

  • May 07, 2024

    US News' Suit Over SF Ranking Probe Premature, Judge Says

    A California federal judge on Tuesday tossed without prejudice U.S. News & World Report's lawsuit challenging the San Francisco City Attorney's subpoenas seeking information about its methodology for ranking hospitals, saying the suit jumps the gun because U.S. News is not bringing a valid pre-enforcement claim.

  • May 07, 2024

    Federal Courts Choosing To Stay Out Of Texas Grid Fights

    The Fifth Circuit has again refused to wade into fights over actions taken by Texas' grid operator during a 2021 winter storm, further underscoring federal courts' reluctance to disturb the historic independence of the Lone Star State's electricity sector, attorneys say.

  • May 07, 2024

    10th Circ. Finds 'Religious Animus' In School's Vaccine Rules

    The Tenth Circuit ruled Tuesday that the University of Colorado System's policies regarding COVID-19 vaccine exemptions violated constitutional religious liberty protections, saying its rules were motivated by "religious animus" and should have been blocked by a trial court.

  • May 07, 2024

    2nd Circ. Weighs Border Wall Fraud Juror's Tie To Prosecution

    A Colorado man convicted of scheming to defraud donors to a campaign to build a southern border wall told the Second Circuit on Tuesday that his trial was tainted by a juror's family connection to the prosecution team.

  • May 07, 2024

    Fashion Cos. Say FTC Bid To Ax $8.5B Deal 'Makes No Sense'

    The Federal Trade Commission's move to block the owner of Coach and Kate Spade from buying the owner of Michael Kors and Jimmy Choo for $8.5 billion "makes no sense," the companies argued in response, saying they aren't the only handbag brands in the game.

  • May 07, 2024

    5th Circ. Urged To Reject Challenge To Board Diversity Rule

    The NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund urged the Fifth Circuit not to upend a Nasdaq Stock Market rule meant to encourage corporate board diversity, saying in a brief Monday that the rule's opponents have staked out a "radical" position on the equal protection clause of the U.S. Constitution that threatens to "entrench ... barriers to opportunity."

  • May 07, 2024

    Forest Service Says Court Should Fell Logging Climate Suit

    The U.S. Forest Service on Monday urged a D.C. federal district court to toss most of a lawsuit filed by environmental groups that alleges the agency failed to assess the impact of logging projects on carbon storage and emissions.

  • May 07, 2024

    Microsoft Announces AI For Top Secret Gov't Cloud

    Microsoft announced Tuesday that it will make generative artificial intelligence tools available for federal defense and intelligence agencies as part of its cloud system for classified information, using a private network not connected to the public internet.

  • May 07, 2024

    DOI Gives States And Tribes $148M For Drought Resiliency

    The U.S. Department of the Interior has said it has invested nearly $148 million to help states and Native American tribes prepare for water reliability challenges due to drought and other scarcity concerns, saying the money will go to 42 projects in 10 states.

  • May 07, 2024

    Commerce Revokes Huawei Export Licenses

    The U.S. Department of Commerce has revoked active export licenses for Chinese technology giant Huawei, an agency spokesperson confirmed Tuesday, the same day the company's Intel-powered Matebook X Pro 2024 laptop hit the international market.

  • May 07, 2024

    NY Officials Tout Crackdown On Illicit Cannabis Market

    New York state cannabis regulators on Tuesday touted new legislative changes empowering them to more swiftly crack down on unregulated marijuana sales, the same day that New York City officials announced a program to step up enforcement against unlicensed retailers.

  • May 07, 2024

    DOJ Says Cross-Border Antitrust Trial Must Stay In Houston

    Prosecutors have advised Houston's federal court against transferring a criminal case closer to the border, saying their witnesses fear testifying against defendants charged with using violence to control the cross-border sale of used vehicles and other goods in Central America.

  • May 07, 2024

    Colo. Judge Iffy On DOJ's Missive In Kroger Merger Challenge

    A Colorado state judge said he was unsure Tuesday about how to handle the Department of Justice's recent filing defending the state's authority to challenge Kroger's $24 billion merger with Albertsons, as Kroger claimed federal regulators were flip-flopping their antitrust stance.

  • May 07, 2024

    Feds Tell 11th Circ. Justices' Ruling Saves DHS Parole Policies

    The Biden administration has urged the Eleventh Circuit to vacate separate decisions from a Florida federal judge striking down two U.S. Department of Homeland Security parole policies, saying U.S. Supreme Court precedent mandates that outcome.

  • May 07, 2024

    9th Circ. Revives Removal Fight Over Justices' Notice Ruling

    A Honduran woman who received a notice to appear in immigration court without a time specified can resume fighting her deportation after the Ninth Circuit leaned on a U.S. Supreme Court ruling requiring all court hearing information to be on a single document.

  • May 07, 2024

    Ways And Means Chairs Decry China Tariff Review 'Inaction'

    The chairs of the House Ways and Means Committee and its Trade Subcommittee chided U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai in a letter Tuesday over her office's purported "inaction" in reviewing tariffs covering $300 billion worth of goods from China.

  • May 07, 2024

    NTIA To Dole Out $420M For Open RAN Development

    The National Telecommunications and Information Administration is putting another $420 million toward the radio equipment needed to develop open radio access networks, which many have pointed to as the solution for pivoting away from Chinese-made technology due to security concerns.

  • May 07, 2024

    NLRB Signals Appeal Of Joint Employer Rule Spat To 5th Circ.

    The National Labor Relations Board is fighting a Texas federal judge's decision striking down the board's 2023 joint employer rule, telling the court on Tuesday that the agency will appeal the ruling to the Fifth Circuit.

  • May 07, 2024

    Starbucks Can't End Investor Suit Over Union-Busting Stance

    A Washington state judge won't toss a shareholder suit accusing Starbucks' corporate leadership of diminishing stock values by allowing store managers to quash baristas' organizing efforts.

  • May 07, 2024

    DOL Official Says Expect Pension De-Risking Report Soon

    The U.S. Department of Labor's employee benefits chief said Tuesday the agency expects to submit a report to Congress shortly on so-called pension risk transfers, which involve the exchange of defined benefit pension plan liabilities for annuity insurance contracts.

  • May 07, 2024

    Hospital Can't Force Nurse's Retaliation Suit Into Arbitration

    A Texas appellate court said Tuesday that a former nurse does not have to arbitrate claims that she was fired after reporting that a patient slapped her buttock, stating that a recently enacted federal law barring sexual assault-related claims from out-of-court resolutions applies to her case.

  • May 07, 2024

    Industry Groups Suggest Changes To Aussie Reporting Rules

    A coalition of global fund industry associations asked Australia to further amend its proposal for public country-by-country tax data reporting by including, among other measures, a provision that would allow companies to withhold sensitive information, according to a letter released Tuesday by the U.S. Treasury Department.

  • May 07, 2024

    Colo. House OKs Conservation Easement Tax Break Extension

    Colorado would extend its conservation easement tax credit through 2031 and raise its statewide annual cap on available credits under legislation approved Tuesday by the state House of Representatives.

Expert Analysis

  • AI In Performance Management: Mitigating Employer Risk

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    Companies are increasingly turning to artificial intelligence tools in performance management, exposing organizations to significant risks, which they can manage through employee training, bias assessments, and comprehensive policies and procedures related to the new technology, say Gregory Brown and Cindy Huang at Jackson Lewis.

  • Legal Issues When Training AI On Previously Collected Data

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    Following the Federal Trade Commission's recent guidance about the use of customer data to train artificial intelligence models, companies should carefully think through their terms of service and privacy policies and be cautious when changing them to permit new uses of previously collected data, says James Gatto at Sheppard Mullin.

  • Protested CFPB Supervisory Order Reveals Process, Priorities

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    The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s order announcing its first use of special oversight power to place installment lender World Acceptance Corp. under supervision despite resistance from the company provides valuable insight into which products and practices may draw bureau scrutiny, and illuminates important nuances of the risk assessment procedures, say Josh Kotin and Michelle Rogers at Cooley.

  • Series

    Riding My Peloton Bike Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Using the Peloton platform for cycling, running, rowing and more taught me that fostering a mind-body connection will not only benefit you physically and emotionally, but also inspire stamina, focus, discipline and empathy in your legal career, says Christopher Ward at Polsinelli.

  • The Challenges SEC's Climate Disclosure Rule May Face

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    Attorneys at Debevoise examine potential legal challenges to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's new climate-related disclosure rule — against which nine suits have already been filed — including arguments under the Administrative Procedure Act, the major questions doctrine, the First Amendment and the nondelegation doctrine.

  • Ala. Frozen Embryo Ruling Creates Risks for Managed Care Orgs

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    The Alabama Supreme Court's decision in LePage v. Center for Reproductive Medicine last month, declaring that frozen embryos count as children, has not only upended the abortion debate but also raised questions for managed care organizations and healthcare providers that provide, offer or facilitate fertility treatment nationwide, say attorneys at Reed Smith.

  • Tips For Healthcare M&A Amid Heightened Antitrust Scrutiny

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    As the Biden administration maintains its aggressive approach to antitrust merger enforcement, prudent healthcare M&A counsel will consider practical advice when contemplating their next transaction, including carefully selecting a merger partner and preparing for a potentially long waiting period prior to closing, say attorneys at Davis Wright.

  • New Eagle Take Permit Rule Should Help Wind Projects Soar

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    The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's recently issued final rule revising the eagle take permit process should help wind energy developers obtain incidental take permits through a more transparent and expedited process, and mitigate the risk of improper take penalties faced by wind projects, says Jon Micah Goeller at Husch Blackwell.

  • Compliance Steps After ABA White Collar Crime Conference

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    Senior law enforcement officials’ statements this month at the American Bar Association's white collar crime conference suggest government enforcement efforts this year will increasingly focus on whistleblower incentives, artificial intelligence and data protection, and companies will need to update their compliance programs accordingly, say attorneys at Baker McKenzie.

  • 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.

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