Public Policy

  • June 11, 2024

    FTC Gets Short Extension On Novant Deal Pause

    A North Carolina federal court Tuesday extended an order preventing Novant Health from closing its $320 million deal for a pair of hospitals in the state by 10 days to give the Federal Trade Commission time to ask the Fourth Circuit to pause the transaction.

  • June 11, 2024

    Compliance Costs Outweigh Min. Tax Gains, Biz Reps Say

    Multinational businesses are concerned that the burden of complying with the 15% global minimum tax outweighs any potential revenue gains associated with the burgeoning system, tax attorneys and a trade association representative said during a panel Tuesday.

  • June 11, 2024

    Skechers Supplier Banned For Alleged Forced Labor Ties

    Federal authorities announced on Tuesday three new additions — including a shoemaker linked to the sneaker brand Skechers — to their blacklist of companies purportedly linked to systematic oppression of Uyghurs and other minority groups in China.

  • June 11, 2024

    Watchdog Says EPA's Lead Exposure Notice Program Lagging

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is not on track to roll out a public warning system for exposure to lead in drinking water by an October deadline, the EPA's internal watchdog said in a new report.

  • June 11, 2024

    NY State Pot Regulators OK Adult-Use Homegrow

    New York state cannabis regulators gave final approval Tuesday to regulations allowing the home cultivation of marijuana for adult recreational use. 

  • June 11, 2024

    DOE Urges DC Circ. To Extinguish Furnace Rule Fight

    The U.S. Department of Energy on Monday defended its tighter energy efficiency standards for furnaces and water heaters, telling the D.C. Circuit that arguments that the new regulations unlawfully force a costly switch to new appliances are meritless.

  • June 11, 2024

    Pa. County Can't Give Voting Machine Data To Mich. Atty

    A Pennsylvania judge on Tuesday blocked Fulton County commissioners from giving data copied from the county's Dominion Voting Systems equipment to an attorney and Donald Trump ally facing criminal charges for illegally accessing voter information in Michigan.

  • June 11, 2024

    Texas AG Urges DC Circ. To Revive Media Matters Probe

    Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton wants the D.C. Circuit to revive his investigation into progressive media watchdog Media Matters' reporting on the social media platform X, saying the D.C. federal court had no authority to interfere with the probe.

  • June 11, 2024

    Feds Want 10 Years For Ex-Chicago Alderman Burke

    Federal prosecutors asked an Illinois federal judge Monday to send former Chicago Alderman Ed Burke to prison for 10 years for "brazenly and boldly" using his official position to steer tax business to his law firm, while Burke requested a sentence of probation, bolstered by letters of support from prominent attorneys and retired judges.

  • June 11, 2024

    Enviro Suit Says BLM Well Policy Leaves Drilling Unchecked

    An environmental group is suing the Bureau of Land Management to invalidate drilling permits in and around Colorado's Pawnee National Grassland, claiming the agency has given up authority to regulate the surface impacts of certain wells in violation of its federal mandates.

  • June 11, 2024

    Federal Judgeships To Open In Pennsylvania And New Mexico

    Federal district judge seats in Pennsylvania and New Mexico will open early next year, as two appointees of former President George W. Bush have said they will step down.

  • June 11, 2024

    Greenberg Traurig Adds Environmental Team From Steptoe

    Greenberg Traurig LLP has bolstered its environmental practice with the addition of a shareholder and two assistant directors from Steptoe LLP at its Washington, D.C., office.

  • June 11, 2024

    NY Courts Agree To Boost Translation Services After Bias Case

    New York state court officials instituted reforms and sealed an agreement with federal prosecutors on Tuesday related to claims that an upstate county denied Spanish-speaking defendants translation services in violation of their civil rights.

  • June 11, 2024

    CFPB Floats Rule To Take Medical Debt Off Credit Reports

    The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau on Tuesday proposed a rule that would restrict how lenders and credit reporting companies can use consumers' medical debt information, a measure that the agency said could remove up to $49 billion in outstanding medical bills from millions of credit reports.

  • June 11, 2024

    Vt. Short-Term Rental Tax Proposal Vetoed

    A Vermont bill that would have imposed a 3% surcharge on short-term rentals was vetoed by the governor.

  • June 11, 2024

    J&J Inks $700M Deal To End AGs' Talc Marketing Suits

    Forty-three state attorneys general on Tuesday said there has been a $700 million nationwide settlement and a consent judgment has been reached with Johnson & Johnson that ends claims it misled consumers about the safety of its talc products.

  • June 11, 2024

    NY's Trump Prosecutors To Testify Before House July 12

    Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg and top prosecutor Michael Colangelo will appear before a House hearing on July 12, following a request from Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, chair of the House Judiciary Committee, amid persistent criticism of former President Donald Trump's conviction on 34 felony counts. 

  • June 11, 2024

    Democratic Republic Of Congo Joins African Tax Coalition

    The Democratic Republic of the Congo has officially joined the African Tax Administration Forum as its 44th member, the group announced.

  • June 11, 2024

    Ga. Judge Says Election Case Will Go On During DQ Appeal

    A Fulton County judge said that he will continue considering some pretrial motions in the Georgia election interference case while an appellate court decides if District Attorney Fani Willis should be disqualified from the prosecution. 

  • June 11, 2024

    DC Firms Honored For Local Legal Services Donations

    The D.C. Access to Justice Commission is recognizing 39 law firms for their financial contributions to legal aid providers in Washington, saying the private bar's support is crucial to meeting the community's needs.

  • June 10, 2024

    Trump Can't Nix 9 Classified Doc Charges, But Wins Trim

    The Florida federal judge overseeing the classified documents case against Donald Trump on Monday refused to throw out nine counts challenged by the former president, yet she did agree to strike from the indictment allegations that Trump at one point shared a classified map at a golf course.

  • June 10, 2024

    Privacy Law Needs Broader State Override, Trade Groups Say

    Nearly two dozen business groups are calling on Congress to expand the preemption provisions in proposed legislation to give consumers more control over their personal information, arguing that the current draft "falls short" of creating a uniform national data privacy framework by failing to fully override the emerging state law patchwork. 

  • June 10, 2024

    ATF Says States Lack Standing In Suit Over Gun Show Rule

    The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives told a federal judge in Texas that a coalition of Republican-led attorney generals could not prove how a rule closing the so-called gun show loophole harmed the states.

  • June 10, 2024

    New State Appeals Court Is Constitutional, Texas Says

    The Texas Health and Human Services Commission asked the state's high court to reject a petition by Dallas County seeking a declaration that the newly created Fifteenth Court of Appeals is unconstitutional, saying the legislature indeed can create an appeals court with subject-matter jurisdiction.

  • June 10, 2024

    NYC Probation Officer Interviews Trump Ahead Of Sentence

    A New York City probation officer questioned Donald Trump in a remote video interview on Monday, a month before the former president is slated to be sentenced in the wake of his felony conviction in the Manhattan district attorney's hush money case.

Expert Analysis

  • Live Nation May Shake It Off In A Long Game With The DOJ

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    Don't expect a swift resolution in the U.S. Department of Justice's case against Live Nation, but a long litigation, with the company likely to represent itself as the creator of a competitive ecosystem, and the government faced with explaining how the ticketing giant formed under its watch, say Thomas Kliebhan and Taylor Hixon at GRSM50.

  • How Act 126 Will Jump-Start Lithium Production In Louisiana

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    Louisiana's recent passage of Act 126, which helps create a legal and regulatory framework for lithium brine production and direct lithium extraction in the state, should help bolster the U.S. supply of this key mineral, and contribute to increased energy independence for the nation, say Marjorie McKeithen and Justin Marocco at Jones Walker.

  • 5 Steps For Gov't Contractor Affirmative Action Verification

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    As the federal contractor affirmative action program certification deadline approaches, government contractors and subcontractors should take steps to determine their program obligations, and ensure any required plans are properly implemented and timely registered, say Christopher Wilkinson at Perkins Coie and Joanna Colosimo at DCI Consulting.

  • Boeing Saga Underscores Need For Ethical Corporate Culture

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    In the wake of recent allegations about Boeing’s safety culture, and amid the U.S. Department of Justice’s new whistleblower incentives, business leaders should reinvigorate their emphasis on compliance by making clear that long-term profitability requires ethical business practices, says Maxwell Carr-Howard at Dentons.

  • A Closer Look At Feds' Proposed Banker Compensation Rule

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    A recently proposed rule to limit financial institutions' ability to award incentive-based compensation for risk-taking may progress through the rulemaking process slowly due to the sheer number of regulators collaborating on the rule and the number of issues under consideration, say attorneys at Troutman Pepper.

  • 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.

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