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Public Policy
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September 10, 2024
FCC Chair Vows High Court Fight Over Universal Service
Federal Communications Commission Chair Jessica Rosenworcel told educators the agency will ask the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn a recent Fifth Circuit decision against the Universal Service Fund, the federal program that subsidizes telecom service to low-income and hard-to-reach areas.
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September 10, 2024
House Reps. Float Bill To Limit Patent Invalidations
A bipartisan bill that would reset patent eligibility standards has been introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives, over a year after a similar Senate bill was put forward that drew opposition from much of the tech and retail industry.
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September 10, 2024
Free Speech Or Bad Medicine? The Abortion 'Reversal' Battle
The marketing of abortion pill "reversal" — a treatment doubted by medical groups but touted by anti-abortion advocates — is facing increased scrutiny from state attorneys general, triggering legal skirmishes in at least four states centered on First Amendment rights and consumer protection laws.
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September 10, 2024
Ariz. Gov. Can Join Monument Suit, Tribes and Enviros Sit Out
The state of Arizona can intervene in a fight over the Biden administration's creation of a national monument on an Indigenous site, but groups of tribes and conservation organizations aren't allowed in the suit, at least for now, a federal judge ruled Monday.
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September 10, 2024
EU Antritrust Chief Resists Softer Telecom Merger Rules
The European Union's outgoing competition chief pushed back at a pitch to loosen the bloc's competition rules Tuesday, saying that merger control rules for telecom markets must continue to look at competition at the national level rather than enlarging the examination to the entire 27-country bloc.
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September 10, 2024
IRS Extends Tax Deadlines For NY, Conn. Storm Victims
Victims of severe storms and flooding in New York and Connecticut will have more time to file some tax returns and make estimated payments, the Internal Revenue Service announced Tuesday.
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September 10, 2024
Biofuel Group Wants Renewable Fuel Redo At DC Circ.
Growth Energy said a D.C. Circuit panel erred when it said the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency should have exempted small petroleum refiners from renewable fuel blending requirements and held the biofuel trade group didn't have standing to challenge alternative compliance actions the agency later enacted.
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September 10, 2024
Top EU Court Upholds €2.4B Google Shopping Fine
The European Court of Justice rejected an appeal from Google on Tuesday challenging a €2.4 billion ($2.7 billion) fine for steering users toward its own comparison shopping service, as the tech giant faces mounting pressure from antitrust enforcers at home and abroad.
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September 09, 2024
Calif. State Senator's Ex-Staffer Sues For Sexual Harassment
California State Sen. Marie Alvarado-Gil created a toxic work environment for her former chief of staff, demanding he perform sex acts to prove his loyalty and firing him for objecting to her "sexualized abuse of power," the former staffer alleged in a new complaint filed in Sacramento Superior Court.
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September 09, 2024
Pa. Supreme Court Snapshot: Benefits, Cannabis, Taxes
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court's September schedule will have the justices pondering when to cancel tax exemptions for hospitals, if stormwater fees are taxes in disguise, and the potential resurrection of requiring medical marijuana products to be tested and approved by two separate laboratories.
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September 09, 2024
Ex-Lender Says FDIC Can't 'Ignore' Key High Court Precedents
A former small-business financier battling a multimillion-dollar Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. enforcement action has doubled down on his Washington, D.C., federal court challenge to the agency's use of administrative proceedings, saying the regulator must be held to U.S. Supreme Court precedents.
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September 09, 2024
Defer To Trial Judges In Juror Bias Strikes, Colo. Justices Rule
The Colorado Supreme Court said Monday an appellate court should not have itself evaluated a prosecutor's credibility in a case of potential racial bias against a Hispanic juror, ruling it instead needed to defer to the trial court.
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September 09, 2024
Wash. Ends First Inspection Effort Against GEO Group
Washington State has dropped its original bid to force private prison operator The GEO Group to allow its health agency to conduct spot inspections at an immigrant detention facility, after it launched a new suit alleging officials had been blocked from entering.
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September 09, 2024
SES, Intelsat Tell FCC They Need $3.1B Combo To Compete
Satellite companies SES and Intelsat told the Federal Communications Commission they need regulators to approve their $3.1 billion merger, which was announced this spring, so they can better compete in a quickly advancing marketplace.
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September 09, 2024
NY Courts' Limits On Ethics Data Broke Law, Watchdog Says
In a rebuke to the New York state court system, an official transparency watchdog has said current restrictions on public access to judges' financial disclosures violate the state's Freedom of Information Law.
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September 09, 2024
Siemens To Build $60M Bullet Train Production Facility In NY
Siemens Mobility will build a $60 million bullet train production facility in Horseheads, New York, that is set to start operating in 2026, according to an official announcement Monday.
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September 09, 2024
Texas Still Not Injured By DHS Parole Program, 5th Circ. Told
Texas' concerns about the Biden administration restarting a parole program for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans following a fraud investigation did little to move the yardstick on whether the state has standing, intervenors hoping to save the program told the Fifth Circuit.
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September 09, 2024
House OKs Bill To Bar Contracts With Chinese Biotech Cos.
Driven by concerns about U.S. genetic data being shared with the Chinese government, House lawmakers passed a bill on Monday to bar federal agencies from buying certain biotechnology linked to the Chinese government or from contracting with firms that use those products.
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September 09, 2024
FCC Is Asked To Allow Bonds As Backup For Funding Awards
More interest groups are calling on the Federal Communications Commission to ease letter of credit requirements for recipients of the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund, with a coalition of bond producers telling the commission that their products would guarantee creditworthiness just as well as credit letters from U.S. banks.
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September 09, 2024
Split SEC Adopts New Quality Control Standards For Auditors
A divided U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission adopted new quality control standards for public company auditors Monday, updating a 30-year-old standard that predates the creation of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board by mandating increased oversight both internally and via the PCAOB.
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September 09, 2024
New Jersey Towns Fight New Affordable Housing Framework
Nine New Jersey towns have filed a constitutional challenge to the state's new affordable housing obligations framework, arguing it imposes responsibilities never envisioned by the decades-old doctrine that gave rise to the state's Fair Housing Act.
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September 09, 2024
Navigation Co. Defends Plan To Deploy GPS Alternative
A geolocation company's bid for an exclusive license for a portion of the lower 900 megahertz band to deploy mobile broadband and a navigation system to backstop the Global Positioning System has hit resistance at the Federal Communications Commission.
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September 09, 2024
Durbin Calls For Justice Thomas To Recuse Over Wife's Email
A top Democratic lawmaker called on U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas to bow out of cases involving a conservative Christian legal organization following reports his wife praised the group for fighting court reform efforts, saying Monday her comments create a "clear appearance" of partiality requiring the justice's recusal.
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September 09, 2024
X Corp. Could Expose Donors To Death Threats, Per Watchdog
Watchdog Media Matters for America claims that for X Corp. to compel production of its donor lists would breach the First Amendment, saying in a Friday brief in a Texas federal court that if the documents go public, its donors would receive violent threats and other abuse.
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September 09, 2024
Generics Makers Want Mo. Sanctioned In Price-Fixing Case
Teva Pharmaceuticals Inc., Mylan Inc. and other generic-drug makers accused by state enforcers of fixing prices have urged a Connecticut federal judge to punish the state of Missouri for failing to provide information requested by the drug companies.
Expert Analysis
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Why FDIC Banks May Want To Consider Fed Membership
With the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. recently ratcheting up bank supervision and proposing idiosyncratic new policies, state-chartered nonmember banks may want to explore the benefits of becoming Federal Reserve members and consider practical steps to make the switch, say Max Bonici and Connor Webb at Venable.
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Dissecting Treasury's Call For Input On AI In Financial Sector
The U.S. Department of the Treasury's request for comments on the potential benefits and challenges AI may pose to the financial services sector, which asks how stakeholders are addressing and mitigating increased fraud risks, reflects the federal government's continued interest in AI's effects across the economy, say attorneys at Hogan Lovells.
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The Rise Of State And Local Environmental Leadership
While Congress is deadlocked, and a U.S. Supreme Court with a hostility toward the administrative state aggressively dismantles federal environmental oversight, state and local governments are stepping up with policies to shape a more sustainable future for all species, says Jonathan Rosenbloom at Albany Law School.
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Opinion
The FTC Needs To Challenge The Novo-Catalent Deal
Novo's acquisition of Catalent threatens to substantially lessen competition in the manufacturing and marketing of GLP-1 diabetes and obesity drugs, and the Federal Trade Commission should challenge it under a vertical theory of harm, as it aligns with last year's merger guidelines and the Fifth Circuit decision in Illumina, says attorney David Balto.
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Series
After Chevron: Slowing Down AI In Medical Research
The U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision overturning the Chevron doctrine may inhibit agencies' regulatory efforts, potentially slowing down the approval and implementation of artificial intelligence-driven methodologies in medical research, as well as regulators' responses to public health emergencies, say Ragini Acharya and Matthew Deutsch at Husch Blackwell.
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Opinion
Conception Is The Proper Test For AI-Assisted Inventions
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office should adopt the conception standard for reviewing AI-assisted inventions, and require the disclosure of artificial intelligence prompts and responses because they are material to patentability, which would then simplify the patent examiner’s invention decision, says Thomas Hamlin at Robins Kaplan.
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A Closer Look At New SDNY And EDNY Local Rules
New local rules in the U.S. District Courts for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York went into effect earlier this month, and include both stylistic changes to make legal writing more accessible, and substantive changes to make processes and filings more efficient, say Andrew Van Houter and Jennifer Montan at Faegre Drinker.
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Avoiding Legal Ethics Landmines In Preindictment Meetings
U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez's recent bribery conviction included obstruction charges based on his former lawyer's preindictment presentation to prosecutors, highlighting valuable lessons on the legal ethics rules implicated in these kinds of defense presentations, say Steve Miller and Hilary Gerzhoy at HWG.
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Series
Being A Luthier Makes Me A Better Lawyer
When I’m not working as an appellate lawyer, I spend my spare time building guitars — a craft known as luthiery — which has helped to enhance the discipline, patience and resilience needed to write better briefs, says Rob Carty at Nichols Brar.
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Series
After Chevron: Uncertainty In Scope Of ITC Oversight
The U.S. International Trade Commission's long-standing jurisprudence on some of the most disputed and controversial issues is likely to be reshaped by the Federal Circuit, which is no longer bound by Chevron deference in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s Loper Bright decision, say Kecia Reynolds and Madeleine Moss at Paul Hastings.
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Half-Truths Vs. Omissions: Slicing Justices' Macquarie Cake
The U.S. Supreme Court's recent ruling in Macquarie v. Moab provides a road map for determining whether corporate reports that omit information should be considered misleading — and the court baked it into a dessert analogy that is key to understanding the guidelines, say Daniel Levy and Pavithra Kumar at Advanced Analytical Consulting Group.
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FDA's Multifaceted Role On Display In MDMA Therapy Scrutiny
Ongoing deliberations at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration regarding MDMA-assisted therapy for post-traumatic stress disorder serves as a window into the intricate balance of scientific innovation and patient safety oversight, and offers crucial insights into regulatory nuances, say Kimberly Chew at Husch Blackwell and Kevin Lanzo at Pharmaka Clinical Consulting.
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Lead Like 'Ted Lasso' By Embracing Cognitive Diversity
The Apple TV+ series “Ted Lasso” aptly illustrates how embracing cognitive diversity can be a winning strategy for teams, providing a useful lesson for law firms, which can benefit significantly from fresh, diverse perspectives and collaborative problem-solving, says Paul Manuele at PR Manuele Consulting.
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Preparing For Increased Scrutiny Of Tech Supply Chains
The U.S. Department of Commerce's recent action prohibiting sales of a Russia-based technology company's products in the U.S. is the first determination under the information technology supply chain rule, and signals plans to increase enforcement of protections that target companies in designated foreign adversary jurisdictions, say attorneys at Debevoise.
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Chevron's End Puts Target On CFPB's Aggressive BNPL Rule
A recent interpretative rule by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, subjecting buy-now, pay-later loans to the same regulations as credit cards, is unlikely to survive post-Chevron challenges of the rule's partisan and shaky logic, say Scott Pearson and Bryan Schneider at Manatt.