Public Policy

Expert Analysis

• Final IRS Rules On REIT Dividends Create Statutory Conflict

  

  The Internal Revenue Service's recent regulations, which confirm that real estate investment trust payouts to regulated investment company shareholders qualify for preferred tax treatment but are silent on publicly traded partnership income, conflict with the statute and congressional intent, says Andrew Howlett at Miller & Chevalier.

• Shaking Up The Fundamental Laws Of US Internet

  

  A recent executive order threatening to end Communications Decency Act protections for social media and a U.S. Copyright Office report on Digital Millennium Copyright Act reform are the latest developments shedding light on the movement to overhaul the fundamental laws of the internet, says Susan Goldsmith at McCarter & English.

• 3 Ways High Court's Liu V. SEC Ruling Curtails FTC Authority

  

  The U.S. Supreme Court's recent ruling in Liu v. U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission limited the Federal Trade Commission's authority in important ways, and the court's eventual decision in FTC v. Credit Bureau Center could prevent the regulator from seeking disgorgement or restitution altogether, say attorneys at Sidley.

• HHS Discrimination Rule Conflicts With LGBTQ Bias Ruling

  

  A new rule from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Office for Civil Rights and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services scaling back nondiscrimination regulations raises compliance questions for health providers, especially in light of the U.S. Supreme Court's recent broad interpretation of "on the basis of sex," say attorneys at Reed Smith.

• Employer Considerations After Justices' LGBTQ Rights Ruling

  

  In light of the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent ruling that Title VII protects LGBTQ workers in Bostock v. Clayton County, companies should review employment policies for compliance, update diversity and inclusion mission statements, and consider several questions about the opinion’s potential reach, say attorneys at Blank Rome.

• NY High Court Case Could Upend Litigation Finance Industry

  

  A ruling in favor of the defendant in Fast Trak Investment v. Sax, a case recently accepted by the New York Court of Appeals, could enable borrowers to avoid repaying litigation funders by claiming state usury law violations, say attorneys at MoloLamken.

• How NYC Advocates Can Litigate De Facto Rent Stabilization

  Excerpt from Lexis Practice Advisor

  

  The de facto rent stabilization doctrine can provide important housing security for New York City tenants, and advocates using it as a defense in summary eviction proceedings should be aware of key legal issues that often crop up, say Andrew Darcy and Brian Sullivan at Mobilization For Justice.

• Unpacking The Supreme Court's Praise For The TCPA

  

  The U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Barr v. American Association of Political Consultants strengthens the Telephone Consumer Protection Act as one of the most vexing and frequently deployed privacy statutes in the U.S., and paints the TCPA in a favorable light, say Ezra Church and Terese Schireson at Morgan Lewis.

• Associates Can Prioritize Biz Development Despite Pandemic

  

  Although many traditional business development activities are on hold due to the COVID-19 pandemic, associates should seize the unique opportunities of this time to cultivate business by strengthening their personal and professional relationships, and developing new ones, says Jeremy Schneider at Jackson Lewis.

• Highlights From OECD Roundtable On Conglomerate Mergers

  

  The issue of creating a special standard for digital platform mergers — discussed at the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development's recent off-the-record roundtable on trends in the conglomerate effects of mergers — raises several questions, says David Pearl at Axinn.

• When NY Worker Free Speech Rights And COVID-19 Collide

  

  Alexandra Berke, Kacie Candela and Margaret Lee at Berke-Weiss examine New Yorkers' rights to protest in person or online without fear of discipline at work, and address employee protesters' COVID-19 risk in the workplace.

• Key COVID-19 Accessibility Issues As ADA Turns 30

  

  Shira Blank and Joshua Stein at Epstein Becker examine pandemic-related accessibility challenges businesses should consider when balancing Americans with Disabilities Act Title III compliance against employee and patron safety as the statute's 30th anniversary approaches.

• DACA Ruling Raises Bar For Assertions Of Agency Deference

  

  The U.S. Supreme Court's decision in U.S. Department of Homeland Security v. Regents of the University of California, blocking termination of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, is the latest in a line of rulings that refuse deference where an agency fails to follow Administrative Procedure Act rulemaking procedures, say Robert Wanerman and Stuart Gerson at Epstein Becker.

• Opinion

  Attys Should Stop Using 2 Common Cannabis Industry Terms

  

  Adopting the industry-preferred alternatives to the terms "marijuana" and "black market" will help lawyers show that they are sensitive to the historical and systemic harm done by the war on drugs to people of color, say Joshua Mandell at Akerman, Nicole Phillis at Davis Wright and consultant Yvette McDowell.

• How Health Info Interoperability Rule Affects Providers

  

  The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services' new rule implementing interoperability requirements of the 21st Century Cures Act creates new compliance challenges for health care providers and will ultimately require investments in information technology, say Elizabeth Hein and Cynthia Haines at Post & Schell.