Public Policy

  • May 14, 2024

    DC Circ. Upholds EPA's Renewable Fuel Standards

    A divided D.C. Circuit panel upheld on Tuesday the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's renewable fuel standards for 2020, 2021 and 2022, rejecting renewable fuel producers' claims the standards are too low, and petroleum refiners' contentions that they are too high.

  • May 14, 2024

    Biden Signs Bipartisan Russian Uranium Products Ban

    A ban on the import of Russian uranium will be phased in beginning in August, following U.S. President Joe Biden's signing of bipartisan legislation.

  • May 14, 2024

    White House Continues To Back Adeel Mangi For 3rd Circ.

    The White House is standing by Adeel Mangi's nomination for the Third Circuit despite the path to confirmation being unclear and the vast opposition he's been facing.

  • May 14, 2024

    Ex-Squire Patton Atty Among Latest Calif. Judges Sworn In

    California got two new appellate court judges and elevated another one on Tuesday morning as a state commission unanimously approved and swore in the three people nominated by Gov. Gavin Newsom, including a onetime Squire Patton Boggs LLP attorney.

  • May 14, 2024

    NY Court System Immune To Spanish-Speaker's Bias Case

    The New York Unified Court System can't be sued in federal court by a Spanish speaker whose limited English language skills allegedly barred him from a program that could have reduced a drug offense's severity, the New York federal court has ruled.

  • May 14, 2024

    Keep It Short, And Other Advice From Fed. Circ. Judges

    Six Federal Circuit judges counseled a packed room of attorneys on Tuesday about the most common ways to ruin their own cases, such as talking too much at oral argument, adding additional citations and attacking judges or opposing counsel.

  • May 14, 2024

    Mexican Mine Labor Row Ruled Outside Trade Pact's Scope

    An international tribunal formed under the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement declined to examine if workers at a Mexican mine were denied collective bargaining rights, finding that much of the 17-year dispute had already been decided under now-defunct labor laws.

  • May 14, 2024

    BigLaw Attys Fight Sanctions Over Alleged Judge Shopping

    Attorneys from Shook Hardy & Bacon LLP, Cooley LLP, Lightfoot Franklin & White LLC and prominent LGBTQ rights organizations did not engage in judge shopping when walking away from cases challenging an Alabama law banning certain medical procedures for transgender youth, the lawyers have told an Alabama federal court.

  • May 14, 2024

    Pa. Justices Vexed By DA Funding In Kleinbard Bill Dispute

    The Pennsylvania Supreme Court seemed to want more information Tuesday about the source of the former Lancaster County district attorney's "program funds" before wading into whether the DA had the discretion to spend those funds on Kleinbard LLC's legal fees rather than asking his county commissioners for approval.

  • May 14, 2024

    Int'l Trade Commission Confirms Asia Is Dumping Steel Shelves

    The U.S. International Trade Commission unanimously voted Tuesday that boltless steel shelves from Malaysia, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam are hurting the domestic industry by being sold in the U.S. at unfairly low prices.

  • May 14, 2024

    9th Circ. Rejects Bid For Full Rehearing In Oak Flat Dispute

    The Ninth Circuit on Tuesday rejected a bid by an Apache nonprofit for a full judge en banc rehearing in an effort to block a copper mining company from destroying an Indigenous religious site in central Arizona known as Oak Flat, setting up the case for a U.S. Supreme Court appeal.

  • May 14, 2024

    Coverage Recap: Day 13 Of Trump's NY Hush Money Trial

    Law360 reporters are providing live updates from the Manhattan criminal courthouse as Donald Trump goes on trial for allegedly falsifying business records related to hush money payments ahead of the 2016 election. Here's a recap from Tuesday, day 13 of the trial.

  • May 14, 2024

    Feds Say Bannon Must Start Prison Term After Losing Appeal

    Prosecutors asked a District of Columbia federal judge Tuesday to order Donald Trump ally Steve Bannon to begin his four-month prison sentence for defying a congressional subpoena, now that the D.C. Circuit has rejected his appeal.

  • May 14, 2024

    Republican AGs Say EEOC Harassment Guidance Oversteps

    A coalition of 18 Republican state attorneys general asked a Tennessee federal judge to scrap recently finalized guidance on workplace harassment issued by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, arguing its protections surrounding gender identity amount to government overreach.

  • May 14, 2024

    What's Behind 'Nuclear' Verdicts? Skeptical Juries, Attys Say

    Jurors becoming more skeptical of corporations are handing down sky-high verdicts, and trial attorneys say it's forcing a shift in the strategies they employ as they aim to score — or prevent — so-called nuclear verdicts.

  • May 13, 2024

    Bank Lobbies Rattle Sabers At Fed Over Debit Swipe Fees

    Some of the same banking industry groups that sued over the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's credit card late fee rule have urged the Federal Reserve to refrain from lowering a separate cap on debit card swipe fees, signaling it could be the next bank fee regulation to face a legal challenge if finalized.

  • May 13, 2024

    Banking Groups Oppose FDIC Position On Interstate Lending

    Two banking associations have argued the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. is trying to create a new regulation through its support of a Colorado state law aimed at reining in high-cost lending by claiming for the first time, in an amicus brief, that interstate loans are made in both the lender's and borrower's states.

  • May 13, 2024

    16 States Sue To Block Calif.'s 'Clean Fleets' Rule For Trucks

    Over a dozen U.S. states filed a constitutional challenge in California federal court Monday against a Golden State regulation requiring commercial truck operators to move to zero-emission electric-vehicle fleets, arguing it would disrupt the global supply chain, raise costs, and illegally enforce emission control standards, in violation of federal laws. 

  • May 13, 2024

    Chamber Asks Texas Judge To Stop FTC Noncompete Ban

    The U.S. Chamber of Commerce asked a Texas federal judge to issue a court order stopping the Federal Trade Commission's new noncompete rule from going into effect while litigation challenging the ban plays out, arguing the rule's enforcement would irreparably harm businesses and their employees.

  • May 13, 2024

    Sens. Slam DOJ's Money Transmitting Biz Interpretation

    A pair of U.S. senators say they have "significant concerns" about how the U.S. Department of Justice is interpreting the definition of "money transmission" in two recent criminal actions over crypto mixers, warning that such an interpretation "threatens to criminalize core elements of Bitcoin and other crypto networks."

  • May 13, 2024

    Vt. On Brink Of Enacting Privacy Bill With Lawsuit Mechanism

    The Vermont legislature has sent to the governor's desk a comprehensive data privacy bill that would not only require companies to scale back their data collection efforts and ramp up safeguards for children, but also give consumers the rare opportunity to sue large businesses that violate the law in certain circumstances. 

  • May 13, 2024

    SEC, FinCEN Propose Money Manager Customer ID Rule

    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the Treasury Department's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network on Monday proposed a rule that would require money managers such as hedge funds and private equity firms to document and maintain customer identification programs.

  • May 13, 2024

    Kabbage Inks 2 FCA Deals With Feds Totaling $120M

    Bankrupt online lender Kabbage Inc. has agreed to pay $120 million in two separate deals to resolve allegations it submitted thousands of false claims for loan forgiveness and operated without adequate fraud controls in place, the U.S. Department of Justice announced Monday.

  • May 13, 2024

    USPTO Eyes Change To Patent Applicants' Disclaimer Practice

    The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office is looking to add a requirement for patent applicants filing so-called terminal disclaimers in order to overcome rejections by patent examiners over obviousness-type double patenting, a move that lawyers and a former USPTO official say could change the agency's approach considerably, especially for patents covering brand-name drugs.

  • May 13, 2024

    FTC Can't Modify $5B Meta Privacy Deal, DC Circ. Told

    Meta Platforms Inc. told the D.C. Circuit on Monday that the Federal Trade Commission lacks the ability to unilaterally modify a $5 billion privacy settlement, contending that the courts are the ones responsible for enforcing the agreement.

Expert Analysis

  • 10b-5 Litigation Questions Follow Justices' Macquarie Ruling

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    Last month, the U.S. Supreme Court held in Macquarie v. Moab that pure omissions are not actionable under U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Rule 10b–5(b), creating a slightly higher bar for plaintiffs and setting the stage for further litigation over several issues, say Steve Quinlivan and Sean Colligan at Stinson.

  • Series

    Walking With My Dog Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Thanks to my dog Birdie, I've learned that carving out an activity different from the practice of law — like daily outdoor walks that allow you to interact with new people — can contribute to professional success by boosting creativity and mental acuity, as well as expanding your social network, says Sarah Petrie at the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office.

  • Key Issues Raised By Colorado's Brain Data Privacy Bill

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    Colorado recently became the first state to provide consumer privacy protections for data generated from a person's brain waves, and despite the bill’s ambiguity and open questions introduced, the new law has helped turn the spotlight on neurodata, says Sara Pullen Guercio at Alston & Bird.

  • Employer Considerations Before Title IX Rule Goes Into Effect

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    While the U.S. Department of Education's final rule on Title IX is currently published as an unofficial version, institutions and counsel should take immediate action to ensure they are prepared for the new requirements, including protections for LGBTQ+ and pregnant students and employees, before it takes effect in August, say Jeffrey Weimer and Cori Smith at Reed Smith.

  • Expect Tougher Bank Exams 1 Year After Spring 2023 Failures

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    With federal banking agencies still implementing harsher examinations with swifter escalations a year after the spring 2023 bank failures, banks can gain insight into changing expectations by monitoring how the Federal Reserve Board, Office of the Comptroller of Currency and Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. are coordinating and updating their exam policies, say attorneys at Debevoise.

  • Could 'General Average' Apply To The Key Bridge Crash?

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    While the owner and operator of the vessel that struck Baltimore's Francis Scott Key Bridge have sought legal protection under the Limitation of Liability Act, they could choose to invoke the long-standing principle of general average, if supported by the facts of the crash and the terms of their contracts with cargo owners, says Julie Maurer at Husch Blackwell.

  • Think Like A Lawyer: Follow The Iron Rule Of Trial Logic

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    Many diligent and eager attorneys include every good fact, point and rule in their trial narratives — spurred by the gnawing fear they’ll be second-guessed for leaving something out — but this approach ignores a fundamental principle of successful trial lawyering, says Luke Andrews at Poole Huffman.

  • Circuit Split Brews Over Who's A Securities Seller Under Act

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    A Securities Act section that creates private liability for the sale of an unregistered security is rapidly becoming a favored statute for plaintiffs to wield against participants in both the digital asset and traditional securities markets, but the circuit courts have diverged on who may be held liable for these violations, say Jeffrey L. Steinfeld and Daniel Aronsohn at Winston & Strawn.

  • Breaking Down EPA's Rule On PFAS In Drinking Water

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    Last week, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency finalized the first enforceable federal drinking water regulation for PFAS, which, along with reporting and compliance requirements for regulated entities, will have a number of indirect effects, including increased cleanup costs and the possible expansion of existing Superfund sites, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • Potential Unintended Consequences Of NY Sovereign Debt Bill

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    New York lawmakers recently proposed a law to create a framework for restructuring sovereign debt, but there are concerns that the bill will increase financing costs and that it attempts to solve problems that have largely been dealt with by collective action clauses, say Jeffrey Rothleder and Tara Peramatukorn at Squire Patton.

  • The Art Of Asking: Leveraging Your Contacts For Referrals

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    Though attorneys may hesitate to ask for referral recommendations to generate new business, research shows that people want to help others they know, like and trust, so consider who in your network you should approach and how to make the ask, says Rebecca Hnatowski at Edwards Advisory.

  • Expect An Increase In Robinson-Patman Act Enforcement

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    Recent actions by the Federal Trade Commission and prominent lawmakers should be viewed as a harbinger of renewed scrutiny of price discrimination in all industries and a sign that Robinson-Patman Act investigations and enforcement actions are likely to see an uptick, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • The Drawbacks Of Banking Regulators' Merger Review Plans

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    Recent proposals for bank merger review criteria by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. share common pitfalls: increased likelihood of delays, uncertainties, and new hurdles to transactions that could impede the long-term safety and soundness of the banks involved, say attorneys at WilmerHale.

  • Opinion

    The FTC's Noncompete Rule Is Likely Dead On Arrival

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    The Federal Trade Commission's April 23 noncompete ban ignores the consequences to the employees it claims to help — but the rule is unlikely to go into effect provided the ideological makeup of the U.S. Supreme Court remains the same, say Erik Weibust and Stuart Gerson at Epstein Becker.

  • Wave Of Final Rules Reflects Race Against CRA Deadline

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    The flurry of final rules now leaping off the Federal Register press — some of which will affect entire industries and millions of Americans — shows President Joe Biden's determination to protect his regulatory legacy from reversal by the next Congress, given the impending statutory look-back period under the Congressional Review Act, say attorneys at Jenner & Block.

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