Public Policy

  • October 03, 2024

    Trulieve Sues Fla. Republican Party Over Anti-Weed Ads

    Trulieve, which is Florida's largest medical marijuana company and the principal backer of a ballot initiative to legalize cannabis in the Sunshine State, has sued the state's Republican Party and a pair of television stations for defamation, alleging that they ran misleading anti-weed ads.

  • October 03, 2024

    Red States Want H-2A Farmworker Rule Gone For Good

    More than a dozen Republican-led states are urging a Georgia federal judge to vacate a U.S. Department of Labor rule that would strengthen protections for foreign farmworkers within the H-2A visa program, arguing that the department clearly overstepped its authorities.

  • October 03, 2024

    GOP Senators Slam NY Fed Over Iraq Money-Laundering Report

    Two Republican senators, including the ranking member of the Senate banking committee, have slammed the Federal Reserve Bank of New York for allegedly failing to act on money-laundering concerns with the Central Bank of Iraq, allowing funds to flow to Iran as a result.

  • October 03, 2024

    ISPs Insist FCC Overstepped With Net Neutrality Rules

    Internet service providers told the Sixth Circuit it should reject the Federal Communications Commission's recently passed net neutrality rules because the FCC has failed to show that Congress gave it the authority to regulate broadband as a telecom service.

  • October 03, 2024

    Wash. AG Wants Albertsons Sanctioned In Opioid Suit

    Washington state's attorney general has accused Albertsons of using a state-court-ordered stay to shield itself from discovery in a consumer protection suit that accuses Rite Aid and grocery store pharmacies of exacerbating the opioid epidemic, seeking the appointment of a "discovery referee" in a new sanctions motion.

  • October 03, 2024

    Energy Dept. Hands Out $1B Loan For EV Charging Expansion

    The U.S. Department of Energy announced on Thursday that it has made a conditional commitment for a loan guarantee of up to $1.05 billion aimed at expanding public electric vehicle charging infrastructure across the country.

  • October 03, 2024

    Despite Progress, Barriers Remain In Burial Law, Report Says

    Despite tighter regulations on a federal law designed to protect and help tribes repatriate burial sites, a continued resistance by institutions in possession of Indigenous remains and artifacts and a lack of funding are still barriers facing the decades-old policy, a federal report says.

  • October 03, 2024

    Citibank Blunders May Warrant Breakup, Warren Tells OCC

    Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., urged the acting head of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency on Thursday to impose growth restrictions on Citibank for becoming "too big to manage" and committing various blunders over the years, saying breaking up the fourth-largest bank in the U.S. may be appropriate if conditions don't improve.

  • October 03, 2024

    Medical Pot Expansion Effort Notches Win In Ark. High Court

    The Arkansas Supreme Court has granted an injunction to the activists behind a ballot measure to expand medical marijuana access and ordered the state's secretary of state to verify signatures submitted by the campaign which he had previously deemed invalid.

  • October 03, 2024

    Parties Ask For Stay In Title IX Transgender Protection Case

    The U.S. Department of Education and Texas have asked a Texas federal judge to stay a case involving a challenge to the agency's new policy enforcing protections for transgender students in Lone Star State schools while the issue gets worked out at the Fifth Circuit in a Thursday motion.

  • October 03, 2024

    12 Lawyers Who Are The Future Of The Supreme Court Bar

    One attorney hasn't lost a single U.S. Supreme Court case she's argued, or even a single justice's vote. One attorney is perhaps "the preeminent SCOTUS advocate." And one may soon become U.S. solicitor general, despite acknowledging there are "judges out there who don't like me." All three are among a dozen lawyers in the vanguard of the Supreme Court bar's next generation, poised to follow in the footsteps of the bar's current icons.

  • October 03, 2024

    CFTC Asks DC Circ. To Hasten Election Contract Loss Appeal

    The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission pressed the D.C. Circuit to immediately schedule its appeal of a district court's decision to permit KalshiEx's listing of election-based event contracts, which the trading platform is poised to oppose.

  • October 03, 2024

    Colo. Panel Finds No Proof Of Bias In Reservoir Project Vote

    A Colorado Court of Appeals panel Thursday upheld the dismissal of environmental groups' lawsuit challenging a permit approval for a Northern Colorado pipeline and reservoir project, rejecting claims that two county officials were too biased and should have recused themselves from the vote.

  • October 03, 2024

    3rd County Settles Over Use Of NJ's 'County Line' Ballot

    New Jersey's Warren County has agreed to stop using the Garden State's long-standing "county line" ballot design in primary elections, according to a Thursday order, making it the third county in the state to settle with Rep. Andy Kim and two Democratic congressional candidates in their suit challenging the controversial ballot design.

  • October 03, 2024

    Texas Takes Aim At Insulin Manufacturers For Price-Gouging

    Texas sued several major insulin manufacturers and pharmacy benefit managers in Texas state court on Thursday, accusing the companies of running quid pro quo deals to bump insulin prices by as much as 1,000% and violating Texas laws around deceptive trade practices.

  • October 03, 2024

    EPA Can Protect Records In Pebble Mine Fight, Judge Says

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has secured a blanket protection order on all administrative records that may be subject to copyright protection in litigation brought by Alaska seeking to challenge the agency's veto of the controversial Pebble Mine.

  • October 03, 2024

    OCC Backs Bid To Block 'Unworkable' Ill. Swipe Fee Law

    The banking industry's bid to block a new Illinois law that bans swipe fees on tax and tip payments received a big boost from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, which has slammed the law for being an "ill-conceived" threat to the "efficient and effective" banking system.

  • October 03, 2024

    IRS Used $2B Of Funding Boost For Operating Expenses

    The IRS has used $2 billion of the funding boost it received under the Inflation Reduction Act to supplement its annual funding, according to the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration.

  • October 03, 2024

    Soldiers Urge DC Circ. Not To Revive DOD Naturalization Rule

    Immigrant soldiers urged the D.C. Circuit to affirm a lower court's order that wiped away a Pentagon requirement to serve for one year before becoming eligible for citizenship, saying lawmakers wanted military personnel enlisting during wartime to reap the benefits of citizenship.

  • October 03, 2024

    Conn. Justices OK Bar Input On Banking Probe Into Lawyers

    The Connecticut Supreme Court will allow the National Creditors Bar Association and the Connecticut Creditors Bar Association to weigh in on a case that questions whether the state banking commissioner violated the constitution's separation of powers doctrine by launching a probe into a law firm and its associated debt negotiation group.

  • October 03, 2024

    Cos. Want Federal Rule On Litigation Funding Disclosure

    The federal courts should adopt a uniform process for the disclosure of third-party litigation funding in federal cases, a host of companies, including Johnson & Johnson and Google, told the judiciary's Rules Committee.

  • October 03, 2024

    Sens. Question If Payouts Taint Execs' Push For US Steel Deal

    Two U.S. senators wrote to U.S. Steel's president and CEO on Wednesday seeking guarantees that a $72 million "golden parachute" deal wasn't driving the executive's willingness to support a $14.1 billion merger with Japanese steelmaker Nippon Steel.

  • October 03, 2024

    White House Directs Agencies On Responsible AI Acquisition

    The White House has issued guidance to agencies on responsible purchases of artificial intelligence, addressing issues such as mitigating associated privacy and performance risks, ensuring the market for AI remains competitive, and enabling related collaboration across the government.

  • October 03, 2024

    Ex-US House Energy Committee Atty Joins Foley In DC

    Foley & Lardner LLP has announced that a former senior counsel to the U.S. House Committee on Energy and Commerce joined the firm's Washington, D.C., office as counsel in its public policy and government relations practice group.

  • October 03, 2024

    Judicial Picks From 3 States Remain Hearing-Less

    With a dwindling number of days left on the Senate's 2024 calendar, Democrats are pushing to confirm more judges so President Joe Biden can meet or exceed former President Donald Trump's record.

Expert Analysis

  • What To Expect From CFPB And DOT Card Rewards Inquiry

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    Following the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's announcement of joint efforts with the U.S. Department of Transportation to investigate credit card rewards points, credit card issuers and airlines should keep a close eye on potential regulatory and class action litigation risks stemming from the inquiry, say attorneys at DLA Piper.

  • Preparing For The NLRB's New Union Recognition Final Rule

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    The National Labor Relations Board's impending new final rule on union recognition puts the employer at a particular disadvantage in a decertification election, and best practices include conducting workplace assessments to identify and proactively address employee issues, say Louis Cannon and Gerald Bradner at Baker Donelson.

  • Brownfield Questions Surround IRS Tax Credit Bonus

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    Though the IRS has published guidance regarding the Inflation Reduction Act's 10% adder for tax credits generated by renewable energy projects constructed on brownfield sites, considerable guesswork remains as potential implications seem contrary to IRS intentions, say Megan Caldwell and Jon Micah Goeller at Husch Blackwell.

  • Law Firms Should Move From Reactive To Proactive Marketing

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    Most law firm marketing and business development teams operate in silos, leading to an ad hoc, reactive approach, but shifting to a culture of proactive planning — beginning with comprehensive campaigns — can help firms effectively execute their broader business strategy, says Paul Manuele at PR Manuele Consulting.

  • Remedy May Be Google's Biggest Hurdle Yet In Antitrust Case

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    There are difficulties ahead in the remedies phase of the antitrust case against Google in District of Columbia federal court, including the search engine giant's scale advantage and the fast-moving nature of the tech industry, setting the stage for the most challenging of the proceedings so far, says Jonathan Rubin at MoginRubin.

  • 3 Ways To Limit Risks Of Black-Box AI In Financial Services

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    As regulators increasingly highlight the potential for artificial intelligence to make unfair consumer credit decisions, and require financial institutions to explain how these so-called black-box algorithms arrive at conclusions, companies should consider three key questions to reduce their regulatory risks from these tools, say Jeffrey Naimon and Caroline Stapleton at Orrick.

  • Energy And AI: Key Issues And Future Challenges

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    Artificial intelligence promises new technical advantages for the energy industry, but it is also responsible for vast, and growing, energy consumption — so the future of AI and energy will require balancing technological advancement with regulatory oversight, environmental responsibility and infrastructure development, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • Opinion

    Transpo Board Should Broaden Ex Parte Rules Further

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    The Surface Transportation Board's 2018 ex parte rule reform was an important step in increasing agency engagement with stakeholders — but the board should build on that progress by expanding the windows for communications in informal rulemakings, encouraging more communications with staff, and making other changes, say Matthew Warren and Allison Davis at Sidley.

  • The Regulatory Headwinds Facing Lab-Developed Tests

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    Though the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's final rule regarding regulation of laboratory-developed tests outlines a four-year plan for ending enforcement discretion, and though this rule is currently being challenged in courts, manufacturers should heed compliance opportunities immediately as enforcement actions are already on the horizon, say attorneys at Kirkland & Ellis.

  • 3 High Court Rulings May Shape Health Org. Litigation Tactics

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    Three separate decisions from the U.S. Supreme Court's most recent term — Loper Bright, Corner Post and Jarkesy — will likely strengthen healthcare organizations' ability to affirmatively sue executive agencies to challenge regulations governing operations and enforcement actions, say attorneys at McDermott.

  • Opinion

    The Big Issues A BigLaw Associates' Union Could Address

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    A BigLaw associates’ union could address a number of issues that have the potential to meaningfully improve working conditions, diversity and attorney well-being — from restructured billable hour requirements to origination credit allocation, return-to-office mandates and more, says Tara Rhoades at The Sanity Plea.

  • Opinion

    It's Time For A BigLaw Associates' Union

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    As BigLaw faces a steady stream of criticism about its employment policies and practices, an associates union could effect real change — and it could start with law students organizing around opposition to recent recruiting trends, says Tara Rhoades at The Sanity Plea.

  • Why DOJ's Whistleblower Program May Have Limited Impact

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    The U.S. Department of Justice’s new whistleblower pilot program aims to incentivize individuals to report corporate misconduct, but the program's effectiveness may be undercut by its differences from other federal agencies’ whistleblower programs and its interplay with other DOJ policies, say attorneys at Milbank.

  • CFPB's Earned Wage Access Rule Marks Regulatory Shift

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    The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's newly issued interpretive rule on earned wage access products, classifying them as extensions of credit, marks a significant shift in their regulatory landscape and raises some important questions regarding potential fringe cases and legal challenges, say Erin Bryan and Courina Yulisa at Dorsey & Whitney.

  • How Calif. Justices' Prop 22 Ruling Affects The Gig Industry

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    The California Supreme Court's recent upholding of Proposition 22 clarifies that Uber, Lyft, DoorDash and other companies in the gig industry can legally classify their drivers as independent contractors, but it falls short of concluding some important regulatory battles in the state, says Mark Spring at CDF Labor.

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