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| TOP NEWS Analysis Biosimilars Caught In Crosshairs Of Supreme Court ACA Fight The U.S. Supreme Court is set to hear oral arguments Tuesday in a case challenging the Affordable Care Act, and while all eyes have been focused on whether conservative justices will strike down former President Barack Obama's landmark health insurance expansion, a critical provision governing biosimilars is also at stake.
9th Circ. Backs SF In Cabbies' Airport Rules Challenge The Ninth Circuit said Monday that San Francisco taxi drivers couldn't show that newly imposed limits on airport pickups shut out longtime medallion holders, saying there was a legitimate state purpose behind the regulations, but that the drivers may have a shot at repleading their state law claims.
Trump Fires Defense Secretary Mark Esper President Donald Trump announced on Twitter on Monday that he had fired U.S. Secretary of Defense Mark Esper, without offering further explanation.
Analysis IRS' Fantasy Sports Ruling Could Force Small Cos.' Exit The Internal Revenue Service's characterization of daily fantasy sports leagues' entry fees as wagering that subjects the leagues' operators to excise taxes could have an outsize effect on smaller fantasy sports companies that could force them to leave the industry. 11 States Urge High Court To Ax Pa. Ballot Deadline Extension Nearly a dozen different states told the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday that a decision allowing mail-in ballots received within three days of Election Day to be counted in Pennsylvania heightened the risk of potential electoral fraud.
Pa. Justices To Hear Case Over Philly Vote Count Watchers The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania will hear the Philadelphia Board of Elections' appeal over how close observers can get to the vote-counting process, as President Donald Trump and his supporters pointed to the case as reason to invalidate President-Elect Joe Biden's win in the Keystone State.
Trump's Latest Pa. Election Suit Claims Unconstitutional Bias In a lawsuit largely repackaging issues raised in other complaints filed across the state in the last week, President Donald Trump's reelection campaign said in Pennsylvania federal court late Monday that election procedures adopted in different parts of the state created a "two-track" system that unconstitutionally favored Democrats.
Barr Gives Feds OK To Probe Any 'Clear' Voter Fraud Claims U.S. Attorney General William Barr authorized federal prosecutors Monday to investigate any "clear and apparently-credible" allegations of voting irregularities that might change the outcome of the presidential election, according to a memo posted by Axios. NY Appeals Judges Sue To Stave Off Forced Retirements A group of New York appeals court judges are suing the state court system for deciding to cut them loose as part of austerity measures in response to the state's COVID-19-induced budget deficit, arguing the move will worsen a case backlog and fail to make a serious dent in the state's budget shortfall.
Analysis Markets Emerge From Tumultuous Election On Solid Ground After days of uncertainty, corporate financing was on solid ground Monday following the U.S. presidential election, though the outcome remains to be seen regarding control of Congress and a new administration's regulatory priorities. OCC Says Banks Holding Up Amid Crisis But Face Key Risks The head of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency said Monday federally chartered banks remain in solid financial health after weathering the initial economic shock of the novel coronavirus pandemic, but they're still facing a risk environment of exceptional complexity.
2nd Circ. Dampens Discovery In Spanish Oil Spill Suit A New York federal judge was wrong to have allowed the captain of an oil tanker that sank off the coast of Spain to collect documents from Squire Patton Boggs and a naval architecture firm for his criminal trial in Spain, the Second Circuit said Monday.
4 Key Developments As US Coronavirus Cases Hit 10M President-elect Joe Biden on Monday announced a blue-ribbon panel of pandemic advisers, Pfizer Inc. reported that its coronavirus vaccine candidate appears strikingly effective, and confirmed COVID-19 cases in the U.S. climbed to roughly 10 million amid signs that the crisis is rapidly intensifying.
Arsenic, Toxins In Apple Juice Sent To Schools, FDA Says The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is suing a supplier that distributes more than 2.9 million servings of apple juice to schools through a government lunch program, saying its lax health and safety standards have allowed the toxins arsenic and patulin to get into the juice.
NY Bar Urges State To Consider Mandatory COVID-19 Vaccine The New York State Bar Association is calling for the state government to at least consider making a COVID-19 vaccine mandatory once it's available, if medical experts agree that's the best route to getting the pandemic under control. CNN Pushes To Toss Dershowitz's $300M Defamation Suit CNN pushed for the dismissal on Friday of attorney Alan Dershowitz's $300 million defamation lawsuit, arguing that its reporting and commentary on statements he made to Congress while defending President Donald Trump at his impeachment trial are protected speech.
EEOC Advances Religious Bias Advice Over Dems' Dissent The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission voted on party lines Monday to open up its proposed religious discrimination guidance for public input, with the agency's two Democratic commissioners balking at what they called a rushed review process and flagging serious concerns with several tenets of the lengthy draft. NLRB Sets Standard For Mail Elections During COVID-19 The National Labor Relations Board in a decision Monday provided more guidance to agency officials for determining whether a union election should be held in person or by mail, laying out six pandemic-related situations in which mail ballots are likely to be fitting.
Lyft, Uber Say Classification Rulings Can't Stand After Prop 22 Uber and Lyft have asked a California appeals court to reconsider its decision upholding an injunction requiring the ride-hailing companies to classify their drivers as employees, arguing the approval of a California ballot measure allowing the companies to treat workers as independent contractors has shifted the legal ground on which the rulings rested.
DOJ Abandons Bain Doc Petition In Favor Of Visa Discovery The U.S. Department of Justice on Monday summarily dropped its Massachusetts federal court petition demanding documents Bain & Co. allegedly improperly withheld, preferring instead to seek that material as part of the new challenge to Visa's proposed $5.3 billion purchase of fintech company Plaid.
UK Antitrust 'In Catch-Up Mode' The head of the U.K.'s Competition and Markets Authority continued to argue Monday that antitrust enforcement is in dire need of updates, including more direct regulation rather than a case-by-case approach that he said permitted technology deals that should not have gone through. US Blacklists Scores Of Syrian Officials In Sanctions Dragnet The Trump administration said Monday that Syrian military officials, members of the Syrian parliament and Syrian and Lebanese individuals in the petroleum business are among the latest individuals and entities being sanctioned for aiding the Assad-led Syrian government. Iran Officials Call US Sanctions 'Illegal' And 'Illogical' Top officials within Iran's Ministry of Petroleum declared Saturday they would not be hampered by new U.S. sanctions that went into effect in late October, touting developments they say have increased the country's oil exports. Ex-Nicaraguan President Blocked From Entering US The U.S. Department of State on Monday blocked former Nicaraguan President Arnoldo Alemán from entering the U.S. over his involvement in "significant corruption" during his time in office. 6th Circ. Affirms Dismissal Of $56.5M Detroit Tax Fund Fight Two Detroit-area taxpayers lost their challenge to stop the use of $56.5 million in public school tax funds for a sports arena when the Sixth Circuit ruled they lacked standing to bring the case.
Treasury To Approve Pass-Through SALT Cap Workarounds State and local taxes imposed at the entity level on pass-through entities are permitted as a deduction and this "is consistent with the long-standing position" of the U.S. Department of the Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service, the agencies said Monday.
SF Voters Support Parcel, Transfer And Sales Taxes At Ballot San Francisco voters have approved measures to cut a parcel tax for the city school district, increase the transfer tax on sales and leases of real estate and increase the sales and use tax to fund the regional commuter train.
Feds Say COVID-19 Unemployment Required H-1B Changes The federal government slammed a suit by business groups and universities challenging how changes to H-1B temporary worker visa requirements were implemented, arguing that the rules needed to be released without notice to quickly address COVID-19 unemployment.
Full DC Circ. Asked To Rethink House's Border Wall Suit The Trump administration on Monday urged the full D.C. Circuit to rethink a panel decision greenlighting the House of Representatives' legal challenge to funding maneuvers to finance a border wall, arguing that the court's ruling would carry "extraordinary consequences."
Muscogee (Creek) Nation Passes Post-McGirt Marijuana Law The Muscogee (Creek) Nation has enacted a law to allow Oklahoma-licensed medical marijuana businesses to operate on its reservation, a step in the tribe's effort to resolve jurisdictional questions in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court's landmark McGirt ruling this summer. NCAI President Tells Tribal Organization It's Time For 'Truth' National Conference of American Indians President Fawn Sharp delivered a fiery speech Monday to the organization's annual convention, saying there has "never been a truth in this country" about the experience of Native Americans and calling for the incoming Biden administration to fulfill the federal government's trust duty to tribes. Sens. Asked To Press FCC Nominee On Broadband Record The Senate Commerce Committee must grill Republican Federal Communications Commission nominee Nathan Simington about where he stands on a number of controversial spectrum-sharing plans as well as on broadband deployment strategies, an internet access coalition said Monday.
Tech Optimistic About Broadband Expansion In Biden Admin. Some members of the tech and telecom industries reached out to President-elect Joe Biden over the weekend after he won enough electoral votes to secure the presidency, seeking continued cooperation on broadband expansion in the new administration. NJ Advances Legal Pot Bill Amid Drug Testing Concerns Two New Jersey legislative committees on Monday advanced a bill to create a regulated system for selling adult-use recreational marijuana in what supporters said would bring social justice and financial benefits to the Garden State, but the proposal has raised concerns about protecting employees who test positive for cannabis but are not impaired.
More Than Two-Thirds Of Americans Support Legalizing Pot Support for marijuana legalization has reached an all-time high of 68% among American adults, according to the results of a Gallup poll released Monday, while a slim majority of Republicans and self-described conservatives are still skeptical. Mich. City Wants Outside Legal Help For Multiple Pot Suits The city attorney for Traverse City, Michigan, is asking local officials to sign off on a contract with law firm Garan Lucow Miller PC for defense against four lawsuits filed by marijuana businesses against the city.
Opinion DOJ Shouldn't Weaken Music Licensing Consent Decrees Because the U.S. Department of Justice's consent decrees with ASCAP and BMI, currently under review, haven't yet eliminated all anti-competitive tendencies in the music industry, and modifying them could adversely affect the pandemic-plagued economy, the agency should not significantly alter them, says David Balto, a former policy director at the Federal Trade Commission. Rulings Show Limits Of Federal Agency Vacancy Law Recent court decisions applying the Federal Vacancies Reform Act to invalidate improper presidential appointments of acting federal agency heads have had little evident impact, highlighting shortcomings in the law that could become more acute if the presidency and Senate are controlled by different parties, says Steven Gordon at Holland & Knight. The Different Ways High Court Could Assess ACA Viability The U.S. Supreme Court's eventual decision in California v. Texas could strike down the entire Affordable Care Act, though there are a number of scenarios that may leave the law — or at least its popular provisions — largely intact, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis. Navigating PPP Loan Forgiveness Risks: Part 1 — Borrowers As deadlines approach for borrowers to submit Paycheck Protection Program forgiveness applications, they should take several precautions before signing certifications or talking to law enforcement in order to avoid triggering fraud investigations or criminal liability, say attorneys at Blank Rome. Car Cos. Should Weigh Calif. Emissions Disclosure Deal In light of the California Air Resources Board's recent warning that it is continuing to investigate the type of vehicle emissions defeat devices that led to the 2015 Dieselgate scandal, manufacturers should review their emissions compliance regimes and self-disclose any issues by year-end, says Jonathan Martel at Arnold & Porter. 6 Class Action Shifts Employers Can Expect Under Biden Legislative, regulatory and enforcement efforts under President-elect Joe Biden’s administration could enhance the scope and value of workplace class actions by expanding workers’ rights, remedies and procedural avenues, and emboldening the plaintiffs bar to ramp up case filings, say Gerald Maatman and Jennifer Riley at Seyfarth.
From Military To Law: What Attys Took From Their Service Trying to put on a mask after being hit with tear gas, being inside a submarine at 1,000 feet under the sea, caring for soldiers wounded by bombs during the Vietnam War. These U.S. military experiences taught veterans crucial lessons and traits that they’ve applied to their legal careers. Dogs, Coded Notes, Christmas Trees: Attys' Military Memories They've made memories from their time serving their country in the military, and have carried those moments into their careers as practicing attorneys. Ahead of Veterans Day on Wednesday, Law360 shares 12 stories from lawyers who served in different branches of the U.S. military. Creating A Place In BigLaw For Veterans To Thrive Veterans often face unique challenges as attorneys in a law firm setting. Here, a snapshot of how one firm is going above and beyond to make sure its veteran-attorneys thrive. Boies Schiller Weighs Office Needs Amid Restructuring Effort Propelled by its ongoing restructuring and a pandemic that has forced lawyers to work remotely, Boies Schiller Flexner LLP confirmed Monday that it is reconsidering its needs for office space, including a lavish New York office it opened last year in Manhattan's Hudson Yards. Former SDNY Chief Counsel Returns To Arnold & Porter The former chief counsel to the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York is returning to Arnold & Porter as a partner and joining its white collar and defense investigations practice. Pillsbury Hires Former Skadden Partner Amid M&A Expansion Pillsbury said Monday it has added a former leader of Skadden's financial institution M&A group to its New York office as the firm continues an expansion of its mergers and acquisitions and private equity work. Holland & Knight Among Firms To Sponsor Minority Students Holland & Knight LLP and Honigman LLP are among the firms that have pledged to sponsor students participating in a new program that aims to diversify the racial and ethnic makeup of attorneys in the nation's law firms. NY Employment Boutique Joins AY Strauss A.Y. Strauss LLC has added the New York employment boutique White Harris PLLC, the firm announced Monday, filling out its newly launched labor and employment practice group. FirstEnergy Fires Top Attys Amid Federal Corruption Probe FirstEnergy Corp has jettisoned its chief legal officer and its general counsel, the latest in a string of high-profile firings at the electric utility as it faces a federal corruption investigation. Universal Music's GC Touts Innovation Over Litigation Alone Working with tech and business innovators helped the music industry combat internet piracy when a pure litigation strategy fell short, carving out a place for record labels in the new world of downloads and streaming platforms, Universal Music Group's general counsel told conference attendees Friday at the University of California, Berkeley School of Law. SoftBank To Promote Its Deputy GC After CLO Resigns SoftBank Group Corp's first-ever chief legal officer is set to retire this month as the Tokyo-based bank is facing financial difficulties over investments. Ex-PG&E GC Tapped As Canadian Pipeline Co.'s Top Atty Canada's Pembina Pipeline Corp. has named former longtime Pacific Gas and Electric Co. attorney Janet Loduca as its general counsel. Insurtech Co. Rhino Poaches Ex-Kindur Atty For Legal VP Rhino, a growing insurance startup focused on home renters, has snagged the former general counsel for retirement app Kindur to serve in a top legal role. Atty Invokes Rosa Parks In Bid To Keep Wells Fargo Suit Alive A Black attorney is fighting Wells Fargo's bid to toss his suit over a former bank worker calling him the N-word, suggesting its argument that he could still open an account is like saying civil rights activist Rosa Parks could have ridden the bus if she had just given up her seat to a white rider. Goldman Sachs Wants Ex-Atty's Retaliation Suit Arbitrated The Goldman Sachs Group Inc. has asked a New York federal judge to pause a suit by a former in-house attorney and make her arbitrate claims that she faced retaliation for complaining about the handling of alleged misconduct by the bank's global head of litigation. Law Firm Hit With FLSA Suit Over Unpaid Overtime An employee of Samuel & Stein filed a potential class action against the New York law firm on Sunday, claiming it violated the Fair Labor Standards Act and state labor laws by failing to pay employees proper overtime wages. SEC Whistleblower Is Broke, Unrepresented With $2.75M Tab A Deutsche Bank whistleblower who once turned down an $8 million award told a New York state court Monday he has declared bankruptcy after losing his attorney, allegedly for failure to pay, as the financial crisis-era informant faces a multimillion-dollar judgment. Interview 15 Minutes With Providence Health's Chief Legal Officer Lawyers preparing to start a new job during the current remote work environment should develop an onboarding plan and avoid trying to accomplish everything within the first 90 days, said A. Verona Dorch, who recently became chief legal officer at Providence Health. Here, she explains more about her priorities and the law firm diversity benchmarks she plans to implement.
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