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| TOP NEWS Trump Admin. Can't End Suit Over Early End To Census U.S. District Judge Lucy H. Koh on Friday batted away calls from the Census Bureau to end a suit over its shifting timeline for the 2020 population count, saying the government's arguments had already failed in two courts.
SEC Chairman Jay Clayton To Step Down At End Of Year Following in the footsteps of his predecessors during presidential transitions, Jay Clayton said Monday that he will be stepping down as chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission at the end of the year. Analysis 7 Names To Watch As Biden Picks His Labor Secretary President-elect Joe Biden is bound to take labor and employment policy in a different direction than his predecessor once he takes office Jan. 20. Here, Law360 profiles some of the possible contenders to be labor secretary in the new administration.
NJ Legislature OKs Judge Protections After Salas Shooting The New Jersey Legislature on Monday unanimously passed a bill that would bar the online posting of judges' and prosecutors' home addresses or phone numbers after a shooting at the residence of U.S. District Judge Esther Salas left her son dead and husband wounded, sending the measure to Gov. Phil Murphy for his consideration. NJ Halts Jury Trials As COVID-19 Surges Again The New Jersey Supreme Court on Monday reinstalled a suspension of jury trials and in-person grand jury sessions, as the state experiences a pronounced jump in confirmed coronavirus cases and hospitalizations. Trump Campaign Loses More Attys From Pa. Election Lawsuit Following the withdrawal of Porter Wright Morris & Arthur LLP last week, President Donald Trump's reelection campaign lost three more attorneys on Monday from a federal lawsuit aimed at blocking Pennsylvania from certifying its results of the presidential election. Pa. Justices Asked To Decide If Mail-In Ballots Need Dates Philadelphia election officials want to fast-track President Donald Trump's reelection campaign's claims that mail-in ballots shouldn't be counted if they were missing a date, address or printed name on their outer envelopes, arguing that the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania can take over pressing election-related cases.
McGahn Says Incoming Congress Will Moot House Subpoena Ex-White House lawyer Don McGahn told the D.C. Circuit on Monday that when the current Congress ends in January, the subpoena seeking to force him to testify about President Donald Trump's alleged attempts to impede the investigation into 2016 election interference will expire.
Trump Atty Slams Kirkland For Associate's 'Abusive' Message An attorney for President Donald Trump's reelection campaign is pushing for sanctions after accusing an attorney with Kirkland & Ellis LLP, which is defending Pennsylvania's top election official in a lawsuit aimed at blocking the state from certifying vote results in the presidential race, of sending her an abusive and harassing voicemail.
Trump Admin. Must Review Wyo. Oil And Gas Leases, Again The Bureau of Land Management can't issue new drilling permits on federal land in Wyoming until it takes a good look at the environmental impacts of leases there, a federal judge ruled in a win for environmental groups including WildEarth Guardians.
Permian Pipeline Must Hand Over Contracts To Landowner A Texas appellate court has ruled that a Kinder Morgan unit must turn over contracts with third-party users of its $2.2 billion Permian Highway Pipeline to a landowner who is challenging the project's "public use" classification.
Greens Seek To Undo EPA's Clean Air Act Loophole For Texas Green groups on Friday asked the D.C. Circuit to reverse the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's decision to let Texas rely on legal "loopholes" when facilities in the state violate pollution standards during startup, shutdown or malfunction periods.
Enviro Groups Push To Scrap Army Fort Groundwater Plan Three conservation groups have urged an Arizona federal court to order the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the U.S. Army to scrap and redo an Army base's groundwater pumping plan that the groups say will harm endangered wildlife.
EPA Softened Smog Regs For Texas Cities, Green Groups Say Environmental groups told the D.C. Circuit on Friday that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency unlawfully weakened smog protections for Houston and Dallas by nixing pollution control measures for the two Texas metropolitan areas.
Ill. Appeals Court Says Gov. Has Right To Ban Indoor Dining An Illinois appellate panel on Friday dissolved a temporary restraining order blocking the enforcement of an executive order by Gov. J.B. Pritzker that prompted a ban on indoor dining in four counties, saying the state's emergency management law gave him the authority to issue it.
Calif. Used Virus To Upend Health Plan Contracts, Suit Says California's health exchange unconstitutionally issued an emergency regulation requiring health plans to pay for COVID-19 testing and services, which eviscerated existing contracts between plans and providers, the California Association of Health Plans said in a state court suit seeking to scrap the regulation.
Philly Injection Site Violates Federal Law, 3rd Circ. Told The U.S. Department of Justice on Monday urged the Third Circuit to bar the operation of a supervised drug injection site in Philadelphia, saying it would violate federal drug law because its main purpose is to facilitate illegal substance use. Ex-HHS Atty Joins McDermott At Key Time For Health Care The former deputy general counsel at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is joining McDermott's health practice at a time when the firm says "the stakes have never been higher" for its clients and as the health care industry readies for expected regulatory shifts from a Biden administration. EFF Says PTAB Rule Changes Would 'Destroy' IPR System The Electronic Frontier Foundation has urged its supporters to use the "final days" of the Trump administration to oppose the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's proposed rule changes to enshrine its ability to reject petitions where there is parallel infringement litigation. News Orgs Rip Feds' Bid To Pause COVID-19 Relief Disclosure Several news outlets fired back Monday at the Trump administration's bid to pause a recent D.C. federal court order to disclose records that would identify and provide information on all businesses that have received COVID-19 relief funds, arguing that the data is vital to the public's evaluation of the government's response to the pandemic.
DOT Finalizes New Amtrak On-Time Performance Standards The U.S. Department of Transportation finalized a rule Monday setting new performance and scheduling standards for Amtrak's passenger operations, restoring regulations that had been invalidated and redeveloped after years of litigation from freight railroads. Senate Split Will Hamper Biden's Labor Policy Reforms Democrats' hopes for a labor law revolution are in limbo after the party fell short of the strong Senate majority it needed to pass the Protecting the Right to Organize Act, but the Biden administration can still make a more modest mark on federal labor policy through the NLRB, experts say. Union Can't Pursue Suit Over Federal Mediator Panel's Rules A federal employees' union's challenge of a government panel's ground rules for collective bargaining negotiations with a federal housing agency was dismissed because talks concluded despite the challenge, a Washington, D.C., federal judge ruled Monday.
Union Argues It Can Sue USDA Over Chicken Plant Speed The union that represents workers at Tyson Foods and other chicken processors has asked a Washington, D.C., federal judge not to toss its lawsuit challenging a U.S. Department of Agriculture rule allowing employers to speed up their lines, arguing the rule's risk to workers is real enough for it to make its claims.
Calif. Tells 9th Circ. Meal, Rest Break Rules Aren't Preempted A Ninth Circuit panel on Monday considered whether California's meal and rest break rules are general workplace rules that don't necessarily run afoul of federal regulations governing commercial motor vehicle safety, and whether the U.S. Department of Transportation overstepped when it said otherwise in 2018. Xerox Beats Walmart's Appeal Over $4M Food Aid Losses A Texas appellate panel has affirmed Xerox's win in Walmart's breach of contract suit alleging Xerox cost the retail giant $4 million for failing to notify it about planned maintenance to Xerox's financial transactions processing system in 2013, during which Walmart approved 55,000 invalid food aid transactions.
DOD Overlooks $136M In Improper Payments, Watchdog Says The U.S. Department of Defense promised remediation Monday after a watchdog audit found the department provided its leaders and Congress with inaccurate estimates about improper payments when it overlooked $136 million in improper commercial payments in the first half of fiscal year 2020 due to internal control shortcomings.
Commerce Slaps Duties On Concrete Wire From 7 Countries The U.S. Department of Commerce moved to impose anti-dumping duties on prestressed concrete steel wire strand from seven countries, adding to a growing list of countries subject to the import tax following petitions earlier this year. WTO Must Restore Trust, Says Front-Runner For Top Spot WTO director-general hopeful Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala said a panel discussion Monday that world leaders can rebuild trust within the trade body by cooperating to distribute a coronavirus vaccine, easing export restrictions on medical supplies and preparing for future pandemics. EU Board Advises Companies On International Data Transfers The European Union's data protection regulators have issued guidance to assist companies in transferring data to other countries while complying with the EU's landmark General Data Protection Regulation, months after the EU's top court invalidated a popular tool used to transfer data across the Atlantic.
Supreme Court Turns Down Illinois Property Tax Row The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday let stand a ruling by the Seventh Circuit that a group of Illinois landowners did not find a "plain, speedy and efficient" remedy in state courts for claims of overpaid property taxes.
IRS Crime Unit Says It Found $2.3B In Tax Fraud Amid Virus Internal Revenue Service criminal investigators identified more than $10 billion in financial crimes, including $2.3 billion in tax fraud as well as cases tied to COVID-19, in the government's most recent fiscal year, the agency said in a report Monday.
Tax Extenders Could Be Tough Sell This Year, Tax Pro Says Lawmakers in Congress may find it difficult to renew a set of tax extenders this year without also passing relief measures intended to help individuals and communities affected by the novel coronavirus, a tax professional said Monday. High Court Won't Review Puerto Rico Pension Bond Suit The U.S. Supreme Court held Monday that it won't consider whether Puerto Rico betrayed bondholders for its public employee retirement fund by passing a law cutting off future contributions to the fund. Trump Urges 9th Circ. To Reimpose Work Visa Ban The federal government defended President Donald Trump's work visa ban as a lawful exercise of his power to bar foreigners from the country, urging the Ninth Circuit to reimpose the policy on the businesses that secured a block on it.
Fed. Officials Say Family Separation Suit Seeks Undue Relief Current and former Trump administration officials urged an Arizona federal judge against allowing a lawsuit brought by the American Civil Liberties Union over family separations at the southern border, saying that the families are pushing for unprecedented civil damages.
Bernstein, Saxena Tapped To Rep FirstEnergy Investors Saxena White PA and Bernstein Litowitz Berger & Grossmann LLP will represent investors of Ohio utility company FirstEnergy Corporation in derivative litigation claiming the company's investors were hurt by a $60 million bribery and racketeering scheme implicating Ohio's house speaker, a federal judge in Columbus said Monday.
House Approves Federal Recognition For NC's Lumbee Tribe The U.S. House of Representatives passed a bipartisan bill Monday that would grant full federal recognition to the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina, giving new life to a decades-old proposal that recently won backing from both President Donald Trump and President-elect Joe Biden.
FCC Seeks Input On Fox Bid To Keep NY Post Permanently FCC staff have asked for public input on a Fox Corp. request for a permanent waiver from media cross-ownership limits so it can own both the New York Post and two TV stations in the New York market without repeatedly asking for temporary waivers to the restrictions.
AT&T, Iowa Carrier Take Fee Fight With FCC Back To DC Circ. AT&T and an Iowa-based local exchange carrier are back before the D.C. Circuit for the second time this year over their beef with the way the Federal Communications Commission settled their long-running rate dispute.
Experienced Telecom Trio Joins Keller Heckman In DC Keller & Heckman LLP added a trio of partners in Washington, D.C., with decades of experience running their own telecommunications law firm and litigating a variety of regulatory matters including 5G disputes, the firm announced. Judge Won't Stop Ill. Pot License Scoring Do-Over A Sangamon County, Illinois, circuit court judge declined to stop the state from rescoring applications for retail marijuana licenses ahead of a lottery awarding them, saying the public interest weighs against halting the do-over.
NJ Senate Passes Bill To Decriminalize Pot, Amid Criticism The New Jersey Senate on Monday approved a bill that would decriminalize the possession of up to six ounces of marijuana, amid criticism from lawmakers over how the measure both does not provide for the expungement of convictions and includes downgrading a charge for having so-called magic mushrooms. Rejected NJ Pot License Applicants Press AG For Settlement Rejected New Jersey medical marijuana license applicants have pressed the state's attorney general to strike a deal in their lawsuit over application portal glitches, saying legalization of recreational pot in the Garden State adds fresh urgency to the long-running case.
Virginia's Gov. Backs Legalization Of Cannabis In 2021 Virginia's governor on Monday threw his support behind legalizing adult-use cannabis on the same day a legislative report recommended lawmakers should allow the practice and consider assessing up to a 30% combined tax rate on retail sales.
Opinion Congress Should Take Responsibility For Immigration Reform Lawmakers should stop relying on White House stopgap measures and drive systemic immigration reform by reassessing the current quota system, increasing family and employment-based visas, and creating a simplified temporary worker program to fill agricultural and skilled labor positions, says Rosanna Berardi at Berardi Immigration. Anticipating CFPB Changes Under The Biden Administration Joe Biden's presidential win and the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Seila Law earlier this year may foretell a significant change in focus and tenacity at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, but as long as the U.S. Senate remains Republican-controlled, the likelihood of substantial structural change remains limited, say attorneys at Debevoise. Implications Of EPA Clean Air Act Cost-Benefit Rule: Part 1 Because the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's recently proposed requirements for cost-benefit analysis of all significant regulations under the Clean Air Act are highly prescriptive, the agency will need to provide much more specific and quantified analysis of future regulatory impacts, say attorneys at Arnold & Porter. What The Sports Industry Can Expect Under Biden At the start of President-elect Joe Biden's administration, the sports industry should be prepared to comply with significant policy changes on hot-topic issues like COVID-19 management, immigration, and equality, diversity and inclusion in the workplace, says Elizabeth Polido at Morgan Lewis. OFAC Cyber Ransom Guidance Has Insurance Implications A new advisory from the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control will likely cause delay in insurance coverage determinations for ransom payments, but there are steps policyholders can take to secure coverage for restoration costs when a ransom is not paid, say attorneys at Hunton.
Retirement Plan Rule Throws Cold Water On ESG Factors A recently finalized U.S. Department of Labor rule requires retirement plan fiduciaries to focus solely on financial factors when making investment decisions — meaning that it will be difficult for plans to take environmental, social and governance factors into account, even if participants want them to, says Robert Gower at Trucker Huss.
Ala. High Court Ruling Jeopardizes Tax Sales Held In Court The Alabama Supreme Court’s recent refusal to reconsider its decision in Stiff v. Equivest Financial — that a tax sale occurring inside the courthouse, and not on the front steps, was void — gives taxpayers ammunition to invalidate an untold number of tax sales across the state, say attorneys at Nelson Mullins.
Opinion Lack Of Access To Remote Court Proceedings Is Inexcusable Blanket rules that bar recording or dissemination of remote public court proceedings impede presumptive common law and First Amendment right of access, greatly expand courts' powers over nonparties, and likely run afoul of U.S. Supreme Court precedent, says Matthew Schafer at ViacomCBS.
Battle For Associate Talent Back On As Firms Resume Hiring When coronavirus cases surged in early spring, many law firms paused associate hiring due to the uncertainties looming ahead, but now legal recruiters expect firms to be on the forefront again in battling for up-and-coming talent. Hagens Berman Partner Tony Shapiro Dies At 62 Anthony "Tony" D. Shapiro, a well-known personal injury attorney and an executive committee member of Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP, died of cancer Monday at age 62, the firm announced. Akerman, Taft Join Firms Rolling Back COVID-19 Pay Cuts Akerman LLP and Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP are the latest firms to announce restorations of pay to workers after instituting pay cuts early in the coronavirus pandemic to brace for a potential drop in business. Analysis Amazon Case Shows How A GC's Barbs Can Sting Back Amazon.com Inc. general counsel David Zapolsky is learning a lesson the hard way, but other in-house counsel can gain insight about how to deal with a disgruntled employee from Zapolsky's predicament, after his disparaging remarks about a fired Black employee are now playing a key role in a discrimination suit. GC Role Evolving As Pandemic, Other Issues Bring Changes The role of the general counsel continues to change — and in many cases expand — in 2020, as the majority of top corporate lawyers during the pandemic manage employee well-being and worry about privacy and data protection, according to a new study shared with Law360 on Monday. Toys R Us Parent Co. Names Former Atty As GC Tru Kids Brands, the parent company of Toys R Us and Babies R Us, has named one of the toy company's pre-bankruptcy attorneys as its new legal chief. Employer Group Says Littler Attys Filched Copyrighted Files Employment law powerhouse Littler Mendelson PC has been accused in a new lawsuit in Virginia federal court of swiping mountains of copyrighted work from the Center for Workplace Compliance and using it to the firm's advantage. Buckley Must Produce Latham Emails In $6M Policy Fight Breaking a stalemate between Buckley LLP and its former insurer in a battle over $6 million in coverage, a North Carolina court said the firm must turn over a trove of emails with Latham & Watkins LLP investigators who looked into misconduct allegations against a Buckley co-founder. NYU Asks 2nd Circ. To Affirm Win In Race Bias Suit New York University is asking the Second Circuit to back the toss of a lawsuit against its academic law journal, arguing that a group alleging federal bias law violations has failed to show any specific person was harmed. Judge Skeptical Of Suit To Delay Execution Over Sick Attys A federal judge in Washington weighing a death row inmate's request to delay her Dec. 8 execution because two of her attorneys are sick with the coronavirus suggested Monday that such a move would be up to the U.S. government and not him. Terns Pharmaceuticals Brings On New Top Lawyer Terns Pharmaceuticals Inc., which develops drugs to treat chronic liver conditions, said Monday it has hired a lawyer with seven years of experience working with drug and treatment companies as the next head of its legal department. Interview 15 Minutes With Univar Solutions' General Counsel Univar Solutions general counsel Noelle Perkins is motivated by seeing other people who "keep it all together" while managing their careers and parenting. Here, she shares more about her role models and a lesson about leadership she has learned during her legal career.
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