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Public Policy
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June 02, 2025
DOJ Deal OKs $1.5B Keysight-Spirent Network Testing Merger
The U.S. Department of Justice cut its first merger clearance deal of the Trump administration, and nearly its first settlement since a Biden-era hardline stance against most agreements, with a consent decree Monday allowing Keysight Technologies Inc. to proceed with its planned $1.5 billion acquisition of Spirent Communications PLC.
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June 02, 2025
Ill. Budget Increases Taxes On Tobacco, Online Sports Books
Illinois' Democratic-controlled General Assembly passed a $55 billion budget for fiscal 2026, including about $800 million in targeted tax hikes on tobacco, vaping and online sports betting.
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June 02, 2025
Texas Bill Aimed At Curbing Juries' Injury Verdicts Fails
A controversial bill that would have limited jury awards for injured Texans died Sunday after the two branches of the Texas Legislature couldn't hash out differences in the bill's language.
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June 02, 2025
8th Circ. OKs Nix Of Suit On Iowa's Quitting Of COVID Benefits
The Eighth Circuit backed the dismissal of a proposed class action claiming Iowa violated workers' rights by prematurely pulling out of federal pandemic unemployment assistance programs, ruling Monday that the benefits they sought weren't protected by the U.S. Constitution.
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June 02, 2025
Dominion Opposes Cable Plan To Ease Utility Pole Fixes
Dominion Energy is again criticizing a telecom industry proposal meant to expedite the process for putting communications attachments on utility poles, saying the telecom trade association behind the push is conflating simpler work lower on poles and more dangerous work above the space on poles where communications lines typically go.
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June 02, 2025
ÃÛÌÒÊÓÆµ, Banks Move In For Kill Of Biden-Era Open Banking Rule
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and a coalition of banking trade groups have separately pushed to toss the agency's Biden-era open banking rule, with the ÃÛÌÒÊÓÆµ now contending the data-sharing mandate exceeded its legal authority and the banks calling the regime burdensome, irrational and unlawfully vague.
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June 02, 2025
Justices' Rail Order Irrelevant To Merger Row, DC Circ. Told
Chicago suburbs challenging federal approval of Canadian Pacific's merger with Kansas City Southern urged the D.C. Circuit on Monday to pay no heed to the U.S. Supreme Court decision restricting government environmental reviews, arguing their own case challenges "other" deficiencies in addition to a failed consideration of broader climate impacts.
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June 02, 2025
Justices Urged To Reject Bid Disputing IRS Crypto Summons
The U.S. Supreme Court should not take up the case of a bitcoin investor who claimed the IRS violated his privacy when it seized his records from the cryptocurrency exchange, the government argued, saying the case is a poor vehicle for addressing concerns about digital-era transactions.
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June 02, 2025
Mass. AG Fines Restaurant $1.8M For Illegal Tip Pool
A Japanese restaurant will pay more than $1.8 million to resolve an investigation into its requirement that service workers share their tips with managerial employees, the Massachusetts attorney general announced Monday.
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June 02, 2025
Feds To Face Discovery, Trial In Free-Speech Removals Case
A Massachusetts federal judge on Monday denied the Trump administration's bid to foreclose discovery and a July 7 bench trial in a free-speech lawsuit by academic organizations challenging deportations of some of their members apparently based on their pro-Palestinian views.
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June 02, 2025
Third Round Of Fixes Sought In Botched Calif. Bar Exam
The California state bar's committee of bar examiners has approved two additional remedies in an effort to help applicants who failed the troubled February exam, including asking the state Supreme Court to approve a further scoring adjustment that would bring the passing rate up to about 63%.
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June 02, 2025
Feds Want 12½ Years For Ex-Ill. Speaker Convicted Of Bribery
Prosecutors are urging an Illinois federal judge to sentence former state House Speaker Michael Madigan to prison for 12½ years for bribery, conspiracy and fraud, saying his conduct adds "another sordid chapter to Illinois' storied reputation of corruption" while Madigan, armed with more than 200 letters of support, seeks only probation.
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June 02, 2025
Justices Want Gov't View On Duke Energy Monopoly Suit
The U.S. Supreme Court asked the Solicitor General on Monday to provide the government's view on a ruling that revived antitrust claims accusing Duke Energy of squeezing a rival out of the power market in North Carolina.
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June 02, 2025
Conn. Hospital's $8.3M Bonus Claims Fail, State Says
Connecticut Children's Medical Center Inc. has not provided a sufficient legal basis to pursue two of three claims in a lawsuit alleging that it should have received an $8.3 million performance-based bonus for 2022, the state Department of Social Services said in a motion seeking to nix the counts.
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June 02, 2025
Retired Judges Call Wis. Judge's Prosecution 'Dangerous'
The Trump administration's prosecution of a Wisconsin state judge who refused to help federal agents arrest an immigrant is an "extraordinary and direct assault on the independence of the entire judicial system," according to a bipartisan group of 138 former state and federal judges.
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June 02, 2025
FERC 'Never' Considered Costs Of NW Pipeline, 5th Circ. Told
The state of Washington told a Fifth Circuit panel Monday that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission " never rationally considered what the true costs" were for a TC Energy Corp. pipeline expansion project in the Pacific Northwest.
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June 02, 2025
Feds Want National Security Atty's Clearance Suit Tossed
The White House told a D.C. federal judge that granting and revoking security clearances is up to the executive branch alone, urging the court to toss national security lawyer Mark S. Zaid's challenge to the stripping of his clearance.
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June 02, 2025
DHS To Waive Environmental Laws For Border Wall In Arizona
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security on Monday said it will waive a slew of environmental laws to facilitate border wall construction near Yuma, Arizona, an area the government says has a high amount of border crossing and drug trafficking.
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June 02, 2025
Nebraska Tax Commission Upholds Farm's $1.89M Valuation
A Nebraska farm valued at $1.89 million was accurately assessed in line with other agricultural property, the state's Tax Equalization and Review Commission found, rejecting claims by the property owner that it was over-assessed.
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June 02, 2025
Defamation Litigation Roundup: Cheetos, NASCAR, OpenAI
In this month's review of ongoing defamation fights, Law360 looks back on developments in a man's case against Frito-Lay Inc. over what he called the company's defamatory statements disputing his role in the invention of a flavor of Cheetos.
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June 02, 2025
Justices Take Ill. Rep.'s Case Over Extended Ballot Count
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday agreed to review a split Seventh Circuit panel's decision upholding the dismissal of an Illinois congressman's suit challenging the state's policy of counting ballots for up to 14 days after an election as long as they were postmarked or certified by Election Day.
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June 02, 2025
Immunity Shields Mich. AG From Flint Water Prosecution Suit
A Michigan federal judge has dismissed a wrongful prosecution lawsuit brought by a former aide to ex-Gov. Rick Snyder against the Michigan attorney general and Wayne County prosecutors, ruling that immunity shields the prosecutors from liability over their handling of charges against officials in the aftermath of the Flint water crisis.
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June 02, 2025
Schumer Pledges To Fight GOP's Limits On Court Power
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., has vowed to challenge a provision in House Republicans' budget reconciliation package that would curtail courts' ability to issue contempt citations.
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June 02, 2025
US Looks To Dodge Suit Over Gulf Oil Well Risks
The federal government is asking a federal court to toss environmentalists' lawsuit alleging that it's ignoring the fact that owners of retired offshore oil and gas drilling infrastructure are failing to properly shut down the facilities.
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June 02, 2025
Justices Turn Away Constitutional Challenge To FINRA Powers
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to take up a case calling into question the constitutionality of the in-house disciplinary process used by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, rejecting an appeal by a broker-dealer facing expulsion from the industry.
Expert Analysis
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As Tariffs Hit The Radar, PE Counsel Should Review Strategies
As tariffs compound existing challenges in the private equity sector, counsel should consider existing headwinds such as interest rates and industry-specific impacts like supply chains and pricing power, which may help mitigate risks and capture opportunity, says Nathan Viehl at Thompson Coburn.
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Trump Rule Would Upend Endangered Species Status Quo
The Trump administration's recent proposal to rescind the regulatory definition of "harm" in the Endangered Species Act would be a tectonic shift away from years of established regulatory practice, with major implications for both species protection and larger-scale conservation efforts, says David Smith at Manatt.
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DOJ Memo Raises Bar For Imposition Of Corporate Monitors
A recently released U.S. Department of Justice memo, outlining guidance on the imposition of compliance monitors in corporate criminal cases, reflects DOJ leadership’s concerns about scope creep and business costs, but the strategies for companies to avoid a monitorship haven't changed much compared to the Biden era, says James Koukios at MoFo.
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Series
Law School's Missed Lessons: Becoming A Firmwide MVP
Though lawyers don't have a neat metric like baseball players for measuring the value they contribute to their organizations, the sooner new attorneys learn skills frequently skipped in law school — like networking, marketing, client development and case evaluation — the more valuable, and less replaceable, they will be, says Alex Barnett at DiCello Levitt.
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How NY's FAIR Act Mirrors ÃÛÌÒÊÓÆµ State Recommendations
New York's proposed FAIR Business Practices Act, which targets predatory lending and junk fees, reflects the Rohit Chopra-era Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's recommendations to states in a number of ways, including by defining "abusive" conduct and adding a new right to file class actions, says Christian Hancock at Bradley Arant.
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Expect Eyes On Electronic Devices At US Entry Points
Electronic device searches are becoming common at U.S. border inspections, making it imperative for companies to familiarize themselves with what's allowed, and mandate specific precautions for employees to protect their privacy and sensitive information during international travel, say attorneys at Seyfarth.
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Big Tech M&A Risk Under Trump May Resemble Biden Era
Merger review under the Trump administration may not differ substantially from merger review under the Biden administration, particularly in the Big Tech arena, in which case dealmakers and investors should shift the antitrust discount on M&A deals upward, says Jonathan Barnett at the University of Southern California Gould School of Law.
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A Breakdown Of Trump's Order On Drug Pricing
The Trump administration may attempt to effectuate through rulemaking a recently issued executive order on lowering drug prices, which would likely have an adverse effect on stakeholders and trigger litigation, say attorneys at Debevoise.
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FTC Focus: Interlocking Directorate Enforcement May Persist
Though the Federal Trade Commission under Chair Andrew Ferguson seems likely to adopt a pro-business approach to antitrust enforcement, his endorsement of broader liability for officers or directors who illegally sit on boards of competing corporations signals that businesses should not expect board-level antitrust scrutiny to slacken, says Timothy Burroughs at Proskauer.
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Calif. Climate Superfund Bill Faces Legal, Technical Hurdles
California could soon join other states in sending the fossil fuel industry a massive bill for the costs of coping with climate change — but its pending climate Superfund legislation, if enacted, is certain to face legal pushback and daunting implementation challenges, says Donald Sobelman at Farella Braun.
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How Cos. Can Navigate Risks Of New Cartel Terrorist Labels
The Trump administration’s recent designation of eight drug cartels as foreign terrorist organizations gives rise to new criminal and civil liabilities for companies that are unwittingly exposed to cartel activity, but businesses can mitigate such risks in a few key ways, say attorneys at Steptoe.
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Cosmetic Co. Considerations As More States Target PFAS
In the first quarter of the year, seven states introduced or passed legislation focused on banning the sale of cosmetics that contain PFAS, making it necessary for businesses to adjust their product testing and supply chain practices, product formulations, marketing strategies, and more, say attorneys at Alston & Bird.
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What We Lost After SEC Eliminated Regional Director Role
Former U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Regional Director Marc Fagel discusses the recent wholesale elimination of the regional director position, the responsibilities of the job itself and why discarding this role highlights how the appearance of creating a more efficient agency may limit the SEC's effectiveness.
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Mass. Suit Points To New Scrutiny For Home Equity Contracts
The Massachusetts attorney general’s recent charge that a lender sold unregulated reverse mortgages shows more regulators are scrutinizing mortgage alternatives like home equity contracts, but a similar case in the Ninth Circuit suggests more courts need to help develop a consensus on these products' legality, say attorneys at Weiner Brodsky.
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Unpacking Copyright Office's AI Report Amid Admin Shakeups
Though recent firings have thrown the U.S. Copyright Office into turmoil, the latest entry in its report on artificial intelligence can serve as a road map for litigants, persuasive authority for courts and input on the legislative process, say attorneys at Epstein Becker.