Judicial selection in the states is not uniform, but most states have some form of judicial elections. Some are contested elections--whether partisan or nonpartisan--and some involve uncontested retention elections. During an election, judicial candidates must abide by ethical rules that explicitly restrict their ability to speak freely. What are the implications, if any, for restrictions on judicial speech arising from different systems of selecting and retaining judges? How do judicial...

DEI (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion) initiatives have become ubiquitous on campuses and in workplaces across the nation, particularly after the death of George Floyd in late May 2020 and the rapid rise of "anti-racism" initiatives. These efforts, frequently using racially exclusionary or derogatory terminology and eligibility, were considered by some legal experts to be of doubtful legality. But after the Supreme Court's June 2023 ruling in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard and UNC...

The regulatory landscape for Private Funds has changed dramatically over the past decade, culminating in the SEC’s recent Private Fund Advisers regulation, which was recently struck down by the Fifth Circuit. In the wake of this important court decision, what’s next? Will the SEC go back to the drawing board? Is more regulation even needed? What broader implications can we draw for the legal landscape and regulatory governance principles going forward? Featuring: David Blass, Partner,...

On August 20, 2024, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas struck down the Federal Trade Commission’s Non-Complete Rule in its entirety, finding it exceed FTC’s statutory authority and was arbitrary and capricious. The Rule, adopted in April, banned virtually all new noncompete clauses in employment contracts and invalidated existing noncompete agreements except for those covering certain senior executives. Ryan, LLC, the U.S. Chamber, the Business Roundtable, the Texas...

This event will survey the SEC's current involvement in the cryptocurrency field. The conversation will include best practices for defending against SEC enforcement inquiries or investigations in the crypto industry. It will also examine the proactive legal approaches individuals and companies can take against the SEC, detailing how, when, and why they can bring suit. This discussion will conclude with a conversation about private sector initiatives to establish a sound disclosure protocol to...

Pharmaceutical company Merck & Co., Inc. (Merck) filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) challenging the Medicare drug price negotiation program established by the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022. Merck argues that the drug pricing program violates the First Amendment and the Takings Clause of the Fifth Amendment, claiming it forces them to accept government-dictated prices and infringes on their property rights. The federal government, represented...

In Gonzalez v. Trevino, the plaintiff, Sylvia Gonzalez, argued that her arrest was a retaliatory action violating her First Amendment rights, stemming from her political activities as a newly elected city council member who had organized a petition to remove the city manager. She contended that she should be allowed to pursue her retaliatory arrest claim based on the circumstances surrounding her case. On the other hand, the defendants, including Mayor Edward Trevino and other city officials,...

In Trump v. United States, the Supreme Court addressed the issue of presidential immunity from criminal prosecution for actions taken while in office. Former President Trump's legal team argued that a former president should have absolute immunity from criminal prosecution for official acts performed during their tenure, citing the need for presidents to act boldly without fear of future prosecution. They contended that all allegations in the indictment fell within Trump's official duties as...

Qualified immunity is perhaps the nation’s most controversial legal doctrine. Proponents say qualified immunity is necessary to give government officials—especially police—breathing room to act in split-second situations without fear of lawsuits. By requiring that a right be “clearly established” before an official can be sued for violating it, the doctrine is supposed to ensure officials have notice of what conduct to avoid before they put a foot wrong. Meanwhile, critics argue that...

In June 2023, the Coutts bank closed the account of British politician Nigel Farage. While NatWest, the owner of Coutts, initially claimed that Farage failed to meet the Coutts eligibility criteria of holding £1,000,000 or more in his account, it was later revealed that Farage's account was closed in part as Coutts felt that his beliefs and values did not align with theirs. Debanking, the practice of financial institutions closing accounts or refusing services to certain individuals or...

United States of America v. Donald J. Trump, Waltine Nauta, and Carlos De Oliveira marked the first federal indictment of a former U.S. president. The prosecution, led by Special Counsel Jack Smith, argued that Trump illegally retained hundreds of classified government documents at his Mar-a-Lago residence after leaving office and obstructed efforts to retrieve them. He said this posed a national security risk and violated laws governing the handling of sensitive information. Trump's defense...

Some Intellectual Property experts contend that American patent reliability has been in decline for 20 years. They point to the threat of inter partes review, the misuse of march-in rights under the Bayh-Dole Act, the imposition of reasonable or reference price clauses, direct government price-setting, and, most importantly, an inability to obtain an injunction after a finding of infringement. In fact, since the Supreme Court decided eBay v. MercExchange in 2006, injunctions have declined...

High school French teacher Peter Vlaming was fired from his job in West Point, Virginia, for declining to refer to a female student using male pronouns. Vlaming filed suit in state court, alleging that the school board had violated his rights to the free exercise of religion and free speech under the Virginia Constitution. Late last year, the Virginia Supreme Court held that the Virginia Constitution provides more robust protections for religious freedom than the federal Free Exercise Clause...

Since its earliest days, the Biden Administration has been clear as to its goal of addressing what it sees as a crisis of student debt by forgiving notable segments of existing student loans. To that end, it has pursued several plans -- the attempted forgiveness of loans under the HEROES Act struck down in Biden v. Nebraska (2023), the SAVE Plan which is currently being litigated, and further yet-to-be-finalized actions from the Department of Education. The SAVE Plan, more officially titled...

The development of standing jurisprudence has been inextricably intertwined with the growth of the administrative state over the past 60 years and the bevy of new statutory rights, privileges, obligations, constraints, and interbranch dynamics that came with it. Over the past three terms, the U.S. Supreme Court has issued numerous opinions that are rich with standing doctrine. Three new voices in administrative law--all recent law school graduates--will address recent developments in standing...

Some Intellectual Property experts contend that American patent reliability has been in decline for 20 years. They point to the threat of inter partes review, the misuse of march-in rights under the Bayh-Dole Act, the imposition of reasonable or reference price clauses, direct government price-setting, and, most importantly, an inability to obtain an injunction after a finding of infringement. In fact, since the Supreme Court decided eBay v. MercExchange in 2006, injunctions have declined...

In Vidal v. Elster (the “Trump Too Small” case), the Supreme Court unanimously upheld a federal limitation on registering trademarks that include other people’s names. All the Justices agreed that, though the limitation was content-based, it didn’t need to be judged under strict scrutiny. But behind this unanimity was a major rift about whether the Court should decide these matters by focusing on history and tradition, or should instead build on more recent precedents such as those dealing...

In Lindenberg v. Jackson National Life Ins. Co., 912 F.3d 348 (2018), the Sixth Circuit declared unconstitutional Tennessee’s law capping punitive damages based on the Tennessee constitution. But in the wake of Lindenberg, Tennessee state courts continue to reduce punitive damage awards in reliance on the statutory cap because the Tennessee Supreme Court has not directly addressed the law’s constitutionality. And in a case on a different statutory damages cap, the Tennessee Supreme Court...

The U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC), long a favored forum for patent infringement disputes, has recently come under fire for duplicating the functions of the federal courts where patents disputes – often the same ones that are before the ITC – are litigated. In this panel, Professors Jorge L. Contreras, Michael Doane, and F. Scott Kieff will discuss the pros and cons of the ITC's patent jurisdiction and whether any changes are warranted in light of technology markets that are...

In the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization (2022), pro-choice advocates have argued that restrictions on abortion violate freedom of religion in some circumstances. A recent decision by the Indiana Court of Appeals, academic articles, and media stories have taken up these religious free-exercise challenges to abortion laws. This panel will explore the constitutional and statutory grounds for these claims in different faith traditions. pro-life...

The 1947 Taft-Hartley amendments to the National Labor Relations Act, doggedly opposed by organized labor, included compliance with practicable portions of the federal rules of evidence and civil procedure, barring the Board from treating supervisors and independent contractors as protected employees, expressly incorporating employer free-speech rights, and more. Where are the Taft-Hartley amendments today and why? Featuring: Fred B. Jacob, Solicitor, National Labor Relations Board Hon....

Should private attorneys general enforce laws? Proponents argue that this approach allows individuals and private entities to act in the public interest, supplementing often overburdened or under-resourced government agencies. This can lead to more comprehensive enforcement of laws, particularly in areas such as environmental protection, consumer rights, and civil liberties, where violations might otherwise go unchecked. On the other hand, critics contend that private enforcement of public...

On July 9th, the Federal Trade Commission released a Staff Interim Report on the Pharmacy Benefit Manager Industry. This panel will discuss the state of the PBM marketplace, the staff’s key findings, Commission statements surrounding the Report, and how this Report compares to earlier FTC market studies. Featuring: Rani Habash, Partner, Dechert Dan Gilman, Senior Scholar, Competition Policy, International Center for Law & Economics, Former Attorney Advisor, FTC Office of Policy...

In March of this year, the U.S. Justice Department and 16 states filed a sweeping complaint against Apple alleging that it has monopolized and attempted to monopolize US markets for smartphones and “performance” smartphones. At issue is an array of current and past Apple policies and restrictions governing the way that third party applications access and engage on the iPhone platform. Plaintiffs claim that Apple’s failure to open its platform prevents the development of “super apps” and...

In January 2024, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) initiated an “emergency collection” of information about the electricity consumption of leading cryptocurrency mining companies operating in the United States. EIA’s Administrator declared the agency’s intent to analyze and report on the energy implications of cryptocurrency mining activities in the United States. This followed reports by leading environmental groups that have claim that, as an extremely energy-intensive...