All Perspectives

Join International Trade & Investment associates James Kim and Mario Torrico for an in-person event with the Professional Association of Exporters and Importers.

Join Leah Scarpelli and former US Congressman Philip English for a Canadian Institute of Steel Construction webinar.

Tom Abendroth will present during two sessions at the 2025 Heckerling Institute.

On December 30, 2024, the Massachusetts state legislature passed House Bill 4653 (the Act), which significantly enhances regulatory oversight in the Massachusetts health care market. As signed into law by Governor Maura Healy on January 8, the Act will have profound effects for private equity (PE) investors and real estate investment trusts (REITs) engaging with the Massachusetts health care market. Passage of the Act comes on the heels of prominent PE-backed hospital failures in Massachusetts.

On January 3, the US Surgeon General issued an advisory on the association between alcohol and the risk of cancer. The alcohol beverage industry has swiftly responded highlighting conflicting studies and federal guidelines.

On November 20, 2024, the US Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General (OIG) issued its Industry Segment-Specific Compliance Program Guidance for Nursing Facilities (Nursing Facility ICPG).

On January 6, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) published in the Federal Register a notice announcing its determination that 35 previously authorized Food Contact Notifications (FCNs) for food contact substances containing per- or polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are no longer effective.

Working toward a more circular economy will continue to be at the forefront in 2025. More and more, states are requiring producers to manage the end-of-life of an increasing number of consumer items, from packaging materials, paper products, and food service ware, to mattresses, carpets, and more. California is now the first state in the nation to establish an extended producer responsibility program expressly for textiles.

Government Relations Co-Leader Dan Renberg, Co-Chairs Phil English and Byron Dorgan, and Partner Elizabeth Horner will join the Brazilian-American Chamber of Commerce in a webinar examining the implications of the 2024 Presidential and Congressional election results on January 8, 2025.

The COVID-19 pandemic and resulting increase in federal telework have reduced the daily usage of federal buildings in Washington, DC. Over the last few years, Mayor Muriel Bowser has not been shy in highlighting the economic harm of reduced foot traffic to small businesses and transit ridership in the District of Columbia, particularly downtown.

ArentFox Schiff served as outside counsel to the New York Red Bulls in a major naming rights and ticketing transaction with Sports Illustrated Tickets.

The parents of two Texas children recently brought a lawsuit against Character Technologies, Inc., alleging that its chatbot, Character.AI, encouraged self-harm, violence, and provided sexual content to their children. They are requesting that the court shut down the platform until the alleged dangers have been resolved. The suit, brought on behalf of the children, aged 17 and 11, was filed by the Social Media Victims Law Center and the Tech Justice Law Project. In addition to Character Technologies, Inc., the lawsuit names its two founders, as well as Google and Alphabet Inc. (collectively, Google).

Happy New Year and welcome to US cosmetics regulation in 2025! With many provisions of the Modernization of Cosmetics Regulation Act of 2022 (MoCRA) already in effect and others still waiting in the wings, let’s discuss where the US Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) regulation of cosmetics stands as of January 1, 2025.

State governments increasingly engage on climate issues. In search of a new source of funding for hundreds of billions of dollars in anticipated climate adaptation costs, a recent New York state law could impose $75 billion of liability on major fossil fuel companies.

Headlines that Matter for Companies and Executives in Regulated Industries

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has continued its crackdown on false and misleading “Made in USA” claims. Since finalizing the Made in the USA Labeling Rule in 2021, which authorizes the agency to levy civil penalties against noncompliant companies, the FTC has brought 11 enforcement actions, resulting in over $15 million in judgments against parties found to have falsely labeled their products as being “Made in the USA.”

On December 6, 2024, the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, the lead agency that implements Proposition 65, announced new amendments to the Proposition 65 “short-form” warning requirements.

The California Air Resources Board (CARB) announced this month that it will use enforcement discretion for the first greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reports due in 2026 to allow regulated businesses (doing business in California with annual revenue of over $1 billion) to report on GHG metrics using older data. CARB is also seeking public comment (due February 14, 2025) on the implementation of the GHG reporting requirements and those related to the disclosure of climate-related financial risks.

On December 12, the US Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) issued a proposed rule to list the monarch butterfly as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (ESA). Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Threatened Species Status With Section 4(d) Rule for Monarch Butterfly and Designation of Critical Habitat, 89 Fed. Reg. 100662, et seq. The proposed rule, if it becomes final, could have significant impacts on agriculture in the United States.

Two years after the enactment of the Modernization of Cosmetics Regulation Act of 2022 (MoCRA), the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has published the long-awaited proposed rule on talc-containing cosmetics.

California’s Proposition 65 requires businesses to provide warnings to California consumers about significant exposures to chemicals it has determined to cause cancer, birth defects, or other reproductive harm when exposure to the chemicals exceeds an established safe harbor level in a consumer product.

Beginning on January 1, 2025, New York employers in the private sector will be required to provide up to 20 hours of paid leave during any 52-week period for employees to attend prenatal appointments or obtain health care services related to their pregnancy.

Adding yet another chapter to the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) saga, the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit on December 26 issued an order vacating its stay of the Texas federal district court’s preliminary nationwide injunction barring the US government’s enforcement of the CTA. As a result, the government is again prohibited from enforcing the CTA and its beneficial ownership information reporting rule.

On December 23, the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit stayed the nationwide preliminary injunction barring the US government’s enforcement of the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) and its rule requiring the reporting of “beneficial ownership information” (BOI) that had been issued by the US District Court for the Eastern District of Texas on December 3 in Texas Top Cop Shop, Inc. v. Garland (Docket No. 4:24-CV-478).

In the environmental space, 2024 has been a memorable year with regulatory efforts and court decisions touching on every aspect of environmental and energy regulation, capped out by a closely divided election.