The Pinckney Plan, Dubious History and Originalism

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November 9, 2022

The Pinckney Plan, Dubious History and Originalism

The National Law Journal

If eighteenth century history is to dictate the meaning of our Constitution today, and into the future, then the Supreme Court should modestly recognize its own limitations and take great care to get that history right.

Originalism has become the predominant form of constitutional interpretation in the Supreme Court, a rebuttal to the notion that the Constitution is a living document.

To continue reading Gregory Diskant's article in the National Law Journal, please click here [a subscription may be required to view].

Firm Highlights

Bankruptcy Court Denies Motions to Convert Case and to Appoint an Examiner

A bankruptcy judge has ruled that a debtor can satisfy the Bankruptcy Code’s rehabilitation standard by selling its assets as a going concern and thereby avoid conversion from chapter 11 to chapter 7. In the same decision, the court denied a motion seeking the appointment of what the movants called an “examiner with expanded powers.” In re Deqser, LLC, Case No. 25-10687, 2026 Bankr. LEXIS 1004 (Bankr. D. Del. Apr. 22, 2026). The debtors operated a laundry business that serviced hotels located in New York City. The business suffered a downturn following an electrical fire at its facility as well as problems with its software. The debtors filed chapter 11 in early 2025. During their case, the debtors lost about $200,000 a...

New Executive Order Regarding IRA Enhancements

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Geoffrey Potter to Speak at National Association of Boards of Pharmacy 122nd Annual Meeting

On Wednesday, May 13, Partner Geoffrey Potter will present a program at the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy's 122nd Annual Meeting on the illegal importation of pharmaceuticals by alternative funding programs for employer-sponsored health plans. He will open a panel presentation titled "The Increasing Complexity of the Supply Chain: Shining a Light on Alternative Funding Programs and Prescription Drug Facilitators/Non-Dispensing 'Pharmacies.'" He will speak about how millions of insured workers and their families are forced to use dangerous and illegal misbranded medications paid for by their healthcare plans and what pharmacy boards can do to stop it. To learn more, please click here.

Stephanie Glaser to Speak at American Conference Institute's 6th Annual Summit for Women Leaders in IP Law

On Wednesday, June 3, Counsel Stephanie Bunting Glaser will speak on a program at the American Conference Institute's 6th Annual Summit for Women Leaders in IP Law titled "Copyrights in Synthetic Media: Protecting Creativity in the AI Era." Ms. Glaser will join Emily Lanza (Senior Counsel, U.S. Copyright Office, Office of Policy & International Affairs) to explore new challenges created by artificial intelligence in copyright law and offer strategies for safeguarding creative assets. To learn more, please click here.

Insider Trading Safeguards Can Mitigate Sports Betting Risk

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Employment Law Compliance for Start-Ups

Before you press "go" to launch your next business idea, as a founder and entrepreneur of a start-up company you should address an important (if uninspiring) step: employment law compliance. Complacency now can turn into an expensive distraction later, with the potential to create surprise liabilities and maybe even scuttle future deals. This alert flags core employment law issues every start-up should tackle now so they don't snowball later. Onboarding Compliance Checklist Before work can begin, employers must check an ever-growing number of compliance boxes: Register to Do Business: Register your company in each state where you have employees (e.g., the local departments of tax, labor, state, etc.). Workers' Compensation and Unemployment Insurance: Obtain both in each state where you have employees. New Hire Reporting:...

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On April 16, 2026, the firm secured an appellate victory on behalf of Brita Products Company ("Brita"), a unit of The Clorox Company, in a putative class action challenging the labeling of Brita's water filtration products. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit upheld a lower court ruling dismissing the complaint, agreeing that the product labeling contained no misstatements and would not mislead a reasonable consumer. Plaintiff originally sued Brita in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, alleging that certain representations on the products’ labels, such as “Cleaner, Great-Tasting Water,” implied that the filters fully remove all contaminants from tap water or reduce them to levels below lab detection limits. The district court granted Brita’s motion to dismiss...

Bankruptcy Court Denies Motions to Convert Case and to Appoint an Examiner

A bankruptcy judge has ruled that a debtor can satisfy the Bankruptcy Code’s rehabilitation standard by selling its assets as a going concern and thereby avoid conversion from chapter 11 to chapter 7. In the same decision, the court denied a motion seeking the appointment of what the movants called an “examiner with expanded powers.” In re Deqser, LLC, Case No. 25-10687, 2026 Bankr. LEXIS 1004 (Bankr. D. Del. Apr. 22, 2026). The debtors operated a laundry business that serviced hotels located in New York City. The business suffered a downturn following an electrical fire at its facility as well as problems with its software. The debtors filed chapter 11 in early 2025. During their case, the debtors lost about $200,000 a...

New Executive Order Regarding IRA Enhancements

Introduction On April 30, 2026, President Trump signed an Executive Order (the “Order”) designed to expand access to retirement savings for the tens of millions of American workers who currently lack employer-sponsored retirement plans, including many small-business employees, part-time workers, independent contractors, and self-employed individuals facing barriers to saving for retirement. The Order is designed to complement the Federal Saver's Match enacted under the SECURE 2.0 Act, which provides eligible workers with a federal matching contribution of up to $1,000 for retirement savings, and to promote high-quality, low-cost individual retirement account (“IRA”) access. Key Provisions and Implications The Order directs the Secretary of the Treasury (the “Secretary”) to establish, by January 1, 2027, an informational website (TrumpIRA.gov) that will serve as a...

Geoffrey Potter to Speak at National Association of Boards of Pharmacy 122nd Annual Meeting

On Wednesday, May 13, Partner Geoffrey Potter will present a program at the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy's 122nd Annual Meeting on the illegal importation of pharmaceuticals by alternative funding programs for employer-sponsored health plans. He will open a panel presentation titled "The Increasing Complexity of the Supply Chain: Shining a Light on Alternative Funding Programs and Prescription Drug Facilitators/Non-Dispensing 'Pharmacies.'" He will speak about how millions of insured workers and their families are forced to use dangerous and illegal misbranded medications paid for by their healthcare plans and what pharmacy boards can do to stop it. To learn more, please click here.

Stephanie Glaser to Speak at American Conference Institute's 6th Annual Summit for Women Leaders in IP Law

On Wednesday, June 3, Counsel Stephanie Bunting Glaser will speak on a program at the American Conference Institute's 6th Annual Summit for Women Leaders in IP Law titled "Copyrights in Synthetic Media: Protecting Creativity in the AI Era." Ms. Glaser will join Emily Lanza (Senior Counsel, U.S. Copyright Office, Office of Policy & International Affairs) to explore new challenges created by artificial intelligence in copyright law and offer strategies for safeguarding creative assets. To learn more, please click here.

Insider Trading Safeguards Can Mitigate Sports Betting Risk

From sports betting to prediction markets, the phenomenon some call "the casino-ification of America" has captured the American zeitgeist. Sports betting in particular has become ubiquitous since the U.S. Supreme Court's 2018 decision in Murphy v. NCAA, which opened the door for states to legalize sports gambling. Fans can now regularly bet on games and player performances directly from their smartphones. And, as several recent criminal indictments have alleged, some bettors are capitalizing on their access to inside information to obtain an unfair advantage on their wagers. This article will discuss how, because sports-related inside information continues to become more valuable, organizations including professional sports leagues, governing bodies, college athletic conferences, athletic departments and teams are playing an increasingly prominent role in...

SEC Enforcement Results for FY 2025: “Unique Period of Transition”

The Securities and Exchange Commission issued a press release on April 7, 2026, announcing the agency’s enforcement results for transitional period under the new presidential administration.[1] Describing FY 2025 as “a unique period of transition,” the statement pointed to a pulse of enforcement actions initiated between October and December 2024 [2] under outgoing SEC Chair Gary Gensler, critiquing the activity as “unprecedented rush” and the focus as an “aggressive pursuit of novel legal theories.”[3]. Current SEC Chair Paul S. Atkins described the shift as having “redirected resources toward the types of misconduct that inflict the greatest harm—particularly fraud, market manipulation, and abuses of trust.”[4] During FY 2025, the SEC brought 303 standalone enforcement actions, a combination of civil suits and administrative procedures that...