Insights

Washington – February 19, 2025: Leadership Council on Legal Diversity has selected partner Randa Adra as a member of its 2025 class of Fellows. In addition, associate Tiffany Aguiar and counsel Derick Dailey have been named to the LCLD 2025 class of Pathfinders.

Orange County – October 18, 2023: TimesOC and the Orange County Coalition for Diversity in the Law have recognized Crowell & Moring lawyers with numerous awards for their work in the community, particularly in the diversity, equity, and inclusion space.

With the coming of the new presidential administration, state antitrust enforcement is poised to intensify. We expect both Republican and Democratic Attorneys General (AGs) to actively pursue antitrust investigations and litigation. They will fill in where the U.S. Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission reduce focus but are also sure to work, including on a bipartisan basis, with their federal counterparts. Below, we explore how state AGs are likely to shape the antitrust landscape in the coming four years, and the areas where we anticipate significant enforcement activity.

On August 1, 2024, Nondiscrimination on the Basis of Sex in Education Programs or Activities Receiving Federal Financial Assistance, one of the final Title IX regulations of the U.S. Department of Education released on April 19, 2024, will go into effect. The new regulations address the previous administration’s rollback of Title IX protections, and include, among other things, an expanded definition of sex discrimination that provides new protections for LGBTQ+ individuals against discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. For example, the new rules prohibit schools that receive federal funding from barring transgender students’ use of pronouns that correspond to their gender identities, or denying transgender students access to facilities, like locker rooms and restrooms, that match their gender identities. Other notable changes in the new regulations include the following: (1) protection from all sex-based harassment and discrimination, including that based on sex stereotypes, sexual orientation, gender identity, or pregnancy or related conditions; (2) broadening the definition of “hostile environment” harassment to include conduct that is so severe or pervasive that it limits or denies a person’s ability to participate in the education program or activity; (3) increased accountability by requiring schools to take prompt and effective action to end any sex discrimination in their education programs or activities, prevent reoccurrence, and remedy its effects; and (4) protection against retaliation for students, employees, and others who exercise their Title IX rights.

Last week the New Jersey State Attorney General (AG) Matthew J. Platkin announced the creation of a new division: the Antitrust Litigation and Competition Enforcement Section (ALCES) within the Division of Law (DOL). The permanent and stand-alone section is based out of the DOL’s Newark office and is intended to reinforce the state’s capacity for robust antitrust protection. This marks yet another effort by a state AG to increase antitrust resources and focus on both large and small antitrust issues to promote fair and competitive markets.

At times, the real world can feel too set in its ways to change. Can the metaverse serve as an opportunity to wipe the slate clean and start over? If so, what would you consider? How would you create it with environmental, social, and governance principles in mind?