On March 6, 2024, the SEC voted 3-2 to adopt final rules requiring registrants to disclose climate-related information. However, a multitude of legal challenges to these rules have been consolidated before the Eighth Circuit, which is now tasked with determining their legality. As the litigation proceeds, the case will have important consequences for the regulatory power of federal agencies and the ultimate disclosure requirements for registrants. Partner Persis Dean and associate Gabe Slater outline key changes in the new rules and offer guidance for registrants seeking to prepare for compliance.

Four years on from the Supreme Court’s monumental decision in McGirt v. Oklahoma, the results have been a mixed bag for all parties involved. In their previous McGirt update, managing partner Andy Hicks and associate Dave Finkel analyzed potential tax and regulatory implications in the first few months following the decision. Now, with the benefit of hindsight, they update those initial predictions and reflect on McGirt’s effects in the Sooner State.

On January 17, 2024, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in tandem cases Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo and Relentless, Inc., et al. v. Dept. of Commerce, et al., which ask whether the court should overrule one of its most frequently cited precedents: the Chevron doctrine. SHJ staff attorney Jennifer Cordell explains the doctrine’s history and application, then outlines one of the court’s available paths in addressing the issue of statutory silence.

Federal courts have long held that Title VII discrimination must consist of material harm or disadvantage. However, on December 6, 2023, the Supreme Court heard oral argument in a Title VII case out of the Eighth Circuit, Muldrow v. City of St. Louis, that could radically lower this threshold – and reshape the landscape of workplace discrimination law entirely. SHJ associate Dave Finkel analyzes the decision’s potential implications, including challenges to employer DEI programs.