UnCommon Law

Federal agencies expanding their power beyond congressional intent? Unelected bureaucrats making policy decisions? Regulatory whiplash?! According to the litigants urging the Supreme Court to strike down the Chevron doctrine in the Loper Bright case, those were the harms Americans would continue to face if Chevron deference were allowed to continue. But striking down the pivotal legal principle that had been in place for 40 years would bring its own risks, defenders of Chevron argued. Scientific and technical decisions would need to be made by judges with no specialized expertise. Regulatory uncertainty would soar, as thousands of existing rules face new challenges. And the Supreme Court itself could be forced to become, as Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson put it, "uber-legislators." In part two of our episode on Loper Bright, the high court ostensibly considers the plight of the herring fishermen, but actually looks to decide whether to abandon the Chevron doctrine once and for all.Stylebook flag Featured Guests: * Ryan Mulvey, counsel with the Cause of Action Institute * Jeff Kaelin, director of sustainability and government relations at Lund’s Fisheries * Wayne Reichle, President of Lund's Fisheries * Gillian Metzger, Harlan Fiske Stone Professor of constitutional law at Columbia University * Lydia Wheeler, co-host of Cases and Controversies & Supreme Court reporter for Bloomberg Law * Greg Stohr, co-host of Cases and Controversies & Supreme Court reporter for Bloomberg News * Kimberly Robinson, co-host of Cases and Controversies & Supreme Court reporter for Bloomberg Law *** Hosted and produced by Matthew S. Schwartz Editor/Executive Producer: Josh Block Cover Art: Jonathan Hurtarte Special thanks to Tom Taylor, David Schultz, Paul Detrick, Isabel Gottlieb, and Matt's baby for their vocal performances.

Wayne Reichle – who’s been in the fishing business his whole life – had never heard of the Chevron doctrine. That's the two-step legal test that courts used for the past 40 years to decide whether a federal agency had the authority to make a regulation. "No idea," said Reichle, president of New Jersey-based Lund's Fisheries. "Myself, and many, many fellow fishermen had no idea what the Chevron doctrine was." That changed after a group of fishermen challenged a federal regulation requiring the herring industry to pay for onboard federal observers. "I think there’s quite a few that know what the Chevron doctrine is today," Reichle said. This season on UnCommon Law, we’re exploring the limits of agency power. To what extent are federal agencies authorized to create and implement regulations that aren't explicitly mandated by Congress? And what happens when an agency goes too far? In this episode, the story of the fishermen who fought back. Featuring: * Wayne Reichle, president of Lund's Fisheries * Jeff Kaelin, director of sustainability and government relations at Lund's Fisheries * Ryan Mulvey, counsel with the Cause of Action Institute * Erica Fuller, senior counsel with the Conservation Law Foundation * Leif Axelsson, captain of the Dyrsten fishing vessel * Greg Stohr, Supreme Court reporter for Bloomberg News *** Hosted and produced by Matthew S. Schwartz Editor/Executive Producer: Josh Block Additional Editing: Andrew Satter Cover Art: Jonathan Hurtarte

Congress often passes major legislation setting out broad principles, and then lets the federal agencies sort out the details. But what should an agency do if Congress’s instructions are ambiguous or silent? That was the question facing the Supreme Court 40 years ago, when the Reagan administration's Environmental Protection Agency adopted a business-friendly interpretation of key provisions of the Clean Air Act. After the Natural Resources Defense Council sued, the Supreme Court set out a principle that would define the extent of agency power for decades – until last year, when Loper Bright upended the way courts evaluate agency actions. This season on Uncommon Law, we’ll explore the rise and fall of agency power, and what that could mean for the future of regulation in America. Plus: Will President Trump and his advisor Elon Musk be able to use the new legal landscape to eliminate the regulations they find too burdensome? Featuring: * David Doniger, Senior Attorney with the Natural Resources Defense Council * Jennifer Hijazi, environment reporter for Bloomberg Industry Group *** Host/Producer: Matthew S. Schwartz Editor/Executive Producer: Josh Block Additional Editing: Andrew Satter Cover Art: Jonathan Hurtarte

This season on UnCommon Law, join us as we explore the rise and fall of agency power, and what that could mean for the future of regulation in America.

Generative AI has promised to reshape the practice of law ever since ChatGPT emerged. However, it's been unclear just how large law firms are using AI. Has it changed how practitioners do their jobs on a daily basis? Are we witnessing the emergence of a revolution in how lawyers do their work? Uncommon Law's Matthew Schwartz sits in as guest host on this episode of On the Merits. He talks with John Quinn, founder and chair of Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, as they discuss his firm's stance on artificial intelligence and the future of the billable hour.