Calif.

Trade associations and lobbyists for alcohol manufacturers are brawling with their wholesale distributors over a bill that would strengthen states’ ability to regulate alcohol and make it harder to challenge state alcohol laws in court. The wholesalers are pushing hard for the legislation, which would solidify their role as industry middlemen and effectively keep regulatory fights at the state level, where they have more influence

Georgia was lauded four years ago by conservatives for passing one of the nation’s toughest sex offender laws. But the state has had to significantly scale back its once-intense restrictions in the face of legal challenges. Previously, all registered sex offenders were banned from living within 1,000 feet of schools, parks and other places where children gather.

A federal judge has refused to order the State Department to turn over documents sought by an attorney who was fired from his GC job at a Moscow-based organization after he accused it of frittering away millions of dollars in aid from U.S. government agencies. The federal government argued that the suit should be dismissed on sovereign immunity grounds.

Summer employment in New York City’s legal sector has fallen to lows last seen in 1991, according to data released last week by the New York State Department of Labor. The labor data confirms earlier reports that law firms had dramatically scaled back their summer associate programs.