Survey Reveals In-House Counsel’s Concerns Over Potential Changes to Chevron Doctrine

In-house Counsel Anticipate Shake-Up to Practices if Supreme Court Changes Chevron

A recent survey conducted by Bloomberg Law has revealed that in-house counsel are more likely than law firm attorneys to foresee a significant shake-up to their practices if the US Supreme Court overrules or changes the Chevron doctrine. The survey, which gathered responses from 326 legal professionals, found that regulatory-heavy practice groups are the most wary of potential changes.

Of the respondents, 228 work at law firms while 98 are in-house attorneys. Interestingly, a larger percentage of in-house attorneys anticipate changes related to Chevron compared to their law firm counterparts. This holds true for all types of change, whether significant, moderate, or slight. In fact, law firm lawyers were almost twice as likely as in-house counsel to predict no change at all to their practice.

The heightened concern among in-house counsel may be attributed to the fact that regulatory matters typically fall under their purview, leading them to anticipate a more immediate impact if the high court alters agency deference. The survey also highlighted that lawyers in practice areas with a high level of interaction with regulations, such as compliance, labor & employment, and privacy & data security, are among the most wary of potential changes.

Surprisingly, banking & finance and mergers & acquisitions practitioners, who may face significant challenges if regulatory deference changes, reported the same level of anticipated change as commercial contracts professionals. While the framework for reviewing federal agency actions may not impact every area of legal practice, it is evident that many legal practitioners will be affected by the Supreme Court’s decisions in cases like Loper Bright and Relentless.

Bloomberg Law subscribers can access related content on the In Focus: Chevron, Loper & Agency Deference page, Practical Guidance on the Chevron Doctrine, and Practical Guidance on Judicial Standards for Agency Review. The implications of potential changes to Chevron are significant, and legal professionals across various practice areas are closely monitoring the developments.