ÃÛÌÒÊÓÆµ

Public Policy

  • September 16, 2025

    FCC Tells 1st Circ. It Will Revamp Prison Phone Caps In Oct.

    The First Circuit has declined to hold off a court challenge to the Federal Communications Commission's recently adopted prison phone rate caps despite the agency saying it plans to rework the rules in October.

  • September 16, 2025

    DC Circ. Urged To Rehear EPA's HFC Market Allocation Case

    A Georgia refrigerants company is asking for another shot to challenge the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's implementation of a 2020 law mandating an 85% reduction in hydrofluorocarbon consumption by 2036, requesting an en banc rehearing from the D.C. Circuit after a panel unanimously rejected its challenge last month.

  • September 16, 2025

    Tax-Exempt Hospitals Face Financial Duress, Panel Hears

    The nation's nonprofit hospitals are under growing financial stress due to cutbacks in federal funding, an aging population and unnecessary spending on programs unrelated to providing healthcare to their communities, industry experts told lawmakers Tuesday at a congressional hearing.

  • September 16, 2025

    GOP Spending Bill Seeks $58M For Supreme Court, Marshals

    The House Republicans unveiled their short-term spending bill Tuesday, and it includes an extra $28 million for security for the U.S. Supreme Court justices.

  • September 16, 2025

    EPA Sued For Dropping Slaughterhouse Water Pollution Regs

    Several organizations have filed a petition with the Ninth Circuit contesting the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's decision to renege on a Biden-era proposal that would've levied stricter rules of how much meat and poultry slaughtering, processing, and rendering facilities could discharge pollutants into nearby waterways.

  • September 16, 2025

    Wash. Justices Scrutinize Minimum Wage 'Live In' Exclusion

    Washington Supreme Court justices on Tuesday pushed counsel for an adult family home on the stance that its "live in" workers are adequately protected by existing laws and regulations, pointing to testimony its employees are always on call and sometimes at risk of physical assault by residents.

  • September 16, 2025

    DC Circ. Asked To Look At ADA Injunction In Segregation Case

    Washington, D.C., wants the D.C. Circuit to narrow an injunction commanding the district to help people in Medicaid-funded nursing homes move out of those facilities and into less restrictive forms of care, as the litigation approaches its 15th birthday.

  • September 16, 2025

    Commerce Asks For Inclusions To Steel, Aluminum Tariffs

    The U.S. Department of Commerce announced the September window for stakeholders to comment on whether the government should include additional goods within the scope of the 50% steel and aluminum duties that President Donald Trump imposed earlier this year. 

  • September 16, 2025

    Feds Seek Toss Of DC Hemp Store's Home-Rule Challenge

    The United States government on Monday urged a federal judge to dismiss a challenge to federal policy restricting the nation's capital from regulating marijuana and hemp sales, saying the local retailer that brought the action lacked standing to sue.

  • September 16, 2025

    Rev Up Mobile Data Speed Standards, Rural Carriers Say

    The federal target for mobile broadband speeds should be based on coverage provided to moving vehicles rather than to outdoor stationary devices, a trade group for rural wireless carriers told the Federal Communications Commission.

  • September 16, 2025

    Dems Renew Push To Ban Credit Checks In Hiring

    Democratic lawmakers introduced legislation that would bar employers from requiring job applicants to disclose their credit history as part of the hiring process, saying the bill would remove a barrier that disproportionately hurts women and minority workers.

  • September 16, 2025

    Commerce Says Auto Tariff Request Window Opens In Oct.

    The U.S. Department of Commerce's Bureau of Industry and Security issued guidance formally establishing the auto part tariff inclusion request process, and the first window for new requests by stakeholders will begin Oct. 1, according to a notice filed Tuesday.

  • September 16, 2025

    BlackRock Blames Coal Production Cuts On Falling Demand

    BlackRock Inc. told a Texas federal court that coal production has declined because demand from coal-fired power plants has been falling for years, not because asset managers conspired to pressure the producers.

  • September 16, 2025

    US Asks Court To Sink Vermont Climate Superfund Law

    The Trump administration, Republican-led states and business groups including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and American Petroleum Institute on Monday asked a Vermont federal court to kill the state's climate Superfund law.

  • September 16, 2025

    Plant Bailout Cost Approvals Were Premature, FERC Told

    Environmental and consumer advocates say the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission jumped the gun in approving plans to charge power consumers for the continued operation of retiring power plants that the Trump administration has controversially ordered to remain open.

  • September 16, 2025

    CVS Caremark Takes $290M Overbilling Judgment To 3rd Circ.

    CVS's pharmacy benefits manager will appeal a judgment against the company that was recently increased from $95 million to $290 million in a suit alleging it overbilled Medicare Part D-sponsored drugs, according to a notice of appeal filed in Pennsylvania federal court.

  • September 16, 2025

    Wash. Charitable Limits Don't Apply To Firefighter House Sale

    The Seattle Black Firefighters' Association is not a charitable organization, the Washington Court of Appeals said, affirming a lower court ruling that found the house the association occupies is not subject to charitable purpose restrictions.

  • September 16, 2025

    Acting US Atty Denies Prosecution Of Lawmaker Is 'Selective'

    The U.S. Department of Justice has requested that assault charges not be dismissed against U.S. Rep. LaMonica McIver, pushing back on claims the government is selectively prosecuting her following a confrontation with federal agents in May at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Newark.

  • September 16, 2025

    Former Miami City Atty Exits Political Retaliation Suit

    A former city attorney for Miami on Monday knocked down claims against her from a pair of business owners accusing her of taking part in a political retaliation scheme when a Florida federal judge ruled that she was immune from the allegations.

  • September 16, 2025

    FTC Chair Pledges 'Action' Against Late Merger Fixes

    Federal Trade Commission Chairman Andrew Ferguson vowed Tuesday to take unspecified "action" against tactics by merging companies to propose fixes only after antitrust enforcers bring a transaction challenge, a strategy he called "bad for the system."

  • September 16, 2025

    FCC Seeks Feedback On Call For Better Signal Booster Regs

    The Federal Communications Commission is mulling a nonprofit's proposal to update its industrial signal booster rules, which the group says "left significant implementation gaps" when they were put in place over a decade ago.

  • September 16, 2025

    SEC Blasts Thrivent's Attempt To 'Upend' FINRA Oversight

    The Securities and Exchange Commission is defending its refusal to amend three long-running arbitration rules adopted by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority at the request of financial services organization Thrivent, urging the D.C. Circuit to reject the company's appellate petition and leave FINRA's arbitration rules as they are.

  • September 16, 2025

    California AG Bonta Names New State Solicitor General

    California Attorney General Rob Bonta has promoted a veteran attorney in the state's Department of Justice to become the state's new solicitor general.

  • September 16, 2025

    USDOT Orders Scuttling Of Delta-Aeromexico Joint Venture

    The Trump administration has ordered Delta Air Lines and Aeromexico to scuttle their joint venture by Jan. 1, saying they gained an unfair advantage in the market after the Mexican government abruptly restricted flights from other carriers at Mexico City's primary airport.

  • September 16, 2025

    Senate Democrats Urge Chamber Not To Recriminalize Hemp

    A group of Democratic U.S. senators on Tuesday urged the chamber's leaders not to adopt language in an appropriations bill that would drastically redefine the definition of legal hemp and which they say could ruin the nationwide hemp industry.

Expert Analysis

  • Breaking Down Novel Va. Social Media Law For Minors

    Author Photo

    While a Virginia bill passed in May is notable for setting a one-hour daily limit on minors' use of social media, other provisions create compliance burdens for social media operators and app store providers, and increase privacy and security risks associated with the collection of sensitive information to prove identity, says Jenna Rode at Hunton.

  • Lessons From Crackdown On Mexican Banks With Cartel Ties

    Author Photo

    Recent U.S. Treasury Department orders excluding three major Mexican financial institutions from the U.S. banking system for laundering drug cartel money and processing payments for fentanyl precursor chemicals offer guidance for companies in reviewing their procedures and controls to ensure they are not the next targets, say attorneys at Paul Weiss.

  • Litigation Inspiration: How To Respond After A Loss

    Author Photo

    Every litigator loses a case now and then, and the sting of that loss can become a medicine that strengthens or a poison that corrodes, depending on how the attorney responds, says Bennett Rawicki at Hilgers Graben.

  • Tips For Cos. From California Climate Reporting FAQ

    Author Photo

    New guidance from the California Air Resources Board on how businesses must implement the state's sweeping climate reporting requirements should help companies assess their exposure, understand their disclosure obligations and begin documenting good-faith compliance efforts, says Thierry Montoya at Frost Brown.

  • FDA's Hasty Policymaking Approach Faces APA Challenges

    Author Photo

    Though the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has abandoned its usual notice-and-comment process for implementing new regulatory initiatives, two recent district court decisions make clear that these programs are still susceptible to Administrative Procedure Act challenges, says Rachel Turow at Skadden.

  • DOJ Crypto Enforcement Is Shifting To Target Willfulness

    Author Photo

    Three pending criminal prosecutions could be an indication of how the U.S. Department of Justice's recent digital assets memo is shaping enforcement of the area, and show a growing focus on executives who knowingly allow their platforms to be used for criminal conduct involving sanctions offenses, say attorneys at Gibson Dunn.

  • Legal Considerations Around Ibogaine As Addiction Therapy

    Author Photo

    Recent funding approval in Texas pertaining to the use of ibogaine for the potential treatment of substance use disorders signals a growing openness to innovative addiction treatments, but also underscores the need for rigorous compliance with state and federal requirements and ethical research standards, say attorneys at Husch Blackwell.

  • Unpacking DOJ's Suit Against Maryland Federal Bench

    Author Photo

    Political hoopla aside, the Trump administration’s suit naming the Maryland federal district court and all of its judges, which challenges a standing order that delays deportation upon the filing of a habeas petition, raises valid questions about both the validity of the order and the DOJ’s approach, says Steven Gordon at Holland & Knight.

  • What Calif. Insurance Ruling Means For Smoke Damage Limits

    Author Photo

    As California continues to grapple with an increasing number of wildfire claims, a state court's recent Aliff v. California FAIR Plan decision serves as a clear directive to insurers that policy language that narrows the scope of fire coverage below the California Insurance Code's minimum standards is impermissible, say attorneys at Wood Smith.

  • Wash. Law Highlights Debate Over Unemployment For Strikers

    Author Photo

    A new Washington state law that will allow strikers to receive unemployment benefits during work stoppages raises questions about whether such laws subsidize disruptions to the economy or whether they are preempted by federal labor law, says Daniel Johns at Cozen O'Connor.

  • Why SEC Abandoned Microcap Convertible Debt Crackdown

    Author Photo

    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has recently dismissed several cases targeting microcap convertible debt lenders, a significant disavowal of what was a controversial enforcement initiative under the Biden administration and a message that the new administration will focus on clear fraud, say attorneys at O'Melveny.

  • Justices' Resentencing Ruling Fortifies First Step Act Tools

    Author Photo

    The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent Hewitt v. U.S. ruling clarifies that resentencing after vacatur must reflect the law in effect at the time of the new sentencing, ultimately strengthening the strategic tools available to defense attorneys under the First Step Act, says Benson Varghese at Varghese Summersett.

  • The Metamorphosis Of The Major Questions Doctrine

    Author Photo

    The so-called major questions doctrine arose as a counterweight to Chevron deference over the past few decades, but invocations of the doctrine have persisted in the year since Chevron was overturned, suggesting it still has a role to play in reining in agency overreach, say attorneys at Crowell & Moring.

  • A Rapidly Evolving Landscape For Noncompetes In Healthcare

    Author Photo

    A wave of new state laws regulating noncompete agreements in the healthcare sector, varying in scope, approach and enforceability, are shaped by several factors unique to the industry and are likely to distort the market, say attorneys at Seyfarth.

  • New PTAB Denial Processes Grow More And More Confusing

    Author Photo

    Guidance from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office about the Patent Trial and Appeal Board's new workload management and discretionary denial processes has been murky and inconsistent, and has been further muddled by the acting director's seemingly contradictory decisions, say attorneys at Finnegan.

Want to publish in Law360?


Submit an idea

Have a news tip?


Contact us here
Can't find the article you're looking for? Click here to search the Public Policy archive.