ÃÛÌÒÊÓÆµ

Public Policy

  • May 22, 2025

    5th Circ. Denies Challenge To La. Oversight Of Carbon Wells

    A Fifth Circuit panel said several environmental groups failed to show any imminent injuries stemming from a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency decision to approve Louisiana's plan to oversee carbon sequestration wells, and dismissed their challenge for lack of standing.

  • May 22, 2025

    Tribes Sue US Over $23B Used For Boarding School Program

    A group of Indigenous nations has asked for class certification and an order that would require the U.S. to account for how much of the tribes' money was used in an estimated $23.3 billion appropriated by the federal government in connection with its past Indian boarding school programs.

  • May 22, 2025

    Conn. AG Targets 'Bootleg' Weight Loss Drug Sellers

    Connecticut has launched a consumer protection lawsuit in state court against a Florida-based company and its owner, accusing them of peddling untested and unsafe, research-level, "bootleg" GLP-1 weight loss drugs to customers.

  • May 22, 2025

    Texas Lawmakers Clarify Exceptions To Abortion Ban

    The Texas House of Representatives passed a bill on Thursday specifying that women experiencing life-threatening pregnancies don't have to suffer "any effects" before they can obtain an abortion.

  • May 22, 2025

    Ore. Lawmakers OK Renewed Historic Preservation Credit

    An expired Oregon tax credit for historic preservation would be reauthorized and limited to commercial properties under legislation passed by the state Senate and headed to the governor.

  • May 22, 2025

    Contractor Settles DOJ's Aircraft Adhesive FCA Allegations

    A federal contractor paid to make an external pod to carry communications equipment on military aircraft agreed to pay $512,000 to resolve allegations that it misrepresented or omitted important information regarding the adhesive used in a prototype as well as the testing procedures used on that prototype.

  • May 22, 2025

    Senior FCC Democrat Attends Final Monthly Meeting

    Geoffrey Starks, the senior Democrat on the Federal Communications Commission, participated in his last agency meeting Thursday, where he announced he will leave the agency sometime within the next month.

  • May 22, 2025

    Mass. Judge Halts Trump's Bid To Slash Education Dept. Jobs

    A Massachusetts federal judge on Thursday blocked President Donald Trump's attempt to lay off hundreds of U.S. Department of Education employees, finding that the administration's claims of wanting more efficiency are a mask for their actual goal of dismantling the department.

  • May 22, 2025

    High Court Declines To Narrow Reach Of Federal Fraud Law

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday held that using deceptive means to induce a business transaction may still be a crime even if the defendant doesn't seek to cause economic loss, a departure from earlier decisions that have narrowed the scope of federal fraud statutes.

  • May 22, 2025

    Split Supreme Court Blocks 1st Religious Charter School

    A deadlocked U.S. Supreme Court left in place Thursday an Oklahoma state court ruling barring the launch of the nation's first religious charter school, leaving open questions about the constitutionality of excluding religious groups from participating in publicly funded charter school programs.

  • May 21, 2025

    Tribes Push To Preserve Challenges To Okla. Prosecutions

    The Cherokee, Chickasaw and Choctaw nations are dialing up their opposition to two Oklahoma district attorneys' attempts to prosecute tribal citizens for crimes committed in Indian Country, telling a federal court that prior case law makes it "readily apparent" that these state actions can't stand. 

  • May 21, 2025

    Fox Accuses Smartmatic Of Destroying 'Critical' Evidence

    Fox News on Wednesday called for Smartmatic to be sanctioned, claiming that nearly two-dozen executives and other employees at the voting tech company destroyed "critical" evidence related to the company's defamation case against the television network, an accusation that comes a week after Smartmatic said Fox deleted relevant texts.

  • May 21, 2025

    Judge Prolongs Pause On Trump's HUD, DOT Grant DEI Limits

    A Washington federal judge Wednesday extended a block on federal grant conditions limiting homelessness aid and transportation funding to recipients who align with the Trump administration's policies against diversity and inclusion programming, as nearly two dozen localities joined New York, San Francisco and others challenging the terms.

  • May 21, 2025

    'DIY' Rape Kit Ban Challenge Seems To Leave 9th Circ. Split

    A Ninth Circuit panel appeared divided Wednesday over a company's appeal in its case challenging Washington state's ban on self-administered DNA collection kits for sexual assault survivors, with one judge remarking the product "doesn't do a whole heck of a lot" if the evidence isn't admissible in court.  

  • May 21, 2025

    FTC Urges 8th Circ. Not To Pause In-House PBM Case

    The Eighth Circuit should once again say no to a request to pause the Federal Trade Commission's in-house case accusing three pharmacy benefit managers of hiking up the price of insulin to line their own pockets, the agency has told the appellate court.

  • May 21, 2025

    The Status Of Biden-Era Immigration Suits: A Roundup

    Following the presidential transition, the U.S. Department of Justice moved to dismiss suits brought by the Biden administration challenging state immigration enforcement measures in Texas, Iowa and Oklahoma, leaving the status of those cases up in the air.

  • May 21, 2025

    CFTC Member Says Enforcement Needs More Transparency

    The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission's Christy Goldsmith Romero on Wednesday called on the agency to be more transparent about its enforcement decisions, while laying out the factors she weighs in crediting firms for self-reporting and cooperation.

  • May 21, 2025

    Wyden Urges Sens. To Switch Carriers Over Privacy Risks

    AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile failed to put in place systems notifying senators about government surveillance requests, despite being contractually required to, Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., told his colleagues Wednesday, urging them in a letter to "seriously consider" switching mobile carriers for personal and campaign phones.

  • May 21, 2025

    House Panel Advances Bills Easing Securities, Banking Regs

    The U.S. House of Representatives Financial Services Committee this week approved 25 bills largely aimed at reducing capital markets and banking regulations, moving the deregulatory proposals forward for consideration by the full House.

  • May 21, 2025

    Squires Talks Fortress, PTAB Invalidations In Senate Hearing

    The Trump administration's nominee for U.S. Patent and Trademark Office director had his moment before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday, where he downplayed his controversial connections to litigation finance giant Fortress Investment Group and raised concerns that too many bad patents were being issued.

  • May 21, 2025

    Verizon Looks To Break Free Of TracFone Unlocking Condition

    Verizon is once again asking the Federal Communications Commission to let it out of a condition from its takeover of TracFone requiring the carrier to unlock its mobile phones after 60 days.

  • May 21, 2025

    SC Judge Restores Frozen Federal Grant Funding

    A South Carolina federal judge ordered the Trump administration to restore 32 grants funded by the Inflation Reduction Act and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act after the government said it wasn't contesting the merits of the grant recipients' claims.

  • May 21, 2025

    Judge Mulls National Scope Of Bid To Restore COVID Grants

    A Washington, D.C., federal judge Wednesday mulled whether it would be appropriate to issue a nationwide injunction blocking the termination of $11 billion public health grants set aside under COVID-era laws in a lawsuit brought by four local governments and a public sector union.

  • May 21, 2025

    News Orgs Not Entitled To Abrego Garcia Files, Feds Say

    The U.S. Department of Justice told a Maryland federal judge that more than a dozen news organizations looking to unseal records in litigation challenging the removal of Kilmar Abrego Garcia to El Salvador have no right to access sensitive discovery materials.

  • May 21, 2025

    Ex-Con's Gun Case Can't Overcome Immunity, Feds Say

    The FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives cannot be the targets of a lawsuit filed by a man who claims he was wrongly denied a firearm purchase despite his four-decades-old marijuana felony being expunged, the government argued, telling a Kansas federal court that both agencies have sovereign immunity on the matter.

Expert Analysis

  • Assessing Jurisdictional Issues In 2nd Circ. Bank Audi Case

    Author Photo

    The Second Circuit's reasoning last month in Raad v. Bank Audi that the exercise of personal jurisdiction must be based on conduct taking place within the jurisdiction reminds foreign financial institutions to continually monitor how plaintiffs are advocating for an expansive view of personal jurisdiction in the U.S., say attorneys at Freshfields.

  • Series

    Teaching Business Law Makes Me A Better Lawyer

    Author Photo

    Teaching business law to college students has rekindled my sense of purpose as a lawyer — I am more mindful of the importance of the rule of law and the benefits of our common law system, which helps me maintain a clearer perspective on work, says David Feldman at Feldman Legal Advisors.

  • Enviro Justice Efforts After Trump's Disparate Impact Order

    Author Photo

    The Trump administration's recent executive order directing the U.S. Department of Justice to unwind disparate impact regulations may end some Biden-era environmental justice initiatives — but it will not end all efforts, whether by state or federal regulators or private litigants, to address issues in environmentally overburdened communities, say attorneys at ArentFox Schiff.

  • What Disparate Impact Order Means For Insurers' AI Use

    Author Photo

    A recent executive order seeking to bar disparate impact theory conveys a meaningful policy shift, but does not alter the legal status of federal antidiscrimination law or enforceability of state laws, such as those holding insurers accountable for using artificial intelligence in a nondiscriminatory matter, say attorneys at Eversheds Sutherland.

  • Choosing A Road To Autonomous Vehicle Compliance

    Author Photo

    As autonomous vehicle manufacturers navigate the complex U.S. regulatory landscape, they may opt for different approaches to following federal, state and local rules and laws, as they balance the tradeoffs between innovation, compliance and speed of deployment, say attorneys at Sidley.

  • Navigating The Expanding Frontier Of Premerger Notice Laws

    Author Photo

    Washington's newly enacted law requiring premerger notification to state enforcers builds upon a growing trend of state scrutiny into transactions in the healthcare sector and beyond, and may inspire other states to enact similar legislation, say attorneys at Simpson Thacher.

  • Evolving Federal Rules Pose Further Obstacles To NY LLC Act

    Author Photo

    Following the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network's recent changes to beneficial ownership information reporting under the federal Corporate Transparency Act — dramatically reducing the number of companies required to make disclosures — the utility of New York's LLC Transparency Act becomes less apparent, say attorneys at Pillsbury.

  • The Risks Of Trump's Plan To Fast-Track Deregulation

    Author Photo

    A recent memorandum issued by President Donald Trump directing the repeal of so-called unlawful regulations, and instructing that agencies invoke the good cause exception under the Administrative Procedure Act, signals a potentially far-reaching deregulatory strategy under the guise of legal compliance, say attorneys at GableGotwals.

  • Deregulation Memo Presents Risks, Opportunities For Cos.

    Author Photo

    A recent Trump administration memo providing direction to agencies tasked with rescinding regulations under an earlier executive order — without undergoing the typical notice-and-review process — will likely create much uncertainty for businesses, though they may be able to engage with agencies to shape the regulatory agenda, say attorneys at Blank Rome.

  • Action Steps To Prepare For Ramped-Up Export Enforcement

    Author Photo

    In light of recent Bureau of Industry and Security actions and comments, companies, particularly those with any connection to China, should consider four concrete steps to shore up their compliance programs given the administration's increasingly aggressive approach to export enforcement, say attorneys at Gibson Dunn.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: Mastering Discovery

    Author Photo

    The discovery process and the rules that govern it are often absent from law school curricula, but developing a solid grasp of the particulars can give any new attorney a leg up in their practice, says Jordan Davies at Knowles Gallant.

  • DOJ Signals Major Shift In White Collar Enforcement Priorities

    Author Photo

    In a speech on Monday, an official outlined key revisions to the U.S. Department of Justice’s voluntary self-disclosure, corporate monitorship and whistleblower program policies, marking a meaningful change in the white collar enforcement landscape, and offering companies clearer incentives and guardrails, say attorneys at McGuireWoods.

  • Understanding Compliance Concerns With NY Severance Bill

    Author Photo

    New York's No Severance Ultimatums Act, if enacted, could overhaul how employers manage employee separations, but employers should be mindful that the bill's language introduces ambiguities and raises compliance concerns, say attorneys at Norris McLaughlin.

  • What New Study Means For Recycling Compliance In Calif.

    Author Photo

    Companies must review the California recycling agency's new study to understand its criteria for assessing claims of product and packaging recyclability under a law that takes effect next year, and then decide whether the risks of making such claims in the state outweigh the benefits, say attorneys at Keller & Heckman.

  • Mergers Face Steeper Slopes In State Antitrust Reviews

    Author Photo

    The New York Supreme Court's recent summary judgment in New York v. Intermountain Management, blocking the acquisition and shuttering of a ski mountain in the Syracuse area, underscores the growing trend among state antitrust enforcers to scrutinize and challenge anticompetitive conduct under state laws, say attorneys at Robins Kaplan.

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.
Hello! I'm Law360's automated support bot.

How can I help you today?

For example, you can type:
  • I forgot my password
  • I took a free trial but didn't get a verification email
  • How do I sign up for a newsletter?
Ask a question!