ÃÛÌÒÊÓÆµ

Public Policy

  • July 14, 2025

    House Committee Proposes Commerce, Science Cuts

    A House Appropriations Committee bill released Monday would provide $76.8 billion in funding to agencies including the U.S. Department of Commerce and its subsidiary agencies, representing a 2.8% decrease from the previous fiscal year's budget.

  • July 14, 2025

    Media Matters Wants FTC Probe Paused Pending Suit

    Media Matters for America asked a D.C. federal court Monday for a preliminary injunction to block what it calls a retaliatory investigation by the Federal Trade Commission, saying the agency has been weaponized against the organization for simply exercising its First Amendment rights.

  • July 14, 2025

    USPTO Acting Director Spurns 'Traditional Knowledge' Treaty

    The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's acting director has come out against an international treaty that could require patent applicants to report if an invention uses the traditional knowledge of indigenous people, suggesting in remarks that such a rule would undermine the global patent system's effectiveness.

  • July 14, 2025

    OCC Drops 'Disparate Impact' From Fair Lending Oversight

    The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency said Monday that it will stop checking to see whether banks' lending practices are causing potentially unintended discrimination, scrubbing so-called disparate-impact liability from its examination policies.

  • July 14, 2025

    GAO Report Looks At FAA Use Of Fee Waivers In Settlements

    The Federal Aviation Administration has required pilots and other certificate holders to waive their rights to seek attorney fees and other costs under the Equal Access to Justice Act in order to settle enforcement actions initiated against them, according to a U.S. Government Accountability Office report released Monday.

  • July 14, 2025

    House Passes Bills Aimed At Telecom Sector Security, Growth

    The U.S. House of Representatives on Monday passed half a dozen bills designed improve U.S. network security and spur the growth of communications industries.

  • July 14, 2025

    DC Circ. Temporarily Stays Block Of Trump's Asylum Curbs

    The D.C. Circuit agreed to pause a district court injunction blocking federal officials from implementing President Donald Trump's Jan. 20 proclamation declaring an invasion at the southern border while it weighs the government's request for an emergency stay during the appeal.

  • July 14, 2025

    9th Circ. Affirms FERC's Yank Of PG&E Grid Perk

    The Ninth Circuit on Friday backed the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's decision to deny Pacific Gas & Electric Co. a grid incentive meant for public utilities that voluntarily join a regional transmission organization, saying PG&E was not entitled to the perk since a California law now mandates membership in an organization.

  • July 14, 2025

    FCC To Hear Anuvu's Claim It Got Shorted In Spectrum Move

    Anuvu Licensing Holdings will get a hearing before an administrative law judge at the Federal Communications Commission to determine if the agency owes it money for clearing out part of the C-band to repurpose the spectrum.

  • July 14, 2025

    6th Circ. Nom Is 1st Senate Confirmation Of Trump's 2nd Term

    The Senate voted 46-42 on Monday evening to confirm Whitney Hermandorfer, director of the Office of the Tennessee Attorney General's Strategic Litigation Unit, to the Sixth Circuit, making her the first judicial confirmation of the second Trump administration.

  • July 14, 2025

    Google Ads Rival Wants Search Fix To Include It, AI Cos.

    If a D.C. federal judge agrees with the Justice Department and orders Google to syndicate its search and search advertising results, he should do so in a way that permits expansive access, a search advertising rival said Friday in an 11th-hour intervention bid.

  • July 14, 2025

    DC Circ. Says Biden DOL Didn't Improperly Issue H-2A Rule

    The D.C. Circuit has said the Biden administration did not flout notice and comment rulemaking procedures when it issued a rule in 2022 revising the H-2A visa worker program because it pulled the Trump administration's 2021 version of the rule before it became final.

  • July 14, 2025

    Deportation Before Due Process? Mass. Justices To Decide

    A Haitian man charged with sexual assault in Massachusetts hopes to be deported home instead of facing a trial, an unusual case where the state's highest court is expected to decide whether judges can use bail to keep a person in state custody out of immigration proceedings.

  • July 14, 2025

    Enviro Groups Sue DOE Over Tenn. Nuclear Site Cleanup Plan

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's $30 billion cleanup plan for a nuclear site outside Knoxville, Tennessee, has failed to prevent harmful discharges into the area's groundwater and waterways, threatening community health and the local environment, environmental groups have said.

  • July 14, 2025

    Tulsa Sheriff, DA Seek Pause In Tribal Jurisdiction Dispute

    Tulsa County, Oklahoma, Sheriff Vic Regalado and District Attorney Steve Kunzweiler on Friday asked a federal judge to pause the Muscogee (Creek) Nation's lawsuit seeking to prevent the state from asserting criminal jurisdiction on its reservation until the U.S. Supreme Court reviews a similar case.

  • July 14, 2025

    Ga. County Wants 11th Circ. To Nix Trans Deputy's Health Win

    A Georgia county urged the Eleventh Circuit to reverse a transgender sheriff's deputy's trial court win on claims that denying coverage for a vaginoplasty constituted discrimination in violation of Title VII, arguing the U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision upholding a Tennessee state ban on gender-affirming care for minors supported its appeal.

  • July 14, 2025

    Trump Threatens Tariffs On Russia Over Ukraine War

    President Donald Trump said Monday that Russia must end its war with Ukraine within the next 50 days or else the U.S. will levy "severe tariffs" on Russian goods entering the U.S.

  • July 14, 2025

    Privilege Issue Snarls Free-Speech Trial Over Deportations

    A Massachusetts federal bench trial in a suit by academic groups accusing the Trump administration of targeting for deportation noncitizens who express support for Palestinians was on hold Monday while the First Circuit considers whether certain government materials are privileged, including some that have already been discussed in open court.

  • July 14, 2025

    5th Circ. Upholds Law Banning Strip Club Workers Under Age 21

    The Fifth Circuit on Monday said that a Texas law barring people under 21 from working at strip clubs and other adult businesses passes a First Amendment test, saying Monday the law helps prevent sexual trafficking and furthers a significant government interest.

  • July 14, 2025

    Feds Argue Trump's Energy Orders Should Not Be Blocked

    The federal government is fighting an effort to block President Donald Trump's fossil fuel-boosting executive orders that was filed by youths alleging U.S. energy policies harm their future by exacerbating climate change.

  • July 14, 2025

    States Back Domestic Violence Groups In DOJ Grant Fight

    Nearly two dozen states are backing a group of domestic violence coalitions in their bid to block the Trump administration from imposing restrictions on grants by the Department of Justice's Office on Violence Against Women, saying the funding is critical to their ability to fulfill their public safety obligations.

  • July 14, 2025

    11th. Circ. Rules Ga. Strip Search Was Illegal, Nixes Immunity

    A full Eleventh Circuit ruled that Georgia Department of Corrections officers are not entitled to immunity in the case of a woman who was strip-searched while visiting her husband in prison, saying the search was unreasonable and violated her Fourth Amendment rights.

  • July 14, 2025

    5th Circ. Revives Suit Accusing UT Of Race-Based Admissions

    A Fifth Circuit panel partially revived a lawsuit accusing the University of Texas at Austin of continuing to consider race in admissions decisions despite the U.S. Supreme Court's 2023 decision ending affirmative action programs.

  • July 14, 2025

    Ex-ComEd Exec Gets 1½ Years For Hiding Madigan Bribes

    An Illinois federal judge on Monday sentenced a former Commonwealth Edison executive and lobbyist to one and a half years in prison for his role in a scheme to steer payments to allies of ex-Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan to win his support for energy legislation favorable to the utility, and for falsifying company records to hide no-show jobs for Madigan's associates.

  • July 14, 2025

    San Francisco DA: 'Tough On Crime' Can Also Be Thoughtful

    In 2022, San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins took charge of an office in turmoil after leading a successful recall effort against her predecessor, whom she criticized as too soft on crime. Now, Jenkins is under harsh public scrutiny as she works to shift the office's priorities. In this audio interview with the new Criminal Practice Law360, she discusses some of the challenges — and opportunities — of one of the highest-profile and most politicized prosecutors' offices in the nation.

Expert Analysis

  • Opinion

    IRS Should Work With Industry On Microcaptive Regs

    Author Photo

    The IRS should engage with microcaptive insurance owners to develop better regulations on these arrangements or risk the emergence of common law guidance as taxpayers with legitimate programs seek relief in the federal courts, says Dustin Carlson at SRA 831(b) Admin.

  • How Providers Can Brace For Drug Pricing Policy Changes

    Author Photo

    Though it's uncertain which provisions of the Trump administration's executive order aimed at addressing prescription drug costs will eventually be implemented, stakeholders can reduce potential negative outcomes by understanding pathways that could be used to effectuate the order's directives, say attorneys at McDermott.

  • Comparing New Neural Data Privacy Laws In 4 States

    Author Photo

    Although no federal law yet addresses neural privacy comprehensively, the combined effect of recent state laws in Colorado, California, Montana and Connecticut is already shaping the regulatory future, but a multistate compliance strategy has quickly become a gating item for those experimenting with neuro-enabled workplace tools, says Kristen Mathews at Cooley.

  • 2025's First Half Brings Regulatory Detours For Fintechs

    Author Photo

    The first half of the year has resulted in a bifurcated regulatory environment for fintechs, featuring narrowed enforcement in some areas, heightened scrutiny in others and a policy window that, with proper compliance, offers meaningful opportunities for innovation, say attorneys at Sheppard Mullin.

  • Debunking 4 Misconceptions Around Texas' IV Therapy Law

    Author Photo

    Despite industry confusion, an IV therapy law enacted in Texas last week may actually be the most business-friendly regulatory development the medical spa industry has seen in recent years, says Keith Lefkowitz at Hendershot Cowart.

  • A Pattern Emerges In Justices' Evaluation Of Veteran Statute

    Author Photo

    The recent Soto v. U.S. decision that the statute of limitations for certain military-related claims does not apply to combat-related special compensation exemplifies the U.S. Supreme Court's view, emerging in two other recent opinions, that it is a reviewing court's obligation to determine the best interpretation of the language used by Congress, says attorney Kenneth Carpenter.

  • Opinion

    Senate's 41% Litigation Finance Tax Would Hurt Legal System

    Author Photo

    The Senate’s latest version of the Big Beautiful Bill Act would impose a 41% tax on the litigation finance industry, but the tax is totally disconnected from the concerns it purports to address, and it would set the country back to a time when small plaintiffs had little recourse against big defendants, says Anthony Sebok at Cardozo School of Law.

  • Psychedelic Treatment Regs May Be At A Tipping Point

    Author Photo

    Recent scientific and public attention suggest that development of psychedelics as treatment for some conditions may be at a tipping point, which could bring on more rapid change and opportunities for stakeholders who may in the future benefit from greater access to safe and effective psychedelic medicines, say attorneys at King & Spalding.

  • In NRC Ruling, Justices Affirm Hearing Process Still Matters

    Author Photo

    The U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Nuclear Regulatory Commission v. Texas safeguards the fairness, clarity and predictability of the regulatory system by affirming that to challenge an agency's decision in court, litigants must first meaningfully participate in the hearing process that Congress and the agency have established, says Jonathan Rund at the Nuclear Energy Institute.

  • Comparing Stablecoin Bills From UK, EU, US And Hong Kong

    Author Photo

    For multinational stablecoin issuers, navigating the differences and similarities among regimes in the U.K., EU, Hong Kong and U.S., which are currently unfolding in several key ways, is critical to achieving scalable, compliant operations, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • What Baseball Can Teach Criminal Attys About Rule Of Lenity

    Author Photo

    Judges tend to assess ambiguous criminal laws not unlike how baseball umpires approach checked swings, so defense attorneys should consider how to best frame their arguments to maximize courts' willingness to invoke the rule of lenity, wherein a tie goes to the defendant, says Jonathan Porter at Husch Blackwell.

  • Series

    Performing As A Clown Makes Me A Better Lawyer

    Author Photo

    To say that being a clown in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade has changed my legal career would truly be an understatement — by creating an opening to converse on a unique topic, it has allowed me to connect with clients, counsel and even judges on a deeper level, says Charles Tatelbaum at Tripp Scott.

  • Focusing On Fluoride: From FDA To Class Action

    Author Photo

    A class action filed two days after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced plans to remove ingestible fluoride prescription drug products for children from the market may be the tip of the iceberg in terms of the connection between government pronouncements on safety and their immediate use as evidence in lawsuits, says Rachel Turow at Skadden.

  • How Energy Cos. Can Prepare For Potential Tax Credit Cuts

    Author Photo

    The Senate Finance Committee's version of the One Big Beautiful Bill act would create a steep phaseout of renewable energy tax credits, which should prompt companies to take several actions, including conduct a project review to discern which could begin construction before the end of the year, say attorneys at Husch Blackwell.

  • The CFTC Is Shaking Up Sports Betting's Legal Future

    Author Photo

    The sports betting industry faces a potential sea change amid recent state and federal actions across the regulatory landscape that have expanded access to sporting event contracts against the backdrop of waning Commodity Futures Trading Commission opposition, says Nick Covek at Foley & Lardner.

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.