ÃÛÌÒÊÓÆµ

Public Policy

  • September 17, 2025

    9th Circ. Denies Appeal Of Wash. Anti-Vaxxers' Med Board Suit

    The Ninth Circuit on Wednesday rejected an appeal brought by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on behalf of anti-vaxxers challenging a Washington state medical board's disciplinary proceedings against doctors who allegedly spread false information about COVID-19.

  • September 17, 2025

    Colo. Judge Certifies U Visa App In GEO Forced Labor Suit

    A Colorado federal judge certified a U visa application for the class representative in a 2014 suit involving forced labor claims against private prison company GEO Group, after he told the court that immigration officials said he could be detained during a check-in this week.

  • September 17, 2025

    Probationer's Speech Not A 'True Threat,' NC Panel Finds

    Statements a probationer made to a friend while stressed out and fearful over going to jail did not constitute a "true threat," so a trial court erred when it found him in violation of his probation, a North Carolina state appeals court panel ruled Wednesday.

  • September 17, 2025

    Boeing, DOJ Say FAA Fines Don't Sway Conspiracy Case

    Boeing and the federal government have told a Texas federal judge that the Federal Aviation Administration's recent proposal to fine Boeing $3.1 million for safety violations shouldn't factor into the 737 Max 8 criminal conspiracy case they're hoping to have wiped from the docket.

  • September 17, 2025

    FCC Told To Take Care When Adding AI To Public Alerts

    As the Federal Communications Commission mulls how to best overhaul its emergency alert rules, one California county is warning the agency to tread carefully when it comes to adopting emerging technologies like artificial intelligence.

  • September 17, 2025

    FDA Says Vape Manufacturer Lying About Marketing Approval

    The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday sued manufacturers of flavored vapes in New Jersey federal court to seek an end to their sales, saying that they are falsely representing that their products had received marketing approval.

  • September 17, 2025

    9th Circ. Seems Split On School Principal's Free Speech Suit

    A Ninth Circuit panel appeared split on Wednesday over a Washington state public school employee's claims that he was unfairly punished for a political rant on Facebook, with one judge pushing back on his stance that he was speaking privately while also balking at the district's position that the post was disruptive.

  • September 17, 2025

    Criminal Restitution Fails Defendants, Victims, Report Says

    Federal criminal restitution often fails to benefit victims of crime and throws defendants into a "Sisyphean struggle" with debt, with $100 billion in outstanding restitution deemed uncollectable, according to a report released this week by the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers.

  • September 17, 2025

    Media Matters Again Denied Transfer Of X's Nazi Posts Suit

    Media Matters for America must remain in Texas for X Corp.'s defamation lawsuit over a story about ads running alongside Neo-Nazi content, after a federal judge again refused Tuesday to transfer the case to California following a Fifth Circuit decision nixing a previous rejection of transfer.

  • September 17, 2025

    Don Jr.-Backed Patent Co. Hires Nokia Licensing Exec

    SIM IP, the newest venture by high-profile patent monetizer Erich Spangenberg, has brought on Nokia's chief licensing officer to serve as managing director.

  • September 17, 2025

    Tribal Members Tell 9th Circ. Tariff Suit Belongs In Fed. Court

    Counsel for members of the Blackfeet Nation tribe told the Ninth Circuit on Wednesday their suit challenging President Donald Trump's emergency tariffs should stay in federal district courts, where constitutional and congressional claims over tribal commerce must be heard.

  • September 17, 2025

    3rd Circ. Weighs Limits On NJ Medical Aid In Dying Act

    The Third Circuit on Wednesday considered whether a Delaware woman with terminal cancer can challenge New Jersey's residency requirement for medical aid in dying, even though she has yet to be certified as having six months or less to live.

  • September 17, 2025

    Trump Admin Can't Get Suit Challenging Voting Order Tossed

    A Massachusetts federal judge declined Wednesday to dismiss a lawsuit challenging the Trump Administration's executive order requiring physical proof of citizenship to vote and invalidating ballots received after Election Day.

  • September 17, 2025

    8th Circ. Backs Dismissal Of FDIC Fee Guidance Challenge

    The Eighth Circuit on Wednesday rejected a banking industry challenge to Biden-era Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. guidance that cautioned banks about charging recurring fees on declined transactions, ruling the matter not ripe for court review.

  • September 17, 2025

    Texas Judge Slashes Suit Over Anti-Sanctuary Law

    A Texas federal judge gutted a suit by local governments and officials challenging a Texas law prohibiting local officials from limiting cooperation with federal immigration enforcement, tossing claims against the state and Gov. Greg Abbott and leaving Attorney General Ken Paxton as the sole state defendant.

  • September 17, 2025

    Satellites Belong In FCC's Enviro Reviews, Agency Told

    The Federal Communications Commission can't justify excluding potentially luminous satellites from environmental reviews keyed to industries under its jurisdiction, a group fighting light pollution said.

  • September 17, 2025

    House Votes To End DC Judicial Nominations Commission

    The U.S. House of Representatives voted 218-211 along party lines on Wednesday to eliminate the commission that vets and picks potential judicial nominees for Washington, D.C.'s local courts.

  • September 17, 2025

    Charter Can't Dodge Cable Royalties In Texas, 5th Circ. Rules

    Charter Communications cannot avoid paying a 3% royalty for the use of cable permits in three Texas cities' rights of way, regardless of a change in state permitting law, the Fifth Circuit ruled Wednesday.

  • September 17, 2025

    Democrats Push Wealth Tax Targeting Billionaires' Assets

    Billionaires would pay higher taxes on their unrealized gains from property, stocks and other valuable assets under legislation reintroduced Wednesday by Senate Finance Committee ranking member Ron Wyden and other congressional Democrats.

  • September 17, 2025

    Texas Justices Don't Touch Block Of Local Pot Amnesty Law

    The Texas Supreme Court will not review an appellate panel's decision blocking the city of San Marcos from going forward with a voter-approved ordinance that limited local police from enforcing laws on low-level marijuana offenses.

  • September 17, 2025

    DOJ & Google Going To Trial, Again, On Ad Tech Remedies

    The Justice Department goes to trial next week to try breaking up Google's advertising placement technology business after a Virginia federal court declared the company an illegal monopolist in ad tech.

  • September 17, 2025

    IRS-ICE Pact Allows For Mass Tax Data Swaps, DC Circ. Told

    An information sharing agreement between the IRS and immigration enforcement agencies allows for disclosure of confidential tax information on a mass scale, as evidenced by an IRS official's declaration in a taxpayer group's suit, immigration advocacy groups challenging the agreement told the D.C. Circuit on Wednesday.

  • September 17, 2025

    SEC Policy Shift Could Foreclose Some Investor Class Actions

    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission issued a policy statement Wednesday that allows the use of mandatory arbitration by new publicly traded companies as its chief seeks to "make IPOs great again," but Democrats warned the move could shut the door to shareholder class actions.

  • September 17, 2025

    Judge Won't Let Denver Slip Suit Over Bans On Gas Appliances

    A Colorado federal judge partially granted environmentalist group Sierra Club's bid to dismiss a suit filed by a coalition of industry trade groups suing Denver over the city's restrictions on certain natural gas appliances.

  • September 17, 2025

    USTR Seeks Feedback On USMCA In Advance Of Joint Review

    The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative is seeking comments on the effectiveness of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement in advance of next year's joint review of the regional trade agreement, it has announced.

Expert Analysis

  • What EPA Chemical Data Deadline Extension Means For Cos.

    Author Photo

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's extension for manufacturers and importers of 16 chemical substances to report unpublished health and safety studies under the Toxic Substances Control Act could lead to state regulators stepping into the breach, while creating compliance risks and uncertainty for companies, say attorneys at Holland & Knight.

  • Series

    Playing Soccer Makes Me A Better Lawyer

    Author Photo

    Soccer has become a key contributor to how I approach my work, and the lessons I’ve learned on the pitch about leadership, adaptability, resilience and communication make me better at what I do every day in my legal career, says Whitney O’Byrne at MoFo.

  • How Trump Cybersecurity EO Narrows Biden-Era Standards

    Author Photo

    President Donald Trump recently signed Executive Order No. 14306, which significantly narrows the scope and ambition of a Biden executive order focused on raising federal cybersecurity standards among federal vendors, say attorneys at Jenner & Block.

  • Forced Labor Bans Hold Steady Amid Shifts In Global Trade

    Author Photo

    As businesses try to navigate shifting regulatory trends affecting human rights and sustainability, forced labor import bans present a zone of relative stability, notwithstanding outstanding questions about the future of enforcement, say attorneys at Simpson Thacher.

  • Grappling With Workforce-Related Immigration Enforcement

    Author Photo

    To withstand the tightening of workforce-related immigration rules and the enforcement uptick we are seeing in the U.S. and elsewhere, companies must strike a balance between responding quickly to regulatory changes, and developing proactive strategies that minimize risk, say attorneys at Fragomen.

  • Opinion

    The SEC Should Embrace Tokenized Equity, Not Strangle It

    Author Photo

    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission should grant no-action relief to firms ready to pilot tokenized equity trading, not delay innovation by heeding protectionist industry arguments, says J.W. Verret at George Mason University.

  • Compliance Changes On Deck For Banks Under Texas AI Law

    Author Photo

    Financial services companies, including banks and fintechs, should evaluate their artificial intelligence usage to prepare for Texas' newly passed law regulating AI governance, noting that the enforcement provisions provide for an affirmative defense to liability, say attorneys at Mitchell Sandler.

  • What To Do When Congress And DOJ Both Come Knocking

    Author Photo

    As recently seen in the news, clients may find themselves facing parallel U.S. Department of Justice and congressional investigations, requiring a comprehensive response that considers the different challenges posed by each, say attorneys at Friedman Kaplan.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: Learning From Failure

    Author Photo

    While law school often focuses on the importance of precision, correctness and perfection, mistakes are inevitable in real-world practice — but failure is not the opposite of progress, and real talent comes from the ability to recover, rethink and reshape, says Brooke Pauley at Tucker Ellis.

  • How Justices' Ruling On NEPA Reviews Is Playing Out

    Author Photo

    Since the U.S. Supreme Court's May decision in Seven County Infrastructure Coalition v. Eagle County, narrowing the scope of agencies' required reviews under the National Environmental Policy Act, the effects of the ruling are starting to become visible in the actions of lower courts and the agencies themselves, say attorneys at Saul Ewing.

  • How Sweeping Budget Bill Shakes Up Health Industry

    Author Photo

    With the recently passed One Big Beautiful Bill Act marking one of the most significant overhauls of federal health policy since the passage of the Affordable Care Act, providers, managed care organizations and life sciences companies must now shift focus from policy review to implementation planning, say advisers at Holland & Knight.

  • Deep-Sea Mining Outlook Murky, But May Be Getting Clearer

    Author Photo

    U.S. companies interested in accessing deep-sea mineral resources face uncertainty over new federal regulations and how U.S. policy may interact with pending international agreements — but a Trump administration executive order and provisions of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act should help bring clarity, say attorneys at Holland & Knight.

  • Legal Ops, Compliance Increasingly Vital To Antitrust Strategy

    Author Photo

    With deal timelines tightening and disclosure requirements intensifying, legal operations and compliance teams are becoming critical drivers of premerger strategy, cross-functional alignment and regulatory credibility, says Alexander Lima at Wesco International.

  • What's Next For ÃÛÌÒÊÓÆµ After 'Big Beautiful' Funding Cuts

    Author Photo

    While the One Big Beautiful Bill Act's funding cuts to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau are unlikely to have an independent effect in the short run, they could exacerbate the existing issue of wide regulatory fluctuations in successive administrations in the longer run, say attorneys at Covington.

  • Series

    Adapting To Private Practice: From ATF Director To BigLaw

    Author Photo

    As a two-time boomerang partner, returning to BigLaw after stints as a U.S. attorney and the director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, people ask me how I know when to move on, but there’s no single answer — just clearly set your priorities, says Steven Dettelbach at BakerHostetler.

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.