Public Policy

  • August 14, 2025

    Mich. Panel Greenlights 911 Dispatcher's Whistleblower Suit

    A Michigan appellate panel said Wednesday that a former 911 operator may be protected by a whistleblower law for criticizing a supervisor's handling of a 911 call, clearing the way for his lawsuit to move forward.

  • August 14, 2025

    FCC Urged To Tackle Health, Enviro Impacts From Cellphones

    An environmental group called on the Federal Communications Commission to address what it sees as the agency's failure to meet a D.C. Circuit order from four years ago to back up the reasoning for its radiofrequency exposure limits.

  • August 14, 2025

    Rutgers Escapes Suit Over Visitor's Halloween Night Assault

    A lawsuit against Rutgers University brought by a guest who was assaulted by an undergraduate on a night of Halloween partying in 2017 was dismissed by a New Jersey state judge who ruled that the institution had no obligation to protect the visitor.

  • August 14, 2025

    Fla. Bar Fights Demand For Bondi Ethics Probe

    The Florida Bar has again pushed back on a request to investigate U.S. Attorney Pam Bondi for alleged unethical conduct, telling the Supreme Court of Florida that a group of complainants can't bulldoze past its policy of not investigating sitting government officials.

  • August 14, 2025

    AP Says DOJ Can't Turn Info Sharing Into Views Suppression

    The Associated Press, The Washington Post, Reuters and the BBC hit back Wednesday on Justice Department efforts to back a lawsuit from the anti-vaccine group once tied to Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr., alleging they colluded with social media platforms to censor rivals.

  • August 14, 2025

    Senate Democrats Urge 'Robust' Funding For US Defenders

    Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday implored congressional appropriators to ensure that the federal public defender program has adequate funding for fiscal year 2026 after budget shortfalls. 

  • August 14, 2025

    US Says It Can't Be Sued Over NM Burns Linked To Wildfire

    The U.S. government is looking to dismiss a challenge to a prescribed burn plan that a tribe, electric cooperatives and several property owners claim led to the destruction of nearly 46,000 acres in New Mexico's Jemez Mountains, saying the decision is barred under the Federal Tort Claims Act.

  • August 14, 2025

    Bipartisan Lawmaker Groups Lambaste Habba's Reappointment

    A bipartisan group of current and former members of Congress on Wednesday criticized the Trump administration's appointment of acting New Jersey U.S. Attorney Alina Habba, saying doing it without congressional approval is unconstitutional.

  • August 14, 2025

    NJ Gov. Wants Focus On Immunity In Ex-Elections Chief's Suit

    New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy is urging a Garden State trial court judge to split up discovery in a lawsuit claiming he conspired with top staffers to oust the state's former elections chief, arguing the court first needs to focus on his qualified immunity defense.

  • August 14, 2025

    Feds Urge Court Not To Toss Rep. Cuellar's Bribery Case

    Allowing U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Texas, to escape bribery charges under the Constitution's speech and debate clause would "eviscerate" several precedents set under the provision, prosecutors told a federal judge on Thursday.

  • August 14, 2025

    Pa. Tax Board Must Revisit Denial Of Calif. Co.'s $4.9M Refund

    The Pennsylvania Board of Finance and Revenue must review its denial of a California corporation's request for a refund of an overpayment of Pennsylvania income tax following a federal audit, the Commonwealth Court ruled Thursday.

  • August 14, 2025

    NC Lawmaker's Judicial Campaign Returns Lobbyists' Money

    A Republican state lawmaker in North Carolina has returned lobbyists' donations to her judicial campaign after the contributions came under scrutiny for potentially violating state campaign finance laws, her campaign adviser confirmed Thursday to Law360.

  • August 14, 2025

    AGs' Dermatology Price-Fixing Case Not A Copy, Judge Says

    A nationwide antitrust enforcement action alleging that pharmaceutical companies fixed prices of generic dermatology drugs can proceed despite the defendants' contention that it's virtually the same as two others that were filed first, a Connecticut federal judge has ruled.

  • August 14, 2025

    Ariz. AG OKs In-State Tuition For Unlawfully Present Students

    Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes said in a new opinion that a state measure allowing students who meet attendance and graduation requirements to get in-state tuition at state community colleges and universities comports with federal law.

  • August 14, 2025

    What To Watch As FAA Preps Beyond-Line-Of-Sight Drone Ops

    With drones poised to fly as yet forbidden skies — beyond the sight line of their operators — under long-awaited potential new rules from the Federal Aviation Administration, the anticipated boon for commercial ventures will hinge on how to safeguard the wider airspace.

  • August 14, 2025

    Justices Allow Mississippi's Social Media Age Verification Law

    The U.S. Supreme Court said Thursday that social media giants like Facebook, X, YouTube and Reddit must comply with a Mississippi law that requires platforms to verify users' ages and obtain parental consent before minors can create accounts, while the companies challenge its constitutionality.

  • August 14, 2025

    Pa. Court Rejects Challenge To Alternative Energy Regs

    A state appeals court swatted down challenges to Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission regulations that put grid improvement and connection costs onto customers with solar and other alternative energy systems that generate excess power for sale to distribution companies.

  • August 14, 2025

    Fla. Court Says Developer Can Build On Contested Property

    A Florida appellate court has partially reversed a man's lower court win in his easement dispute with a developer that wanted to build a single-family home and install a seawall on the company's purchased Santa Rosa County property, ruling that the developer was wrongfully barred by the lower court from working on the property.

  • August 14, 2025

    Del. Lawmakers Seek Study To Fix Property Tax Assessments

    Delaware's General Assembly called for an immediate review of a recent statewide property reassessment to develop legislation to improve the state's property tax assessment process under a Senate concurrent resolution passed by state lawmakers.

  • August 14, 2025

    Hemp Sellers Can Challenge NY Raids Outside Court

    An administrative law judge has ruled that a group of hemp sellers can raise constitutional challenges in administrative proceedings over raids they say were illegally conducted by New York's Office of Cannabis Management.

  • August 13, 2025

    Trump Axes Biden Competition Order And Eases Rocket Regs

    President Donald Trump on Wednesday evening revoked an expansive Biden-era executive order that aimed to boost competition across the U.S. economy, lower prices for consumers and increase pay for workers, while issuing his own order to ease regulations on the commercial space industry to boost American rocket launches.

  • August 13, 2025

    Mich. Tribe Asks High Court To Undo Great Lakes Fishing Pact

    A Michigan tribe is asking the Supreme Court to overturn a Sixth Circuit decision to uphold a 2023 decree governing fishery management in the Great Lakes, saying the document was negotiated over its objections, restricts its treaty rights and will micromanage the waters for the next quarter-century.

  • August 13, 2025

    4th, 11th Circs. Shoot Down Local Gov't Cell Tower Denials

    Both the Fourth and the Eleventh Circuits issued decisions Wednesday allowing cell tower companies to move forward with projects over the objections of local governments that denied them permission.

  • August 13, 2025

    Fla. Detention Center Still Blocks Atty Access, Groups Say

    Civil rights groups Wednesday urged a Florida federal court to grant attorneys access to detainees located at an Everglades-based immigrant detention center in a proposed class action complaint, saying people confined at the facility aren't able to petition for their release.

  • August 13, 2025

    Shah of Iran Intel Chief Must Face Torture Claims By 3 Men

    A former top security official in the regime of Iran's former ruler, Shah Reza Pahlavi, must face a human rights abuse lawsuit by three men alleging he aided and abetted the torture of perceived political dissidents during the 1970s, a Florida federal judge said Tuesday.

Expert Analysis

  • DOJ Atty Firing Highlights Tension Between 2 Ethical Duties

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    The U.S. Department of Justice's recent firing of a prosecutor-turned-whistleblower involved in the Abrego Garcia v. Noem case illustrates the tricky balancing act between zealous client advocacy and a lawyer’s duty of candor to the court, which many clients fail to appreciate, says David Atkins at Yale Law School.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: Rejecting Biz Dev Myths

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    Law schools don’t spend sufficient time dispelling certain myths that prevent young lawyers from exploring new business opportunities, but by dismissing these misguided beliefs, even an introverted first-year associate with a small network of contacts can find long-term success, says Ronald Levine at Herrick Feinstein.

  • Fla. Condo Law Fix Clarifies Control Of Common Areas

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    Florida's repeal of a controversial statutory provision that permitted developers of mixed-use condominium properties to retroactively assert control over common facilities marks a critical shift in legal protections for unit owners and associations, promoting fairness, transparency and accountability, say attorneys at Pardo Jackson.

  • Trade In Limbo: The Legal Storm Reshaping Trump's Tariffs

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    In the final days of May, decisions in two significant court actions upended the tariff and trade landscape, so until the U.S. Supreme Court rules, businesses and supply chains should expect tariffs to remain in place, and for the Trump administration to continue pursuing and enforcing all available trade policies, say attorneys at Ice Miller.

  • Shareholder Takeaways From NY Internal Affairs Doctrine Suit

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    A May New York Court of Appeals decision in Ezrasons v. Rudd involving Barclays — affirming the state's "firmly entrenched" internal affairs doctrine — is a win for all corporate stakeholders seeking stability in resolving disputes between shareholders and directors and officers, say attorneys at Sadis & Goldberg.

  • The Legal Fallout Of The Open Model AI Ecosystem

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    The spread of open-weight and open-source artificial intelligence models is introducing potential harms across the supply chain, but new frameworks will allow for the growth and development of AI technologies without sacrificing the safety of end users, says Harshita Ganesh at CMBG3 Law.

  • Move Beyond Surface-Level Edits To Master Legal Writing

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    Recent instances in which attorneys filed briefs containing artificial intelligence hallucinations offer a stark reminder that effective revision isn’t just about superficial details like grammar — it requires attorneys to critically engage with their writing and analyze their rhetorical choices, says Ivy Grey at WordRake.

  • 3 Rulings May Reveal Next Frontier Of Gov't Contract Cases

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    Several U.S. Supreme Court decisions over the past year — involving wire fraud, gratuities and obstruction — offer wide-ranging and arguably conflicting takeaways for government contractors that are especially relevant given the Trump administration’s focus on diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, say attorneys at Rogers Joseph.

  • How Ore. Law Puts New Confines On Corp. Health Ownership

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    A newly enacted law in Oregon strengthens the state’s restrictions on corporate ownership of healthcare practices, with new limitations on overlapping control, permissible services, restrictive covenants and more making it necessary for practices to review decades-old physician practice arrangements, say attorneys at Ropes & Gray.

  • Early Trends In Proxy Exclusion After SEC Relaxes Guidance

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    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s recent guidance broadening shareholder proposal exclusion under Rule 14a-8 has been undoubtedly useful to issuers this proxy season, but it does not guarantee exclusion, say attorneys at Debevoise.

  • How New Texas Law Revamps Electric Grid To Meet Demand

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    A new Texas law enacted in response to the burdens that data centers, crypto mining and other large-scale users are placing on the state's electric grid means that stakeholders must review updated requirements around grid interconnection, disclosure of development plans and operational flexibility during tight conditions, say attorneys at Jackson Walker.

  • Best Practices For State Banks Eyeing Federal Conversions

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    Amid a notable uptick — fueled by ongoing regulatory upheaval — in state-chartered banks exploring conversion to national bank charters, banks contemplating the decision should weigh the benefits, like uniform supervision, and potential impediments, like costly exam fees, say attorneys at Skadden.

  • DOJ May Rethink Banning Firearms For Marijuana Users

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    In light of various federal circuit court decisions and an executive order from President Donald Trump, U.S. Department of Justice enforcement policy now may be on the verge of changing decidedly in favor of marijuana users' gun rights, and could foreshadow additional marijuana-friendly reforms, says Jacob Raver at Dentons.

  • EDNY Ruling May Limit Some FARA Conspiracy Charges

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    Though the Eastern District of New York’s recent U.S. v. Sun decision upheld Foreign Agents Registration Act charges against a former aide to New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, its recognition of an affirmative legislative policy to exempt some officials may help defendants charged with related conspiracies, say attorneys at ArentFox Schiff.

  • 9th Circ. Has Muddied Waters Of Article III Pleading Standard

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    District courts in the Ninth Circuit continue to apply a defunct and especially forgiving pleading standard to questions of Article III standing, and the circuit court itself has only perpetuated this confusion — making it an attractive forum for disputes that have no rightful place in federal court, say attorneys at Gibson Dunn.

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