Public Policy

November 03, 2025
DC Public Defender Funding To Halt Because Of Shutdown

Funding for public defender services in Washington, D.C., is about to run out as the government shutdown drags on, according to a recent letter from members of the D.C. Courts Joint Committee on Judicial Administration.
November 03, 2025
Calif. Can't Enforce 'Clean Trucks' Pact, Judge Says

California cannot enforce a 2023 agreement that would have subjected heavy-duty truck manufacturers to stringent state emissions standards and stiff penalties for noncompliance, after a federal judge signaled that federal law likely preempts the Golden State's standards.
November 03, 2025
Trump Blocked Again From Sending Guard To Portland

An Oregon federal judge on Sunday again blocked President Donald Trump from deploying federalized National Guard troops to Portland, finding after a bench trial that the federal government hasn't shown local protests of Trump's immigration policies constitute a "rebellion" or impede agents from executing laws to justify the Guard's deployment.
November 03, 2025
Williams & Connolly Lose FOIA Suit For Halkbank Documents

Federal agencies including U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement have fulfilled their obligations responding to certain Freedom of Information Act requests made by Williams & Connolly LLP in connection with its defense of Turkish state-owned bank Halkbank, a Washington, D.C. federal judge has determined.
November 03, 2025
Tribes Push Supreme Court To Overturn Okla. Tax Ruling

The Oklahoma Supreme Court incorrectly ruled that a member of the Muscogee Creek Nation owes Oklahoma income tax, groups representing Native American tribes told the U.S. Supreme Court, asking the justices to hear the case and reverse the ruling.
November 03, 2025
Academics Back IP Rights For Generated Art At High Court

A group of 14 academics and legal experts is backing an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court from a computer scientist seeking a copyright for artwork created by a computer system he developed, telling the justices in an amicus brief that the work-for-hire doctrine should extend to such generated works.
November 03, 2025
Wireless Builders' Group Names New Top Strategist

The Wireless Infrastructure Association on Monday named a veteran market analyst to provide technical and strategic advice to the industry group.
November 03, 2025
Philip Morris To Pay $66M Under New Wash. Tobacco Deal

Washington will receive $66 million from Philip Morris under a new settlement resolving long-running disputes over annual payments owed by the major tobacco company under a landmark multistate deal with tobacco producers in 1998 over public health costs, according to the Washington State Attorney General's Office.
November 03, 2025
US, China Agree To Cut Tariffs, Restrictions In Trade Truce

The United States and China have agreed to a one-year suspension of certain tariffs, export controls and retaliatory trade restrictions, according to statements by the White House and China's Ministry of Commerce.
November 03, 2025
Tribe, Coalition Fight 9th Circ. Bid To Nix Ariz. Land Exchange

An Apache tribe and conservation groups are fighting a Ninth Circuit bid to dismiss their efforts to block a 2,500-acre land exchange within Tonto National Forest, saying the federal government and mining company's arguments inaccurately center on a sentence in the 2014 Southeast Arizona Land Exchange and Conservation Act.
November 03, 2025
Disney Blames Lack Of 'Good Faith' In YouTube Blackout

Disney has sought to put the blame at YouTube's feet over the blackout of Disney programs on YouTube TV that stemmed from a breakdown of carriage talks, as the cable industry called for congressional reforms to stop future blackouts from happening.
November 03, 2025
Fla. Pain Doc Was 'Pawn' In Kickback Scheme, 11th Circ. Told

A Florida pain management doctor on Monday urged the Eleventh Circuit to reverse his conviction in a conspiracy to accept kickbacks for prescribing a liquid fentanyl drug, arguing that he was merely a "pawn" in the scheme.
November 03, 2025
DC Circ. Questions Tribe's Bid To Exclude 1929 Descendants

A panel of D.C. Circuit judges expressed skepticism that a group of California Valley Miwok Tribe members can exclude a wide swath of the organization when drafting a tribal constitution, pressing an attorney for the members on seeming contradictions in their view of the government's role in the process.
November 03, 2025
5th Circ. Asks If New Review Needed For Texas Gas Facility

A Fifth Circuit panel pressed the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality to explain whether it can greenlight an extension for construction of a liquefied natural gas facility without again reviewing facility emissions, asking Monday what to do with language in the law seemingly calling for another review.
November 03, 2025
Mo. Health Officials Issue Warning On Kratom Extract 7-OH

Missouri health officials have issued a statewide alert warning consumers about the dangers of 7-hydroxymitragynine, or 7-OH, a loosely regulated opioid-like alkaloid derivative of the kratom leaf that is present in numerous consumer products.
November 03, 2025
Black Man Granted New Trial In Mass. Over Lawyer's Bias

A Black man who pled guilty to firearms offenses in 2018 after consulting with his lawyer — who was found to have made racist social media posts — is entitled to a new trial, Massachusetts' intermediate-level appeals court said Monday, unanimously reversing a lower court's decision.
November 03, 2025
New Loan Forgiveness Rule Targets Trump Critics, States Say

Two lawsuits filed Monday, one by a coalition of states and the other by a group of cities, unions and advocacy organizations, are challenging a new Trump administration rule imposing "intentionally vague" and allegedly illegal restrictions on student loan forgiveness for public employees intended to stifle dissent.
November 03, 2025
DOJ Probes Nexstar's $6.2B Deal For Tegna

The U.S. Department of Justice has requested additional information about Nexstar's planned $6.2 billion purchase of rival broadcast company Tegna, extending a waiting period that gives enforcers time to review the merger's impact on competition.
November 03, 2025
Landlords Fight States' Objection To RealPage Settlements

A group of landlords urged a Tennessee federal court to reject arguments lodged by several attorneys general who criticized $141.8 million worth of proposed antitrust settlements that aim to resolve multidistrict litigation accusing the landlords of using property management software company RealPage Inc.'s technology for rent price fixing.
November 03, 2025
Justices Skeptical Of Tolling Supervised-Release Absconders

The U.S. Supreme Court appeared hesitant Monday to embrace the government's arguments that the "fugitive tolling" doctrine, which bans criminal defendants from earning credits to reduce prison sentences while they are not behind bars, should also be used to penalize defendants who abscond from supervised release.
November 03, 2025
Trump Admin Seeks to Cancel Hearing In Union Case

The Trump administration is asking a District of Columbia federal judge to cancel an upcoming hearing over a bid to block an executive order ending the collective bargaining rights of two unions representing employees at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and the National Weather Service.
October 31, 2025
Drugmakers Can't End States' Dermatology Price-Fixing Suits

A Connecticut federal judge on Friday refused to throw out the vast majority of claims in a nationwide antitrust enforcement action accusing a long list of pharmaceutical companies of fixing the prices of generic dermatology drugs, rejecting the companies' argument that the claims were filed too late.
October 31, 2025
Amgen Again Challenges Colo. Price Cap For Arthritis Drug

Amgen has once again sued Colorado over its price cap for the arthritis drug Enbrel, claiming that the Centennial State's drug price-control statute violates the U.S. Constitution, conflicts with federal patent law and threatens patients' access to lifesaving medications.
October 31, 2025
Bank Group Cautions OCC On Fintech Trust Charter Bids

Another major banking trade group is pushing back on efforts by a string of digital asset and payment firms to obtain federal banking charters from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, warning that granting the charters would invite legal and systemic risks.
October 31, 2025
Banking, Business Groups Call For Federal AI Regulations

Business and banking industry groups are calling for federal legislation to preempt what they say is a patchwork of state and local regulations on artificial intelligence, throwing their support behind the Trump administration's policy blueprint for "winning the AI race."

Editor's Picks

Trump's Legal Battles

States, federal employee unions, various advocacy groups and several individuals have filed over 220 lawsuits challenging the Trump administration's implementation of executive orders and other initiatives. Law360 has created a database of those lawsuits, separated into categories based on their subject matter.

Expert Analysis

SEC Crypto Custody Relief Offers Clarity For Funds

A recent U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission staff letter supplies a workable path for registered investment advisers and funds seeking to offer crypto custody services by using state trust companies, and may portend additional useful guidance regarding crypto custody, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.
DC Circuit Charts Path On FERC Orders In Loper Bright Era

The D.C. Circuit's recent decision in Solar Energy Industries Association v. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, upholding the agency's assessment of a power production facility's output, laid out an approach for addressing statutory interpretation in FERC appeals in light of the U.S. Supreme Court's game-changing Loper Bright decision, say attorneys at Bracewell.
DOJ's UnitedHealth Settlement Highlights New Remedies Tack

The use of divestitures and Hart-Scott-Rodino Act compliance in the recent U.S. Department of Justice settlement with UnitedHealth Group and Amedisys underscores the DOJ Antitrust Division's willingness to utilize merger remedies under the second Trump administration, say attorneys at Buchanan Ingersoll.
When Atty Ethics Violations Give Rise To Causes Of Action

Though the Model Rules of Professional Conduct make clear that a violation of the rules does not automatically create a cause of action, attorneys should beware of a few scenarios in which they could face lawsuits for ethical lapses, says Brian Faughnan at Faughnan Law.
A Shift To Semiannual Reporting May Reshape Litigation Risk

While the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's proposed change from quarterly to semiannual reporting may reduce the volume of formal filings, it wouldn't reduce litigation risk, instead shifting it into less predictable terrain — where informal disclosures, timing ambiguities and broader materiality debates will dominate, says Pavithra Kumar at Advanced Analytical Consulting Group.
TikTok Divestiture Deal Revolves Around IP Considerations

The divestiture deal between the U.S. and China to resolve a security dispute over TikTok's U.S. operations is seen as a diplomatic breakthrough, but its success hinges on the treatment of intellectual property and may set a precedent in the global contest over digital sovereignty and IP control, say attorneys at Brownstein Hyatt.
What's New In FDA's Latest Cell And Gene Therapy Guidance

New draft guidance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, along with other recent initiatives, come together to promote cell and gene therapy product development by streamlining development and review pathways, say attorneys at Holland & Knight.
CFIUS Trends May Shift Under 'America First' Policy

The arrival of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States' latest annual report suggests that the Trump administration's "America First" policy will have a measurable effect on foreign investment, including improved trendlines for investments from allied sources and increasingly negative trendlines for those from foreign adversary sources, say attorneys at Debevoise.
How Gov't May Use FARA To Target 'Domestic Terrorism'

After the Trump administration’s recent memo directing law enforcement to use the Foreign Agents Registration Act to prosecute domestic terrorism, nonprofit organizations receiving funding from foreign sources must assess their registration obligations under the statute, say attorneys at Pillsbury.
What's Changing For Cos. In New Calif. Hazardous Waste Plan

While the latest hazardous waste management plan from California's Department of Toxic Substances Control still awaits final approval, companies can begin aligning internal systems now with the plan's new requirements for environmental justice, waste and disposal reduction, waste criteria, and capacity planning, says Thierry Montoya at Frost Brown.
What CFTC Push For Tokenized Collateral Means For Crypto

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission's recent request for comment on the use of tokenized products as collateral in derivatives markets signals that it is expanding the scope and form of eligible collateral, and could broaden the potential use cases for crypto-assets held in tokenized form, say attorneys at Dechert.
H-1B Fee Guidance Is Helpful But Notable Uncertainty Persists

Recent guidance narrowing the scope of the $100,000 entry fee for H-1B visas will allow employers to plan for the hiring season, but a lack of detail about the mechanics of cross-agency payment verification, fee exemptions and other practical matters still need to be addressed, say attorneys at Klasko Immigration Law Partners.
Navigating EPA Compliance As Gov't Shutdown Continues

As the federal government shutdown drags on, industries regulated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency can expect application and permitting delays, limited guidance from EPA personnel regarding compliance matters, and stalled court proceedings — but there are strategies that can help companies deal with these problems, says Lauren Behan at Goldberg Segalla.
State Of Insurance: Q3 Notes From Pennsylvania

Todd Leon at Marshall Dennehey discusses three notable Pennsylvania auto insurance developments from the third quarter, including the Third Circuit weighing in on actual cash value, a state appellate court opining on the regular use exclusion and state legislators introducing a bill to increase property damage minimums.
How Calif. Zoning Bill Is Addressing The Housing Crisis

The recently signed S.B. 79 represents a significant step in California's ongoing efforts to address the housing crisis by upzoning properties near qualifying transit stations in urban counties, but counsel advising on S.B. 79 will have to carefully parse eligibility and compliance with the bill and related statutes, says Jennifer Lynch at Manatt.