Public Policy

  • July 01, 2025

    The Sharpest Dissents From The Supreme Court Term

    The term's sharpest dissents often looked beyond perceived flaws in majority reasoning to raise existential concerns about the role and future of the court, with the justices accusing one another of rewarding executive branch lawlessness, harming faith in the judiciary and threatening democracy, sometimes on an emergency basis with little briefing or explanation.

  • July 01, 2025

    Mich. Judge Probes Conflict In Ex-GC's Whistleblower Suit

    A Michigan appellate judge Tuesday pressed an attorney representing a town's former general counsel for proof that his client was fired for reporting what he described as corruption, suggesting his role as both human resources director and general counsel may have created inherent conflicts justifying the dismissal.

  • July 01, 2025

    All Eyes On Congress After FCC Subsidy's High Court Win

    Supporters of the Federal Communications Commission's subsidies for phone and broadband service notched a clear win at the U.S. Supreme Court last week when justices upheld the Universal Service Fund's levy on telecom companies, but lawmakers now face pressure to beef up the $9 billion program's revenue sources.

  • July 01, 2025

    Banking Groups Call For Indexing Of Regulatory Thresholds

    The American Bankers Association and its state counterparts are urging federal regulators to prioritize updating thresholds that trigger heightened supervisory obligations to account for inflation and the growth of the banking sector, arguing that the current standards unintentionally subject some institutions to burdensome requirements.

  • July 01, 2025

    RI Urges 1st Circ. To Toss Challenge To Pot License Regs

    Rhode Island marijuana regulators told the First Circuit on Tuesday that a lower court federal judge was correct to toss a constitutional challenge to the state's cannabis regulations, which had not yet been published when the lawsuit was initially filed.

  • July 01, 2025

    Justices Face Busy Summer After Nixing Universal Injunctions

    The U.S. Supreme Court's decision to limit nationwide injunctions was one of its biggest rulings of the term — a finding the court is likely going to be dealing with all summer. Here, Law360 takes a look at the decision, how it and other cases on the emergency docket overshadowed much of the court's other work, and what it all means for the months to come.

  • July 01, 2025

    Mobile Cos. Applaud Senate Revival Of Spectrum Auctions

    The wireless industry on Tuesday praised the Senate's narrow passage of a budget reconciliation package that directs the federal government to identify and auction hundreds of megahertz of electromagnetic spectrum for private companies' use.

  • July 01, 2025

    Monthly Merger Review Snapshot

    The U.S. Department of Justice reached the agency's first three merger settlements of the second Trump administration, clearing deals in the technology and aerospace sectors after divestitures, while the Federal Trade Commission put conditions on an advertising merger. Here, Law360 looks at the major merger review developments from June.

  • July 01, 2025

    NJ Governor Signs Bill Hiking Tax For Online Sports Betting

    New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy has approved a bill that will increase the tax for online gambling and sports betting to 19.75% just hours after the measure was passed by both houses of the state's Legislature.

  • July 01, 2025

    Texas Rep. Must Tell Feds If He'll Blame Attys In Bribery Case

    A Houston judge said Monday that U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar and his wife must disclose to federal prosecutors whether they plan to use an advice-of-counsel defense in their trial on bribery charges.

  • July 01, 2025

    Mass. Justices Affirm Insurers Can Tap Workers' Comp Fund

    Insurers who have stopped writing workers' compensation policies but are still paying on older claims in Massachusetts are entitled to partial reimbursement from a state trust fund created to offset the higher costs of covering some individuals, because the money comes from employers rather than the insurers, the state's highest court concluded on Tuesday.

  • July 01, 2025

    Amazon Escapes Worker's Military Leave Suit

    A former Amazon employee cannot show that she was fired because she requested to take military leave or because she needed to care for her son, a New York federal judge ruled, saying she can't rebut the company's argument that she was fired for violating security protocol.

  • July 01, 2025

    Judge Rules Gun Ban For Medical Pot Users Constitutional

    A Pennsylvania federal judge ruled Monday that a federal policy barring medical marijuana patients from owning firearms does not violate the Second Amendment, granting the U.S. Department of Justice's motion to dismiss a challenge brought by a state prosecutor and others.

  • July 01, 2025

    Conn. Tribe Fights State's Bid To Halt 80-Acre Land Transfer

    The Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation is fighting an emergency motion by Connecticut to halt the U.S. Department of the Interior's transfer of 80 acres into trust for the federally recognized tribe, saying the state fails to establish that a stay is necessary.

  • July 01, 2025

    Ga. Justices To Review $33M Verdict In Student Crash Death

    The Supreme Court of Georgia has agreed to review a state appellate court's decision that a metro Atlanta city must pay a $33 million verdict awarded to the parents of a college student who died after crashing into a roadside planter.

  • July 01, 2025

    Axing Lit Funding Tax Bid Relieves Industry But Fears Remain

    Litigation funders are breathing a sigh of relief after a provision to impose a 41% punitive tax on the $16 billion industry was stripped Tuesday from the massive federal spending bill, but many think the episode is just the prelude to further battles with corporate opponents.

  • July 01, 2025

    Mich. Judge Halts Mackinac Island Ferry Rate Ordinance

    A Michigan federal judge has temporarily blocked Mackinac Island city officials from regulating ferry prices, a move the judge said preserves both the status quo and the availability of ferry service to the tourist destination.

  • July 01, 2025

    US Attorney Picks Include Alina Habba And Senator's Son

    The president sent 14 U.S. attorney nominations to the Senate on Tuesday, including Alina Habba, the president's former counselor and personal attorney, for the District of New Jersey and Arch Moore Capito, the son of Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W. Va., for the Southern District of West Virginia.

  • July 01, 2025

    'ComEd Four' Lobbyist Deserves 4 Years In Prison, Feds Say

    Federal prosecutors argued on Monday that a lobbyist convicted alongside Commonwealth Edison CEO Anne Pramaggiore and two others for bribing former Illinois House Speaker Mike Madigan should serve more than four years behind bars for falsifying books and records to hide the funneling of payments to Madigan's allies for do-nothing jobs.

  • July 01, 2025

    Pa. Leaders Split At 3rd Circ. Over Tossing Undated Votes

    A Third Circuit panel's uncertainty over Pennsylvania's rejection of undated mail-in ballots intensified Tuesday during an oral argument as top Keystone State officials took opposing sides about the constitutionality of the date requirement.

  • July 01, 2025

    Top Personal Injury, Med Mal News: 2025 Midyear Report

    A U.S. Supreme Court ruling over whether personal injury claims can be brought under a RICO statute and a $7.4 billion settlement reached with the Sackler family and Purdue Pharma are among Law360's top personal injury and medical malpractice cases from the first six months of 2025.

  • July 01, 2025

    NY AG Urges Lawmakers To Strengthen Stablecoin Legislation

    New York's Attorney General Letitia James is calling on U.S. lawmakers to strengthen pending bills to regulate so-called stablecoins in a letter made public Tuesday that argued neither the House nor the Senate's proposals contain the necessary guardrails to protect consumers.

  • July 01, 2025

    House Report Says Ad Group Colluded With Foreign Gov'ts

    The World Federation of Advertisers' digital safety initiative targeted conservative voices with a digital advertising pressure campaign meant to "undermine American civil liberties" and "limit" consumer choice up until the project's discontinuation last year, according to a new report from the Republican-controlled House Judiciary Committee.

  • July 01, 2025

    Proxy Firms Don't 'Solicit' Investor Votes, DC Circ. Rules

    A D.C. Circuit panel Tuesday ruled that proxy advisory firms do not "solicit" proxy votes, thus denying a manufacturing industry group's attempt to revive a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission rule regulating those firms.

  • July 01, 2025

    US Trade Blueprint Should Delay Tariffs, South Africa Says

    The South African government said Tuesday it requested that the U.S. extend a July 9 deadline for trade talks before higher tariff rates kick in for it and other major trading partners, in anticipation of a new U.S. blueprint to guide prospective trade deals in the region.

Expert Analysis

  • Series

    Running Marathons Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    After almost five years of running marathons, I’ve learned that both the race itself and the training process sharpen skills that directly translate to the practice of law, including discipline, dedication, endurance, problem-solving and mental toughness, says Lauren Meadows at Swift Currie.

  • High Court Ruling Bucks Trend Of Narrowing Fraud Theories

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    The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent Kousisis v. U.S. decision, holding that economic loss is not required to establish prosecutors’ fraudulent inducement theory of fraud, is at odds with its decadeslong narrowing of federal fraud statutes’ reach, and may lead to convictions for a wide variety of contractual misrepresentations, say attorneys at Keker Van Nest.

  • Calif. Air Board Offers Early Hints On Climate Reporting

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    As initial reporting deadlines for California's new climate reporting laws approach, guidance provided by the California Air Resources Board in a virtual public workshop sheds some light on rulemaking to come, and how to prepare for compliance during this period of uncertainty, say attorneys at Simpson Thacher.

  • Parsing The SEC's No-Action Letter On Rule 192 Compliance

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    Brandon Figg at Morgan Lewis discusses the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's recent no-action letter, which greenlights information barriers as an alternative approach to Rule 192 compliance and includes likely relief for existing policies and procedures.

  • 5 Ways In-House Counsel Can Stay Ahead Of New HSR Rules

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    Now that the Trump administration’s new Hart-Scott-Rodino Act rules have been in effect for several months, in-house counsel should consider several practice pointers that can help spearhead management of M&A-related antitrust risk, say attorneys at Squire Patton.

  • High Court Order On Board Firings Is Cold Comfort For Fed

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    The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent Trump v. Wilcox order, upholding the firings of two independent agency board members during appeal, raises concerns about the future of removal protections for Federal Reserve System members, and thus the broader politicization of U.S. monetary policy, say attorneys at Squire Patton.

  • DOJ Policy Shifts May Resurrect De Facto 'China Initiative'

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    The U.S. Department of Justice's recently unveiled white collar enforcement strategy seemingly marks a return to a now-defunct 2018 policy aimed at combating national security concerns with China, and likely foretells aggressive scrutiny of trade and customs fraud, sanctions evasion, and money laundering, say attorneys at BakerHostetler.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: Supporting A Trial Team

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    While students often practice as lead trial attorneys in law school, such an opportunity likely won’t arise until a few years into practice, so junior associates should focus on honing skills that are essential to supporting a trial team, including organization, adaptability and humility, says Lucy Zelina at Tucker Ellis.

  • Recent Complex Global Deals Reveal Regulatory Trends

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    An analysis of six complex global deals that were completed or abandoned in the last year suggests that, while such deals continue to face significant and lengthy scrutiny across the U.S, U.K. and European Union, the path to closing may have eased slightly compared to recent years, say attorneys at Weil.

  • Opinion

    Address Nationwide Injunction Issues With Random Venues

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    Many of the qualms about individual district court judges' authority to issue nationwide injunctions could be solved with a simple legislative solution: handling multiple complaints about the same agency action filed in different district courts by assigning a venue via random selection, says Harvey Reiter at Stinson.

  • 7 D&O Coverage Areas To Assess As DOJ Targets DEI

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    Companies that receive federal funds or have the remnants of a diversity, equity and inclusion program should review their directors and officers liability insurance policies ahead of a major shift in how the U.S. Department of Justice enforces the False Claims Act, says Bill Wagner at Taft.

  • CFPB Industry Impact Uncertain Amid Priority Shift, Staff Cuts

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    A recent enforcement memo outlines how the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's regulatory agenda diverges from that of the previous administration, but, given the bureau's planned reduction in force, it is uncertain whether the agency will be able to enforce these new priorities, say attorneys at Troutman Pepper.

  • FAR Rewrite May Cloud Key Gov't Contract Doctrine

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    The Trump administration's government procurement overhaul, under which sections of the Federal Acquisition Regulation are eliminated by default, is bound to collide with a doctrine that allows courts to read omitted clauses into government contracts if they represent long-standing pillars of federal procurement law, say attorneys at Rogers Joseph.

  • SEC Staff Input Eases Path For Broker-Dealer Crypto Activities

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    Recent guidance from U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission staff on broker-dealer and transfer agent crypto-asset activities suggests a more constructive regulatory posture on permissibility and application of financial responsibility rules, bringing welcome clarity for blockchain market participants and traditional financial institutions alike, say attorneys at Sidley.

  • Compliance Essentials To Mitigate AI Crime Enforcement Risk

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    As artificial intelligence systems move closer to accurately mimicking human decision-making, companies must understand how the U.S. Department of Justice might prosecute them for crimes committed by AI tools — and how to mitigate enforcement risks, say attorneys at Paul Hastings.

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