Public Policy

  • September 12, 2025

    Fresh Angles On Display In ERISA Summer Filing Uptick

    Attorneys dealing with a rise in Employee Retirement Income Security Act cases are paying close attention to a handful of recent suits with allegations that put a twist on traditional benefits disputes. Here, Law360 looks at three cases with fresh angles that lawyers are keeping an eye on.

  • September 11, 2025

    States Push Conn. Court To Ban Generic Drug Price-Fixing

    A court order is necessary to prevent pharmaceutical companies and their executives from illegally fixing the prices of generic drugs, a coalition of state enforcers have told a Connecticut federal judge, arguing there is a "reasonable expectation" that the allegedly anticompetitive behavior at the center of multidistrict litigation will happen again.

  • September 11, 2025

    Trump's CFTC Nominee Publicly Feuds With Winklevoss Twins

    Brian Quintenz is accusing crypto exchange founders Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss of pressuring President Donald Trump to delay his nomination to lead the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission, saying in a social media post that the identical 44-year-old twins were apparently unhappy that he refused to make promises about a complaint they've lodged against agency attorneys.

  • September 11, 2025

    Trump Wants Fed Gov. Cook Out Before Next Rate Meeting

    The Trump administration asked the D.C. Circuit Thursday to halt a preliminary injunction barring the removal of Federal Reserve Gov. Lisa Cook, urging the appellate court to fast-track its decision in an effort to block Cook from participating in a meeting regarding interest rates next week.

  • September 11, 2025

    Wash. Judge Halts Feds' Head Start Citizenship Check Policy

    A Washington federal judge issued a nationwide preliminary injunction on Thursday blocking a Trump administration policy requiring Head Start participants to prove citizenship, finding the federal directive jeopardizes stable learning environments depended on by children and families across the country.

  • September 11, 2025

    Capital One Sues FDIC Over $149M SVB Bailout Charge

    Capital One has sued the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. in Virginia federal court challenging a $149 million charge in a special assessment levied by the agency as part of an effort to recoup losses from the 2023 regional banking crisis, saying the FDIC improperly included certain data in its calculation of the special assessment.

  • September 11, 2025

    FTC Presses OpenAI, Meta On AI Chatbots' Impact On Kids

    The Federal Trade Commission is seeking information from Meta, OpenAI, Google and four others about the steps they're taking to measure and monitor the potentially negative impacts that AI-powered chatbots that are designed to act as companions are having on children and teens, the agency revealed Thursday. 

  • September 11, 2025

    'Delete Delete Delete': FCC To Slash Hundreds Of Old Rules

    The Federal Communications Commission plans to get rid of nearly 400 rules that it says are obsolete, some of which hail from the "Ma Bell" era, and the agency has said it won't seek input on its updated guidance unless pressed to do so.

  • September 11, 2025

    Medicare Drug Pricing Plan Survives Novartis' 3rd Circ. Appeal

    The Third Circuit ruled Thursday that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services' ability to negotiate "maximum fair prices" with drugmakers doesn't violate their constitutional rights, rejecting an argument by Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corp. that the practice amounted to a raw deal for the pharmaceutical industry.

  • September 11, 2025

    Texas Justices Debate When Eco-Devo Public Purposes End

    Texas Supreme Court justices seemed hesitant Thursday to give JPMorgan Chase Bank NA a green light to continue collecting payments on a $10 million economic development loan for a project that went belly up, asking what public purpose the payments would serve.

  • September 11, 2025

    T-Mobile Settles With FCC Over Unapproved Phone Rollout

    T-Mobile has reached an agreement with the Federal Communications Commission to resolve allegations that it began marketing a new cellphone model before getting a green light in the FCC's equipment testing process.

  • September 11, 2025

    Minn. Signs 2nd Tribal-State Cannabis Compact 

    Minnesota on Wednesday signed a tribal-state compact with the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe, giving the federally recognized tribe the ability to open eight cannabis shops outside its reservation and issue licenses to grow and manufacture the plant, the second such agreement the state has made with a tribe.

  • September 11, 2025

    1st Circ. OKs Freeze Of Planned Parenthood Medicaid Funding

    The First Circuit on Thursday allowed the Trump administration to halt Medicaid reimbursements to Planned Parenthood and its affiliates, pausing a pair of lower court rulings that had blocked the funding cut.

  • September 11, 2025

    Cable Cos. Call For Faster Access To Investor-Owned Poles

    High-speed internet service is being deployed to Americans in a "reasonable and timely" fashion, but if the Federal Communications Commission wanted to speed things up a little, a trade group says it could always make it easier to access investor-owned utility poles.

  • September 11, 2025

    Moelis Says Pact Spurring Del. Corp. Law Rework Is Lawful

    Attorneys for Moelis & Co. have told Delaware's justices that a stockholder agreement that solidified Ken Moelis' control of the investment bank was either valid or lawfully obtainable by other means before the Court of Chancery struck it down last year, with time to challenge key provisions long since expired.

  • September 11, 2025

    Ex-USPTO Solicitor Says Squires Is Better Than No One

    A former U.S. Patent and Trademark Office solicitor is asking the U.S. Senate to confirm John Squires as USPTO director, saying political accountability has become more important than finding a candidate who is right for the job.

  • September 11, 2025

    Ga. Panel Sends Officer Crash Suit Back For Notice Review

    The Georgia Court of Appeals Thursday said a trial court must reconsider whether a woman who sued the city of Savannah after a police officer allegedly injured her by causing her husband's motorcycle to topple sideways provided the city with an adequate ante litem notice.

  • September 11, 2025

    Federal Judges Faced Over 500 Threats Amid Rising Tensions

    More than 500 threats have been made to federal judges over the last year to over 300 distinct judges, according to data released by the U.S. Marshals Service.

  • September 11, 2025

    U.S. Halts Discretionary Funds For Race-Based College Grants

    The U.S. Department of Education will withhold $350 million in discretionary spending for minority-serving colleges and universities and end their discretionary funding, saying the institutions discriminate by having racial or ethnic quotas.

  • September 11, 2025

    Ga. Law Bars Broad Media Access To Executions, Court Told

    Georgia officials Thursday told a state appellate court it should reject a nonprofit news organization's bid to force greater media access to executions, arguing the outlet is trying to rely on the type of third-party standing that was scrapped earlier this year by the state's Supreme Court.

  • September 11, 2025

    FCC Focuses On 'Friendly' Space Regulatory Environment

    Federal Communications Commission leaders said this week one of their top goals is to make the U.S. the world's most hospitable regulatory turf for commercial space activity as "Space Race 2.0" accelerates with China.

  • September 11, 2025

    Audible Credit Suit Raises Question On Wash. Gift Card Law

    A federal judge in Seattle has floated asking Washington's high court to clarify the scope of the Evergreen State's gift card law, suggesting on Thursday that a consumer suit over expiring Audible credits hinges on whether the statute only covers instruments with monetary value.  

  • September 11, 2025

    FCC Warns Cable, Prime Customers Of Scam Offering 50% Off

    Comcast and Amazon won't offer customers discounts on their subscription if they pay in gift cards, the Federal Communications Commission is warning after noticing the proliferation of a new scam claiming that a "50% discount on your monthly bill is set to expire."

  • September 11, 2025

    Google, Apple Fight Proposed UK App Ranking, Pay Mandates

    Apple and Google both pushed back on proposals by United Kingdom antitrust authorities to stop the companies from boosting their own apps and using commission-based payment systems but took slightly different approaches, according to separate responses made public Thursday.

  • September 11, 2025

    Judge Won't Sink Calif. Offshore Oil Platform Suit

    A California federal judge has rejected Sable Offshore Corp.'s bid to toss a lawsuit accusing the federal government of failing to make the company update safety and pollution-control plans, saying the government's decision to not require an update doesn't sink green groups' allegations.

Expert Analysis

  • Top Takeaways From Trump's AI Action Plan

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    President Donald Trump's AI Action Plan represents some notable evolution in U.S. policy, including affirmation of the administration's trend toward prioritizing artificial intelligence innovation over guardrails and toward supporting greater U.S. private sector reach overseas, say attorneys at WilmerHale.

  • Navigating Executive Perk Enforcement Under Trump Admin

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    While the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission recently signaled a softer approach to executive perks, companies should remain vigilant due to the bipartisan and lengthy nature of executive perquisite cases and Chairman Paul Atkins' previous support for disclosure requirements, say attorneys at Gibson Dunn.

  • Ill. Toxic Tort Jurisdiction Law Raises Constitutional Concerns

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    Illinois' S.B. 328, purporting to broaden state courts' jurisdictional reach over out-of-state corporations, is presented as a measure aimed at facilitating recovery in toxic tort cases, but the legislation raises significant due process and dormant commerce clause issues, say attorneys at Alston & Bird.

  • Rebuttal

    BigLaw Settlements Should Not Spur Ethics Deregulation

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    A recent Law360 op-ed argued that loosening law firm funding restrictions would make BigLaw firms less inclined to settle with the Trump administration, but deregulating legal financing ethics may well prove to be not merely ineffective, but counterproductive, says Laurel Kilgour at the American Economic Liberties Project.

  • Opinion

    8th Circ. Should Reaffirm False Commercial Speech's Nature

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    The Eighth Circuit in Goldfinch Laboratory v. Iowa Pathology Associates should assert that false commercial speech is not categorically immune from antitrust scrutiny, says Daniel Graulich at the Federal Trade Commission.

  • Unpacking Ore. Law's Limits On PE Healthcare Investment

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    A recent Oregon law imposes significant restrictions on nonphysicians owning or controlling medical practices, but newly enacted amendments provide some additional flexibility in certain ownership arrangements without scuttling the law's intent of addressing concerns about the rise of private equity investment in healthcare, say attorneys at Debevoise.

  • Environmental Justice Is Alive And Well At The State Level

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    Even as the Trump administration has rolled back federal environmental justice policies, many states continue to prioritize it, with new regulations, strengthened enforcement of existing rules and ongoing private litigation — so companies must stay alert to how state-level EJ enforcement may affect their operations, say attorneys at Crowell & Moring.

  • What FinCEN's AML Rule Delay Means For Advisers

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    Even with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network's statement last month delaying the compliance date for a rule requiring advisers to report suspicious activity, advisers can expect some level of U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission oversight in connection with anti-money laundering compliance, say attorneys at Simpson Thacher.

  • 5 Ways Lawyers Can Earn Back The Public's Trust

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    Amid salacious headlines about lawyers behaving badly and recent polls showing the public’s increasingly unfavorable view of attorneys, we must make meaningful changes to our culture to rebuild trust in the legal system, says Carl Taylor at Carl Taylor Law.

  • What Insurers Must Know About New La. Proof Of Loss Law

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    Insurers that comply with all the requirements under a Louisiana law effective this month may condition claim payments on receipt of proof of loss statements, but those that overlook even one prerequisite risk penalties and late payments, say attorneys at Phelps Dunbar.

  • Legal Jeopardy Looms Over Trump's Trade Negotiation Plans

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    Even as the Trump administration announces one trade deal after another, the legal authority of the executive branch to impose tariffs under consensual arrangements with leading trading partners is just as debatable as the unilateral imposition of U.S. tariffs under the president's executive orders, says Jeffrey Bialos at Eversheds Sutherland.

  • Criminal Healthcare Fraud Takeaways From 4th Circ. Reversal

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    After the Fourth Circuit reversed a doctor’s postconviction acquittal in U.S. v. Elfenbein last month, defense attorneys should consider three strategies when handling complex criminal healthcare matters, says Jonathan Porter at Husch Blackwell.

  • Opinion

    Furtive Changes To Federal Health Data Threaten Admissibility

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    A recent study showing that nearly 100 U.S. federal health datasets have been modified this year without any notation in official change logs should concern plaintiffs counsel, defense counsel and judges alike — because undermining data's integrity, authenticity and chain of custody threatens its admissibility in litigation, say attorneys at Kershaw Talley.

  • State Laws Show Uniformity Is Key To Truly Fair Bank Access

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    The lack of uniformity among state laws — including new Idaho legislation — that forbid banks from discriminating against customers based on ideology shows that a single set of federally administered fair access rules would better serve financial institutions and American consumers, say attorneys at Bradley Arant.

  • A Look At Justices' Rare Decision Not To Limit Agency Powers

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    The Supreme Court's recent denial of Alpine's cert petition in its long-running case against the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority sends a strong signal that litigation strategies dependent on the elimination of government agencies merit caution, even from a court that lately hasn't been shy about paring back agency authority, say attorneys at Venable.

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