Public Policy

  • May 20, 2025

    4th Circ. Won't Revive Md. Retirees' Drug Benefits Case

    The Fourth Circuit backed Maryland's defeat of a proposed class action alleging it broke promises made to retirees when it transitioned their prescription drug benefits to Medicare Part D, saying Tuesday that a lower court was right to toss the case.

  • May 20, 2025

    Finance Panel's Dems Pan Trump IRS Pick Over Ethical Issues

    Senate Finance Committee Democrats deemed former Rep. Billy Long unfit to lead the IRS during his confirmation hearing Wednesday, citing ethical concerns over his promotion of pandemic-era employee retention claims, and of tribal tax credits they called dubious, while working as a business consultant after leaving Congress.

  • May 20, 2025

    The Alien Enemies Act Cases: A Roundup

    Litigation over President Donald Trump’s March 14 proclamation invoking the 1798 Alien Enemies Act has moved at breakneck speed, spurring two U.S. Supreme Court decisions already while at least five different districts weigh his authority to invoke the wartime law. Here, Law360 catches you up on major developments in the litigation.

  • May 20, 2025

    9th Circ. Says Dad Didn't Show Sons' Hardships If Deported

    The Ninth Circuit on Tuesday rejected a Mexican father's bid for deportation relief based on extreme hardships he claimed his sons would face if they accompanied him to Mexico, saying in a published opinion that substantial evidence suggested otherwise.

  • May 20, 2025

    Feds Ignored Order With South Sudan Removals, Judge Told

    Lawyers for immigrants at risk of being deported to countries where they have no prior ties and may face harm told a Boston federal judge Tuesday that the government removed at least two class members to South Sudan in violation of a court order.

  • May 20, 2025

    GOP Lawmakers Defend Stricter Independent Contractor Bill

    Republicans on a U.S. House subcommittee Tuesday pushed for passing a recently introduced bill that would tighten standards for classifying workers as independent contractors, while Democrats feared moving in that direction would significantly hurt workers.

  • May 20, 2025

    Chicago Orgs Fight Feds' Bid To Drop Dredged Waste Suit

    Two advocacy groups that challenged a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers decision to expand a disposal facility that stores sediments dredged from Chicago waterways said Monday that the court retains jurisdiction even though the Army Corps has withdrawn that decision and should only dismiss the case on certain conditions.

  • May 20, 2025

    CFPB's Guidance Purge May Have Limited Impact For Industry

    The Trump administration's recent culling of Consumer Financial Protection Bureau guidance may help advance the agency's pivot to lighter-touch regulation, but consumer advocates and even some financial services attorneys say the rescinded policies could still shape litigation and leave companies guessing about the agency's current views.

  • May 20, 2025

    TikTok's Bid To Get NY Docs From AG Sunk By New State Law

    A New York state judge on Tuesday denied TikTok's bid to force the New York attorney general to turn over agency documents related to claims the app harms children's mental health, relying on an amendment tucked into the state's budget that was signed into law this month.

  • May 20, 2025

    Stewart Revives E-Cig Patent Row, Clarifying PTAB Denials

    The acting head of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has revived a company's Patent Trial and Appeal Board challenge to an electronic cigarette patent, issuing a precedential decision that provides guidance on discretionary denials when a patent challenger relies on prior art previously furnished to an examiner. 

  • May 20, 2025

    Trump Calls For FCC Spectrum Auctions In Budget Bill

    President Donald Trump on Tuesday jumped into the ongoing debate about federal auctions of the airwaves by calling for inclusion of spectrum sales in the budget reconciliation bill pending in Congress.

  • May 20, 2025

    NJ Justices Take Up Bond Marketing Suit Against Big Banks

    The New Jersey Supreme Court will review a lower appellate court's ruling in favor of JPMorgan Chase & Co., Citigroup Inc., Wells Fargo and other big banks in a lawsuit accusing them of a scheme to inflate the interest rates of certain bonds, according to an order list the justices released Tuesday.

  • May 20, 2025

    Connecticut House Passes Psilocybin Decriminalization Bill

    Connecticut's House of Representatives on Monday narrowly approved a bill to decriminalize possession of small amounts of psilocybin, the active ingredient in psychoactive mushrooms, sending the bill to the state Senate. 

  • May 20, 2025

    Judge Denies Meta's Mid-Trial Bid To End FTC Monopoly Case

    A D.C. federal judge refused Tuesday to cut short the trial in the Federal Trade Commission's monopolization lawsuit against Meta Platforms Inc., not finding the clear evidentiary failure necessary to nix the government's case over the company's purchases of WhatsApp and Instagram.

  • May 20, 2025

    Senate Dems Protest Broadband Deployment Delays

    A dozen Senate Democrats urged President Donald Trump to curtail the U.S. Department of Commerce's potential overhaul of a $42.5 billion broadband deployment program created during the Biden administration.

  • May 20, 2025

    Russia Challenges EU Carbon Border Tax At WTO

    Russia formally initiated a dispute at the World Trade Organization over the European Union's carbon border adjustment mechanism, suggesting that the emissions pricing system violates multilateral trade agreements, according to documents released by the organization.

  • May 20, 2025

    4th Circuit Won't Halt Order For Asylum-Seeker's Return

    A divided Fourth Circuit denied the Trump administration's request to halt a district court order requiring the government to bring back a 20-year-old Venezuelan with a pending asylum application who was deported to a Salvadoran prison despite a class settlement barring his removal.

  • May 20, 2025

    GOP Will Push Calif. Waiver Vote, Dems Will Jam EPA Noms

    Senate Republicans vowed Tuesday to forge ahead with Congressional Review Act resolutions that would repeal clean-vehicle waivers for California that were approved by the Biden administration, while Democrats said they'll throw roadblocks in front of presidential nominees in retaliation.

  • May 20, 2025

    State AGs Back NJ Judicial Privacy Law At 3rd Circ.

    Most states' attorneys general, along with law enforcement organizations and a data privacy group, have encouraged the Third Circuit to uphold a New Jersey judicial privacy measure, saying states have sovereignty to enact such laws in a time of increased threats against judges.

  • May 20, 2025

    FTC Case Against Greystar Stayed For Settlement Talks

    A Colorado federal judge has stayed a Federal Trade Commission suit alleging developer and property manager Greystar advertised deceptive rental prices after the parties notified the court that they are in "active settlement negotiations" that could resolve the entire case.

  • May 20, 2025

    GSA Official Gives Mea Culpa On 'Non-Core' Federal Property

    A top official of the federal government's real estate overseer testified on Tuesday that the administration was a bit rash in publishing a list two months ago with more than 400 "non-core" government properties, including federal courthouses, that it was considering disposing of.

  • May 20, 2025

    Judge Revives Suit Challenging BLM Lease Sales In Utah

    A Utah federal judge said she erred when she tossed a lawsuit challenging multiple U.S. Bureau of Land Management oil and gas lease sales in the state, as she failed to recognize that the agency had recently issued drilling permits for some of the transactions.

  • May 20, 2025

    EEOC Annual Worker Data Bid Opens With Diversity Warning

    The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's annual workplace demographic data collection window opened Tuesday with a warning from the EEOC's acting chair that employers can't act on protected characteristics like race and sex to try to enhance diversity.

  • May 19, 2025

    DC Circ. Ponders Letting Gov't Claw Back $20B In Green Funds

    The D.C. Circuit didn't seem convinced Monday morning that the Trump administration can't claw back $20 billion in U.S. Environmental Protection Agency grants that it's trying to cancel and divert elsewhere, hearing arguments over a preliminary injunction blocking the government from doing just that.

  • May 19, 2025

    Senate Advances Stablecoin Bill After Dem Backers Return

    The U.S. Senate's proposal to regulate stablecoins is headed to the floor after lawmakers voted to close debate on the bill Monday evening, clearing a procedural hurdle after first stumbling earlier this month when Democrats pulled support to pursue further negotiations.

Expert Analysis

  • E-Discovery Quarterly: The Perils Of Digital Data Protocols

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    Though stipulated protocols governing the treatment of electronically stored information in litigation are meant to streamline discovery, recent disputes demonstrate that certain missteps in the process can lead to significant inefficiencies, say attorneys at Sidley.

  • Making Sense Of Small Biz Fair Lending Compliance

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    Despite the uncertainty brought on by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's recent efforts to revise fair lending data collection requirements under Section 1071 of the Dodd-Frank Act, the compliance dates have not yet been stayed, so covered institutions should still start to monitor any disparities now, say attorneys at Frost Brown Todd.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: Preparing For Corporate Work

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    Law school often doesn't cover the business strategy, financial fluency and negotiation skills needed for a successful corporate or transactional law practice, but there are practical ways to gain relevant experience and achieve the mindset shifts critical to a thriving career in this space, says Dakota Forsyth at Olshan Frome.

  • 6 Ways The Dole Act Alters USERRA Employment Protections

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    The recently passed Senator Elizabeth Dole 21st Century Veterans Healthcare and Benefits Improvement Act continues a long-standing trend of periodically increasing the scope of the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act, expanding civilian employment rights for service members and veterans with some of the most significant changes yet, say attorneys at Littler.

  • Opinion

    Federal Limits On Counter-Drone Options Need Updating

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    As malicious actors swiftly and creatively adapt drone technology for nefarious ends, federal legislation is needed to expand the authority of state and local governments, as well as private businesses and individuals, to take steps against such threats, says Carter Lee at Woods Rogers.

  • FTC Focus: Synthetic Data Yields Antitrust Considerations

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    Attorneys at Proskauer explore the burgeoning world of synthetic data, the antitrust implications involved, the Federal Trade Commission's role in regulating this space and practical takeaways from these emerging issues.

  • OCC Patriot Bank Order Spotlights AML Issues For Managers

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    The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency's focus on payments and prepaid card program managers in its recent consent order with Patriot Bank is noteworthy and shows regulators are unlikely to back down on enforcement related to Bank Secrecy Act/anti-money laundering, say attorneys at Troutman Pepper.

  • FDIC Shift On ALJs May Show Agencies Meeting New Norms

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    The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.’s recent reversal, deciding to not fight a Kansas bank’s claim that the FDIC's administrative law judge removal process is unconstitutional, shows that independent agencies may be preemptively reconsidering their enforcement and adjudication authority amid executive and judicial actions curtailing their operations, say attorneys at Snell & Wilmer.

  • Opinion

    The SEC Must Protect Its Best Tool For Discovering Fraud

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    By eliminating the consolidated audit trail's collection of most retail customer information, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission may squander a once-in-a-generation opportunity to deter securities market fraud and abuse, something new Chair Paul Atkins must ensure doesn't happen, says former SEC data strategist Hugh Beck.

  • 7 Things Employers Should Expect From Trump's OSHA Pick

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    If President Donald Trump's nominee to lead the Occupational Safety and Health Administration is confirmed, workplace safety veteran David Keeling may focus on compliance and assistance, rather than enforcement, when it comes to improving worker safety, say attorneys at Fisher Phillips.

  • How Cos. Can Mitigate Increasing Microplastics Liability Risk

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    Amid rising scrutiny in the U.S. and Europe of microplastics' impact on health and the growing threat of litigation against consumer product and food and beverage manufacturers, companies can limit liability through compliance with labeling laws, careful contract management and other practices, say attorneys at Rogers Joseph.

  • Strategizing For Renewable Energy Project Success In Texas

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    The Electric Reliability Council of Texas has long been a key market for renewable energy projects, but rising financial and regulatory uncertainty means that developers and investors must prepare for inflation and policy risks, secure robust insurance coverage, and leverage tax equity transferability to ensure success, say attorneys at McDermott.

  • Opinion

    Slater Heralds Return To US Antitrust Norms, Innovation

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    Under recently confirmed Assistant Attorney General Gail Slater, the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice can fulfill President Donald Trump's objective to reestablish American economic dominance on the global stage while remaining faithful to antitrust's core principles, says Ediberto Roman at the Florida International University College of Law.

  • A Cold War-Era History Lesson On Due Process

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    The landmark Harry Bridges case from the mid-20th century Red Scare offers important insights on why lawyers must be free of government reprisal, no matter who their client is, says Peter Afrasiabi at One LLP.

  • How Latin American Finance Markets May Shift Under Trump

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    Changes in the federal government are bringing profound implications for Latin American financial institutions and cross-border financing, including increased competition from U.S. banks, volatility in equity markets and stable green investor demand despite deregulation in the U.S., says David Contreiras Tyler at Womble Bond.

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