Public Policy

  • May 15, 2025

    DOD Updates Plans For Trans Service Member Separations

    The U.S. Department of Defense on Thursday issued updated guidance for plans to identify and discharge transgender service members after a Supreme Court order allowed it to keep implementing a challenged policy that prohibited them from serving.

  • May 15, 2025

    Energy Dept. Expands Review Of $15B Worth Of Grants

    The U.S. Department of Energy said on Thursday that it's scrutinizing 179 grant awards worth $15 billion that it said were issued under the Biden administration.

  • May 15, 2025

    UMich Protesters Say Lives 'Upended' By Campus Bans

    An attorney for protesters challenging their bans from the University of Michigan campus told a federal judge Thursday that the trespass orders have "upended" their lives because the vast campus intertwines with the city of Ann Arbor and urged the court to find the bans violated their due process.

  • May 15, 2025

    House Tax Bill's Foreign Rules May Finish Off Energy Perks

    House Republicans' mammoth tax bill proposes phasing out two popular clean electricity business tax credits, but additional restrictions on eligible development projects' foreign business ties could have the same effect as immediately repealing them.

  • May 15, 2025

    Battery Recycler Cites 'Green' Funding Uncertainties In Ch. 15

    Lithium battery recycler Li-Cycle asked a New York bankruptcy judge to recognize its Canadian insolvency, saying the current political climate has made investors wary of infusing money needed to tap a $475 million U.S. federal loan.

  • May 15, 2025

    Harvard Researcher Held By ICE To Be Returned To Mass.

    A Harvard Medical School researcher and Russian national taken into custody by immigration officers who found frog embryos in her luggage three months ago will be returned to Massachusetts to face a smuggling charge, a Louisiana federal judge ordered on Thursday.

  • May 15, 2025

    Conservatives Challenge Title Of Colo. Tax Cut Initiative

    A proposed Colorado ballot measure to reduce the state income tax rate by one-hundredth of a percentage point was assigned an unlawfully confusing title by a state board, the conservative activists behind the initiative charged in a petition to the state Supreme Court.

  • May 15, 2025

    DC Circ. Doubts Jurisdiction In Baristas' NLRB Challenge

    A D.C. Circuit panel expressed skepticism Thursday that it had any role in deciding two Starbucks workers' challenge to job protections for National Labor Relations Board members now that the agency agrees with the baristas' argument.

  • May 15, 2025

    Conn. Justice Warns DMV Rule May Destroy Towing Program

    If the Connecticut Department of Motor Vehicles is correct in its interpretation of how towing companies can be paid for certain services, a state police program for clearing wrecks will evaporate because participating will not be profitable, a justice of the state Supreme Court warned Thursday.

  • May 15, 2025

    SEC-Ripple Deal Hits Speed Bump With NY Judge

    The New York federal judge who oversees the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's enforcement case against blockchain firm Ripple Labs declined Thursday to bless a deal that would truncate the penalties and injunctions she levied in her judgment, saying the request was made in a "procedurally improper" way.

  • May 15, 2025

    Trump Could Claw Back Defense Fees Under New Ga. Law

    Georgia taxpayers could end up on the hook for President Donald Trump's legal expenses in his election interference case under a newly signed, Republican-backed state law that allows defendants to seek attorney fees when prosecutors are disqualified from their case.

  • May 15, 2025

    FTC Chair Says Staffing Cuts Needed After Hiring Spree

    Federal Trade Commission Chairman Andrew Ferguson told lawmakers on Thursday that the previous administration hired too many agency staffers and said he is looking to reduce the workforce by around 16% while trying to avoid layoffs.

  • May 15, 2025

    NJ Toxic Spill Rule May Hamper Property Sales, Panelists Say

    A New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection regulation expected to take effect this summer could slow property sales and lead to increased litigation as attorneys and real estate investors grapple with stricter requirements for reporting toxic spills, experts speaking Thursday at the State Bar Association's annual meeting in Atlantic City said.

  • May 15, 2025

    Judicial Aide's NY Sex Abuse Suit May Survive, Panel Hints

    A New York state appellate panel has voiced doubts that a former judicial secretary's sex abuse lawsuit should have been dismissed, challenging the state court system's arguments that it didn't employ her and thus can't be held liable for any harms she suffered.

  • May 15, 2025

    Ex-Ohio Speaker Wins More Time To Retool Bribery Appeal

    The Sixth Circuit Thursday granted former Ohio House of Representatives Speaker Larry Householder more time to iron out his bid for the court to reconsider its refusal to vacate his bribery conviction over the FirstEnergy nuclear bailout scandal that got him sentenced to 20 years in prison.

  • May 15, 2025

    Gov't Fights Expansion Of Transgender Passport Ruling

    The U.S. State Department is fighting a request to expand to thousands of people a Massachusetts federal court's preliminary ruling ordering the government to issue or renew passports to six transgender or nonbinary people to reflect their gender identity.

  • May 15, 2025

    Feds' Memo In Filing Mishap Is Privileged, NY Judge Says

    A New York federal judge has determined that the federal government's mistakenly filed memo in litigation over Manhattan's congestion pricing program is privileged and cannot be cited in the parties' arguments, but the memo won't be sealed because it's already been widely reported on.

  • May 15, 2025

    Texas Senate OKs Bill Allowing 1st Amend. Suits Against Bar

    The Texas Senate has passed a bill prohibiting the state bar from creating policies that affect bar members' First Amendment rights.

  • May 15, 2025

    Judge Puts Buffer Between ICE And Tufts Student After Bail Order

    A Vermont federal judge on Thursday said he will require U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to provide at least 48 hours' notice to his court of any future plan to detain Tufts University doctoral student Rümeysa Öztürk, after her lawyers expressed concern that the government could attempt an end-run around his bail order.

  • May 15, 2025

    Covington Hires Former Trump Regulations Czar In DC

    Covington & Burling LLP has hired President Donald Trump's former regulations czar, who has joined as an of counsel in its Washington, D.C. office, months after the president called for an immediate suspension of security clearances for any firm attorneys who represented former special counsel Jack Smith.

  • May 15, 2025

    11th Circ. Upholds Fla. Atty's COVID Relief Fraud Conviction

    The Eleventh Circuit upheld the 75-month sentence given to a Florida lawyer for a COVID-19 loan fraud scheme, finding that the lower court did not err by admitting a co-conspirator's testimony about a threat the attorney allegedly made.

  • May 15, 2025

    Feds, Immigrants Spar Over Defense Dept. Role In Removals

    A group of immigrants facing deportation to countries where they have no prior ties and may be at risk of harm urged a Massachusetts federal judge to add the U.S. Department of Defense as a defendant in their pending class action, a move the government says is unnecessary.

  • May 15, 2025

    Maryland Man Convicted Of Threatening Federal Judges

    A Maryland man has been convicted of making violent threats to multiple federal judges after already serving time in prison for threatening other members of the bench, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office in Philadelphia.

  • May 15, 2025

    Nevada Resorts Want In On Kalshi Sports Betting Brawl

    A trade group representing Nevada's powerful gaming and resort industries is aiming to line up against KalshiEx LLC in its suit against state regulators over its sporting event offerings, arguing that the online trading platform is attempting an end-around of federal gambling laws.

  • May 15, 2025

    'Tornado Cash' Indictment Largely Intact After Crypto Memo

    A memo outlining the Trump administration's cryptocurrency enforcement priorities prompted federal prosecutors in Manhattan to slightly trim their indictment charging Tornado Cash founder Roman Storm with facilitating $1 billion of unlawful transactions via his crypto-mixer, a Thursday letter says.

Expert Analysis

  • Opinion

    Congress Must Reform The PTAB To Protect Small Innovators

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    Lawmakers must reintroduce the Promoting and Respecting Economically Vital American Innovation Leadership Act or similar legislation to prevent larger companies from leveraging the Patent Trial and Appeal Board to target smaller patent holders, says Schwegman Lundberg's Russell Slifer, former deputy director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

  • Series

    Baseball Fantasy Camp Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    With six baseball fantasy experiences under my belt, I've learned time and again that I didn't make the wrong career choice, but I've also learned that baseball lessons are life lessons, and I'm a better lawyer for my time at St. Louis Cardinals fantasy camp, says Scott Felder at Wiley.

  • DOJ Immigration Playbook May Take Cues From A 2017 Case

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    A record criminal resolution with a tree trimming company accused of knowingly employing unauthorized workers in 2017 may provide clues as to how the U.S. Department of Justice’s immigration crackdown will touch American companies, which should prepare now for potential enforcement actions, says Jonathan Porter at Husch Blackwell.

  • Paul Atkins' Past Speeches Offer A Glimpse Into SEC's Future

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    Following Paul Atkins' Thursday Senate confirmation hearing, a look at his public remarks while serving as a commissioner at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission between 2002 and 2008 reveals eight possible structural and procedural changes the SEC may see once he likely takes over as chair, say attorneys at Covington.

  • McKernan-Led CFPB May Lead To Decentralized Enforcement

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    Though Jonathan McKernan’s confirmation as director would likely mean a less active Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the decreased federal oversight could lead to more state-led investigations, multistate regulatory actions and private lawsuits under consumer protection laws, says Jonathan Pompan at Venable.

  • How Fla. Is Floating A Raft Of Bills To Stem Insurance Woes

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    Proposed reforms that follow a report skewering Florida's insurance industry offer a step in the right direction in providing relief for property owners, despite some limitations, say attorneys at Farah & Farah.

  • Include State And Local Enforcers In Cartel Risk Evaluations

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    Any reassessment of enforcement risk following the federal designation of drug cartels as foreign terrorist organizations should include applicable state and local enforcement authorities, which have powerful tools, such as grand jury subpoenas and search warrants, that businesses would be wise to consider, say attorneys at King & Spalding.

  • Series

    Adapting To Private Practice: From Fed. Prosecutor To BigLaw

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    Making the jump from government to private practice is no small feat, but, based on my experience transitioning to a business-driven environment after 15 years as an assistant U.S. attorney, it can be incredibly rewarding and help you become a more versatile lawyer, says Michael Beckwith at Dickinson Wright.

  • How Del. Supreme Court, Legislature Have Clarified 'Control'

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    The Delaware Supreme Court's January decision in In re: Oracle and the General Assembly's passage of amendments to the Delaware General Corporation Law this week, when taken together, help make the controlling-stockholder analysis clearer and more predictable for companies with large stockholders, say attorneys at Baker Botts.

  • Service By Token Is Transforming Crypto Litigation Landscape

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    As the Trump administration advocates a new course of cryptocurrency regulation, courts in the U.S. and abroad are authorizing innovative methods of process service, including via nonfungible tokens and blockchain messaging, offering practical solutions for litigators grappling with the anonymity of cyber defendants, says Jose Ceide at Salazar Law.

  • What To Expect For Stem Cell Regulation Under Trump Admin

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    The new administration's push for deregulation, plus the post-Chevron legal landscape, and momentum from key political and industry players to facilitate stem cell innovation may create an opportune backdrop for a significant reduction in the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's regulatory framework for stem cells, say attorneys at Sheppard Mullin.

  • Rebuttal

    6 Reasons Why Arbitration Offers Equitable Resolutions

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    Contrary to a recent Law360 guest article, arbitration provides numerous benefits to employees, consumers and businesses alike, ensuring fair and efficient dispute resolution without the excessive fees, costs and delays associated with traditional litigation, say attorneys at Proskauer.

  • Executive Orders Paving Way For New Era Of Crypto Banking

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    Recent executive orders have already significantly affected the day-to-day operations of financial institutions that have an interest in engaging with digital assets, and creating informed strategies now can support institutions as the crypto gates continue to open to the banking industry, say attorneys at Spencer Fane.

  • Opinion

    After Fires, Calif. Must Streamline Enviro Reviews For Housing

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    Recent waivers to the California Environmental Quality Act and other laws granted by California Gov. Gavin Newsom to expedite reconstruction of residential property damaged in the Los Angeles wildfires are laudable — but given the state's widespread housing shortage, policymakers should extend the same benefits to other communities, say attorneys at Alston & Bird.

  • How Calif. Algorithmic Pricing Bills Could Affect Consumers

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    California's legislative efforts to regulate algorithmic pricing may address antitrust and fairness concerns, but could stop retailers from providing consumer discounts, says Alyssa Sones at Sheppard Mullin.

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