Public Policy

  • July 23, 2025

    Ex-Copyright Chief Suggests Trump Fired Her Over AI Report

    An attorney for the fired leader of the U.S. Copyright Office suggested Wednesday that President Donald Trump "sought to sideline her" to stop her from advising Congress on issues related to the use of copyrighted material for training artificial intelligence models, noting her dismissal occurred shortly after she released a pivotal report on the subject.

  • July 23, 2025

    ICJ Puts Reparations On The Table In Climate Change Case

    The International Court of Justice on Wednesday delivered its long-awaited advisory opinion on governments' obligations with respect to climate change, issuing a rare, unanimous decision that opens the door for nations harmed by human-caused greenhouse gas emissions to seek reparations.

  • July 23, 2025

    8th Circ. Tosses FCC Dems' Local Media Ownership Rule

    The Eighth Circuit on Wednesday threw out local media ownership rules passed a year and a half ago by Democrats on a split Federal Communications Commission vote.

  • July 23, 2025

    Trump Wins 9th Circ. Block On Order Providing Reorg. Plans

    The Ninth Circuit greenlighted the Trump administration's request to pause a lower court ruling requiring the government to turn over its layoff and reorganization plans in the case disputing whether the president can lawfully reshape federal agencies without congressional approval.

  • July 23, 2025

    False Ad Ruling Expanded Patent Law, Crocs Tells Justices

    Shoemaker Crocs Inc. has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to look at a Federal Circuit decision reviving false advertising claims that its shoes were made with "patented, proprietary, and exclusive" materials that weren't actually patented, arguing that the ruling would allow an "end run" around Congress' limitations on false marking suits.

  • July 23, 2025

    6th Circ. Questions Officials On Search: 'Pretty Darn Obvious'

    Sixth Circuit judges on Wednesday grilled Michigan zoning and building officials seeking immunity from an improper-search lawsuit, repeatedly suggesting it was "obvious" the officials should have known they were crossing property lines to look at dwellings and areas protected by the Fourth Amendment.

  • July 23, 2025

    FWS Wrongly Approved Bird-Harming Pesticide, Judge Says

    A North Carolina judge on Wednesday revoked the federal government's approval of a pesticide that is toxic to birds for use as an algal bloom control measure at a lake in a wildlife refuge, saying regulators bungled the environmental review.

  • July 23, 2025

    Creek High Court Grants Freedmen Descendants Citizenship

    The (Muscogee) Creek Nation Supreme Court on Wednesday upheld a lower court's decision to give citizenship to two descendants of those once enslaved by the tribe, saying a 19th century treaty that required the Five Civilized Tribes to abolish slavery should have applied to their applications seven years ago.

  • July 23, 2025

    11th Circ. Throws Cold Water On Ga. County's Spaceport Suit

    An Eleventh Circuit panel signaled Wednesday that it was not buying a Georgia county's claims that it should be able to claw back $2.6 million it put down on a property where it intended to construct a commercial spaceport after the county's voters repealed authorization for the project in a referendum.

  • July 23, 2025

    SEC Asks 8th Circ. To Rule On Abandoned Climate Regs

    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission asked the Eighth Circuit on Wednesday to decide the fate of Biden-era climate disclosure rules that the agency has said it will no longer defend against challenges brought by Republican-led states and business interests.

  • July 23, 2025

    Feds Seek 15 Months For Lobbyist Over Madigan Scheme

    Federal prosecutors have urged an Illinois federal judge to sentence ex-ComEd lobbyist Jay Doherty to one year and three months in prison for his "critical role" in a scheme to bribe former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan, whose associates were paid as "subcontractors" under Doherty's lobbying contract with the utility even though they did little to no work.

  • July 23, 2025

    Senate Confirms Another Missouri Judge

    The Senate voted 49-47 on Wednesday evening to confirm assistant U.S. Attorney Zachary Bluestone to serve on the Eastern District of Missouri.

  • July 23, 2025

    UK Eyes Google, Apple Mandates For App Ranking, Payments

    United Kingdom antitrust authorities on Wednesday formally proposed singling out Apple's and Google's mobile platforms for extra regulatory attention and specific mandates, proposing road maps for the Play Store and App Store that could try to stop the companies from boosting their own apps and commission-based payment systems.

  • July 23, 2025

    Wash. Counties Can Sue State Over Public Defense Funding

    A Washington state appeals court has ruled that a coalition of counties has standing to sue the state to force it to provide adequate funding for indigent defense services, saying the coalition had shown that it had been harmed by the current funding system.

  • July 23, 2025

    Ore. Tax Court Upholds Farm Value Over Owner's Claim

    An Oregon farm owner failed to show that his property was overvalued by a local assessor, the state tax court said, rejecting the owner's argument that the assessor misclassified the soil on the land.

  • July 23, 2025

    Judge Bars Man's Deportation Amid Claims ICE Flouted Deal

    The owner of a small Massachusetts construction business who is being held in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody may not be moved out of the state while a federal judge considers if the government is violating a January settlement by trying to deport him, according to a Wednesday court order.

  • July 23, 2025

    Split Conn. High Court OKs Eyewitness ID In Armed Robbery

    Connecticut's Supreme Court has narrowly ruled that in the case of a masked armed robbery at a Smashburger, though a victim may have been scared, high, not wearing glasses and directed toward a suspect, her identification of the perpetrator was reliable.

  • July 23, 2025

    PTAB Ends Remote Hearings Beginning Sept. 1

    The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office is mandating that all Patent Trial and Appeal Board proceedings take place in person, starting Sept. 1.

  • July 23, 2025

    NLRB Precedent Shifts Still Far Away Despite Nominees

    The freeze that has gripped the National Labor Relations Board during the first six months of the year showed signs of thawing last week as nominees took key steps forward, but experts said there are still major hurdles they must clear before the board can return to normal function.

  • July 23, 2025

    Democratic Lawmaker Reintroduces Cannabis Shipping Bill

    A Democratic member of Congress has reintroduced a federal bill that would allow small cannabis farms to mail their products directly to customers in other states with legalized cannabis if and when federal marijuana prohibition ends.

  • July 23, 2025

    Sen. Collins Opposes Bove For 3rd Circ. Over Bias Concerns

    Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, will oppose the confirmation of Emil Bove to the Third Circuit, and Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, has also indicated her likely opposition.

  • July 23, 2025

    Ex-Real Estate Finance Pro Tapped For OCC Chief Of Staff

    President Donald Trump's top national bank regulator has hired a new chief of staff, bringing on a former federal housing finance official from the private sector to help steer policy coordination and internal operations at the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the agency said Wednesday.

  • July 23, 2025

    NJ Comptroller Flags $34M Hole, Targets Lifeguard Pensions

    The New Jersey Office of the State Comptroller recommended Wednesday that the state legislature scrap a law mandating a handful of shore towns provide pensions to lifeguards after it found some municipalities underfunded the plans and face deficits of more than $34 million.

  • July 23, 2025

    High Court Lets Trump Fire CPSC Members, For Now

    The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that President Donald Trump could fire three members of the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, even though a Maryland federal judge found that the president lacked authority to remove them without cause.

  • July 23, 2025

    Takeaways From The US Attorney Role Tumult In New Jersey

    The U.S. Attorney's Office in New Jersey was thrown into turmoil Tuesday with a leadership dispute that remained open Wednesday, teeing up a battle between the White House and the Garden State's senators on Capitol Hill.

Expert Analysis

  • Assessing Impact Of USPTO's New Patent Policies

    Author Photo

    Recent data shows how the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's new patent policies are affecting America Invents Act trial institution rates, including spurring an uptick in discretionary denials, say attorneys at Armond Wilson.

  • What US Medicine Onshoring Means For Indian Life Sciences

    Author Photo

    Despite the Trump administration's latest moves to onshore essential medicine manufacturing, India will likely remain an indispensable component of the U.S. drug supply chain, but Indian manufacturers should prepare for stricter compliance checks, says Jashaswi Ghosh at Holon Law Partners.

  • APA Relief May Blunt Justices' Universal Injunction Ruling

    Author Photo

    The Administrative Procedure Act’s avenue for universal preliminary relief seems to hold the most promise for neutralizing the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Trump v. CASA to limit federal district courts' nationally applicable orders, say attorneys at Crowell.

  • Wells Fargo Suit Shows Consumer Protection Limits In Mass.

    Author Photo

    The Massachusetts Appeals Court's May decision in Wells Fargo Bank v. Coulsey underscores that consumer rights are balanced against the need for closure, and even the broad protections of state consumer protection law will not open the door to relitigating the same claims, say attorneys at Greenberg Traurig.

  • Series

    Ohio Banking Brief: All The Notable Legal Updates In Q2

    Author Photo

    Ohio's financial services sector saw several significant developments in the second quarter of 2025, including a case that confirmed credit unions' setoff rights, another that established contract rights between banks and cardholders, and the House passage of a digital asset bill, say attorneys at Frost Brown.

  • Building Better Earnouts In The Current M&A Climate

    Author Photo

    In the face of market uncertainty, we've seen a continued reliance on earnouts in M&A deals so far this year, but to reduce the risk of related litigation, it's important to use objective standards, apply company metrics cautiously and ensure short time periods, among other best practices, say attorneys at White & Case.

  • Managing Risks As State AGs Seek To Fill Enforcement Gap

    Author Photo

    Given an unprecedented surge in state attorney general activity resulting from significant shifts in federal enforcement priorities, companies must consider tailored strategies for navigating the ever-evolving risk landscape, say attorneys at Cozen O'Connor.

  • A Deep Dive Into 14 Nixed Gensler-Era SEC Rule Proposals

    Author Photo

    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission last month formally withdrew 14 notices of proposed rulemaking, including several significant and widely criticized proposals that had been issued under former Chair Gary Gensler's leadership, signaling a clear and definitive shift away from the previous administration, say attorneys at Dechert.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: Skillful Persuasion

    Author Photo

    In many ways, law school teaches us how to argue, but when the ultimate goal is to get your client what they want, being persuasive through preparation and humility is the more likely key to success, says Michael Friedland at Friedland Cianfrani.

  • A Look At Trump 2.0 Antitrust Enforcement So Far

    Author Photo

    The first six months of President Donald Trump's second administration were marked by aggressive antitrust enforcement tempered by traditional structural remedies for mergers, but other unprecedented actions, like the firing of Federal Trade Commission Democrats, will likely stoke heated discussion ahead, says Richard Dagen at Axinn.

  • Reform Partly Modernizes Small Biz Stock Gains Exclusion

    Author Photo

    Changes to the Internal Revenue Code in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act update the qualified small business stock gains exclusion to reflect inflation, but the regime would be more in line with current business realities if Congress had also made the exemption available to additional business structures, says Mark Parthemer at Glenmede.

  • Breaking Down Novel Va. Social Media Law For Minors

    Author Photo

    While a Virginia bill passed in May is notable for setting a one-hour daily limit on minors' use of social media, other provisions create compliance burdens for social media operators and app store providers, and increase privacy and security risks associated with the collection of sensitive information to prove identity, says Jenna Rode at Hunton.

  • Lessons From Crackdown On Mexican Banks With Cartel Ties

    Author Photo

    Recent U.S. Treasury Department orders excluding three major Mexican financial institutions from the U.S. banking system for laundering drug cartel money and processing payments for fentanyl precursor chemicals offer guidance for companies in reviewing their procedures and controls to ensure they are not the next targets, say attorneys at Paul Weiss.

  • Litigation Inspiration: How To Respond After A Loss

    Author Photo

    Every litigator loses a case now and then, and the sting of that loss can become a medicine that strengthens or a poison that corrodes, depending on how the attorney responds, says Bennett Rawicki at Hilgers Graben.

  • Tips For Cos. From California Climate Reporting FAQ

    Author Photo

    New guidance from the California Air Resources Board on how businesses must implement the state's sweeping climate reporting requirements should help companies assess their exposure, understand their disclosure obligations and begin documenting good-faith compliance efforts, says Thierry Montoya at Frost Brown.

Want to publish in Law360?


Submit an idea

Have a news tip?


Contact us here