Public Policy

November 19, 2025
Tax Court Substance Ruling Offers Silver Lining For Taxpayers

Even though the U.S. Tax Court upheld stiff penalties under the economic substance doctrine against an eye doctor's microcaptive arrangements, the opinion generally favored taxpayers by clarifying that the IRS faces limits on when it can invoke the doctrine to audit transactions.
November 19, 2025
'Wrongly Decided' Case Backs Insurer Loss, Mich. Panel Says

An insurer is statutorily barred from suing an auto shop to recoup personal injury protection benefits it paid to policyholders injured in a crash, a Michigan state appeals court affirmed, though saying it is bound by a 1993 case it believes was "wrongly decided" and should be reviewed.
November 19, 2025
Halligan Says Grand Jury Never Saw Final Comey Indictment

U.S. Attorney Lindsey Halligan acknowledged Wednesday that the full grand jury in the James Comey case never saw or voted on the final version of the indictment that was handed up to the court in the case. An attorney for Comey said the clarification was grounds for dismissal.
November 19, 2025
Tribes Challenge Oklahoma Over Hunting, Fishing Rights

A trio of Oklahoma Indigenous nations are asking a federal district court to declare that they have the right to hunt and fish on their reservation lands, arguing that the state is violating their treaty rights and inherent sovereign authority by prosecuting their members.
November 19, 2025
Air Force Asks Justices To Nix Guam Munitions Disposal Suit

The U.S. Air Force is urging the Supreme Court to sink a Guam community group's challenge to the branch's request for a renewed permit to explode expired munitions on the island.
November 19, 2025
Pfizer To Pay $41.5M To Settle Adulterated ADHD Drug Claims

Pfizer Inc. and Tris Pharma Inc. agreed Wednesday to cough up $41.5 million to settle claims brought by Texas that it gave adulterated ADHD drugs to children, ending a lawsuit alleging the companies violated a state healthcare fraud law.
November 19, 2025
Conn. Officials Say Feds' Bill Moots Challenge To Hemp Law

Connecticut state officials are urging a federal court to throw out a suit from hemp producers challenging the state's regulation of intoxicating hemp products, saying the redefinition of hemp in the recently signed bill reopening the government is even stricter than the state's regulations, making the case moot.
November 19, 2025
Trump's Global Tariffs Curtailed Trade, Data Shows

U.S. imports dropped by 5.1% in August, the month when many of President Donald Trump's global tariffs took effect, according to data released Wednesday by the Bureau of Economic Analysis.
November 19, 2025
Trump's New Pick For CFPB Director Is OMB Energy Official

President Donald Trump has tapped an energy official at the Office of Management and Budget to become permanent director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, a key regulator whose future remains in doubt after months of turmoil and dwindling finances.
November 19, 2025
Trump Taps Norton Rose Atty To Be EEOC General Counsel

President Donald Trump has nominated Norton Rose Fulbright's global labor and employment head to serve a four-year term as general counsel of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
November 18, 2025
Fed Pushes To Shift Oversight Focus In Examiner Guidance

The Federal Reserve shared new internal guidance Tuesday that directs its examiners to concentrate on material financial risks to banks and not get "distracted" by process concerns, deepening a policy shift that is drawing sharp rebuke from Fed Gov. Michael Barr.
November 18, 2025
CFPB's Gradler Takes Deputy Post Amid Agency Uncertainty

Geof Gradler, a former industry lobbyist who recently joined the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's front office, said that he is taking over as the agency's deputy director, a job that positions him as a potential successor to acting director Russell Vought.
November 18, 2025
DHS Unlikely To Exit Suit Over Protected Status Terminations

A California federal judge Tuesday tentatively denied the government's request to dismiss a class action challenging Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem's termination of temporary protection status for immigrants from three countries, expressing disbelief at the government's assertion during the hearing that Noem's discretion is "unfettered" and "unreviewable."
November 18, 2025
Broadband Permit Reforms Survive House Subcommittee

The House Communications and Technology Subcommittee had a productive morning Tuesday, consolidating 28 bills largely related to broadband permitting into seven and passing them along to the full committee for review.
November 18, 2025
Delaware Chancery Atty Fee Awards Under Fire In New Report

Attorney fees in Delaware's Court of Chancery lack "consistent benchmarks" and, for big awards, may fail to reflect "risk or performance," according to a report Tuesday that potentially ratchets up pressure on state lawmakers wary of jeopardizing Delaware's standing as the national hub for corporate law disputes.
November 18, 2025
9th Circ. Halts 1 Of 2 Calif. Corporate Climate Disclosure Laws

The Ninth Circuit on Tuesday blocked a new California law requiring large companies to publicly disclose financial risks tied to climate change, barring enforcement as an appeal by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and other business groups challenging the policy unfolds in federal appellate court.
November 18, 2025
NTSB Flags Vessel's Loose Wire In Key Bridge Collapse Probe

A single loose wire triggered a power failure aboard the container carrier that slammed into Baltimore's Francis Scott Key Bridge last year, and the absence of an effective warning system didn't give construction workers enough time to clear the collapsing bridge, the National Transportation Safety Board determined Tuesday.
November 18, 2025
Judge Says Texas, Toronto Exchange Logos Seem Dissimilar

A Texas federal judge expressed skepticism that the Toronto Stock Exchange has much of a leg to stand on in its attempt to get the Texas Stock Exchange to change its logo, saying during a hearing Tuesday that the logos look dissimilar enough for most people to tell the difference.
November 18, 2025
Colo. High Court Weighs Test For Political Donor Disclosures

Colorado Supreme Court justices pushed attorneys Tuesday on how the court should measure a political organization's spending and efforts on ballot measures in determining whether a conservative political group fined for not disclosing donors after spending millions on state ballot questions in Colorado's 2020 election qualifies as an "issue committee" that must disclose its donors.
November 18, 2025
Trump Admin May Be Overpromising WOTUS Clarity

The Trump administration says its proposal to shrink the Clean Water Act's reach would reduce regulatory burdens and provide clarity to farmers, homebuilders and other businesses, but it could face court challenges and potential reworking by future administrations.
November 18, 2025
FDIC Says Capital One Is 'Turning Back Time' With Fee Fight

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. has accused Capital One of trying to "turn back time" by retroactively distributing $56 billion and claiming it was erroneously included in the FDIC's fee calculations, in order to dodge roughly $99 million in special assessments tied to the 2023 regional bank crisis.
November 18, 2025
Colo. Justices Unsure On Limits For Borrowing Claims Rule

Colorado Supreme Court justices on Tuesday grappled with when an attorney has satisfied their requirements under Colorado law to conduct a "reasonable inquiry" when including pleadings from other litigation during oral arguments in CenturyLink's petition to have a securities class action dismissed for including anonymous claims from a different lawsuit.
November 18, 2025
Over-Detentions Are Jail's 'Worst-Kept Secret,' Judge Told

An attorney for people who allege they were unlawfully kept at a county jail for days after a court ordered their release told a Michigan federal judge Tuesday not to dismiss their due process claims, saying that release delays were the "worst-kept secret."
November 18, 2025
Severe SC Abortion Bill Falters in Committee

A South Carolina bill that would have further criminalized abortion and subjected patients and doctors to up to 30 years in prison failed to advance out of a Senate committee on Tuesday, with antiabortion committee members raising concerns that the bill went too far.
November 18, 2025
Groups Seek More Time To Comment On SEC's RMBS Plan

The Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association is among those calling for the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to grant more time to provide feedback on a plan that could change how the agency regulates residential mortgage-backed securities, citing the recent government shutdown as a reason for extending the deadline.

Editor's Picks

Trump's Legal Battles

States, federal employee unions, various advocacy groups and several individuals have filed over 220 lawsuits challenging the Trump administration's implementation of executive orders and other initiatives. Law360 has created a database of those lawsuits, separated into categories based on their subject matter.

Expert Analysis

Surveying The Healthcare Policy Landscape Post-Shutdown

With last week's agreement to reopen the federal government, at least through the end of January, key healthcare legislation that has been in limbo since a December 2024 spending bill fell apart may recapture the attention of Congress, say attorneys at Faegre Drinker.
FDA Biosimilar Guidance Should Ease Biologics Development

New draft guidance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, indicating that the agency may no longer routinely require comparative efficacy studies when other evidence provides sufficient assurance of biosimilarity, underscores the FDA's trust in analytical technology as a driver of biologics access, say attorneys at Hogan Lovells.
Preparing For Treasury's Small Biz Certification Audits

To prepare for the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s recently announced audit of small and disadvantaged government contractors, companies should assess the records that supported their prior certifications and confirm their current eligibility, particularly if they share ownership with another entity or were recently acquired, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.
4chan's US Lawsuit May Affect UK Online Safety Law Reach

4chan and Kiwi Farms’ pending case against the Office of Communications in a D.C. federal court, arguing that their constitutional rights have been violated, could have far-reaching implications for the extraterritorial enforcement of the U.K. Online Safety Act and other laws if successful, say lawyers at Taylor Wessing.
Litigation Funding Could Create Ethics Issues For Attorneys

A litigation investor’s recent complaint claiming a New York mass torts lawyer effectively ran a Ponzi scheme illustrates how litigation funding arrangements can subject attorneys to legal ethics dilemmas and potential liability, so engagement letters must have very clear terms, says Matthew Feinberg at Goldberg Segalla.
Ill. State Farm Suit Tests State Insurance Data Demand Limits

The Illinois Department of Insurance's recently filed suit against State Farm, seeking nationwide data on its homeowners insurance, raises important issues as to the breadth, and possible overreach, of a state's regulatory authority, says Stephanie Pierce at Kutak Rock.
How New FinCEN FAQs Simplify Suspicious Activity Reporting

New guidance from the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network and federal banking agencies that gives financial institutions more flexibility in meeting suspicious activity reporting obligations indicates the administration is following through on its promise to streamline the U.S. anti-money laundering regime, say attorneys at Davis Polk.
What Shutdown's End Means For Worker Safety Enforcement

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration and Mine Safety and Health Administration may emerge from the government shutdown struggling to juggle complaint backlogs, litigation delays and newly enacted policies with a reduced and demoralized workforce, so employers should stay alert, say attorneys at Conn Maciel.
SEC's Dual Share Class Approval Signals New Era For ETFs

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's recent approval of the dual share class structure marks a landmark moment for the U.S. fund industry, opening the door for asset managers to benefit from combining mutual fund and exchange-traded fund share classes under a single portfolio, say Ilan Guedj at Bates White and Brian Henderson at George Washington University.
Calif. Species Protections Will Increase Compliance Burdens

California's recently enacted A.B. 1319 automatically protects species when the federal government rolls back its own protections — which could mean an onslaught of state-level compliance mandates for the regulated community that come with no advance notice or public hearings, says attorney David Smith.
E-Discovery Quarterly: Recent Rulings On Dynamic Databases

Several recent federal court decisions illustrate how parties continue to grapple with the discovery of data in dynamic databases, so counsel involved in these disputes must consider how structured data should be produced consistent with the requirements of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, say attorneys at Sidley.
Assessing The SEC's Changing Approach To NFT Regulation

Early U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission actions on nonfungible tokens pushed for broad regulation, but subsequent court decisions — including a recent California federal court ruling in Adonis Real v. Yuga Labs — and SEC commissioners' statements have narrowed the regulatory focus toward a more fact-specific approach, say attorneys at Wilson Elser.
Comey Case Highlights Complex Speedy Trial Rights Calculus

Former FBI Director James Comey’s decision to waive his Speedy Trial Act rights in the false statement prosecution against him serves as a reminder that the benefits of invoking these rights are usually outweighed by the risks of inadequate preparation, but it can be an effective strategy in the right case, says Sara Kropf at Kropf Moseley.
Breaking Down Article 12 Of The Uniform Commercial Code

Thirty-two states and the District of Columbia have enacted Article 12 of the Uniform Commercial Code, providing the alternative to perfection by control of assets like cryptocurrency and nonfungible tokens, but before accepting these assets as collateral, lenders and creditors should consider how to best maintain priority, say attorneys at Miller Nash.
Why Foreign Cos. Should Prep For Increased SEC Oversight

With the recent trading suspensions of 10 foreign-based issuers listed on the Nasdaq, an enforcement action against a U.K. security-based swap dealer and the announcement of a cross-border task force, it's clear that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission will expand oversight on foreign companies participating in the U.S. capital markets, says Tejal Shah at Cooley.