Public Policy

  • August 08, 2025

    Pennsylvania Litigation Highlights Of The 1st Half Of 2025

    In the first half of 2025, Pennsylvania judges have created a federal and state court split in a $175 million verdict against Monsanto in Philadelphia's Roundup mass tort, reduced the tax fraud sentence of a member of the family behind an iconic Philadelphia cheesesteak shop and permanently barred a college apparel company from copying Penn State trademarks. 

  • August 08, 2025

    New Jersey Litigation Highlights For The 1st Half Of 2025

    More than halfway through 2025, the New Jersey legal community has seen the state lose its case against one of the most politically connected figures to never hold office, as well as the federal government dropping its case against two former technology executives accused of bribing foreign officials. Here are some of the biggest decisions and ongoing cases to watch for the rest of the year.

  • August 08, 2025

    Texas Modernizes Barratry Ban To Include Online Outreach

    Texas, a state with a long history of outlawing prohibited legal services solicitation — known as barratry — has passed a bill updating its penal code to expand the definition of illegal barratry to cover new media, amid a reported rise in digital solicitation, with the amended law set to take effect on Sept. 1.

  • August 08, 2025

    Massachusetts Sheriff Charged With Extorting Cannabis Shop

    Suffolk County, Massachusetts, Sheriff Steven W. Tompkins was arrested Friday morning in Florida on extortion charges related to his demand for a stake in a cannabis dispensary — and a refund when his shares lost value — federal prosecutors announced.

  • August 07, 2025

    CFPB Mulls Cuts To Oversight Reach In 4 Nonbank Markets

    The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is considering formally scaling back the reach of its nonbank oversight, floating a series of early stage proposals that contemplate sharply reducing the number of firms it would supervise in four key financial services markets.

  • August 07, 2025

    Trump Admin Asks Justices To Halt ICE Arrest Limits In LA

    The Trump administration on Thursday asked the U.S. Supreme Court to pause a California federal court's order temporarily blocking the government from conducting immigration arrests in the Los Angeles area without probable cause, arguing that it threatens officials' ability to enforce immigration laws.

  • August 07, 2025

    Sentencing Commission Plans To Reassess Fraud Guidelines

    The U.S. Sentencing Commission on Wednesday said it will consider potential reforms to the federal sentencing guidelines for fraud offenses, including the outsized role of loss calculation in sentencing, one of several priorities the agency has marked for closer examination.

  • August 07, 2025

    Judge Orders Chemours To Cut Discharges At W.Va. Plant

    A West Virginia federal judge on Thursday ordered Chemours to take any steps needed to stop its Washington Works manufacturing plant from continuing to discharge excessive amounts of a harmful "forever chemical" into the Ohio River.

  • August 07, 2025

    ND Judge Strikes Down Fed's Debit Card Fee Regulation

    A North Dakota federal judge has invalidated the Federal Reserve's regulation limiting certain debit card fees charged in merchant transactions, ruling in favor of a truck stop and convenience store in finding that the Fed had attempted to "improperly repackag[e] the defunct-Chevron deference under a different name."

  • August 07, 2025

    Fox Brands Calif. Gov.'s $787M Defamation Suit 'Spectacle'

    Fox News has asked a Delaware court to toss California Gov. Gavin Newsom's $787 million defamation suit over the network's coverage of his June 6 phone call with President Donald Trump, calling it a "political stunt" and "spectacle" that shouldn't be rewarded.

  • August 07, 2025

    Colo. Court Backs Landlord's Right To 'Fees On Fees'

    In the first Colorado appellate decision to consider whether a prevailing party may recover attorney fees incurred to enforce a contractual fee-shifting provision, a state appellate panel ruled Thursday that a Denver coffee shop's landlord is entitled to an award of such fees.

  • August 07, 2025

    2nd Circ. Says Asylum Status Must Be Current For Green Card

    Asylees seeking green cards must maintain their current asylum status when doing so, a split Second Circuit ruled in a published opinion Thursday, saying two individuals from Egypt and Guatemala couldn't seek lawful permanent residency because their asylum statuses had terminated.

  • August 07, 2025

    9th Circ. Backs Seattle's Win In Housing Ordinance Suit

    The Ninth Circuit affirmed Seattle's lower court victory against a suit filed by landlords challenging a 2017 city housing law that, among other restrictions, prevents landlords from requiring prospective tenants to disclose whether or not they have criminal records.

  • August 07, 2025

    Ga. AG Sues Gov.'s Race Rival Over No-Limit Fundraising

    Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr sued one of his top Republican rivals in the Peach State's 2026 gubernatorial race Thursday, alleging Lt. Gov. Burt Jones reaped an unfair advantage in the contest through a campaign finance vehicle that allows him to raise unlimited amounts of cash.

  • August 07, 2025

    4th Circ. Revives Suit Over Threats To Trans Teen At School

    A split Fourth Circuit panel on Thursday partially revived a grandmother's suit against the Appomattox County School Board and several of its employees over their handling of her grandchild's apparent gender transition, saying she sufficiently alleged that the school acted with "deliberate indifference" to threats against the child.

  • August 07, 2025

    USPTO's Chief Information Officer Leaves Agency

    The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's chief information officer is departing the agency for a job in the private sector, and the deputy CIO is stepping up to fill the position, a spokesperson confirmed to Law360 on Thursday.

  • August 07, 2025

    5th Circ. Strikes Guatemalan's Reentry Reporting Mandate

    A Fifth Circuit panel vacated a condition of a Guatemalan citizen's supervised release that requires him to report to a probation office every time he enters the United States, citing a conflict between the court's oral and written sentencing.

  • August 07, 2025

    HHS Wins Another Round In Medicare Drug Negotiation Battle

    A Texas federal court dealt another blow to the pharmaceutical industry Thursday when it ruled in favor of Medicare's Drug Price Negotiation Program, turning away arguments that the program is unconstitutional — the third such decision in two days.

  • August 07, 2025

    Judge Says Wis. Tribal Roads Must Stay Open

    Four Wisconsin tribal roads at the crux of a yearslong dispute over trespassing allegations must permanently remain open to the public, a federal court judge has ordered, saying there is no doubt that the town of Lac du Flambeau provided maintenance to them for decades despite an expired 50-year easement.

  • August 07, 2025

    Trump Taps Economic Adviser Miran For Fed Board Vacancy

    President Donald Trump said Thursday that he has chosen Stephen Miran, the chairman of his Council of Economic Advisers, to fill a vacancy on the Federal Reserve's Board of Governors until early 2026 while continuing to search for a permanent replacement.

  • August 07, 2025

    VA Axes Union Contracts Covering Thousands Of Workers

    The Department of Veterans Affairs terminated its collective bargaining agreements with several unions representing thousands of employees, and the agency said its decision follows President Donald Trump's executive order looking to end labor contracts across the federal government.

  • August 07, 2025

    Texas Senate OKs Lower Voter-Approval Property Tax Rate

    Texas would reduce its voter-approval property tax rate, the maximum rate a local government may adopt without voter approval, for large taxing units under a bill passed by the state Senate.

  • August 07, 2025

    FCC Chucks Nearly 100 'Outdated' Broadcast Rules

    In a bid to reduce what it considers to be obsolete regulations, the Federal Communications Commission voted Thursday to drop nearly 100 older rules applying to broadcasters from its books.

  • August 07, 2025

    FCC Plans To Narrow Enviro Rules For Broadband Projects

    The Federal Communications Commission on Thursday proposed to make it easier for broadband providers to clear FCC reviews required by the National Environmental Policy Act.

  • August 07, 2025

    10th Circ. Upholds Okla. Law Banning Trans Care For Minors

    The Tenth Circuit declined to block an Oklahoma law banning gender-affirming care for transgender minors, ruling that a recent U.S. Supreme Court opinion backing a similar law from Tennessee undermines state residents' claims that the statute is discriminatory.

Expert Analysis

  • How DOJ's New Data Security Rules Leave HIPAA In The Dust

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    The U.S. Department of Justice's recently effective data security requirements carry profound implications for how healthcare providers collect, store, share and use data — and approach vendor oversight — that go far beyond the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, say attorneys at Nelson Mullins.

  • Opinion

    Section 1983 Has Promise After End Of Nationwide Injunctions

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    After the U.S. Supreme Court recently struck down the practice of nationwide injunctions in Trump v. Casa, Section 1983 civil rights suits can provide a better pathway to hold the government accountable — but this will require reforms to qualified immunity, says Marc Levin at the Council on Criminal Justice.

  • Courts Redefining Software As Product Generates New Risks

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    A recent wave of litigation against social media platforms, chatbot developers and ride-hailing companies has some courts straying from the traditional view of software as a service to redefining software as a product, with significant implications for strict liability exposure, say attorneys at Reed Smith.

  • Trump's 2nd Term Puts Merger Remedies Back On The Table

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    In contrast with the Biden administration, the second Trump administration has signaled a renewed willingness to resolve merger enforcement concerns through remedies from the outset, particularly when the proposed fix is structural, clearly addresses the harm and does not require burdensome oversight, say attorneys at Cooley.

  • Why Bank Regulators' Proposed Leverage Tweak Matters

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    Banking agencies' recent proposal to modify the enhanced supplementary leverage ratio framework applicable to the largest U.S. banks shows the regulators are keen to address concerns that the regulatory capital framework is too restrictive, say attorneys at Moore & Van Allen.

  • Corp. Human Rights Regulatory Landscape Is Fragmented

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    Given the complexity of compliance with nations' overlapping human rights laws, multinational companies need to be cognizant of the evolving approaches to modern slavery transparency, and proposals that could reduce mandatory due diligence and reporting requirements, say attorneys at Simpson Thacher.

  • How Banks Can Harness New Customer ID Rule's Flexibility

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    Banking regulators' update to the customer identification process, allowing banks to collect some information from third parties rather than directly from customers, helps modernize anti-money laundering compliance and carries advantages for financial institutions that embrace the new approach, say attorneys at Bradley Arant.

  • CEQA Reform May Spur More Housing, But Devil Is In Details

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    A recently enacted law reforming the California Environmental Quality Act has been touted by state leaders as a fix for the state's housing crisis — but provisions including a new theoretically optional traffic mitigation fee could offset any potential benefits, says attorney David Smith.

  • Opinion

    Premerger Settlements Don't Meet Standard For Bribery

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    Claims that Paramount’s decision to settle a lawsuit with President Donald Trump while it was undergoing a premerger regulatory review amounts to a quid pro quo misconstrue bribery law and ignore how modern legal departments operate, says Ediberto Román at the Florida International University College of Law.

  • Texas Med Spas Must Prepare For 2 New State Laws

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    Two new laws in Texas — regulating elective intravenous therapy and reforming healthcare noncompetes — mark a pivotal shift in the regulatory framework for medical spas in the state, which must proactively adapt their operations and contractual practices, says Brad Cook at Munsch Hardt.

  • What EPA Chemical Data Deadline Extension Means For Cos.

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    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's extension for manufacturers and importers of 16 chemical substances to report unpublished health and safety studies under the Toxic Substances Control Act could lead to state regulators stepping into the breach, while creating compliance risks and uncertainty for companies, say attorneys at Holland & Knight.

  • Series

    Playing Soccer Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Soccer has become a key contributor to how I approach my work, and the lessons I’ve learned on the pitch about leadership, adaptability, resilience and communication make me better at what I do every day in my legal career, says Whitney O’Byrne at MoFo.

  • How Trump Cybersecurity EO Narrows Biden-Era Standards

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    President Donald Trump recently signed Executive Order No. 14306, which significantly narrows the scope and ambition of a Biden executive order focused on raising federal cybersecurity standards among federal vendors, say attorneys at Jenner & Block.

  • Forced Labor Bans Hold Steady Amid Shifts In Global Trade

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    As businesses try to navigate shifting regulatory trends affecting human rights and sustainability, forced labor import bans present a zone of relative stability, notwithstanding outstanding questions about the future of enforcement, say attorneys at Simpson Thacher.

  • Grappling With Workforce-Related Immigration Enforcement

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    To withstand the tightening of workforce-related immigration rules and the enforcement uptick we are seeing in the U.S. and elsewhere, companies must strike a balance between responding quickly to regulatory changes, and developing proactive strategies that minimize risk, say attorneys at Fragomen.

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