Public Policy

  • April 25, 2025

    Telecom Org. Demands FCC Rethink Copper Retirement

    A group made up of former FCC officials and telecom industry experts is hopping mad about the Federal Communications Commission's move to retire copper lines and move toward newer technology, calling it an "embarrassment of monumental proportions."

  • April 25, 2025

    Patents Commissioner Hits Positive Note On Agency Reforms

    At an event to celebrate World Intellectual Property Day on Friday, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's acting patent division leader acknowledged the changes underway at the agency under the Trump administration, but said one key metric is trending in the right direction: pending patent applications.

  • April 25, 2025

    Seattle Part-Time Judge Censured For Forged Parking Doc

    Washington's judicial conduct board censured a part-time district court judge on Friday and recommended the state's high court oust him from office based on findings that he forged a note embossed with a county seal and another judge's signature stamp to get a parking discount near the Seattle courthouse.

  • April 25, 2025

    Google Ad Tech Judge Wants To Get Moving On Remedies

    The Virginia federal judge overseeing the government's ad tech monopolization case against Google issued an order on Friday calling for a hearing over her concerns about the length of time the sides are requesting to prepare for a trial to determine potential remedies.

  • April 25, 2025

    HHS Says Cuts Target Excess After Judge Seeks More Info

    The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services told a Rhode Island federal judge that a group of states has no basis to challenge the cancellation of billions in grants supporting public health programs because they already received the funds appropriated to them by Congress.

  • April 25, 2025

    Trimmed Challenge To Fla. Lab-Grown Meat Ban Moves Ahead

    A Florida federal judge Friday largely disposed of a food technology company's lawsuit challenging the state's law that bans cultivated, or lab-grown, meat products but kept alive a claim that the law is unconstitutional because it violates the company's right to sell its products through interstate commerce.

  • April 25, 2025

    Trans Prisoners Fight For Care Over New White House Hurdles

    After staff at a New Jersey federal prison told Alishea Sophia Kingdom that, due to an executive order by President Donald Trump, she would no longer be receiving hormone therapy to treat gender dysphoria, Kingdom lodged the latest in a series of suits against the Federal Bureau of Prisons that contend following the executive order violates the Eighth Amendment's prohibition of cruel and unusual punishment.

  • April 25, 2025

    DHS Ordered To Restore Visa Status For More Wash. Students

    A federal judge on Friday ordered the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to temporarily restore student visa status for four more international students in Washington state, on the same day the Trump administration said it would restore thousands of foreign students' visa records that had been abruptly terminated.

  • April 25, 2025

    Interior's Energy Permits Plan Has Legal And Practical Risks

    The U.S. Department of the Interior's plan to truncate environmental reviews and accelerate the approval process for certain energy projects could be vulnerable to lawsuits, given the legwork needed to ensure project reviews are sufficient.

  • April 25, 2025

    Tort Report: Texas Justices Set Dram Shop Standard

    The Texas Supreme Court's clarification of a bar's liability in a suit over the alleged overserving of alcohol and a suit over a Boeing whistleblower's suicide lead Law360's Tort Report, which compiles recent personal injury and medical malpractice news that may have flown under the radar.

  • April 25, 2025

    Judge Asks How Ed Dept. Can Fulfill Mandates Without Staff

    A Massachusetts federal judge on Friday appeared skeptical of arguments by the Trump administration that it can continue delivering legally mandated services without reinstating hundreds of U.S. Department of Education employees who were fired last month.

  • April 25, 2025

    Judge Blocks Trump Order Limiting Fed. Worker Bargaining

    A Washington, D.C., federal judge on Friday blocked President Donald Trump's order last month seeking to end collective bargaining for workers at more than a dozen federal agencies with national security roles, two days after suggesting during oral arguments that Trump's order was retaliatory.

  • April 25, 2025

    Feds Fight Unions' Bid To Reverse Cuts To FMCS

    A group of unions lack standing to ask a New York federal judge to reverse staffing cuts and field office closures at the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, the federal government has argued, opposing the group's bid for an injunction undoing the shrinkage of the labor-management dispute resolution agency.

  • April 25, 2025

    Low-Power Stations Seek To Avoid Next-Gen TV Mandate

    Low-power TV broadcasters are urging the Federal Communications Commission not to force stations like theirs to transition to "NextGen TV," calling the consumer uptake of NextGen-enabled televisions "laughable" and saying advancements are still being made in standard HDTV technology.

  • April 25, 2025

    Feds Say Tariff Fight Belongs In International Trade Court

    The Trump administration wants to litigate a challenge to its tariffs in a federal trade court, not the D.C. district court, arguing that the U.S. Court of International Trade is the only venue with jurisdiction to hear the case.

  • April 25, 2025

    Sen. Crapo Calls Exec Session For Commerce, Treasury Noms

    U.S. Senate Finance Committee Chairman Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, announced Friday that it will hold an executive session Tuesday to consider President Donald Trump's picks for roles at the U.S. Department of Commerce and U.S. Department of the Treasury.

  • April 25, 2025

    Hemp Co. Says Seller Can't Pass Buck On Pot Arrest

    A hemp company and its affiliates are urging a Wisconsin federal court to throw out a seller's claim that his shop was raided and he was convicted of drug possession because their products were falsely labeled as legal hemp, saying that the complaint fails to show the products had anything to do with the arrest.

  • April 25, 2025

    Is The 'Prevailing Party' Over For Civil Rights Attys?

    The U.S. Supreme Court's ruling that preliminary injunctions don't entitle civil rights plaintiffs to recoup attorney fees was partly an attempt to reduce lengthy fee litigation, but it may have also reduced litigants' ability to vindicate their rights in court.

  • April 25, 2025

    With $1.2M Deal, Pattern Of NY Prison Abuse Cases Emerges

    A New York man who says prison guards tortured him during a medical emergency recently secured a $1.2 million settlement — one of the largest known payouts for abuse in state custody — as part of litigation that exposed a correction officer's alleged recurrent violent behavior.

  • April 25, 2025

    Broadcasters Oppose FCC Adding New Local Notice Regs

    Broadcasters said they don't like the idea of new local notice requirements for some types of new stations as part of a Federal Communications Commission plan to otherwise cut down on rules covering the industry that it believes are no longer needed.

  • April 25, 2025

    Feds Accused Of Illegal Education Data Collection Rollback

    The Department of Education is defying congressional mandates requiring the collection and analysis of national education data, including by canceling $900 million in data maintenance and collection contracts, educational organizations said in a lawsuit filed in Washington, D.C., federal court.

  • April 25, 2025

    NY Settles Class Action Over Delays In Special Ed Hearings

    New York City and state officials agreed to overhaul how special education complaints are handled, settling a 2020 class action brought by students with disabilities who waited months for crucial services.

  • April 25, 2025

    Trump Pressed To Roll Back Ligado Network Order

    A broad collection of navigation, transportation, weather and agricultural interest groups are urging President Donald Trump and Congress to roll back the Federal Communications Commission's controversial Ligado order, arguing that the company's proposed terrestrial mobile service would cause harmful interference to GPS, satellite communications and weather forecasting services.

  • April 25, 2025

    Ex-Sen. Menendez Can't Avoid Prison During Appeal

    A New York federal judge on Friday refused to allow former U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez and two of the businessmen who purportedly bribed him to avoid prison pending their appeal on a blockbuster corruption conviction.

  • April 25, 2025

    NJ Industrial Remediation Claims Not Time-Barred, Panel Says

    A Garden State appellate panel on Friday revived New Jersey's suit seeking the remediation of a contaminated industrial property in the city of Camden and associated damages, ruling that the state's remediation claims are not time-barred.

Expert Analysis

  • What PFAS-Treated Clothing Tariff Bill Would Mean For Cos.

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    In keeping with a nationwide trend of greater restrictions on per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, legislation pending in the U.S. House of Representatives would remove tariff advantages for PFAS-treated clothing — so businesses would be wise to proactively adapt their supply chains and review contracts to mitigate liability, say attorneys at Alston & Bird.

  • How Tariffs May Affect Proxy Contests This Season

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    While global tariffs imposed by the Trump administration will certainly chill at least some activity this proxy season, and make defending contests significantly easier, there will likely be many new activist investments once there is more economic certainty, meaning more proxy fights this fall, say attorneys at Sidley.

  • Running A Compliant DEI Program After EEOC, DOJ Guidance

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    Following recent guidance from the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the U.S. Department of Justice that operationalized the Trump administration's focus on ending so-called illegal DEI, employers don't need to eliminate DEI programs, but they must ensure that protected characteristics are not considered in employment decisions, say attorneys at Holland & Knight.

  • A Closer Look At New NYSE, Nasdaq Listing Rule Changes

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    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has recently approved changes to the New York Stock Exchange's and the Nasdaq's listing rules on reverse stock splits, minimum share price requirements and required liquidity for initial listings, meaning listed companies facing delisting will have fewer means to regain compliance, say attorneys at Cahill Gordon.

  • Opinion

    GENIUS Act Can Bring Harmony To Crypto-Banking Discord

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    ​​​​​​​By embracing crypto innovation while establishing appropriate guardrails, the so-called GENIUS Act charts a path forward that promotes financial inclusion and technological advancement without compromising stability or constitutional rights, says J.W. Verret at George Mason University's Antonin Scalia Law School.

  • Opinion

    US Reassessment Of OECD Tax Deal Is Right Move

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    The wholesale U.S. reevaluation of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development's global tax deal ordered by President Donald Trump is a positive step that could ultimately create a more durable international tax system, says Anne Gordon at the National Foreign Trade Council.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: Be An Indispensable Associate

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    While law school teaches you to research, write and think critically, it often overlooks the professional skills you will need to make yourself an essential team player when transitioning from a summer to full-time associate, say attorneys at Stinson.

  • The Path Forward For Construction Cos. After Calif. Wildfires

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    The increasing frequency of disastrous wildfires, like those that recently occurred in California, presents a set of complex challenges for the construction industry, including regulatory hurdles and supply chain disruptions that can complicate rebuilding efforts, say attorneys at Cozen O'Connor.

  • What 2nd Trump Admin Means For Ship Pollution Compliance

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    As the second Trump administration's civil and criminal enforcement policies take shape, the maritime industry must ensure it complies with both national and international obligations to prevent oil pollution from seagoing vessels — with preventive efforts and voluntary disclosures being some of the best options for mitigating risk, say attorneys at Holland & Knight.

  • Know The Rules And Costs Of New Fla. Condo Inspection Law

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    Following the first report deadline for a structural integrity law meant to prevent disasters like the 2021 Surfside collapse, Florida condominium associations and unit owners should understand the process of conducting compliant inspections and anticipate new assessments to fund required maintenance, say attorneys at Ball Janik.

  • Mass. AG Emerges As Key Player In Consumer Protection

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    Through enforcement actions and collaborations with other states — including joining a recent amicus brief decrying the defunding of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau — Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell has established herself as a thought leader for consumer protection and corporate accountability, say attorneys at Troutman Pepper.

  • SEC Confidential Review Process Provides Issuers Flexibility

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    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's recently announced enhancements to the process for confidentially submitting draft registration statements will be immediately impactful for issuers seeking to access the public capital markets, and should provide more grounds to explore and plan public offerings, say attorneys at Lowenstein Sandler.

  • Series

    Birding Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Observing and documenting birds in their natural habitats fosters patience, sharpens observational skills and provides moments of pure wonder — qualities that foster personal growth and enrich my legal career, says Allison Raley at Arnall Golden.

  • What Pending FCPA Trials Suggest About DOJ Priorities

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    Following President Donald Trump's executive order in February instructing the U.S. Department of Justice to temporarily pause enforcement of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, developments surrounding five FCPA cases already set for trial provide a glimpse into how the DOJ is attempting to navigate the situation at hand, say attorneys at Covington.

  • Measuring And Mitigating Harm From Discriminatory Taxes

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    In response to new tariffs and other recent "America First Trade Policy" pronouncements, corporations should assess and take steps to minimize their potential exposure to discriminatory and reciprocal tax measures that are likely to come, say economists at Charles River Associates.

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