Public Policy

  • June 27, 2025

    Grassley Plots Next Moves After Nationwide Injunction Ruling

    Following the U.S. Supreme Court's decision Friday significantly limiting federal judges' ability to issue injunctions affecting parties outside a case, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley is gearing up to further rein in judges with the Republicans' budget bill and standalone legislation.

  • June 27, 2025

    DOL Says No More Liquidated Damages In Wage-Hour Probes

    The U.S. Department of Labor said Friday it would no longer seek liquidated damages in wage and hour investigations, marking a shift away from its approach under the Biden administration. 

  • June 27, 2025

    Afghan Can't Halt Removal In Biden-Era Asylum Rule Suit

    A D.C. federal judge has denied a bid by an Afghan asylum-seeker to stay his imminent removal while he challenges a Biden-era rule allowing asylum officers to quickly deny requests if a mandatory bar to asylum exists.

  • June 27, 2025

    FDIC, OCC Join Fed In Pitching Plan To Ease Leverage Rule

    A Federal Reserve-backed proposal to relax a key leverage rule for the nation's biggest banks moved forward to the public comment stage Friday after securing approvals from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.

  • June 27, 2025

    Feds Say Minn. 'Jumped The Gun' In Trans Athlete Policy Suit

    The Trump administration is looking to snuff out a Minnesota lawsuit over its threats to pull federal funds in connection with the state's transgender athlete policies, telling a federal judge that the challenge is premature because no final action has been decided.

  • June 27, 2025

    DC Judge Says Teen Health Projects Can 'Shutter' Temporarily

    Five Planned Parenthood affiliates will not be irreparably harmed by changes to federal guidance for teen health programs instructing grantees to demonstrate alignment with executive orders from the Trump administration rejecting transgender identity and diversity programs, a D.C. federal judge has ruled.

  • June 27, 2025

    Wireless Co. Says Feds Breached 'Rip And Replace' Promise

    Illinois-based SI Wireless LLC told a Court of Federal Claims judge the U.S. government breached a promise to reimburse it for removing Chinese-made equipment deemed a national security risk from its telecommunications network and has failed to follow through with nearly $157 million in payments.

  • June 27, 2025

    No Federal Agency Can Enforce WilmerHale EO, Judge Says

    A D.C. federal judge on Thursday amended his decision in the WilmerHale executive order litigation, clarifying amid disagreement among the parties that the underlying executive order cannot be enforced by any federal agency.

  • June 27, 2025

    US, China Finalize Part Of Trade Agreement

    The U.S. and China recently finalized an agreement to remove certain American trade barriers in exchange for jumpstarting critical Chinese export approvals, according to remarks made by Chinese government officials Friday.

  • June 27, 2025

    Idaho Justices Dismiss Suit Over Skier's Death On Slopes

    The Idaho Supreme Court has dismissed a widow's suit against Sun Valley Co. alleging the company was negligent and liable for the death of her husband from hitting a snow machine while skiing, finding that the machine was clearly marked in keeping with state law, and the skier had assumed the risks of the sport.

  • June 27, 2025

    UK Joins Arbitration Appeals Alternative Amid WTO Paralysis

    The U.K. has officially joined a World Trade Organization-led contingency plan designed to keep the door open for appeals in international trade disputes, despite the continued dormancy of the WTO Appellate Body.

  • June 27, 2025

    Newsom Sues Fox News Over Alleged Lies About Trump Call

    California Gov. Gavin C. Newsom hit Fox News with a defamation suit in a Delaware court Friday, seeking $787 million in damages for the network's alleged "smearing" of him in reports on a dispute over details of the Democratic governor's June 6 phone call with President Donald Trump.

  • June 27, 2025

    3 DOL Policy Shifts On Benefits Attys' Radar

    Since President Donald Trump's administration took over in January, the U.S. Department of Labor has changed its tack on several issues related to employee benefits. Here, Law360 looks at three moves that caught lawyers' attention.

  • June 27, 2025

    DOJ Tax Division To Split Criminal, Civil Units, Official Says

    The U.S. Department of Justice aims to finalize a reorganization plan for its Tax Division by summer's end that would separate the criminal and civil tax functions and relocate them to the department's main branches, a department official said Friday.

  • June 27, 2025

    Justices Punt La. Voting Rights Case Despite Thomas Dissent

    The U.S. Supreme Court surprisingly declined Friday to resolve a yearslong saga over voting rights and alleged racial gerrymandering, ordering new arguments over Louisiana's controversial congressional districts despite an impassioned protest from Justice Clarence Thomas.

  • June 27, 2025

    Justices Uphold Texas Law Requiring Porn Site Age Checks

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday said a Texas law requiring pornographic websites to verify visitors' ages could take effect, agreeing with a divided Fifth Circuit's decision to vacate an injunction while using a different standard of judicial review to evaluate the statute.

  • June 27, 2025

    Justices Say Md. Must Allow LGBTQ Storybook Opt-Out

    The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Friday that a Maryland school district burdened parents' religious rights when it declined to provide opt-outs from a policy that introduced LGBTQ-themed storybooks into its K-12 English curriculum.

  • June 27, 2025

    Justices Salvage FCC Subsidy Fees, Reversing 5th Circ.

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday upheld the funding mechanism for the Federal Communications Commission's $9 billion Universal Service Fund used to subsidize low-income phone service, rural broadband, and school, library and healthcare telecommunications connectivity.

  • June 27, 2025

    Justices Back Task Force That Sets ACA Care Requirements

    The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Friday that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' secretary had authority over a preventive care task force, rejecting a constitutional challenge to an Affordable Care Act clause that requires health insurers to cover certain treatments at no cost to patients.

  • June 27, 2025

    Justices Limit Universal Injunctions But Defer On Citizenship

    The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Friday that President Donald Trump can partially implement his executive order aimed at limiting birthright citizenship, in a ruling that significantly limits the ability of federal district court judges to issue nationally applicable orders against presidential edicts and policy initiatives.

  • June 26, 2025

    Trump DOJ Eyes Algorithmic Collusion, Welcomes 'Little Tech'

    Tackling algorithmic pricing collusion in the healthcare and housing markets and welcoming pro-competitive mergers of "Little Tech" are among the U.S. Department of Justice's plans for protecting consumers in today's digital markets, the top deputy for the DOJ's antitrust division told privacy professionals on Thursday.

  • June 26, 2025

    Stewart Clarifies Settled Expectations In Denying Intel IPRs

    Leaders at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office discretionarily denied 13 more petitions for inter partes review on Thursday, where the acting director offered more guidance on how she's deciding when a patent owner can rest on settled expectations that its patent wouldn't be challenged.

  • June 26, 2025

    FTC OKs $1.6B Gas Station Deal, With Divestiture Of 35 Stores

    The Federal Trade Commission announced Thursday an agreement resolving antitrust concerns regarding Alimentation Couche-Tard's proposed $1.57 billion acquisition of 270 fuel stations from grocery chain Giant Eagle, requiring the Canadian convenience store company to divest 35 gas stations.

  • June 26, 2025

    Phillip Morris Moves To Arbitrate Rivals' Tobacco Deal Suit

    Philip Morris USA is urging a Washington state judge to force arbitration in a dispute with R.J. Reynolds and other tobacco companies over deals delineating billions of dollars in annual payments owed to states under Big Tobacco's 1998 master settlement agreement.

  • June 26, 2025

    DHS Releases Grant Funds After Chicago Suit Targets 'Pause'

    The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has released at least some of the counterterrorism grant fund reimbursements it had recently suspended for Chicago and certain other cities, but Chicago officials say the move isn't enough to end a lawsuit it launched over the allegedly unconstitutional pause.

Expert Analysis

  • Calif. Climate Superfund Bill Faces Legal, Technical Hurdles

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    California could soon join other states in sending the fossil fuel industry a massive bill for the costs of coping with climate change — but its pending climate Superfund legislation, if enacted, is certain to face legal pushback and daunting implementation challenges, says Donald Sobelman at Farella Braun.

  • How Cos. Can Navigate Risks Of New Cartel Terrorist Labels

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    The Trump administration’s recent designation of eight drug cartels as foreign terrorist organizations gives rise to new criminal and civil liabilities for companies that are unwittingly exposed to cartel activity, but businesses can mitigate such risks in a few key ways, say attorneys at Steptoe.

  • Cosmetic Co. Considerations As More States Target PFAS

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    In the first quarter of the year, seven states introduced or passed legislation focused on banning the sale of cosmetics that contain PFAS, making it necessary for businesses to adjust their product testing and supply chain practices, product formulations, marketing strategies, and more, say attorneys at Alston & Bird.

  • What We Lost After SEC Eliminated Regional Director Role

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    Former U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Regional Director Marc Fagel discusses the recent wholesale elimination of the regional director position, the responsibilities of the job itself and why discarding this role highlights how the appearance of creating a more efficient agency may limit the SEC's effectiveness.

  • Mass. Suit Points To New Scrutiny For Home Equity Contracts

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    The Massachusetts attorney general’s recent charge that a lender sold unregulated reverse mortgages shows more regulators are scrutinizing mortgage alternatives like home equity contracts, but a similar case in the Ninth Circuit suggests more courts need to help develop a consensus on these products' legality, say attorneys at Weiner Brodsky.

  • Unpacking Copyright Office's AI Report Amid Admin Shakeups

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    Though recent firings have thrown the U.S. Copyright Office into turmoil, the latest entry in its report on artificial intelligence can serve as a road map for litigants, persuasive authority for courts and input on the legislative process, say attorneys at Epstein Becker.

  • Del. Bill Reflects Nat'l Tug-Of-War Between Cannabis, Alcohol

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    As Delaware's bill targeting hemp-derived THC beverages and ingestible products moves through the general assembly, it reads like a local regulatory fix — but in reality, it's a microcosm of a national power struggle playing out state-by-state across the cannabis frontier, says attorney Peter Murphy.

  • Perspectives

    Reading Tea Leaves In High Court's Criminal Law Decisions

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    The criminal justice decisions the U.S. Supreme Court will announce in the coming weeks will reveal whether last term’s fractured decision-making has continued, an important data point as the justices’ alignment seems to correlate with who benefits from a case’s outcome, says Sharon Fairley at the University of Chicago Law School.

  • $38M Law Firm Settlement Highlights 'Unworthy Client' Perils

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    A recent settlement of claims against law firm Eckert Seamans for allegedly abetting a Ponzi scheme underscores the continuing threat of clients who seek to exploit their lawyers in perpetrating fraud, and the critical importance of preemptive measures to avoid these clients, say attorneys at Lockton Companies.

  • Hints Of Where Enforcement May Grow Under New CFPB

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    Though the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has significantly scaled back enforcement under the new administration, states remain able to pursue Consumer Financial Protection Act violators and the CFPB seems set to enhance its focus on predatory loans to military members and fraudulent debt collection and credit reporting practices, say attorneys at MoFo.

  • Only Certainty About FAR Reform Order Is Its Uncertainty

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    The president’s recent order overhauling the Federal Acquisition Regulation, which both contractors and agencies rely on to ensure predictability and consistency in federal procurement, lacks key details about its implementation, which will likely eliminate many safeguards that ensure contractors are treated fairly and that procurements are awarded in a reasonable manner, say attorneys at Miles & Stockbridge.

  • Maintaining Legal Compliance For GenAI In Life Sciences

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    As companies continue to implement generative artificial intelligence to enhance all phases of drug discovery, they must remain mindful of legal, regulatory and practical considerations as best practices in this space emerge and evolve, say attorneys at Sullivan & Cromwell.

  • Assessing Jurisdictional Issues In 2nd Circ. Bank Audi Case

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    The Second Circuit's reasoning last month in Raad v. Bank Audi that the exercise of personal jurisdiction must be based on conduct taking place within the jurisdiction reminds foreign financial institutions to continually monitor how plaintiffs are advocating for an expansive view of personal jurisdiction in the U.S., say attorneys at Freshfields.

  • Series

    Teaching Business Law Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Teaching business law to college students has rekindled my sense of purpose as a lawyer — I am more mindful of the importance of the rule of law and the benefits of our common law system, which helps me maintain a clearer perspective on work, says David Feldman at Feldman Legal Advisors.

  • Enviro Justice Efforts After Trump's Disparate Impact Order

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    The Trump administration's recent executive order directing the U.S. Department of Justice to unwind disparate impact regulations may end some Biden-era environmental justice initiatives — but it will not end all efforts, whether by state or federal regulators or private litigants, to address issues in environmentally overburdened communities, say attorneys at ArentFox Schiff.

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