Public Policy

  • July 29, 2025

    Top Int'l Trade Policy To Watch In The 2nd Half Of 2025

    Pervasive uncertainty surrounds international trade policy as the U.S. takes mercurial swings at the world with tariffs, including a quelled-for-now quasi embargo of China, and while lasting economic fallout hasn't materialized at home, partners abroad are aiming to replace reliance on the American market. Here, Law360 looks ahead at international trade policy during the latter half of one of the most consequential years in the field's history.

  • July 29, 2025

    USDA Seeks End To Pa. Suit Over $13M Food Aid Cut

    The U.S. Department of Agriculture wants a federal judge to throw out a lawsuit filed by Pennsylvania's governor accusing the USDA of haphazardly cutting off $13 million in food aid that supports local farmers.

  • July 29, 2025

    Attys Blast 'Chilling Message' Of Judge Shopping Sanctions

    Three attorneys sanctioned for judge shopping while challenging an Alabama statute that criminalizes gender-affirming care have asked the Eleventh Circuit to clear their names, castigating the process that led to their censure as "so extraordinary as to approach unprecedented."

  • July 29, 2025

    22 States Sue To Block Defunding Of Planned Parenthood

    California and more than 20 other states on Tuesday launched their own legal challenge to budget legislation that halts federal Medicaid funding for Planned Parenthood, alleging the measure illegally targets the organization and violates its First Amendment rights.

  • July 29, 2025

    Congressman Asks Feds To Revisit Ga. Tribes' Recognition

    A Georgia congressman is urging the Interior Department and its Bureau of Indian Affairs to reconsider a decision to deny federal recognition to two of the state's tribes while calling on the BIA to reexamine its criteria for the status, arguing it often overlooks events that fractured Indigenous communities.

  • July 29, 2025

    Judge May Review Classified DOD Evidence In DJI Drone Case

    A D.C. federal judge said he might need to see the U.S. Department of Defense's classified reasoning for listing drone manufacturer SZ DJI Technology as a Chinese military company, suggesting the unredacted evidence might not include enough information to assess whether the listing is justified.

  • July 29, 2025

    Judge Breaks Up Review Of Challenge To New Jersey US Atty

    The chief judge for Pennsylvania's Middle District, who is overseeing a drug trafficking case in New Jersey, on Tuesday evening issued a directive bifurcating a challenge to acting U.S. Attorney Alina Habba's authority in order to analyze whether the defendants are entitled to relief if she was illegally appointed.

  • July 29, 2025

    DOJ's Top Antitrust Deputy, Merger Chief Both Fired

    The U.S. Department of Justice has ousted two of its top Antitrust Division officials, citing insubordination amid growing signs of tension between merger enforcers and the wider Trump administration.

  • July 29, 2025

    Justices Can Fix Circuit Split On Compassionate Release

    The First Step Act drastically reduced the mandatory minimum sentences for certain federal crimes, but it will be up to the U.S. Supreme Court to settle a 6-4 circuit split over whether courts can consider those changes when weighing a prisoner's compassionate release, attorneys tell Law360.

  • July 29, 2025

    Ga. Senators Accuse DA Of 'Stonewalling' In Testimony Fight

    A Georgia Senate committee investigating Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis' prosecution of President Donald Trump and others in an election interference case told the state's Supreme Court that her bid to escape its subpoena for her to testify before the committee seeks "to reward her stonewalling" and "delay tactics."

  • July 29, 2025

    4th Circ. Rejects BofA's Claim Of Tax Offsets After Mergers

    Bank of America cannot use its tax overpayments to offset interest on tax underpayments by Merrill Lynch just because the two companies later merged, the Fourth Circuit affirmed Tuesday in a $163 million case that affects more than 20 years' worth of tax adjustments.

  • July 29, 2025

    Okla. Cannabis Attorney Sues State Bar Over Suspension

    An Oklahoma-based attorney specializing in First Amendment and cannabis law is suing the state's bar association and Supreme Court, alleging that he was wrongfully suspended last year in retaliation for criticizing the bodies.

  • July 29, 2025

    Colo. Conservative Group Says New OT Law Violates TABOR

    Colorado's new overtime law, which requires overtime deducted from federal gross income to be added back to a taxpayer's federal taxable income for state income tax, violates the state's Taxpayer's Bill of Rights, a conservative advocacy group told a state district court.

  • July 29, 2025

    Calif. Allows Retroactive Tax Exclusion For Solar Property

    California will allow the purchaser of a new property a three-year window to apply for a property tax exclusion for solar energy systems under a bill signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom.

  • July 29, 2025

    What To Watch As Deadline Looms For Jay Clayton At SDNY

    The clock is ticking closer to the expiration of Jay Clayton's appointment as interim U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, setting him on a likely collision course with the district's judges, who have the power to vote on whether he can continue overseeing one of the top prosecutorial offices in the country.

  • July 29, 2025

    Judge Wants Docs On Feds' Role In Fla. Detention Center Suit

    A Florida federal judge has said agreements between the federal government and the state concerning the immigrant detention center in the Everglades dubbed "Alligator Alcatraz" could help the court decide if federal environmental laws are at play in a suit from environmental groups.

  • July 29, 2025

    Ark. Law Banning PBM-Owned Pharmacies Put On Ice

    Arkansas can't enforce a law banning pharmacy benefit managers from owning pharmacies in the state, a federal judge ruled, saying that CVS, Express Scripts, Optum and a trade group are likely to succeed on their claims that the statute unlawfully restricts interstate commerce.

  • July 29, 2025

    Federal Cuts Shake Up Clinical Research Funding Landscape

    As the Trump administration makes deep cuts to clinical research funding, healthcare attorneys worry that the delicate balance between federal grants and private investment is at risk. Crowell & Moring LLP partner Linda Malek talks to Law360 Healthcare Authority about the industry's concerns.

  • July 29, 2025

    Key Immigration Policies Of 2025: Midyear Report

    President Donald Trump signed a flurry of immigration-related executive orders on Inauguration Day to sharply curtail asylum at the southern border and lay the groundwork for a sweeping approach to immigration enforcement. Here, Law360 looks at some of the most significant developments in immigration policy this year.

  • July 28, 2025

    9th Circ. Wants More Info On Trump Admin's Arrest Policy

    A Ninth Circuit panel doubted Monday the government's request to lift a ruling blocking the Trump administration from relying on people's perceived ethnicity or job to stop individuals amid immigration raids, with one judge ordering the government to submit more details on whether it has a 3,000 arrests per day quota.

  • July 28, 2025

    Retired Judges Say DOJ Suit 'Threatens' Core Of Judicial Role

    A group of retired federal judges on Monday threw their support behind Maryland federal judges targeted in a Trump administration lawsuit over their habeas petitions standing order, arguing that the suit "threatens the judicial role to its core" and is trying to block judges from employing "a commonplace docket-management technique."

  • July 28, 2025

    New Jersey US Atty Faces Authority Challenge In Drug Case

    A New Jersey man facing federal drug and firearms charges is mounting what appears to be the first formal legal challenge to Alina Habba's continued role as acting U.S. attorney for the District of New Jersey, arguing that her appointment is unlawful and undermines the legitimacy of his prosecution.

  • July 28, 2025

    Apache Women Look To Block Arizona Site's Destruction

    A group of Apache women are looking to block the federal government from transferring their Arizona worship site to a copper mining company, telling a D.C. federal court they will be unable to practice and pass down their religion if the site is destroyed.

  • July 28, 2025

    Bondi Says Judge Boasberg Hit With 'Misconduct Complaint'

    U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi announced Monday that the U.S. Department of Justice filed a "misconduct complaint" against Chief U.S. District Judge James Boasberg, the D.C. federal judge who found probable cause to hold the Trump administration in criminal contempt for violating his order blocking deportations.

  • July 28, 2025

    Amazon Says Geostationary Satellites Causing Interference

    Amazon is asking the Federal Communications Commission to stop authorizing new geostationary satellite operators in the non-geostationary satellite primary bands, complaining that geostationary operators are haphazardly using the spectrum designated for operators like Amazon's planned Kuiper constellation and causing interference.

Expert Analysis

  • Philly Law Initiates New Era Of Worker Protections

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    A new worker protection law in Philadelphia includes, among other measures, a private right of action and recordkeeping requirements that may amount to a lower evidentiary standard, introducing a new level of accountability and additional noncompliance risks for employers, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • Series

    Volunteering At Schools Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Speaking to elementary school students about the importance of college and other opportunities after high school — especially students who may not see those paths reflected in their daily lives — not only taught me the importance of giving back, but also helped to sharpen several skills essential to a successful legal practice, says Guillermo Escobedo at Constangy.

  • 5 Open Questions About FDA's AI-Assisted Review Plans

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    The U.S. Food and Drug Administration recently touted the completion of a generative artificial intelligence program for scientific reviewers and plans for agencywide deployment to speed up reviews of premarket applications, but there is considerable uncertainty surrounding the tools' ability to protect trade secrets, avoid bias and more, say attorneys at King & Spalding.

  • Bid Protest Spotlight: Jurisdiction, Price Range, Late-Is-Late

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    In this month's bid protest roundup, Thomas Lee at MoFo examines three May decisions from the U.S. Court of Federal Claims examining the court’s jurisdiction to rescind an executive order, the impact of agency error in establishing a competitive price range and application of the late-is-late rule to an electronic filing.

  • How Trump Administration's Antitrust Agenda Is Playing Out

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    Under the current antitrust agency leadership, the latest course in merger enforcement, regulatory approach and key sectors shows a marked shift from Biden-era practices and includes a return to remedies and the commitment to remain focused on the bounds of U.S. law, say attorneys at Wilson Sonsini.

  • Justices' Ruling Lowers Bar For Reverse Discrimination Suits

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's unanimous opinion in Ames v. Ohio Department of Youth Services, lowering the evidentiary burden for plaintiffs bringing so-called reverse discrimination claims, may lead to more claims brought by majority group employees — and open the door to legal challenges to employer diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, say attorneys at Ice Miller.

  • Fed's Crypto Guidance Yank Could Drive Innovation

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    The Federal Reserve Board's recent withdrawal of guidance letters brings regulatory consistency and broadens banks' ability to innovate in the crypto-asset space, but key distinctions remain between the Fed's policy on crypto liquidity and that of the other banking regulators, says Dan Hartman at Nutter.

  • DOE Grant Recipients Facing Termination Have Legal Options

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    Federal grant recipients whose awards have recently been rescinded by the U.S. Deparment of Energy have options for successfully challenging those terminations through litigation, say attorneys at Bracewell.

  • Attacks On Judicial Independence Tend To Manifest In 3 Ways

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    Attacks on judicial independence now run the gamut from gross (bald-faced interference) to systemic (structural changes) to insidious (efforts to undermine public trust), so lawyers, judges and the public must recognize the fateful moment in which we live and defend the rule of law every day, says Jim Moliterno at Washington and Lee University.

  • Loophole To Budget Bill's AI Rule May Complicate Tech Regs

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    An exception in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act that could allow state and local governments to develop ostensibly technology-neutral laws that nonetheless circumvent the bill’s ban on state artificial intelligence regulation could unintentionally create a more complex regulatory environment for technologies beyond AI, says Pooya Shoghi at Lee & Hayes.

  • A Look At Texas Corp. Law Changes Aimed At Dethroning Del.

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    Seeking to displace Delaware as the preferred locale for incorporation, Texas recently significantly amended its business code, including changes like codifying the business judgment rule, restricting books and records demands, and giving greater protections for officers and directors in interested transactions, say attorneys at Fenwick.

  • Prior Art Ruling Highlights Importance Of Detailed Elaboration

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    The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's recent decision in Ecto World v. RAI Strategic Holdings shows that when there is a possibility for discretionary denial, and the examiner has potentially overlooked prior art, patent owners should elaborate on as many of the denial factors as possible, says Frank Bernstein at Squire Patton.

  • Dissecting House And Senate's Differing No-Tax-On-Tips Bills

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    Employers should understand how the House and Senate versions of no-tax-on-tips bills differ — including in the scope of related deductions and reporting requirements — to meet any new compliance obligations and communicate with their employees, say attorneys at Greenberg Traurig.

  • OCC's Digital Embrace Delivers Risk, Opportunity For Banks

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    As the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency continues to release and seek more information on banks' participation in the crypto-asset arena, institutions may see greater opportunity to pursue digital asset and custody services, but must simultaneously educate themselves on transformations occurring throughout the industry, says Kirstin Kanski at Spencer Fane.

  • High Court Birthright Case Could Reshape Judicial Power

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    Recent arguments before the U.S. Supreme Court in cases challenging President Donald Trump’s birthright citizenship executive order primarily focused on federal judges’ power to issue nationwide injunctions and suggest that the upcoming decision may fundamentally change how federal courts operate, says Mauni Jalali at Quinn Emanuel.

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