Public Policy

  • September 02, 2026

    5th Circ. Presses ATF On Out-Of-State Handgun Sales

    A Fifth Circuit panel pressed the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to explain the scope of a law barring citizens from purchasing handguns outside their state of residence, asking Wednesday what problems the government would face from the law's revocation.

  • September 02, 2026

    Judge Tosses Feds' Sanctuary Policy Fight Against Rochester

    A New York federal court tossed a lawsuit from the Trump administration challenging the city of Rochester's sanctuary immigration policies, finding the policies do not unlawfully regulate or discriminate against the federal government and are not preempted under federal law.

  • September 02, 2026

    2nd Circ. Faults NLRB's Dress Code Test In Starbucks Appeal

    The Second Circuit faulted the test the National Labor Relations Board applies to neutral dress codes that restrict workers' displays of union insignia, tossing Wednesday a ruling that Starbucks illegally barred workers at a Manhattan shop from wearing pro-union shirts. 

  • September 02, 2026

    Mich. City Says New Rules Moot Developer's Data Center Suit

    The city of Wixom said in Michigan federal court Tuesday that a developer's exclusionary zoning and due process claims over its recently enacted data center moratorium and subsequent denial of a waiver are not viable because they focus on an unapproved site plan under old rules.

  • September 02, 2026

    Calif. Bill Regulating Atty AI Use Heads To Newsom's Desk

    A bill regulating attorneys' and arbitrators' use of generative artificial intelligence has unanimously passed the California State Legislature and is headed to Gov. Gavin Newsom's desk.

  • September 02, 2026

    Colo. Exits Pharma Group's Challenge Of Drug Discount Law

    A Colorado federal court has thrown out a pharmaceutical industry trade group's challenge of a state law requiring drug manufacturers to sell discounted drugs through contracted pharmacies, finding the group failed to show the law conflicts with federal law or controls business activity beyond Colorado's borders.

  • September 02, 2026

    Lutnick Says Semiconductor Tariffs Are Coming, With Carveouts

    U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick on Wednesday said the U.S. is looking to issue a broad tariff on semiconductors, though he also said it would be structured such that companies that commit to U.S. manufacturing would be exempt.

  • September 02, 2026

    Wireless Provider Claims Utility Slowing Idaho Projects

    A wireless services provider claims a Washington-based public utility is slowing down its Idaho broadband deployments and charging excessive fees, asking the Federal Communications Commission to step in.

  • September 02, 2026

    Insurers Needn't Cover Retailer In 'Ghost Gun' Sale Suit

    Two insurers have no duty to defend or indemnify a Missouri-based firearm retailer accused of contributing to gun violence by selling "ghost gun" kits, a New York federal court ruled, saying the underlying claims did not allege harm caused by an accident.

  • September 02, 2026

    GAO Says FCC Needs To Ease Broadband Map Issues

    A U.S. Government Accountability Office report to congressional committees is recommending that the Federal Communications Commission work with smaller communities and providers in completing the challenge process to determine the accuracy of its mapping data.

  • September 02, 2026

    No Tax Break For SC Homeowner With Nonresident Wife

    A South Carolina homeowner was correctly denied a property tax rate for owner-occupied primary residences because his spouse was a resident of another state at the time, an administrative law judge ruled.

  • September 02, 2026

    Austrian Oil Pipe Imports Facing Possible Countervailing Duty

    Imports of certain pipes known as oil country tubular goods from Austria are in line for a possible countervailing duty after the U.S. Department of Commerce found Monday that they are benefiting from government subsidies.

  • September 02, 2026

    DOJ Ad Tech Judge Won't Break Up Google's Biz

    A Virginia federal judge on Wednesday refused to break up Google's advertising placement technology business, opting instead to grant the U.S. Department of Justice a litany of behavioral fixes aimed at limiting the search giant's ability to boost itself and the ads running through its own servers over ads from rival ad tech providers.

  • September 01, 2026

    Watchdog Sues To Unmask Feds' 'Secret' Frontier AI Review

    A nonprofit ethics watchdog accused the Trump administration in D.C. federal court Tuesday of failing to hand over information about the "secret de facto regulatory regime" governing frontier artificial intelligence models.

  • September 01, 2026

    Parler Ouster Talk Was 'Reaction' To Bad CEO, Jury Told

    Billionaire Rebekah Mercer testified Tuesday that her team's strategizing about getting rid of Parler's then-CEO was simply "reacting" to his poor performance, even before the Jan. 6 insurrection sent the social media app "to hell in a handbasket."

  • September 01, 2026

    ETF Issuers Urge SEC To Focus On Risk Over Novelty

    Exchanges and issuers urged the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to apply existing rules for exchange-traded funds to oversee "novel" offerings holding asset classes like crypto and event contracts, while consumer advocacy groups took a hard line against products referencing sports or election wagers.

  • September 01, 2026

    Copyright Chief Says Cook Ruling Bolsters Firing Challenge

    The U.S. Copyright Office's Shira Perlmutter has asked the D.C. Circuit to reverse a federal judge's refusal to block her firing by the Trump administration, arguing that the U.S. Supreme Court's June decision protecting Federal Reserve Gov. Lisa Cook undercuts the lower court's reason for denying her preliminary relief.

  • September 01, 2026

    Satellite Permitting, Robocall Bills Sail Through Subcommittee

    The SAT Streamlining Act was one of half a dozen bills that breezed through a House energy and commerce subcommittee Tuesday afternoon, with lawmakers managing to get all six bills sent along to the full committee in under an hour.

  • September 01, 2026

    VA Judge Blocks Effort To Limit Local ICE Cooperation

    A federal judge in Virginia granted the government's motion for a preliminary injunction to prevent the Commonwealth of Virginia's efforts to regulate cooperation between state, local and federal immigration enforcers.

  • September 01, 2026

    SEC Sends White House Plan For Retail Private Market Access

    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's Division of Investment Management has submitted to the White House a proposal to help facilitate retail investors' exposure to private markets and enable investment advisers to charge related performance fees, saying it could provide more opportunities for investors looking to diversify their portfolios.

  • September 01, 2026

    DC Circ. Reinstates Bergdahl Court-Martial Conviction

    The D.C. Circuit ruled Tuesday that a district court judge lacked jurisdiction to vacate Bowe Bergdahl's 2017 court-martial conviction for desertion, finding that only military appellate courts can directly overturn court-martial judgments and reversing a summary judgment decision that voided the conviction.

  • September 01, 2026

    High Court Case Looms Over State Climate Superfund Fights

    A federal judge has dealt a blow to the viability of state climate change Superfund laws, although experts say the ruling may ultimately be marginalized by a looming U.S. Supreme Court decision on the future of climate tort litigation against fossil fuel companies.

  • September 01, 2026

    NJ Gov. Renews Judicial Advisory Panel With 5 Newcomers

    New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill expanded and reshaped the state's Judicial Advisory Panel on Monday, issuing an executive order that adds an eighth seat on the panel and replaces four of its longtime members, including three former state Supreme Court justices who had served under previous administrations, with new appointees.

  • September 01, 2026

    DirecTV Says Emergency Alert Symbols Are A Hard Sell

    The Federal Communications Commission's heart was in the right place when it floated the idea of requiring emergency alerts to include visual symbols, but satellite television providers just aren't set up to display those symbols, DirecTV has told the agency.

  • September 01, 2026

    Enviro Groups Sue Forest Service To Halt Logging Project

    Environmental groups led by the Center for Biological Diversity launched a legal challenge in Washington federal court Monday to the U.S. Forest Service's approval of a logging project in the Methow Valley, saying the project would diminish old-growth forests and imperil Northern spotted owls and bull trout.

Expert Analysis

  • Appellate Vape Rulings May Expand State Regulation Powers

    Author Photo

    Two recent federal appeals courts decisions rejecting Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act preemption challenges to state electronic nicotine delivery systems directory laws signal an emerging appellate consensus that could significantly expand states' power to regulate vaping product sales where federal enforcement falls short, say attorneys at Troutman.

  • Parsing Gov't Scrutiny Of Lending To Unauthorized Workers

    Author Photo

    Attorneys at Mayer Brown explain guidance recently issued by three banking regulators that addresses risks associated with lending to so-called non-work authorized individuals and discuss what the regulatory update could mean for fintech companies.

  • Discovery Into Insurers' AI Use Should Stay Proportional

    Author Photo

    As insurers increasingly use artificial intelligence to make claim decisions, plaintiffs in first-party coverage litigation should seek discovery that tracks how materially the automated system influenced the challenged decision, not whether the insurer used AI somewhere in its operations, says attorney Joe Zaid.

  • How FCC Covered List Blitz Is Sidelining Commerce Dept.

    Author Photo

    The swath of recent Federal Communications Commission rulemakings raises serious questions about the purpose and future of Commerce's Office of Information and Communications Technology and Services, and how the U.S. government will go forward in imposing national security regulation on domestic applications of adversary-linked technologies, says Peter Jeydel at Troutman.

  • DOJ Healthcare Declination Offers Self-Disclosure Checklist

    Author Photo

    The U.S. Department of Justice's declination of criminal charges against Campus Eye Management signals that its new self-disclosure policy provides a real path for healthcare companies to avoid criminal exposure, but that path is paved with speed, transparency and operational remediation, says Jonathan Porter at Husch Blackwell.

  • SEC Rulemaking Radar: The Rubber Meets The Road

    Author Photo

    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's new rulemaking agenda shows its regulatory reset taking shape, with sweeping crypto proposals that could bring the biggest changes it has made to broker-dealer, exchange and trading compliance in decades, says Christopher Grobbel at Goodwin.

  • Monitor Exposure, Stay Flexible Amid Tariff Uncertainty

    Author Photo

    To navigate an unstable trade environment, businesses must evaluate their exposure to new tariffs invoked under a patchwork of statutory authorities and be prepared to adapt to further changes that may be on the horizon, says Bhargav Prajapati at Capital Trade.

  • CFPB Complaint Portal Overhaul Signals Changing Priorities

    Author Photo

    The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's updates to its consumer complaint portal and decision to cease publishing consumer complaint narratives should be viewed by companies as one component of a larger recalibration of how the CFPB collects information and allocates its supervisory and enforcement resources, say attorneys at Cooley.

  • Series

    Being In A Band Made Me A Better Lawyer

    Author Photo

    Playing shows in storied New York City venues and rehearsing with my bandmates in poorly ventilated rooms helped develop the professional qualities I rely on as a litigator, including an ability to collaborate with strong-minded equals and the determination to treat each client with singular focus, says Eliad Shapiro at Herrick Feinstein.

  • Opinion

    Correctional Healthcare Requires Clearer Legal Standards

    Author Photo

    As the correctional healthcare industry increasingly faces financial instability due to litigation, the U.S. Bureau of Prisons should develop clear standards for constitutionally adequate care for incarcerated patients, says Susanne Moore at Blackstone Trial Group.

  • 6 Risk Areas Future Fla. Stablecoin Issuers Should Plan For

    Author Photo

    Companies hoping to issue stablecoins under Florida’s new supervision regime should prioritize constructing robust risk management architecture across key areas before the Oct. 1 effective date so they can secure licenses, avoid a web of potential liabilities, and operate sustainably as state and federal regulations evolve, says Elizabeth Brusa at Shumaker.

  • 6 Key Takeaways From CFIUS Annual Report

    Author Photo

    Attorneys at Simpson Thacher review highlights from the annual report of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S., released to Congress this month, including the launch of the American First Investment Policy and the Known Investor Pilot Program, and the agency's continued focus on enforcement despite its resource constraints.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: Surviving A Long Trial

    Author Photo

    Most of law school trial advocacy is geared toward the sprint of trying a short case, but beyond managing a cross-examination or closing argument, effectively handling the marathon of a lengthy trial requires the ability to maintain composure, organization and credibility with the jury, says Mihir Elchuri at Hirschler.

  • AI Chatbot's Medical Claims Highlight Enforcement Risks

    Author Photo

    The Pennsylvania State Board of Medicine's recent lawsuit against Character Technologies, arguing that an artificial intelligence chatbot engaged in the unlicensed practice of medicine, may provide other state licensing boards with a road map for going after AI platforms, and counsel should advise clients to calibrate compliance accordingly, say attorneys at Cooley.

  • A Deepening Patent-Trademark Divide Over Irreparable Harm

    Author Photo

    Recent Federal Circuit decisions, along with legislation being considered in Congress, may exacerbate the differences that patent owners and trademark owners face when seeking to stop infringement before irreparable harm is caused, say attorneys at BakerHostetler.

Want to publish in Law360?


Submit an idea

Have a news tip?


Contact us here
Can't find the article you're looking for? Click here to search the Public Policy archive.