Public Policy

  • July 07, 2025

    Pregnant Doc, Medical Orgs. Sue To Block RFK's Vax Directive

    A pregnant doctor who fears she will be denied a COVID-19 vaccination, along with a coalition of medical associations, sued Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in Massachusetts federal court on Monday challenging his directive recommending against the shot for pregnant women and children.

  • July 07, 2025

    Planned Parenthood Wins Block of 'Catastrophic' Defunding

    A Massachusetts federal judge late Monday agreed to temporarily block the Trump administration's plans to prohibit Planned Parenthood health centers from receiving Medicaid reimbursements, issuing a temporary restraining order just hours after Planned Parenthood sued, saying the consequences would be "catastrophic."

  • July 07, 2025

    Fed. Circ. Ponders If PTAB Developments Save 'Veto' Rule Suit

    A Federal Circuit judge wondered Monday if developments concerning the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office director's discretionary denial process could breathe new life into advocacy groups' fight for a "veto" for small business patent owners defending themselves at the Patent Trial and Appeal Board. 

  • July 07, 2025

    Feds Tell 9th Circ. Ayahuasca Church Not Owed $2M In Fees

    Federal officials told the Ninth Circuit on Monday that a Phoenix-based church that reached an agreement with the government to use the psychedelic ayahuasca in religious ceremonies was not entitled to more than $2 million in attorney fees.

  • July 07, 2025

    Colo. Church, Town Settle Zoning Dispute Over Homeless Aid

    Castle Rock, Colorado, and a church located within the town have agreed to dismiss a suit that challenged the use of zoning regulations to prevent the church from allowing homeless families to park RVs and trailers in its parking lot.

  • July 07, 2025

    Alaskan Tribe's Immunity Upheld In Anchorage Casino Fight

    A federal court judge on Monday denied a bid by a group of Anchorage, Alaska, residents to reconsider a ruling that found the Native Village of Eklutna is immune from the residents' lawsuit seeking to block a casino development, saying their arguments are no more than a disagreement with the court's analysis.

  • July 07, 2025

    Ex-Officer Sues Ga. City Over Police Dept.'s Alleged Bias

    The city of South Fulton, Georgia, has been sued in federal court by a former South Fulton Police Department officer who alleges she and other white employees were routinely discriminated against because of their race, and that she was fired as a result.

  • July 07, 2025

    ​​​​​​​Top Groups Lobbying The FCC

    The Federal Communications Commission heard from advocates more than 100 times in June on issues including Alaska high-speed connectivity, cable rates, FCC rules covering pole attachments for broadband equipment, rural network deployment and more.

  • July 07, 2025

    EPA, Enviro Orgs. Fight Over 'Big Bill's' Impact On Funding Case

    Green groups fighting to reclaim grant funding frozen by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency asked the D.C. Circuit on Monday to reject the agency's argument that Congress's recent tax and policy bill means their lawsuit should be dismissed.

  • July 07, 2025

    8th Circ. Won't Rehear ND Tribe's Voting Rights Dispute

    The Eighth Circuit won't rehear a bid by two North Dakota tribes to overturn its decision that vacated their challenge to two of the state's voting laws after the panel found that provisions of the Voting Rights Act don't give private citizens the right to sue over dilution claims.

  • July 07, 2025

    Crypto Group, Treasury Drop 11th Circ. Tornado Cash Case

    Crypto think tank Coin Center Inc. and the U.S. government have ended their battle over the Biden-era blacklisting of Tornado Cash now that the U.S. Treasury Department has removed the crypto mixing service from its list of blocked entities and a federal judge has deemed the designation unlawful.

  • July 07, 2025

    Split 5th Circ. Upholds Block Of Texas' Migrant Arrest Law

    A split Fifth Circuit panel left intact a district court order blocking the enforcement of a Texas law that allows state officials to arrest people suspected of crossing the border unlawfully and empowers local judges to order their removal.

  • July 07, 2025

    Wis. Rep. Pushes 2 Bills To Counter EU's Tech, ESG Rules

    A Republican U.S. House representative recently introduced two pieces of legislation over European Union regulations the congressman has deemed to be burdensome to U.S. companies, according to a recent announcement from the representative.

  • July 07, 2025

    Mass. Cannabis Lab Calls Shutdown Order 'Unlawful'

    A cannabis testing lab asked a Massachusetts judge on Monday to let it resume operating, nearly a week after state regulators ordered it shut down for allegedly misreporting the results of mold and yeast tests.

  • July 07, 2025

    Judge Rejects DOJ Bids To Dismiss Abrego Garcia Suit

    A Maryland federal judge demanded answers from Trump administration attorneys Monday about when they knew of Kilmar Abrego Garcia's criminal indictment and return from El Salvador, saying the timing of the criminal case in Tennessee didn't align with the administration's earlier declarations that he couldn't be returned to the U.S.

  • July 07, 2025

    Green Group, Chemours Battle Over W.Va. PFAS Injunction Ask

    An environmental group is urging a West Virginia federal court to prevent Chemours from releasing a "forever chemical" into public drinking water sources along the Ohio River, while the company is fighting the effort.

  • July 07, 2025

    ​​​​​​​Gov't Says OPM Didn't Order Probationary Worker Firings

    The Trump administration maintained that the U.S. Office of Personnel Management's guidance on probationary federal employees was lawful, telling a California federal judge the OPM did not order agencies to carry out a mass termination of these workers despite the claims of unions representing them.

  • July 07, 2025

    Countries Get August Ultimatum To Avoid US Tariff Hikes

    Goods entering the U.S. from numerous countries will face tariff hikes beginning Aug. 1 unless their governments commit to address trade concerns the U.S. has raised, according to letters President Donald Trump sent Monday.

  • July 07, 2025

    USPTO Ups Number Of Prioritized Patent Applications

    The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office is raising the number of applications it can accept each year for a prioritized patent examination to 20,000.

  • July 07, 2025

    Settlement Unlikely In Airline Group's Colo. Sick Leave Suit

    An airline lobby and the state of Colorado told a federal court last week that a settlement "appears unlikely" in the airline group's case claiming the state's sick leave law is preempted by federal law.

  • July 07, 2025

    Biggest Enviro Cases To Watch In 2025: Midyear Report

    Law360 previews the lawsuits environmental attorneys will be watching closely during the second half of 2025, including the Trump administration's challenge to states' efforts to slow climate change, a lawsuit seeking to continue federal funding for climate change projects and product liability cases over forever chemicals in consumer goods.

  • July 07, 2025

    Ex-FTC Antitrust Chief Returns To Covington As Co-Chair

    Covington & Burling LLP has rehired the former director of the Federal Trade Commission's Bureau of Competition as a co-chair of its antitrust and competition practice group in Washington, D.C., the firm announced Monday.

  • July 07, 2025

    MyPillow CEO's Attys Sanctioned Over False AI Citations

    Two attorneys for MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell were sanctioned by a Colorado federal judge on Monday over a February brief containing nearly 30 "defective citations" after using artificial intelligence.

  • July 07, 2025

    DOJ Wants Md. Federal Judges' Immigration Orders Blocked

    A Maryland federal court standing order temporarily staving off the deportation of detained noncitizens who file habeas petitions is barred by a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling that federal judges do not have authority to issue universal injunctions, according to the Trump administration.

  • July 07, 2025

    Maine Authorizes Task Force To Explore Property Tax Changes

    Maine authorized the creation of a task force to explore the need for legislation and constitutional amendments to provide more effective property tax relief for residents under a bill signed by the governor.

Expert Analysis

  • A Breakdown Of Trump's Order On Drug Pricing

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    The Trump administration may attempt to effectuate through rulemaking a recently issued executive order on lowering drug prices, which would likely have an adverse effect on stakeholders and trigger litigation, say attorneys at Debevoise.

  • FTC Focus: Interlocking Directorate Enforcement May Persist

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    Though the Federal Trade Commission under Chair Andrew Ferguson seems likely to adopt a pro-business approach to antitrust enforcement, his endorsement of broader liability for officers or directors who illegally sit on boards of competing corporations signals that businesses should not expect board-level antitrust scrutiny to slacken, says Timothy Burroughs at Proskauer.

  • 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.

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