Public Policy

July 22, 2025
Amazon Pushes Back On FTC's Trial Time Extension Bid

Amazon has urged a Washington federal court to reject the Federal Trade Commission's bid to extend the agency's trial time in a lawsuit over automatically recurring Prime subscriptions, calling the proposal both unfair and baseless.
July 22, 2025
Quantum Wants FTC To Lift Order On $5.2B Natural Gas Deal

The Federal Trade Commission is asking for public feedback on a Quantum Energy Partners petition aiming to set aside a consent order the agency entered over a $5.2 billion deal that EQT Corp. struck with Quantum for oil and gas assets in Appalachia.
July 22, 2025
Lawmakers Consider Case Of Would-Be Donor's 'Signs Of Life'

The nation's organ transplant system is again under the microscope of federal lawmakers after a federal investigation found that a Kentucky organ procurement organization moved forward with the transplant process despite the patient showing "signs of life."
July 22, 2025
4th Circ. Lets End Of Afghan Protected Status Move Forward

The Fourth Circuit has lifted an administrative stay blocking the Trump administration's attempt to end Temporary Protected Status for Afghans and Cameroonians, allowing those efforts to move forward while the litigation proceeds.
July 22, 2025
House Panel Knocks EBSA Sharing Info With Workers' Attys

House lawmakers on Tuesday criticized the U.S. Department of Labor's employee benefits subagency for sharing information from enforcement investigations with plaintiffs attorneys representing benefit plan participants, with some lawmakers calling on Congress to pass new legislation to curb the practice.
July 22, 2025
Gogo Worries 900 MHz Redo Could Disrupt In-Flight Receivers

In-flight communications provider Gogo told the Federal Communications Commission that a plan advanced early this year to rework two bands of 900 megahertz airwaves could disrupt its air-to-ground receivers that use an adjacent band.
July 22, 2025
USPTO Employee Held In China Amid Visa Disclosure Dispute

The U.S. State Department said Tuesday it is speaking with Chinese government officials about a U.S. Patent and Trademark Office employee who is being prevented from leaving the country.
July 22, 2025
Mich. Court Changes Course To Uphold Terrorist Threat Law

A Michigan law that criminalizes terrorism threats is constitutional, a state appellate panel has ruled, marking a reversal months after the law was struck down in a case involving a social media message threatening a school shooting.
July 22, 2025
9th Circ. Rejects Gun Club's Bid For Permitting Cost Coverage

An insurer for a Washington shooting club had no duty to cover roughly $400,000 in costs to secure proper site development permits after county officials won a public nuisance lawsuit against the club, the Ninth Circuit ruled, finding the club can't be covered for its deliberate actions.
July 22, 2025
FCC Urged To Exempt Private Networks In Foreign Owner Rule

Private networks that offer public safety and industrial communications shouldn't be required to fill out new paperwork saying they aren't under the thumb of foreign adversaries, a nonprofit group told the Federal Communications Commission.
July 22, 2025
Colo. Ballot Proposal Seeks Tax Break For Overtime, Tips

Colorado would exempt overtime and tipped income from state taxation under a proposed 2026 ballot measure reviewed Tuesday by state officials.
July 22, 2025
Ethics Appeal Over Columbia Letter Nixed As Judge Joins USDA

In its first decision of 2025, the Judicial Conference's conduct committee on Tuesday dismissed a challenge to the Seventh Circuit Judicial Council's decision to toss ethics claims against a U.S. Court of International Trade judge who threatened not to hire law clerks from Columbia University over the school's handling of Israel protests.
July 22, 2025
AST Plan Called Threat To Amateur Satellite Signals

A nonprofit amateur satellite organization is fighting an application from AST SpaceMobile to launch hundreds of satellites for space-based cellular service, saying the company's proposal to use the 430-440 megahertz frequencies for telemetry and command could cause interference with amateur satellites active in the band.
July 22, 2025
Transportation Cases To Watch: Midyear Report 2025

Litigation concerning whether local delivery drivers qualify as transportation workers exempt from arbitration and clashes over the scope of federal preemption in personal injury cases involving freight brokers and motor carriers are among the court battles that transportation attorneys are watching in the latter half of 2025.
July 22, 2025
8th Circ. Axes Witness Tampering Verdict In Kidnapping Case

The Eighth Circuit upheld the kidnapping conviction of a man who held a woman at gunpoint and forced her to drive across state lines, but it vacated his attempted witness tampering conviction, holding that there wasn't enough evidence.
July 22, 2025
Native Groups Reject Trump's Call For Old Team Names

Two Native American advocacy groups are condemning President Donald Trump's threat to kill a $3 billion plan for the new Washington Commanders stadium if the NFL team's former name isn't reinstated, saying Indigenous cultures are not past relics, mascots or forms of entertainment.
July 22, 2025
Sable Aims To Sink Groups' Suit Over Calif. Oil Platforms

Sable Offshore Corp. told a California federal judge that green groups didn't follow proper litigation notice rules, dooming their lawsuit alleging the federal government failed to require the company to update safety and pollution control plans at drilling facilities.
July 22, 2025
EU Deepens Look Into Universal Music $775M Downtown Deal

European Union antitrust enforcers kicked off an in-depth probe Tuesday into Universal Music Group's bid to buy Downtown Music Holdings, raising concerns that the $775 million transaction could give UMG access to the "commercially sensitive data of its rival record labels" held by Downtown.
July 22, 2025
Habba Out As Interim NJ US Atty Amid Ethics Controversies

The New Jersey federal district court brought Alina Habba's run as interim U.S. attorney to an end Tuesday by not extending her tenure in the temporary role past 120 days.
July 22, 2025
NY To Make Prison Phone Calls Free, Saving Families Millions

Phone calls for inmates in New York state prisons will soon be free of charge, officials announced Tuesday — a policy shift advocates say will save more than $13 million annually for families of incarcerated people and strengthen ties that are crucial to rehabilitation and public safety.
July 22, 2025
Missouri Solicitor General, State Judge Secure Federal Seats

The Senate confirmed two nominees on Tuesday to serve on Missouri federal courts.
July 22, 2025
Judge Blocks Some Planned Parenthood Cuts In Partial Ruling

A Massachusetts federal judge partially blocked a measure passed by Congress this month stripping Medicaid funding from Planned Parenthood-affiliated facilities, but only as it applies to those that do not provide abortions or that receive minimal federal support.
July 22, 2025
Ore. Extends Brownfield Development Tax Breaks

Oregon extended its program of local property tax incentives for brownfield development by six years under a bill signed by the governor.
July 22, 2025
Ala. Pot Regulators Seek Dismissal Of Retaliation Suit

Alabama medical cannabis regulators have urged a federal judge to dismiss a lawsuit from a prospective medical marijuana business that was denied a license, or abstain from the matter entirely, because similar cases are pending in state court.
July 21, 2025
Revived Effort To Break Up 9th Circ. Makes Its Way To Senate

Idaho Republicans have reintroduced a U.S. Senate bill that looks to split up the Ninth Circuit and create a new Twelfth Circuit, according to an announcement made Monday, roughly nearly seven months after a similar bill was introduced in the House.

Editor's Picks

Trump's Legal Battles

States, federal employee unions, various advocacy groups and several individuals have filed over 220 lawsuits challenging the Trump administration's implementation of executive orders and other initiatives. Law360 has created a database of those lawsuits, separated into categories based on their subject matter.

Expert Analysis

A Look At Trump 2.0 Antitrust Enforcement So Far

The first six months of President Donald Trump's second administration were marked by aggressive antitrust enforcement tempered by traditional structural remedies for mergers, but other unprecedented actions, like the firing of Federal Trade Commission Democrats, will likely stoke heated discussion ahead, says Richard Dagen at Axinn.
Reform Partly Modernizes Small Biz Stock Gains Exclusion

Changes to the Internal Revenue Code in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act update the qualified small business stock gains exclusion to reflect inflation, but the regime would be more in line with current business realities if Congress had also made the exemption available to additional business structures, says Mark Parthemer at Glenmede.
Breaking Down Novel Va. Social Media Law For Minors

While a Virginia bill passed in May is notable for setting a one-hour daily limit on minors' use of social media, other provisions create compliance burdens for social media operators and app store providers, and increase privacy and security risks associated with the collection of sensitive information to prove identity, says Jenna Rode at Hunton.
Lessons From Crackdown On Mexican Banks With Cartel Ties

Recent U.S. Treasury Department orders excluding three major Mexican financial institutions from the U.S. banking system for laundering drug cartel money and processing payments for fentanyl precursor chemicals offer guidance for companies in reviewing their procedures and controls to ensure they are not the next targets, say attorneys at Paul Weiss.
Litigation Inspiration: How To Respond After A Loss

Every litigator loses a case now and then, and the sting of that loss can become a medicine that strengthens or a poison that corrodes, depending on how the attorney responds, says Bennett Rawicki at Hilgers Graben.
Tips For Cos. From California Climate Reporting FAQ

New guidance from the California Air Resources Board on how businesses must implement the state's sweeping climate reporting requirements should help companies assess their exposure, understand their disclosure obligations and begin documenting good-faith compliance efforts, says Thierry Montoya at Frost Brown.
FDA's Hasty Policymaking Approach Faces APA Challenges

Though the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has abandoned its usual notice-and-comment process for implementing new regulatory initiatives, two recent district court decisions make clear that these programs are still susceptible to Administrative Procedure Act challenges, says Rachel Turow at Skadden.
DOJ Crypto Enforcement Is Shifting To Target Willfulness

Three pending criminal prosecutions could be an indication of how the U.S. Department of Justice's recent digital assets memo is shaping enforcement of the area, and show a growing focus on executives who knowingly allow their platforms to be used for criminal conduct involving sanctions offenses, say attorneys at Gibson Dunn.
Legal Considerations Around Ibogaine As Addiction Therapy

Recent funding approval in Texas pertaining to the use of ibogaine for the potential treatment of substance use disorders signals a growing openness to innovative addiction treatments, but also underscores the need for rigorous compliance with state and federal requirements and ethical research standards, say attorneys at Husch Blackwell.
Unpacking DOJ's Suit Against Maryland Federal Bench

Political hoopla aside, the Trump administration’s suit naming the Maryland federal district court and all of its judges, which challenges a standing order that delays deportation upon the filing of a habeas petition, raises valid questions about both the validity of the order and the DOJ’s approach, says Steven Gordon at Holland & Knight.
What Calif. Insurance Ruling Means For Smoke Damage Limits

As California continues to grapple with an increasing number of wildfire claims, a state court's recent Aliff v. California FAIR Plan decision serves as a clear directive to insurers that policy language that narrows the scope of fire coverage below the California Insurance Code's minimum standards is impermissible, say attorneys at Wood Smith.
Wash. Law Highlights Debate Over Unemployment For Strikers

A new Washington state law that will allow strikers to receive unemployment benefits during work stoppages raises questions about whether such laws subsidize disruptions to the economy or whether they are preempted by federal labor law, says Daniel Johns at Cozen O'Connor.
Why SEC Abandoned Microcap Convertible Debt Crackdown

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has recently dismissed several cases targeting microcap convertible debt lenders, a significant disavowal of what was a controversial enforcement initiative under the Biden administration and a message that the new administration will focus on clear fraud, say attorneys at O'Melveny.
Justices' Resentencing Ruling Fortifies First Step Act Tools

The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent Hewitt v. U.S. ruling clarifies that resentencing after vacatur must reflect the law in effect at the time of the new sentencing, ultimately strengthening the strategic tools available to defense attorneys under the First Step Act, says Benson Varghese at Varghese Summersett.
The Metamorphosis Of The Major Questions Doctrine

The so-called major questions doctrine arose as a counterweight to Chevron deference over the past few decades, but invocations of the doctrine have persisted in the year since Chevron was overturned, suggesting it still has a role to play in reining in agency overreach, say attorneys at Crowell & Moring.