Public Policy

  • July 28, 2025

    Merger Settlements Return As Enforcers Keep Busy

    The first half of 2025 saw a string of settlements by the Federal Trade Commission and the U.S. Department of Justice allowing mergers to move forward, a marked shift from the prior administration.

  • July 28, 2025

    Texas Resolution Seeks Vote On Lower Property Value Limits

    Texas would ask voters if the state should amend its constitution to authorize lower limits on the maximum appraised value of residence homesteads and of real property other than homesteads for tax purposes under a joint resolution filed in the state House of Representatives during a special session.

  • July 28, 2025

    Fair Housing Groups Win Thaw Of HUD Grant Program Freeze

    A Washington, D.C., federal judge on Monday ordered the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to unlock a grant program meant to help nonprofits enforce housing laws after two groups in a purported class complained that the Trump administration abruptly froze the funding.

  • July 28, 2025

    Judge Says Trump Admin Can't Defund Planned Parenthood

    A Massachusetts federal judge on Monday blocked President Donald Trump's administration from denying Medicaid reimbursements to Planned Parenthood clinics, expanding an earlier ruling that had applied only to those that do not provide abortions or that receive minimal federal support.

  • July 28, 2025

    Top 6 Immigration Cases To Track In 2nd Half Of 2025

    The U.S. Supreme Court's June decision curtailing nationwide injunctions promises to shape the trajectory of immigration litigation in the latter half of this year as litigants shift strategies and try other tactics to block the Trump administration’s sweeping immigration measures. Here, Law360 looks at six key immigration cases to watch in the latter half of the year.

  • July 25, 2025

    Trump Admin Loses Sanctuary Fight With Ill., For Now

    An Illinois federal judge Friday threw out the Trump administration's first suit challenging local sanctuary policies, ruling that it's within Illinois', Cook County's and Chicago's rights to opt out of helping the federal government with immigration enforcement efforts.

  • July 25, 2025

    Judge Keeps Nationwide Block On Birthright Citizenship EO

    A Massachusetts federal judge Friday refused to narrow a nationwide injunction blocking President Donald Trump's executive order limiting birthright citizenship, saying any narrower alternative would not be enough to protect a group of states from their asserted harms.

  • July 25, 2025

    Pullman & Comley Didn't Flag 'Falsified' $16M Loan, Suit Says

    Pullman & Comley LLC didn't discover that the executive director of a Connecticut municipal housing authority had allegedly forged a connected company's $16.2 million loan application before penning a letter claiming the deal appeared solid, the lender, who was not a client, has alleged in a lawsuit.

  • July 25, 2025

    Calif. Air Board Faces New Suit Over Carbon Fuel Standard

    Environmental and public interest groups hit the California Air Resources Board with another lawsuit in Golden State court Friday, alleging that the state's recent amendments to the Low Carbon Fuel Standard will have the perverse effect of incentivizing large-scale factory farms, which pose significant environmental and public health risks.

  • July 25, 2025

    Solar Developer Claims NC County's Permit Denial Was Biased

    A "needlessly and excessively combative" board of county commissioners in North Carolina unconstitutionally blocked a solar energy developer's project based on personal issues, according to the company's lawsuit.

  • July 25, 2025

    DC Circ. Pauses Order Reinstating 2 NCUA Members

    The D.C. Circuit on Friday intervened and granted the Trump administration's request to pause a Washington federal judge's order reinstating two National Credit Union Administration board members fired by President Donald Trump, after the federal judge declined to pause the order himself.

  • July 25, 2025

    Kalshi Tells 3rd Circ. Fed Law Bars NJ From Restricting Its Biz

    Sports betting company Kalshi's so-called prediction market that allows users to wager on the outcome of real-world events counts as a federal derivative exchange and, as a result, can't be regulated by state enforcers, the gambling company told the Third Circuit.

  • July 25, 2025

    Sports & Betting Cases To Watch In The Second Half Of 2025

    Certain court cases have become staples on both the midyear and end-of-year must-watch lists in sports and betting at Law360. One that seemed best positioned to finally fall off the list, as it turns out, is far from over: the multibillion-dollar NCAA settlement regarding name, image and likeness payments and revenue sharing with hundreds of thousands of college athletes. A handful of other suits from past years will also continue to bear watching through the end of 2025.

  • July 25, 2025

    9th Circ. Rejects Suit Against Wash. Youth Gender Care Laws

    A Ninth Circuit panel has unanimously declined to revive a challenge to a Washington state law allowing shelters to help runaway teens seek gender-affirming treatment without notifying their parents, ruling on Friday that the plaintiff parents and anti-trans advocacy groups haven't shown actual or imminent harm from the statute.

  • July 25, 2025

    11th Circ. Overturns Funding Model For SEC Database

    The Eleventh Circuit sent the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission back to the drawing board on Friday to chart a path forward for its $500 million market surveillance tool, telling the regulator that it was unreasonable to potentially force broker-dealers to fund the entire project.

  • July 25, 2025

    Reviewing Stewart's Latest Discretionary Denial Decisions

    Acting U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Director Coke Morgan Stewart issued just eight discretionary denial decisions over the last week, including one that addressed arguments tying in the Biologics Price Competition and Innovation Act for the first time.

  • July 25, 2025

    3rd Circ. Won't Revive Unraised Claims In Immigration Appeal

    The Third Circuit has rejected a Guatemalan mother and son's bid to overturn the Board of Immigration Appeals' denial of asylum and other removal protections, ruling that the board's summary affirmance of the underlying immigration judge's decision can't revive unexhausted claims.

  • July 25, 2025

    Ky. Radio License Yanked Over Mounting Reg Fee Bills

    The Federal Communications Commission has stripped the broadcaster of a Kentucky AM radio station of his license after the station racked up more than $9,000 in fines over the years and never paid them, the agency revealed Friday.

  • July 25, 2025

    Trump Trade Deals Do Little To Ease Importers' Concerns

    President Donald Trump's recently announced framework trade deals offer new insight into tariff rates for several countries come Aug. 1, but experts say unanswered questions about those agreements and others still at large continue to stifle longer-term planning, leaving importers in uncertain territory.

  • July 25, 2025

    Fluoride Fans Tell 9th Circ. To Preserve Drinking Water Use

    A pro-fluoride group is supporting the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's fight to overturn a California federal judge's ruling that current limits on the chemical in drinking water aren't protective enough.

  • July 25, 2025

    Live Streaming Cos. Should Follow Carry-All Rules, FCC Told

    A Christian television station operator says that the Federal Communications Commission "has lost its way on its mandate to foster localism" and ought to correct course by requiring certain streaming services to carry local stations.

  • July 25, 2025

    Feds Ordered To Renew Contract For Family Separation Deal

    A California federal judge late Thursday ordered the federal government to re-enter a contract for behavioral health services and housing support for migrant families separated under the first Trump administration, saying the administration breached a settlement and had to comply with its obligations "now."

  • July 25, 2025

    Veteran CFPB Enforcement Atty Heads For The Exit

    A longtime Consumer Financial Protection Bureau litigator told a Virginia federal court on Friday that she is leaving after more than a decade at the agency, becoming the latest departure at the regulator as its future under the Trump administration remains in limbo.

  • July 25, 2025

    Texas Inmate Seeks To Stop Execution In Shaken Baby Case

    A Texas death row prisoner convicted of killing his 2-year-old daughter under the controversial shaken baby syndrome theory has asked the state's top criminal appeals court to halt his upcoming execution, arguing new evidence discredits the diagnosis, his attorney said Friday.

  • July 25, 2025

    Minnesota Regulators Sue Retailer Over Cannabinoid Wares

    Minnesota's cannabis regulator has brought a state court action seeking an order compelling a retailer to destroy hemp-derived cannabinoid products that are allegedly noncompliant under the state's laws.

Expert Analysis

  • Bill Leaves Renewable Cos. In Dark On Farmland Reporting

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    A U.S. Senate bill to update disclosure requirements for foreign control of U.S. farmland does not provide much-needed guidance on how to report renewable energy development on agricultural property, leaving significant compliance risks for project developers, say attorneys at Hodgson Russ.

  • Series

    Adapting To Private Practice: From US Rep. To Boutique Firm

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    My transition from serving as a member of Congress to becoming a partner at a boutique firm has been remarkably smooth, in part because I never stopped exercising my legal muscles, maintained relationships with my former colleagues and set the right tone at the outset, says Mondaire Jones at Friedman Kaplan.

  • Opinion

    FCPA Shift Is A Good Start, But There's More DOJ Should Do

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    The U.S. Department of Justice’s new Foreign Corrupt Practices Act guidelines bring a needed course correction amid overexpansive enforcement, but there’s more the DOJ can do to provide additional clarity and predictability for global companies, say attorneys at Norton Rose.

  • Opinion

    IRS Should Work With Industry On Microcaptive Regs

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    The IRS should engage with microcaptive insurance owners to develop better regulations on these arrangements or risk the emergence of common law guidance as taxpayers with legitimate programs seek relief in the federal courts, says Dustin Carlson at SRA 831(b) Admin.

  • How Providers Can Brace For Drug Pricing Policy Changes

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    Though it's uncertain which provisions of the Trump administration's executive order aimed at addressing prescription drug costs will eventually be implemented, stakeholders can reduce potential negative outcomes by understanding pathways that could be used to effectuate the order's directives, say attorneys at McDermott.

  • Comparing New Neural Data Privacy Laws In 4 States

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    Although no federal law yet addresses neural privacy comprehensively, the combined effect of recent state laws in Colorado, California, Montana and Connecticut is already shaping the regulatory future, but a multistate compliance strategy has quickly become a gating item for those experimenting with neuro-enabled workplace tools, says Kristen Mathews at Cooley.

  • 2025's First Half Brings Regulatory Detours For Fintechs

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    The first half of the year has resulted in a bifurcated regulatory environment for fintechs, featuring narrowed enforcement in some areas, heightened scrutiny in others and a policy window that, with proper compliance, offers meaningful opportunities for innovation, say attorneys at Sheppard Mullin.

  • Debunking 4 Misconceptions Around Texas' IV Therapy Law

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    Despite industry confusion, an IV therapy law enacted in Texas last week may actually be the most business-friendly regulatory development the medical spa industry has seen in recent years, says Keith Lefkowitz at Hendershot Cowart.

  • A Pattern Emerges In Justices' Evaluation Of Veteran Statute

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    The recent Soto v. U.S. decision that the statute of limitations for certain military-related claims does not apply to combat-related special compensation exemplifies the U.S. Supreme Court's view, emerging in two other recent opinions, that it is a reviewing court's obligation to determine the best interpretation of the language used by Congress, says attorney Kenneth Carpenter.

  • Opinion

    Senate's 41% Litigation Finance Tax Would Hurt Legal System

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    The Senate’s latest version of the Big Beautiful Bill Act would impose a 41% tax on the litigation finance industry, but the tax is totally disconnected from the concerns it purports to address, and it would set the country back to a time when small plaintiffs had little recourse against big defendants, says Anthony Sebok at Cardozo School of Law.

  • Psychedelic Treatment Regs May Be At A Tipping Point

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    Recent scientific and public attention suggest that development of psychedelics as treatment for some conditions may be at a tipping point, which could bring on more rapid change and opportunities for stakeholders who may in the future benefit from greater access to safe and effective psychedelic medicines, say attorneys at King & Spalding.

  • In NRC Ruling, Justices Affirm Hearing Process Still Matters

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Nuclear Regulatory Commission v. Texas safeguards the fairness, clarity and predictability of the regulatory system by affirming that to challenge an agency's decision in court, litigants must first meaningfully participate in the hearing process that Congress and the agency have established, says Jonathan Rund at the Nuclear Energy Institute.

  • Comparing Stablecoin Bills From UK, EU, US And Hong Kong

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    For multinational stablecoin issuers, navigating the differences and similarities among regimes in the U.K., EU, Hong Kong and U.S., which are currently unfolding in several key ways, is critical to achieving scalable, compliant operations, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • What Baseball Can Teach Criminal Attys About Rule Of Lenity

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    Judges tend to assess ambiguous criminal laws not unlike how baseball umpires approach checked swings, so defense attorneys should consider how to best frame their arguments to maximize courts' willingness to invoke the rule of lenity, wherein a tie goes to the defendant, says Jonathan Porter at Husch Blackwell.

  • Series

    Performing As A Clown Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    To say that being a clown in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade has changed my legal career would truly be an understatement — by creating an opening to converse on a unique topic, it has allowed me to connect with clients, counsel and even judges on a deeper level, says Charles Tatelbaum at Tripp Scott.

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