Public Policy

  • July 31, 2025

    Seattle Sues Trump Administration Over Anti-DEI Grant Terms

    The city of Seattle sued the Trump administration in Washington federal court on Thursday, targeting two executive orders that require federal funding recipients to adopt the president's stances on diversity efforts and gender or risk losing money for a range of critical causes.

  • July 31, 2025

    18 GOP Sens. Urge Trump To Fill IP Negotiator Post

    Eighteen Republican U.S. senators urged President Donald Trump to appoint someone to the vacant role of chief innovation and intellectual property negotiator of the U.S. Trade Representative in order to work to remove what they called "market-distorting price controls" in the pharmaceutical industry.

  • July 31, 2025

    HHS Plans To Test Rebates In 340B Drug Pricing Program

    The Trump administration on Thursday announced plans for a pilot project that would allow certain drugmakers to abandon upfront discounts in the 340B program and instead require hospitals to apply for rebates, testing an idea that would fundamentally reshape the long-running program.

  • July 31, 2025

    Firefighter Says Military Service Cost Her Pay, Opportunities

    The Jersey City, New Jersey, fire department shorted a firefighter on pay and pension benefits while she was out on military leave and deprived her of opportunities upon her return to work, according to a lawsuit filed in state court.

  • July 31, 2025

    Judges Speak Out On Rising Threats Amid Safety Concerns

    Federal judges who have been at the center of some of the most high-profile litigation of the second Trump administration spoke publicly Thursday about threats they've faced after their rulings.

  • July 31, 2025

    Mass. Court Allows Consecutive Resentencing In Murder Case

    Massachusetts' highest court has ruled that prosecutors may seek two consecutive life sentences with parole eligibility in a double murder case after outlawing life without parole sentences for defendants who committed crimes between the ages of 18 and 20-years-old.

  • July 31, 2025

    Mexico Gets 90-Day Tariff Extension As US Deadline Nears

    President Donald Trump announced a 90-day extension of existing tariffs on Mexico on Thursday, a day before a pause on worldwide trade measures is set to expire.

  • July 31, 2025

    Judge Questions Gov't Objection To Shielding FEMA Funds

    A Massachusetts federal judge Thursday questioned the Trump administration's assertion that it has not redirected funds allocated by Congress for natural disaster mitigation efforts toward other Federal Emergency Management Agency programs, even as the government was objecting to states' narrow request to protect the funds for now.

  • July 31, 2025

    Nadine Menendez Loses Bid To Toss Bribery Conviction

    The wife of former U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez failed Thursday in her effort to overturn her conviction in a sweeping federal corruption case as a Manhattan federal judge ruled that the evidence against her was both extensive and compelling.

  • July 31, 2025

    9th Circ. Upholds Google's Play Store Antitrust Trial Loss

    A Ninth Circuit panel Thursday affirmed Epic Games' 2023 antitrust jury trial win, along with an injunction requiring Google to open its Google Play Store to rivals, backing a landmark finding that Google monopolized the Android app-distribution market.

  • July 31, 2025

    Sens. Draft Bill To Combat Foreign Online Piracy

    A bipartisan group of senators introduced a discussion bill for a law that would allow American copyright holders to petition federal courts for orders against foreign-hosted websites that host pirated content.

  • July 31, 2025

    Meta Faces EU Probe Into WhatsApp AI Tying Allegations

    Italian antitrust enforcers are opening an investigation into Meta, saying that the company may have run afoul of anti-bundling laws by tying its dominant WhatsApp messaging service with its new Meta AI assistant.

  • July 31, 2025

    Energy Co. Tells 4th Circ. Land Access Needed For Power Line

    A Public Service Energy Group unit trying to build a 67-mile transmission line in Maryland asked the Fourth Circuit to deny property owners' bid to keep it off their lands, arguing it has a right to complete surveys needed for regulatory approvals.

  • July 30, 2025

    US Atty Swap Was 'Calculated' To Evade Senate, NJ Court Told

    The reappointment of Alina Habba from interim to acting U.S. attorney for New Jersey was an unconstitutional maneuver "calculated to bypass Senate confirmation," a defendant seeking dismissal of his drug trafficking indictment told a federal judge Wednesday, while prosecutors opposed the motion as a "dispute over titles, not authority."

  • July 30, 2025

    Sens. Step Up Push For Data Privacy Law Amid AI's Rise

    The leaders of a Senate data privacy subcommittee Wednesday put the spotlight back on longstanding efforts to craft a nationwide framework for how companies use and disclose consumers' personal information, arguing that a growing state law patchwork and the rise of artificial intelligence accelerated the need for such protections.

  • July 30, 2025

    White House Crypto Report Sets Blueprint For Coming Rules

    A long-awaited report from the President's Working Group on Digital Asset Markets that was released Wednesday encouraged securities and derivatives regulators to use their existing authorities to clear the way for crypto issuance and trading in the absence of lasting legislation, while also urging banking regulators to sharpen standards for crypto engagement.

  • July 30, 2025

    Connecticut Says 2 Men Sold $2.5M In Fake Cannabis Licenses

    Two Connecticut businessmen ran a counterfeit cannabis licensing operation, selling fake credentials to as many as 70 retailers in the state for as much as $30,000 a certificate, according to a lawsuit filed by state officials who seek a $2.5 million judgment against the accused.

  • July 30, 2025

    Refugee Class Certified In Suit Over Trump's Admissions Ban

    A Washington federal judge said Wednesday that a challenge to the Trump administration's halt on refugee admissions may move forward as a class action on behalf of individuals seeking entry into the country and others impacted by the suspension, while also spurning the federal government's dismissal bid.

  • July 30, 2025

    GHG Regs Rollback Would Test Clean Air Act Interpretation

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's proposal to eliminate a pillar of climate change regulation could test the agency's — and courts' — interpretations of Clean Air Act language that has remained largely unquestioned since the Obama administration.

  • July 30, 2025

    NTSB Hearing Probes Helicopter Risks In DCA Collision

    The U.S. Army helicopter involved in January's deadly midair collision over the Potomac River was flying almost 100 feet higher than it should've been near one of the capital area's busiest airports according to testimony as the National Transportation Safety Board on Wednesday examined equipment and operational lapses tied to the accident.

  • July 30, 2025

    Microsoft Browser Rival Asks Brazil To Investigate Tech Titan

    Microsoft has been flexing its power as owner of the world's most dominant computer operating system to make people use its own web browser over those belonging to competitors, one such rival told Brazilian competition authorities.

  • July 30, 2025

    Calif. Sens. Slam Trump's US Atty 'Hijacking' To Keep LA Ally

    California Sens. Alex Padilla and Adam Schiff issued a statement Wednesday condemning the Trump administration's decision to "circumvent the law" and appoint Bill Essayli as acting U.S. attorney in Los Angeles, in a move echoing the recent appointment of Alina Habba as acting U.S. attorney in New Jersey.

  • July 30, 2025

    Mich. Appeals Panel Settles Split On Notice Rule Retroactivity

    A special Michigan Court of Appeals panel said on Tuesday that a state high court ruling enforcing a notice requirement for lawsuits against the state is retroactive, resolving a conflict within the intermediate appellate court and upholding the dismissal of a correction worker's suit.

  • July 30, 2025

    Senate OKs Kirkland & Ellis Partner For Commerce Trade Role

    The U.S. Senate confirmed William Kimmitt on Tuesday to lead the U.S. International Trade Administration at the U.S. Department of Commerce.

  • July 30, 2025

    8th Circ. Tosses Ruling Striking Binding NEPA Regulations

    The Eighth Circuit has granted blue states' bid to vacate a ruling that faulted the White House Council on Environmental Quality for issuing binding regulations under the National Environmental Policy Act, following the Trump administration's decision to withdraw those regulations.

Expert Analysis

  • New Laws Show How States Are Checking AI Developers

    Author Photo

    Recent state consumer protection legislation shows Utah, Colorado and Texas are primed to impose controls on artificial intelligence, and exemplifies the states' unwillingness to accord strong deference to developers and deployers of AI tools, say attorneys at Polsinelli.

  • Nev. Steps Up Efforts To Attract Incorporations With New Law

    Author Photo

    Recent amendments to Nevada corporate law, which will narrow controlling stockholders’ liability, streamline mergers and allow companies to opt out of jury trials, show the interstate competition to attract new and reincorporating companies is still heating up, say attorneys at Simpson Thacher.

  • Birthright Opinions Reveal Views On Rule 23(b)(2) Relief

    Author Photo

    The justices' multiple opinions in the U.S. Supreme Court’s June 27 decision in the birthright citizenship case, Trump v. CASA, shed light on whether Rule 23(b)(2) could fill the void created by the court's decision to restrict nationwide injunctions, says Benjamin Johns at Shub Johns.

  • ABA Opinion Makes It A Bit Easier To Drop A 'Hot Potato'

    Author Photo

    The American Bar Association's recent ethics opinion clarifies when attorneys may terminate clients without good cause, though courts may still disqualify a lawyer who drops a client like a hot potato, so sending a closeout letter is always a best practice, say attorneys at Thompson Hine.

  • Plan For Increased HSR Info Sharing With Wash. Antitrust Law

    Author Photo

    Washington's merger notification requirements, effective later this month, combined with the Federal Trade Commission's new Hart-Scott-Rodino Act rules, will result in greater information sharing among state and federal agencies, making it important for merging parties to consider their transaction's potential state antitrust implications early on, say attorneys at McDermott.

  • Federal Construction Considerations Amid Policy Overhaul

    Author Photo

    The rapid overhaul of federal procurement, heightened domestic sourcing rules and aggressive immigration enforcement are reshaping U.S. construction, but several pragmatic considerations can help federal contractors engaged in infrastructure and public construction avoid the legal, financial and operational fallout, say attorneys at Cozen O'Connor.

  • FMLA Expansion Sees State Progress Despite Federal Barriers

    Author Photo

    Recent legislative efforts to expand the Family and Medical Leave Act reflect workers' growing demand for work-life balance, but as federal proposals continue to face significant hurdles, states have stepped in, creating a labyrinth of leave laws and compliance headaches for multistate employers, say attorneys at FordHarrison.

  • How Political Divisions Are Stalling Pa. Energy Development

    Author Photo

    Despite possessing the nation's second-largest natural gas reserves and a legacy of energy infrastructure, Pennsylvania faces a fragmented and politically charged path to developing the energy resources it will need in the future, thanks to legislative gridlock, divided public opinion and competing energy interests, says Andrew Levine at Stradley Ronon.

  • 3rd-Party Audit Tactics To Improve Export Control Compliance

    Author Photo

    Companies should take a strategic approach to third-party audits in response to the Trump administration's ramp-up of export control enforcement with steps that strengthen their ability to identify the control weaknesses of distributors, dealers and resellers, say Michael Huneke at Hughes Hubbard, and John Rademacher and Abby Williams at Secretariat Advisors.

  • A Look At Trump Admin's Shifting Strategies To Curtail CFPB

    Author Photo

    The Trump administration has so far carried out its goal of minimizing the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's authority and footprint via an individualized approach comprising rule rollbacks, litigation moves and administrative tools, say attorneys at Holland & Knight.

  • Evading DOJ Crosshairs As Data Security Open Season Starts

    Author Photo

    As the U.S. Department of Justice begins enforcing its new data security program — aimed at preventing foreign adversaries from accessing government-related and personal sensitive data — U.S. companies will need to understand the program’s contours and potential pitfalls to avoid potential civil liability or criminal scrutiny, say attorneys at Cohen & Gresser.

  • How Trump's Trade Policies Are Shaping Foreign Investment

    Author Photo

    Five months into the Trump administration, investors are beginning to see the concrete effects of the president’s America First Investment Policy as it presents new opportunities for clearing transactions more quickly, while sustaining risk aversion related to Chinese trade and potentially creating different political risks, say attorneys at Covington.

  • How Trump Admin Treasury Policies Are Reaching Banks

    Author Photo

    The Treasury Department has emerged as an important facilitator of the Trump administration's financial policies affecting banks, which are now facing deregulation domestically and the use of international economic authorities in cross-border trade and investment, say attorneys at Davis Polk.

  • Series

    My Opera And Baseball Careers Make Me A Better Lawyer

    Author Photo

    Though participating in opera and the world of professional baseball often pulls me away from the office, my avocations improve my legal career by helping me perform under scrutiny, prioritize team success, and maintain joy and perspective at work, says Adam Unger at Herrick Feinstein.

  • FTC Focus: Enforcers Study AI Innovation And Entrenchment

    Author Photo

    The Federal Trade Commission and other regulators setting their sights on the burgeoning artificial intelligence ecosystem are considering how the government should approach innovation in tech markets that tend, almost inevitably, toward concentration, say attorneys at Proskauer.

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.