Public Policy

September 22, 2025
Trump Appoints 'Loyal' Aide Following Va. US Atty's Exit

One of President Donald Trump's White House aides and former personal attorneys Monday was sworn in as interim U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, a day after the resignation of the office's previous Senate-approved top prosecutor, who had declined to bring charges against two of the president's foes.
September 22, 2025
Oracle To Secure TikTok Users' Data In Deal To Skirt US Ban

Tech giant Oracle will be tasked with safeguarding U.S. TikTok users' personal data, and the app's recommendation algorithm will be "retrained" and operated outside the control of TikTok's Chinese parent company under a deal that President Donald Trump is expected to sign this week to avert a shutdown of TikTok, the White House said Monday.
September 22, 2025
Google Ad Tech Breakup 'Drastic' But Best, DOJ Tells Judge

A U.S. Department of Justice attorney pressed a Virginia federal judge Monday to break up Google's advertising placement technology business, asserting in opening statements that a divestiture is doable and the only way to fully address Google's monopoly.
September 22, 2025
VoIP Provider Seeks Faster Switch To Internet-Based Lines

Local carriers are dragging their feet in changing from older switching systems to internet-based call interconnection, and federal rules should be crafted to hasten the transition, says a telecom technology platform.
September 22, 2025
$100K H-1B Fee Will Likely Hurt Both US And Foreign Workers

The new $100,000 fee for H-1B visas, which took effect on Sunday with little advance notice, blindsided immigration attorneys who told Law360 that it could ultimately hurt domestic workers by driving U.S. companies to do business elsewhere.
September 22, 2025
Colo. Justices Unsure How To Interpret Open Records Law

Colorado Supreme Court justices grilled an attorney representing the state Monday about how its interpretation of Colorado's open records laws actually protects the identity of children, and whether its reading of the statute isn't overly broad.
September 22, 2025
New Framework Needed For Satellite Power Caps, Orgs Say

More than a dozen groups on Monday told the Federal Communications Commission it's time to update spectrum sharing rules between low earth orbit and other satellites to spur industry growth.
September 22, 2025
UK, US To Collaborate On Capital Markets, Crypto Policy

The U.S. Department of the Treasury and the United Kingdom's financial ministry on Monday announced the formation of a joint taskforce to explore ways to collaborate on digital asset policy and "improve links" between the two countries' capital markets.
September 22, 2025
T-Mobile, Sprint Push DC Circ. To Revisit $92M FCC Fines

T-Mobile and Sprint are asking the full D.C. Circuit to review a $92 million fine from the Federal Communications Commission over their sale of sensitive user location data with third-party companies, asking for an en banc rehearing of their challenge after a three-judge panel unanimously affirmed the penalty last month.
September 22, 2025
DC Circ. Mulls International Media Funding, Firings

The D.C. Circuit is set to decide whether or not to allow the Trump administration to continue dismantling the agency that oversees state news broadcaster Voice of America after hearing consolidated arguments Monday morning in a quartet of cases challenging the shutdown.
September 22, 2025
DOJ Urges 7th Circ. To Affirm Strike Of Ill. Assault Rifle Ban

The Department of Justice's civil rights chief told a Seventh Circuit panel on Monday that an Illinois law banning assault weapons and high capacity magazines is unconstitutional and that the appellate court set an "inaccurate standard" when it denied an earlier bid to block the law's enforcement.
September 22, 2025
Feds Urge No Injunction In Ill. Migrant Shelter Fund Fight

An Illinois federal judge hearing Chicago and other municipalities' dispute over migrant-focused grant funds the U.S. Department of Homeland Security stopped reimbursing should not halt that decision while the parties' case plays out, because the funds aren't being moved or used elsewhere, the federal government argued Monday.
September 22, 2025
Judge Lets Suit Over Audible's Expiring Credits Move Forward

A Washington federal judge has declined to toss a consumer's proposed class action against Audible Inc. over the expiration dates on membership "credits," saying such vouchers don't have to be backed by a specific cash value to be covered by the Evergreen State's gift card law.
September 22, 2025
5th Circ.'s 340B Ruling 'Limited,' Pharma Cos. Tell 4th Circ.

The Fifth Circuit's recent refusal to block a Mississippi law regulating the delivery of discounted drugs to rural providers can't be wielded by West Virginia in its battle over the law's constitutionality because of the distinctions between the two state laws, a coalition of pharmaceutical companies told the Fourth Circuit.
September 22, 2025
In-House Judge Won't Pause FTC's Heart Valve Deal Challenge

An administrative law judge refused to pause the Federal Trade Commission's in-house case challenging Edwards Lifesciences Corp.'s planned $945 million purchase of JenaValve Technology Inc. until after a ruling in the related federal court case.
September 22, 2025
HUD Attys Say Trump Is Undermining Fair Housing Work

A group of U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development attorneys claimed in a lawsuit Monday that the Trump administration is deliberately undermining the federal government's enforcement of fair housing laws.
September 22, 2025
Trump Admin Says Calif. Emissions Waiver Fight Is DOA

The Trump administration has told a federal judge that California can't use the courts to override the will of Congress and undo the revocation of Clean Air Act waivers allowing the Golden State to establish its own vehicle emissions standards.
September 22, 2025
Ex-Boston Transit Cop Spared Prison In Beating Coverup

A federal judge on Monday, "with some reservations," spared a former Boston transit police sergeant from prison time for his alleged role in trying to cover up the 2018 beating of a homeless man by an officer.
September 22, 2025
Catching Up With Delaware's Chancery Court

Last week, Match.com secured approval for a $30M settlement over its 2019 reverse spinoff from IAC, and Vice Chancellor Morgan T. Zurn urged decorum among Delaware lawyers, comparing recent legal turmoil to dark times in British monarchy history. Here's the latest from the Chancery Court.
September 22, 2025
Tech Groups Ask To Maintain Block On Fla. Social Media Law

Tech industry organizations and civil rights groups threw their support behind two groups challenging a Florida law banning children 13 and under from social media, telling the Eleventh Circuit the law is an unconstitutional regulation of speech.
September 22, 2025
Cruz Urges Trump To Back Pilot Retirement Age Increase

Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, urged the White House to support a proposal that would raise an international aviation agency's standard for pilot retirement age from 65 to 67, saying the arbitrary age limit makes flying more dangerous and expensive.
September 22, 2025
Puerto Rico Finance Board Members Sue Trump Over Firings

Three former members of the Financial Oversight and Management Board for Puerto Rico have sued the Trump administration alleging they were illegally fired without cause last month, asking a judge to block the "unlawful and unconstitutional" action.
September 22, 2025
EPA Proposes Rolling Back TSCA Risk Evaluation Regs

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Monday proposed loosening regulations for chemical health risk evaluations, saying the existing set can unnecessarily prolong reviews and stifle new products, but green groups are criticizing the move as a giveaway to industry.
September 22, 2025
Newsom Approves Bill Reversing Calif. Cannabis Tax Hike

California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Monday signed into law a bill that reverses a tax increase on regulated cannabis businesses, in an effort to give the state's beleaguered marijuana industry some financial relief.
September 22, 2025
Conn. Board Seeks To Cement Win Over Tax Atty's Firing

The Connecticut Employees' Review Board has asked an appellate court not to rehear a fired tax attorney's unsuccessful appeal en banc, arguing that she has failed to show any fatal flaws in a three-judge panel's decision against her.

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

How Hyperlinks Are Changing E-Discovery Responsibilities

A recent e-discovery dispute over hyperlinked data in Hubbard v. Crow shows how courts have increasingly broadened the definition of control to account for cloud-based evidence, and why organizations must rethink preservation practices to avoid spoliation risks, says Bree Murphy at Exterro.
Pharma Copay Programs Raise Complex Economic Questions

The growing prevalence of copay accumulator and maximizer programs in the pharmaceutical industry is drawing increased scrutiny from patients, advocacy groups, lawmakers and courts, bringing complex questions about how financial responsibility for prescription drug purchases is determined and complicating damages assessments in litigation, say analysts at Analysis Group.
State False Claims Acts Can Help Curb Opioid Fund Fraud

State versions of the federal False Claims Act can play an important role in policing the misuse of opioid settlement funds, taking a cue from the U.S. Department of Justice’s handling of federal fraud cases involving pandemic relief funds, says Kenneth Levine at Stone & Magnanini.
Pemex Bribery Charges Provide Glimpse Into FCPA Evolution

A recently unsealed indictment against two Mexican nationals for allegedly bribing officials at Pemex, Mexico’s state-owned oil company, reveals that Foreign Corrupt Practices Act enforcement is adapting to new priorities, but still remains active, and compliance programs should continue apace, say attorneys at Crowell & Moring.
CFPB Proposal Defining Consumer Risk May Add Uncertainty

Though a recent Consumer Financial Protection Bureau proposal would codify when risks to consumers justify supervisory intervention against nonbanks, furthering Trump administration plans to curtail CFPB authority, firms may still struggle to identify what could attract supervisory designation under the new rule, say attorneys at Steptoe.
Targeting Execs Could Hurt SEC's Probusiness Goals

While many enforcement changes under the Trump administration’s U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission have been touted by commission leadership as proinnovation and probusiness, a planned focus on holding individual directors and officers responsible for wrongdoing may have the opposite effect, say attorneys at MoFo.
Preserving Refunds As Tariffs Await Supreme Court Weigh-In

In the event that the U.S. Supreme Court decides in V.O.S. Selections v. Trump that the president doesn't have authority to levy tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, importers should keep records of imports on which they have paid such tariffs and carefully monitor the liquidation dates, say attorneys at Butzel.
How Justices' Ruling Upends Personal Jurisdiction Defense

The U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision in Fuld v. Palestinian Liberation Organization, holding that the Fifth Amendment's due process clause does not require a defendant to have minimum contacts with a forum, may thwart foreign defendants' reliance on personal jurisdiction to evade federal claims in U.S. courts, say attorneys at Axinn.
Key Points From DOJ's New DeFi Enforcement Outline

Recent remarks by the U.S. Department of Justice's Criminal Division head Matthew Galeotti reveal several issues that the decentralized finance industry should address in order to minimize risk, including developers' role in evaluating protocols and the importance of illicit finance risk assessments, says Drew Rolle at Alston & Bird.
Revamped Opportunity Zones Can Aid Clean Energy Projects

The Qualified Opportunity Zone program, introduced in 2017 and reshaped in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, offers investors federal tax incentives for development in low-income communities — incentives that are especially meaningful for clean energy projects, where capital-intensive infrastructure and long-term planning are essential, say attorneys at Dentons.
Assessing Potential Ad Tech Remedies Ahead Of Google Trial

The Virginia federal judge tasked with prying open Google’s digital advertising monopoly faces a smorgasbord of potential remedies, all with different implications for competition, government control and consumers' internet experience, but compromises reached in the parallel Google search monopoly litigation may point a way forward, say attorneys at MoloLamken.
Earned Wage Access Providers Face State Law Labyrinth

At least 12 states have established laws or rules regulating services that allow employees to access earned wages before payday, with more laws potentially to follow suit, creating an evolving state licensing maze even for fintech providers that partner with banks, say attorneys at Venable.
The Pros And Cons Of Levying Value-Based Fees On Patents

The potential for a recurring, value-based maintenance fee on patents, while offering some benefits, raises several complications, including that it would likely exceed the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's statutory authority and reduce research and development activities in the U.S., says Sandip Patel at Marshall Gerstein.
Sales And Use Tax Strategies For Renewables After OBBBA

With the One Big Beautiful Bill Act sharply curtailing federal tax incentives for solar and wind projects, it is vital for developers to carefully manage state and local sales and use tax exposures through early planning and careful contract structuring, say advisers at KPMG.
9th Circ. Ruling Leaves SEC Gag Rule Open To Future Attacks

Though the Ninth Circuit's recent ruling in Powell v. U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission leaves the SEC's no-admit, no-deny rule intact, it could provide some fodder for litigants who wish to criticize the commission's activities either before or after settling with the commission, says Jonathan Richman at Brown Rudnick.