Public Policy

  • May 08, 2024

    DOE Unveils Preliminary National Transmission Corridors List

    The U.S. Department of Energy unveiled Wednesday a preliminary list of 10 national interest electric transmission corridors as part of its plan to accelerate the development of transmission projects in areas with urgent need for expanded capacity.

  • May 07, 2024

    GOP Reps. Want IP Enforcers To Get Tougher On Infringers

    Republican lawmakers complained at a Tuesday congressional hearing about the Biden administration's move to end the controversial Trump-era "China Initiative" aimed at curbing suspected economic espionage and questioned administration officials over how diligently they have pursued intellectual property cases on behalf of U.S. manufacturers, retailers, movie studios and vape companies.

  • May 07, 2024

    Google Founder And CEO Eyed In Texas Deposition Push

    Texas and allied states have pressed a Texas federal judge not to release Google co-founder Sergey Brin and CEO Sundar Pichai from sitting for depositions in a suit alleging the tech company illegally dominated the online advertising market.

  • May 07, 2024

    Novant CEO Vows To Improve Hospitals Facing FTC Scrutiny

    Novant Health kicked off its defense Tuesday in the Federal Trade Commission's $320 million merger challenge with testimony from its longtime CEO, who vocalized the health system's promise to reinvest in the two struggling hospitals at the center of the case.

  • May 07, 2024

    DOJ's 'Dr. Doom' Sees AI's Crime-Fighting Abilities, And Risks

    The U.S. Department of Justice is using artificial intelligence to bolster its investigations, including into the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, said U.S. Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco on Tuesday at a cybersecurity conference at which she dove into the beneficial uses of AI alongside its threats to security and democracy.

  • May 07, 2024

    85 Lawmakers Join Chorus Opposing Space Force Transfers

    A bipartisan group of 85 federal lawmakers on Tuesday joined all 50 state governors in opposing a proposal to allow Air National Guard units to be transferred to the U.S. Space Force without gubernatorial approval, arguing the measure would undermine "the integrity and longstanding mission of the National Guard."

  • May 07, 2024

    US News' Suit Over SF Ranking Probe Premature, Judge Says

    A California federal judge on Tuesday tossed without prejudice U.S. News & World Report's lawsuit challenging the San Francisco City Attorney's subpoenas seeking information about its methodology for ranking hospitals, saying the suit jumps the gun because U.S. News is not bringing a valid pre-enforcement claim.

  • May 07, 2024

    Federal Courts Choosing To Stay Out Of Texas Grid Fights

    The Fifth Circuit has again refused to wade into fights over actions taken by Texas' grid operator during a 2021 winter storm, further underscoring federal courts' reluctance to disturb the historic independence of the Lone Star State's electricity sector, attorneys say.

  • May 07, 2024

    10th Circ. Finds 'Religious Animus' In School's Vaccine Rules

    The Tenth Circuit ruled Tuesday that the University of Colorado System's policies regarding COVID-19 vaccine exemptions violated constitutional religious liberty protections, saying its rules were motivated by "religious animus" and should have been blocked by a trial court.

  • May 07, 2024

    2nd Circ. Weighs Border Wall Fraud Juror's Tie To Prosecution

    A Colorado man convicted of scheming to defraud donors to a campaign to build a southern border wall told the Second Circuit on Tuesday that his trial was tainted by a juror's family connection to the prosecution team.

  • May 07, 2024

    Fashion Cos. Say FTC Bid To Ax $8.5B Deal 'Makes No Sense'

    The Federal Trade Commission's move to block the owner of Coach and Kate Spade from buying the owner of Michael Kors and Jimmy Choo for $8.5 billion "makes no sense," the companies argued in response, saying they aren't the only handbag brands in the game.

  • May 07, 2024

    5th Circ. Urged To Reject Challenge To Board Diversity Rule

    The NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund urged the Fifth Circuit not to upend a Nasdaq Stock Market rule meant to encourage corporate board diversity, saying in a brief Monday that the rule's opponents have staked out a "radical" position on the equal protection clause of the U.S. Constitution that threatens to "entrench ... barriers to opportunity."

  • May 07, 2024

    Forest Service Says Court Should Fell Logging Climate Suit

    The U.S. Forest Service on Monday urged a D.C. federal district court to toss most of a lawsuit filed by environmental groups that alleges the agency failed to assess the impact of logging projects on carbon storage and emissions.

  • May 07, 2024

    Microsoft Announces AI For Top Secret Gov't Cloud

    Microsoft announced Tuesday that it will make generative artificial intelligence tools available for federal defense and intelligence agencies as part of its cloud system for classified information, using a private network not connected to the public internet.

  • May 07, 2024

    DOI Gives States And Tribes $148M For Drought Resiliency

    The U.S. Department of the Interior has said it has invested nearly $148 million to help states and Native American tribes prepare for water reliability challenges due to drought and other scarcity concerns, saying the money will go to 42 projects in 10 states.

  • May 07, 2024

    Commerce Revokes Huawei Export Licenses

    The U.S. Department of Commerce has revoked active export licenses for Chinese technology giant Huawei, an agency spokesperson confirmed Tuesday, the same day the company's Intel-powered Matebook X Pro 2024 laptop hit the international market.

  • May 07, 2024

    NY Officials Tout Crackdown On Illicit Cannabis Market

    New York state cannabis regulators on Tuesday touted new legislative changes empowering them to more swiftly crack down on unregulated marijuana sales, the same day that New York City officials announced a program to step up enforcement against unlicensed retailers.

  • May 07, 2024

    DOJ Says Cross-Border Antitrust Trial Must Stay In Houston

    Prosecutors have advised Houston's federal court against transferring a criminal case closer to the border, saying their witnesses fear testifying against defendants charged with using violence to control the cross-border sale of used vehicles and other goods in Central America.

  • May 07, 2024

    Colo. Judge Iffy On DOJ's Missive In Kroger Merger Challenge

    A Colorado state judge said he was unsure Tuesday about how to handle the Department of Justice's recent filing defending the state's authority to challenge Kroger's $24 billion merger with Albertsons, as Kroger claimed federal regulators were flip-flopping their antitrust stance.

  • May 07, 2024

    Feds Tell 11th Circ. Justices' Ruling Saves DHS Parole Policies

    The Biden administration has urged the Eleventh Circuit to vacate separate decisions from a Florida federal judge striking down two U.S. Department of Homeland Security parole policies, saying U.S. Supreme Court precedent mandates that outcome.

  • May 07, 2024

    9th Circ. Revives Removal Fight Over Justices' Notice Ruling

    A Honduran woman who received a notice to appear in immigration court without a time specified can resume fighting her deportation after the Ninth Circuit leaned on a U.S. Supreme Court ruling requiring all court hearing information to be on a single document.

  • May 07, 2024

    Ways And Means Chairs Decry China Tariff Review 'Inaction'

    The chairs of the House Ways and Means Committee and its Trade Subcommittee chided U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai in a letter Tuesday over her office's purported "inaction" in reviewing tariffs covering $300 billion worth of goods from China.

  • May 07, 2024

    NTIA To Dole Out $420M For Open RAN Development

    The National Telecommunications and Information Administration is putting another $420 million toward the radio equipment needed to develop open radio access networks, which many have pointed to as the solution for pivoting away from Chinese-made technology due to security concerns.

  • May 07, 2024

    NLRB Signals Appeal Of Joint Employer Rule Spat To 5th Circ.

    The National Labor Relations Board is fighting a Texas federal judge's decision striking down the board's 2023 joint employer rule, telling the court on Tuesday that the agency will appeal the ruling to the Fifth Circuit.

  • May 07, 2024

    Starbucks Can't End Investor Suit Over Union-Busting Stance

    A Washington state judge won't toss a shareholder suit accusing Starbucks' corporate leadership of diminishing stock values by allowing store managers to quash baristas' organizing efforts.

Expert Analysis

  • Spartan Arbitration Tactics Against Well-Funded Opponents

    Author Photo

    Like the ancient Spartans who held off a numerically superior Persian army at the Battle of Thermopylae, trial attorneys and clients faced with arbitration against an opponent with a bigger war chest can take a strategic approach to create a pass to victory, say Kostas Katsiris and Benjamin Argyle at Venable.

  • EU Inquiry Offers First Insight Into Foreign Subsidy Law

    Author Photo

    The European Commission's first in-depth investigation under the Foreign Subsidies Regulation into a public procurement process, and subsequent brief on regulatory trends, sheds light on the commission's approach to such cases, as well as jurisdictional, procedural and substantive issues under the regulation, says Matthew Hall at McGuireWoods.

  • What The NIL Negotiation Rules Injunction Means For NCAA

    Author Photo

    A Tennessee federal court's recent preliminary injunction reverses several prominent and well-established NCAA rules on negotiations with student-athletes over name, image and likeness compensation and shows that collegiate athletics is a profoundly unsettled legal environment, say attorneys at Pillsbury.

  • Md. May See Vigorous Resale Price Maintenance Enforcement

    Author Photo

    In Maryland, indications of a new focus on resale price maintenance agreements are significant because state prosecution in this area has been rare, particularly outside California, say attorneys at DLA Piper.

  • What 2 Years Of Ukraine-Russia Conflict Can Teach Cos.

    Author Photo

    A few key legal lessons for the global business community since Russia's invasion of Ukraine could help protect global commerce in times of future conflict, including how to respond to disparate trade restrictions and sanctions, navigate war-related contract disputes, and protect against heightened cybersecurity risks, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • Takeaways From EPA's New Methane Emission Rules

    Author Photo

    Attorneys at V&E examine two new Clean Air Act rules for the oil and gas industry, explaining how they expand methane and volatile organic compound emission reduction requirements and amplify U.S. Environmental Protection Agency enforcement risks.

  • Uncertainty Surrounds Patent Eligibility Restoration Bill

    Author Photo

    A recent U.S. Senate hearing regarding the Patent Eligibility Restoration Act, a bill that aims to overhaul patent eligibility law and establish clearer statutory exclusions, marks a pivotal moment in the ongoing patent eligibility debate, but the law’s fate remains uncertain as discussions continue, say attorneys at Marshall Gerstein.

  • CSA Case Could Shift Intrastate Commercial Cannabis

    Author Photo

    In Canna Provisions v. Merrick Garland, cannabis companies argue that the Controlled Substances Act is unconstitutional as applied to intrastate commercial cannabis activity; the Massachusetts federal court's eventual decision will be important to the cannabis industry for several reasons, including that the threat of federal enforcement would disappear overnight, says Hilary Bricken at Husch Blackwell.

  • How AI May Be Used In Fintech Fraud — And Fraud Detection

    Author Photo

    Recent enforcement actions in the fintech and finance industries show that the government is increasingly pursuing fraud enabled by artificial intelligence — at the same time it’s using AI innovations to enforce regulations and investigate fraud, say attorneys at ArentFox Schiff.

  • Antitrust Enforcers' Views On Info Exchanges Are Evolving

    Author Photo

    As antitrust enforcers' views on information exchanges between competing companies have matured in response to technological advances, companies would do well to reconsider whether the exchanges in which they participate meet the most recent compliance benchmarks, say attorneys at Norton Rose.

  • Takeaways From Groundbreaking Data Transfer Order

    Author Photo

    A recent first-of-its-kind executive order and related proposed rulemaking lay the groundwork for important outbound U.S. data protections, but they may have unintended consequences related to the types of data and the subjects within their scope, say attorneys at Kirkland.

  • Takeaways From NLRB Advice On 'Outside' Employment

    Author Photo

    Rebecca Leaf at Miles & Stockbridge examines a recent memo from the National Labor Relations Board’s Division of Advice that said it’s unlawful for employers to restrict secondary or outside employment, and explains what companies should know about the use of certain restrictive covenants going forward.

  • FARA Enforcement May Soon Be In The Halls Of Higher Ed

    Author Photo

    Given Congress’ increased attention to rising foreign influence on U.S. college campuses, the U.S. Department of Justice may soon turn the Foreign Agents Registration Act spotlight on educational institutions and groups, which will need to review their possible obligations under the statute, says Tessa Capeloto at Wiley.

  • What Recent Study Shows About AI's Promise For Legal Tasks

    Author Photo

    Amid both skepticism and excitement about the promise of generative artificial intelligence in legal contexts, the first randomized controlled trial studying its impact on basic lawyering tasks shows mixed but promising results, and underscores the need for attorneys to proactively engage with AI, says Daniel Schwarcz at University of Minnesota Law School.

  • How FinCEN Proposal Expands RE Transaction Obligations

    Author Photo

    Against a regulatory backdrop foreshadowing anti-money laundering efforts in the real estate sector, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network's proposed rule significantly expands reporting requirements for certain nonfinanced residential real estate transfers and necessitates careful review, say attorneys at Fried Frank.

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.
Hello! I'm Law360's automated support bot.

How can I help you today?

For example, you can type:
  • I forgot my password
  • I took a free trial but didn't get a verification email
  • How do I sign up for a newsletter?
Ask a question!