Public Policy

  • August 08, 2025

    DA Willis Blasts Election Case Probe Testimony Fight As Moot

    Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis told the Georgia Supreme Court that a 2024 subpoena seeking her to testify about her personal relationship with the lead prosecutor in the prosecution of President Donald Trump and others in an election interference case is moot due to a change in the state's law.

  • August 08, 2025

    Why DOJ's US Attorney Moves Are Reaching Critical Point

    The Trump administration's strategy of extending U.S. attorney appointments using a pair of laws that allow for interim and acting prosecutors has sparked a constitutional tug-of-war between the executive, legislative and judicial branches that could end up in the U.S. Supreme Court or spur congressional action.

  • August 08, 2025

    Attys Seek Final OK Of $100M Walgreens Rx Cost Settlement

    An Illinois federal judge should greenlight a $100 million settlement to claims that Walgreens overcharged insured customers for generic prescription drugs, the plaintiffs' attorneys said, asking the judge to wrap up the 8-year-old consumer protection litigation.

  • August 08, 2025

    Split 2nd Circ. Says Asylum Termination Bars Resident Status

    Noncitizens whose asylum status was terminated after criminal convictions are no longer eligible to seek green cards, a split Second Circuit panel said in a ruling issued for cases brought by immigrants from Egypt and Guatemala.

  • August 08, 2025

    NY Says 1676 Order Can't Help Tribe In Eel Fishing Regs Row

    The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation is fighting a Supreme Court bid by the Unkechaug Nation to undo a Second Circuit decision rejecting its challenge to the state's regulations on eel fishing harvests, arguing that a 1676 British colonial governor's order is not federal law.

  • August 08, 2025

    Conn. Legislation Highlights In The 1st Half Of 2025

    The highest-profile bill of Connecticut's 2025 legislative session was the state's two-year, $55.8 billion budget, which increased salaries for judges, boosted access to early childhood education programs and made changes to corporate taxes that are expected to raise around $350 million. But lawmakers also tackled issues in family, criminal and employment law, with mixed success.

  • August 08, 2025

    Stewart Rejects 8 IPR Petitions While Overriding May Denial

    Acting U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Director Coke Morgan Stewart used her director review powers to grant a petition for inter partes review that she'd previously denied, but otherwise largely supported patent owners in the small batch of recent discretionary denial reviews.

  • August 08, 2025

    NY Cannabis Sellers Urge Lawmakers To Fix Regulation Flap

    New York cannabis retailers facing the revocation of their licenses due to a recent destabilizing shift in regulatory interpretation are urging Gov. Kathy Hochul and the state Legislature to take immediate action to ensure the continuity of their businesses.

  • August 08, 2025

    Trump Admin Invites Legal Fights With Clean Energy Moves

    Recent Trump administration moves to saddle renewable energy projects with additional regulatory and permit burdens are likely to face court challenges from the industry even as developers are forced to think long and hard about the viability of their projects.

  • August 08, 2025

    CFTC Blesses Another Event Betting Website

    U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission staff has announced they will not pursue enforcement actions against a prediction market company set to launch as a designated contract market, allowing the company to move forward with permitting users to bet on real-world events, such as entertainment and public policy.

  • August 08, 2025

    Trump Gets Explanation Of 2nd Circ. Refusal To Sub In Feds

    The Second Circuit said Friday that President Donald Trump's bid to substitute the federal government for him as a defendant in his defamation fight with writer E. Jean Carroll came too late, dealing him a blow after his $83.3 million jury trial loss.

  • August 08, 2025

    'Legally Indefensible Scheme' DQs NJ US Atty, Court Told

    A New Jersey criminal defendant argued in federal court this week that Alina Habba's appointment as acting U.S. attorney for New Jersey is an "end-run" around the Constitution and moved to have her and any prosecutors working under her disqualified.

  • August 08, 2025

    Pennsylvania Litigation Highlights Of The 1st Half Of 2025

    In the first half of 2025, Pennsylvania judges have created a federal and state court split in a $175 million verdict against Monsanto in Philadelphia's Roundup mass tort, reduced the tax fraud sentence of a member of the family behind an iconic Philadelphia cheesesteak shop and permanently barred a college apparel company from copying Penn State trademarks. 

  • August 08, 2025

    New Jersey Litigation Highlights For The 1st Half Of 2025

    More than halfway through 2025, the New Jersey legal community has seen the state lose its case against one of the most politically connected figures to never hold office, as well as the federal government dropping its case against two former technology executives accused of bribing foreign officials. Here are some of the biggest decisions and ongoing cases to watch for the rest of the year.

  • August 08, 2025

    Texas Modernizes Barratry Ban To Include Online Outreach

    Texas, a state with a long history of outlawing prohibited legal services solicitation — known as barratry — has passed a bill updating its penal code to expand the definition of illegal barratry to cover new media, amid a reported rise in digital solicitation, with the amended law set to take effect on Sept. 1.

  • August 08, 2025

    Massachusetts Sheriff Charged With Extorting Cannabis Shop

    Suffolk County, Massachusetts, Sheriff Steven W. Tompkins was arrested Friday morning in Florida on extortion charges related to his demand for a stake in a cannabis dispensary — and a refund when his shares lost value — federal prosecutors announced.

  • August 07, 2025

    CFPB Mulls Cuts To Oversight Reach In 4 Nonbank Markets

    The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is considering formally scaling back the reach of its nonbank oversight, floating a series of early stage proposals that contemplate sharply reducing the number of firms it would supervise in four key financial services markets.

  • August 07, 2025

    Trump Admin Asks Justices To Halt ICE Arrest Limits In LA

    The Trump administration on Thursday asked the U.S. Supreme Court to pause a California federal court's order temporarily blocking the government from conducting immigration arrests in the Los Angeles area without probable cause, arguing that it threatens officials' ability to enforce immigration laws.

  • August 07, 2025

    Sentencing Commission Plans To Reassess Fraud Guidelines

    The U.S. Sentencing Commission on Wednesday said it will consider potential reforms to the federal sentencing guidelines for fraud offenses, including the outsized role of loss calculation in sentencing, one of several priorities the agency has marked for closer examination.

  • August 07, 2025

    Judge Orders Chemours To Cut Discharges At W.Va. Plant

    A West Virginia federal judge on Thursday ordered Chemours to take any steps needed to stop its Washington Works manufacturing plant from continuing to discharge excessive amounts of a harmful "forever chemical" into the Ohio River.

  • August 07, 2025

    ND Judge Strikes Down Fed's Debit Card Fee Regulation

    A North Dakota federal judge has invalidated the Federal Reserve's regulation limiting certain debit card fees charged in merchant transactions, ruling in favor of a truck stop and convenience store in finding that the Fed had attempted to "improperly repackag[e] the defunct-Chevron deference under a different name."

  • August 07, 2025

    Fox Brands Calif. Gov.'s $787M Defamation Suit 'Spectacle'

    Fox News has asked a Delaware court to toss California Gov. Gavin Newsom's $787 million defamation suit over the network's coverage of his June 6 phone call with President Donald Trump, calling it a "political stunt" and "spectacle" that shouldn't be rewarded.

  • August 07, 2025

    Colo. Court Backs Landlord's Right To 'Fees On Fees'

    In the first Colorado appellate decision to consider whether a prevailing party may recover attorney fees incurred to enforce a contractual fee-shifting provision, a state appellate panel ruled Thursday that a Denver coffee shop's landlord is entitled to an award of such fees.

  • August 07, 2025

    2nd Circ. Says Asylum Status Must Be Current For Green Card

    Asylees seeking green cards must maintain their current asylum status when doing so, a split Second Circuit ruled in a published opinion Thursday, saying two individuals from Egypt and Guatemala couldn't seek lawful permanent residency because their asylum statuses had terminated.

  • August 07, 2025

    9th Circ. Backs Seattle's Win In Housing Ordinance Suit

    The Ninth Circuit affirmed Seattle's lower court victory against a suit filed by landlords challenging a 2017 city housing law that, among other restrictions, prevents landlords from requiring prospective tenants to disclose whether or not they have criminal records.

Expert Analysis

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: Practicing Self-Care

    Author Photo

    Law schools don’t teach the mental, physical and emotional health maintenance tools necessary to deal with the profession's many demands, but practicing self-care is an important key to success that can help to improve focus, manage stress and reduce burnout, says Rachel Leonard​​​​​​​ at MG+M.

  • 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.

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.