Public Policy

  • September 16, 2025

    Dems Renew Push To Ban Credit Checks In Hiring

    Democratic lawmakers introduced legislation that would bar employers from requiring job applicants to disclose their credit history as part of the hiring process, saying the bill would remove a barrier that disproportionately hurts women and minority workers.

  • September 16, 2025

    Commerce Says Auto Tariff Request Window Opens In Oct.

    The U.S. Department of Commerce's Bureau of Industry and Security issued guidance formally establishing the auto part tariff inclusion request process, and the first window for new requests by stakeholders will begin Oct. 1, according to a notice filed Tuesday.

  • September 16, 2025

    BlackRock Blames Coal Production Cuts On Falling Demand

    BlackRock Inc. told a Texas federal court that coal production has declined because demand from coal-fired power plants has been falling for years, not because asset managers conspired to pressure the producers.

  • September 16, 2025

    US Asks Court To Sink Vermont Climate Superfund Law

    The Trump administration, Republican-led states and business groups including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and American Petroleum Institute on Monday asked a Vermont federal court to kill the state's climate Superfund law.

  • September 16, 2025

    Plant Bailout Cost Approvals Were Premature, FERC Told

    Environmental and consumer advocates say the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission jumped the gun in approving plans to charge power consumers for the continued operation of retiring power plants that the Trump administration has controversially ordered to remain open.

  • September 16, 2025

    CVS Caremark Takes $290M Overbilling Judgment To 3rd Circ.

    CVS's pharmacy benefits manager will appeal a judgment against the company that was recently increased from $95 million to $290 million in a suit alleging it overbilled Medicare Part D-sponsored drugs, according to a notice of appeal filed in Pennsylvania federal court.

  • September 16, 2025

    Wash. Charitable Limits Don't Apply To Firefighter House Sale

    The Seattle Black Firefighters' Association is not a charitable organization, the Washington Court of Appeals said, affirming a lower court ruling that found the house the association occupies is not subject to charitable purpose restrictions.

  • September 16, 2025

    Acting US Atty Denies Prosecution Of Lawmaker Is 'Selective'

    The U.S. Department of Justice has requested that assault charges not be dismissed against U.S. Rep. LaMonica McIver, pushing back on claims the government is selectively prosecuting her following a confrontation with federal agents in May at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Newark.

  • September 16, 2025

    Former Miami City Atty Exits Political Retaliation Suit

    A former city attorney for Miami on Monday knocked down claims against her from a pair of business owners accusing her of taking part in a political retaliation scheme when a Florida federal judge ruled that she was immune from the allegations.

  • September 16, 2025

    FTC Chair Pledges 'Action' Against Late Merger Fixes

    Federal Trade Commission Chairman Andrew Ferguson vowed Tuesday to take unspecified "action" against tactics by merging companies to propose fixes only after antitrust enforcers bring a transaction challenge, a strategy he called "bad for the system."

  • September 16, 2025

    FCC Seeks Feedback On Call For Better Signal Booster Regs

    The Federal Communications Commission is mulling a nonprofit's proposal to update its industrial signal booster rules, which the group says "left significant implementation gaps" when they were put in place over a decade ago.

  • September 16, 2025

    SEC Blasts Thrivent's Attempt To 'Upend' FINRA Oversight

    The Securities and Exchange Commission is defending its refusal to amend three long-running arbitration rules adopted by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority at the request of financial services organization Thrivent, urging the D.C. Circuit to reject the company's appellate petition and leave FINRA's arbitration rules as they are.

  • September 16, 2025

    California AG Bonta Names New State Solicitor General

    California Attorney General Rob Bonta has promoted a veteran attorney in the state's Department of Justice to become the state's new solicitor general.

  • September 16, 2025

    USDOT Orders Scuttling Of Delta-Aeromexico Joint Venture

    The Trump administration has ordered Delta Air Lines and Aeromexico to scuttle their joint venture by Jan. 1, saying they gained an unfair advantage in the market after the Mexican government abruptly restricted flights from other carriers at Mexico City's primary airport.

  • September 16, 2025

    Senate Democrats Urge Chamber Not To Recriminalize Hemp

    A group of Democratic U.S. senators on Tuesday urged the chamber's leaders not to adopt language in an appropriations bill that would drastically redefine the definition of legal hemp and which they say could ruin the nationwide hemp industry.

  • September 16, 2025

    Mass. Tax Board Cuts Value Of Biz's Condos Based On Sales

    The assessed values of two condominium units in Massachusetts were reduced by the state Appellate Tax Board in a decision released Tuesday, after the board found that both were overvalued when compared with similar properties.

  • September 16, 2025

    Wilcox Urges Justices Not To Pick And Choose Firing Fights

    If the U.S. Supreme Court steps in to review the legality of former Federal Trade Commission leader Rebecca Slaughter's firing before the D.C. Circuit does, it should also intervene to consider former National Labor Relations Board member Gwynne Wilcox's firing, Wilcox told the justices.

  • September 16, 2025

    Trump Taps US Atty Nominees For NC, NH And Louisiana

    President Donald Trump has named U.S. attorney nominees for Louisiana, New Hampshire and North Carolina.

  • September 16, 2025

    Order Halting Ørsted Wind Project Is Valid, Trump Admin Says

    The Trump administration has told a D.C. federal judge that its challenged decision to halt work on an approved and nearly completed offshore wind farm in New England stands on firm legal ground and should not be overturned.

  • September 16, 2025

    ​​​​​​​8th Circ. Questions Minn. Contractor Law's Vagueness

    The Eighth Circuit on Tuesday questioned trade groups challenging a Minnesota independent contractor misclassification law about the level of scrutiny to apply to the statute and seemed unconvinced that the law is unconstitutionally vague.

  • September 16, 2025

    Mass. Board Reduces Tax Value Of Educational Property

    A multiuse educational facility was overvalued by a local assessor, the Massachusetts Appellate Tax Board said in a decision released Tuesday, cutting its valuation by about $400,000.

  • September 16, 2025

    Environmental Groups Say Gov't Won't Share Climate Docs

    Environmental groups have told a Massachusetts federal judge that the Trump administration isn't following his suggestion that it turn over materials related to the work of an advisory panel recommending reversal of the government's position that greenhouse gases are dangerous.

  • September 16, 2025

    Ga. Justices Won't Reinstate DA Willis To Trump Election Case

    The Georgia Supreme Court on Tuesday declined to review a lower court's ruling disqualifying Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis from the 2020 Georgia election interference case against President Donald Trump and his co-defendants.

  • September 15, 2025

    FTC Dem Urges Justices Not To Disturb Her Reinstatement

    U.S. Federal Trade Commissioner Rebecca Slaughter on Monday asked the U.S. Supreme Court not to block her reinstatement, arguing lower courts were correct in finding that President Donald Trump violated the law when he removed the Democrat from her post without cause.

  • September 15, 2025

    W.Va., Idaho Tell Justices Trans Sports Bans Based On Science

    West Virginia and Idaho urged the U.S. Supreme Court to rule that courts should not use subjective preferences when analyzing whether laws that ban transgender athletes from competing on sports teams different from their sex assigned at birth violate the Constitution.

Expert Analysis

  • Top Takeaways From Trump's AI Action Plan

    Author Photo

    President Donald Trump's AI Action Plan represents some notable evolution in U.S. policy, including affirmation of the administration's trend toward prioritizing artificial intelligence innovation over guardrails and toward supporting greater U.S. private sector reach overseas, say attorneys at WilmerHale.

  • Navigating Executive Perk Enforcement Under Trump Admin

    Author Photo

    While the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission recently signaled a softer approach to executive perks, companies should remain vigilant due to the bipartisan and lengthy nature of executive perquisite cases and Chairman Paul Atkins' previous support for disclosure requirements, say attorneys at Gibson Dunn.

  • Ill. Toxic Tort Jurisdiction Law Raises Constitutional Concerns

    Author Photo

    Illinois' S.B. 328, purporting to broaden state courts' jurisdictional reach over out-of-state corporations, is presented as a measure aimed at facilitating recovery in toxic tort cases, but the legislation raises significant due process and dormant commerce clause issues, say attorneys at Alston & Bird.

  • Rebuttal

    BigLaw Settlements Should Not Spur Ethics Deregulation

    Author Photo

    A recent Law360 op-ed argued that loosening law firm funding restrictions would make BigLaw firms less inclined to settle with the Trump administration, but deregulating legal financing ethics may well prove to be not merely ineffective, but counterproductive, says Laurel Kilgour at the American Economic Liberties Project.

  • Opinion

    8th Circ. Should Reaffirm False Commercial Speech's Nature

    Author Photo

    The Eighth Circuit in Goldfinch Laboratory v. Iowa Pathology Associates should assert that false commercial speech is not categorically immune from antitrust scrutiny, says Daniel Graulich at the Federal Trade Commission.

  • Unpacking Ore. Law's Limits On PE Healthcare Investment

    Author Photo

    A recent Oregon law imposes significant restrictions on nonphysicians owning or controlling medical practices, but newly enacted amendments provide some additional flexibility in certain ownership arrangements without scuttling the law's intent of addressing concerns about the rise of private equity investment in healthcare, say attorneys at Debevoise.

  • Environmental Justice Is Alive And Well At The State Level

    Author Photo

    Even as the Trump administration has rolled back federal environmental justice policies, many states continue to prioritize it, with new regulations, strengthened enforcement of existing rules and ongoing private litigation — so companies must stay alert to how state-level EJ enforcement may affect their operations, say attorneys at Crowell & Moring.

  • What FinCEN's AML Rule Delay Means For Advisers

    Author Photo

    Even with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network's statement last month delaying the compliance date for a rule requiring advisers to report suspicious activity, advisers can expect some level of U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission oversight in connection with anti-money laundering compliance, say attorneys at Simpson Thacher.

  • 5 Ways Lawyers Can Earn Back The Public's Trust

    Author Photo

    Amid salacious headlines about lawyers behaving badly and recent polls showing the public’s increasingly unfavorable view of attorneys, we must make meaningful changes to our culture to rebuild trust in the legal system, says Carl Taylor at Carl Taylor Law.

  • What Insurers Must Know About New La. Proof Of Loss Law

    Author Photo

    Insurers that comply with all the requirements under a Louisiana law effective this month may condition claim payments on receipt of proof of loss statements, but those that overlook even one prerequisite risk penalties and late payments, say attorneys at Phelps Dunbar.

  • Legal Jeopardy Looms Over Trump's Trade Negotiation Plans

    Author Photo

    Even as the Trump administration announces one trade deal after another, the legal authority of the executive branch to impose tariffs under consensual arrangements with leading trading partners is just as debatable as the unilateral imposition of U.S. tariffs under the president's executive orders, says Jeffrey Bialos at Eversheds Sutherland.

  • Criminal Healthcare Fraud Takeaways From 4th Circ. Reversal

    Author Photo

    After the Fourth Circuit reversed a doctor’s postconviction acquittal in U.S. v. Elfenbein last month, defense attorneys should consider three strategies when handling complex criminal healthcare matters, says Jonathan Porter at Husch Blackwell.

  • Opinion

    Furtive Changes To Federal Health Data Threaten Admissibility

    Author Photo

    A recent study showing that nearly 100 U.S. federal health datasets have been modified this year without any notation in official change logs should concern plaintiffs counsel, defense counsel and judges alike — because undermining data's integrity, authenticity and chain of custody threatens its admissibility in litigation, say attorneys at Kershaw Talley.

  • State Laws Show Uniformity Is Key To Truly Fair Bank Access

    Author Photo

    The lack of uniformity among state laws — including new Idaho legislation — that forbid banks from discriminating against customers based on ideology shows that a single set of federally administered fair access rules would better serve financial institutions and American consumers, say attorneys at Bradley Arant.

  • A Look At Justices' Rare Decision Not To Limit Agency Powers

    Author Photo

    The Supreme Court's recent denial of Alpine's cert petition in its long-running case against the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority sends a strong signal that litigation strategies dependent on the elimination of government agencies merit caution, even from a court that lately hasn't been shy about paring back agency authority, say attorneys at Venable.

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.