Public Policy

  • August 15, 2025

    DC Judge Gets City And Feds To Strike Deal On Police Takeover

    A federal judge hesitated Friday to restrain the Trump administration from taking over the District of Columbia Metropolitan Police Department, successfully urging the city and government attorneys to iron out an agreement instead to divert the court's immediate intervention.

  • August 15, 2025

    Federal Reserve To End Crypto-Focused Supervisory Program

    The Federal Reserve Board on Friday announced the end of a Biden-era supervisory program that specifically oversaw banks' crypto and fintech activities, a move that comes after Wall Street trade groups argued that the program unfairly subjected banks to a higher level of scrutiny for their use of novel tech.

  • August 15, 2025

    5th Circ. Says PWFA Was Constitutionally Enacted

    The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission was wrongly blocked from enforcing the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act against the state of Texas, the Fifth Circuit ruled Friday, saying the U.S. Constitution didn't require House lawmakers' physical presence to have a quorum when the statute was approved.

  • August 15, 2025

    Interior Dept.'s Clean Energy Rules Could Snag Grid Hookups

    Recent U.S. Department of the Interior moves to place additional regulatory and permitting burdens on renewable energy facilities may also cover projects those facilities need to get on the grid, the agency has told Law360.

  • August 15, 2025

    Bid To Stop Spectrum Rule Waiver Renewed At FCC

    A spectrum licensee is calling out the Federal Communications Commission's decision to assign licenses previously held by Telesaurus Holdings and Skybridge Spectrum Foundation to Progeny LLC, saying the commission's waiver of spectrum aggregation limits in the M-LMS band for Progeny reflects "arbitrary, preferential decision-making" that others haven't been granted. 

  • August 15, 2025

    Feds Look To End Seminole Land Seizure Dispute

    The federal government urged a Florida federal court to toss a suit by two members of the Seminole Tribe of Florida who say federal agencies are threatening to confiscate their land inside Big Cypress National Preserve, arguing they fail to allege any waiver of U.S. sovereign immunity.

  • August 15, 2025

    Trump's Divisive 'China Initiative' May Get A Vigorous Reboot

    The Trump administration's ongoing battles with major universities may soon include the revival of an initiative that, with mixed success, targeted professors with ties to China during the president's first term, and experts told Law360 the second incarnation may be even more aggressive.

  • August 15, 2025

    Amazon Keeps Damages Expert For FTC's Prime Case

    A Washington federal judge refused Friday to nix an Amazon.com expert from the Federal Trade Commission case accusing the retail giant of using "dark patterns" to trick users into Prime subscriptions, allowing the jury to hear arguments that the FTC's accusations under an online shopping protection law are "an unpredictable departure."

  • August 15, 2025

    Chippewa Cree Sues Montana County Over Native Vote Dilution

    An Indigenous tribe is asking a federal court to block Chouteau County, Montana, from using an at-large election system and implementing three single-member voting districts, arguing the policies are artificially suppressing Native Americans' ability to equally participate in the electoral process.

  • August 15, 2025

    Judge Clears School Of Violating GOP Club's Speech Rights

    A Michigan federal judge has ruled that a public high school in Ann Arbor did not violate the constitutional rights of conservative students by refusing to air an announcement opposing an abortion rights measure.

  • August 15, 2025

    Texas AG Opens Investigation Into Xcel Over Panhandle Fires

    Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said he's investigating whether Xcel Energy and a contractor broke any laws in connection with devastating fires in the Texas Panhandle last year, questioning whether they put environmental or diversity goals ahead of safety.

  • August 15, 2025

    5th Circ. Backs San Antonio's Park Plan Over Tribal Protests

    The Fifth Circuit has upheld a lower court order saying a San Antonio park has legitimate public safety issues that allow the city to implement a tree removal plan and rookery management measures while also giving tribal members access to a disputed area for religious ceremonies.

  • August 15, 2025

    IRS Strips 5% Safe Harbor In Solar, Wind Tax Credit Guidance

    Large-scale clean energy projects seeking to claim solar and wind tax credits before they expire under a new accelerated sunset schedule can no longer rely on a safe harbor to incur 5% of the building costs to establish eligible construction start dates under Internal Revenue Service guidance released Friday.

  • August 15, 2025

    Mass. Nonprofit To Pay $1M To Settle FCA Allegations

    A Massachusetts nonprofit will pay $1 million to settle allegations it violated the False Claims Act by securing a pandemic relief loan that it was never eligible for and was later forgiven, federal prosecutors said Friday.

  • August 15, 2025

    US Eyeing Tariffs, Port Levies Over Shipping Emissions Plan

    The U.S. government is considering tariffs, visa restrictions or port levies — and potentially a combination of those measures — in response to an intergovernmental plan to push the global shipping industry toward achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions, a U.S. Department of State spokesperson told Law360.

  • August 15, 2025

    Madigan Ally Seeks Release Pending Bribery Appeal

    A lobbyist for Commonwealth Edison asked an Illinois federal judge to let him remain free on bond while he appeals a jury's finding that he and others conspired to bribe former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan, saying the Seventh Circuit will consider multiple questions of law that could warrant a reversal, new trial or reduced sentence.

  • August 15, 2025

    AT&T Seeks Approval To Halt Copper Service After Thefts

    AT&T is asking the Federal Communications Commission for emergency authorization to suspend its copper-based phone legacy service for 22 customers outside Dallas, claiming that service outages were caused by a series of copper thefts from its facilities in June.

  • August 15, 2025

    'Creative' $2.5B DuPont Deal In NJ Is PFAS Road Map For AGs

    After six years of litigation between New Jersey and E.I. du Pont de Nemours, including a series of bench trials, the chemical manufacturer agreed to a deal that committed more than $2 billion to cleaning up the Garden State from "forever chemical" contamination at four of its facilities, in the largest environmental settlement ever achieved by a single state.

  • August 15, 2025

    NLRB Top Cop Says States Can't Act As Agency Stand-In

    The National Labor Relations Board's acting general counsel opined Friday that federal law blocks pending state proposals to take on the agency's labor relations oversight even when the board can't perform certain functions because it lacks a quorum.

  • August 15, 2025

    3rd Circ. Won't Rehear Pa. County's Dominion Contract Suit

    The Third Circuit has declined to revisit a ruling that a Pennsylvania county's commissioners lacked standing to sue Dominion Voting Systems over alleged security flaws during the 2020 election.

  • August 15, 2025

    Interim US Atty In NM Named To Acting Role, Sens. Protest

    The interim U.S. attorney for the District of New Mexico has been designated acting U.S. attorney — the latest in the Trump administration's efforts to bypass the Senate confirmation process and install the president's picks.

  • August 15, 2025

    FCC Warns Of Possible $2.4M Pirate Radio Fines In Ill., Conn.

    Someone is operating an illegal radio station on a residential street in Springfield, Illinois, and the Federal Communications Commission says it can and will fine the person responsible more than $2.4 million if they don't cut it out — and it's not the only one.

  • August 15, 2025

    Town Says TV Reporter Bypassing Own Blame For Broken Leg

    A television news reporter can't shirk the blame for his broken leg after he allegedly failed to exercise reasonable care while walking in a parking lot and got run over by a town worker, the town told North Carolina's highest court in seeking to undo a jury verdict favoring the reporter.

  • August 15, 2025

    Md.'s Digital Ad Tax Violates 1st Amendment, 4th Circ. Says

    A provision in Maryland's digital advertising tax that prevents tech companies from directly passing the tax on to customers is unconstitutional, the Fourth Circuit said Friday, ruling that it unfairly suppresses companies' ability to explain the tax to consumers.

  • August 15, 2025

    Judge Questions How New Jersey US Atty Ascended To Role

    A federal judge tasked with deciding if acting U.S. Attorney Alina Habba was legitimately serving as New Jersey's top federal prosecutor was curious about how she ascended to the role in the first place, suggesting at one point during a hearing Friday that the government proposed a game of "musical chairs" designed to "shoehorn" her into the position.

Expert Analysis

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

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    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

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    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

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    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

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    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

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    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

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    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

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    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.

  • High Court ACA Ruling May Harm Preventative Care

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Kennedy v. Braidwood last week, ruling that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services secretary has authority over an Affordable Care Act preventive care task force, risks harming the credibility of the task force and could open the door to politicians dictating clinical recommendations, says Michael Kolber at Manatt.

  • Policy Shifts Bring New Anti-Money Laundering Challenges

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    In the second half of 2025, the U.S. anti-money laundering regulatory landscape is poised for decisive shifts in enforcement priorities, compliance expectations and legislative developments — so investment advisers and other financial institutions should take steps to prepare for potential new obligations and areas of risk, say attorneys at Linklaters.

  • 8 Ways Lawyers Can Protect The Rule Of Law In Their Work

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    Whether they are concerned with judicial independence, regulatory predictability or client confidence, lawyers can take specific meaningful actions on their own when traditional structures are too slow or too compromised to respond, says Angeli Patel at the Berkeley Center of Law and Business.

  • Kousisis Concurrence Maps FCA Defense To Anti-DEI Suits

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    Justice Clarence Thomas' recent concurrence in Kousisis v. U.S. lays out how federal funding recipients could use the high standard for materiality in government fraud cases to fight the U.S. Justice Department’s threatened False Claims Act suits against payees deviating from the administration’s anti-DEI policies, say attorneys at Miller & Chevalier.

  • Despite Dark Clouds, Outlook For US Solar Has Bright Spots

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    While tariff, tax policy and bankruptcy news seemingly portends unending challenges for the U.S. solar energy industry, signs of continued growth in solar generating capacity and domestic solar manufacturing suggest that there is a path forward, say attorneys at Beveridge & Diamond.

  • Assessing New Changes To Texas Officer Exculpation Law

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    Consistent with Texas' recent modernization of its corporate law, the recently passed S.B. 2411 allows officer exculpation, streamlines certificate of formation amendments, authorizes representatives to act on shareholders' behalf in mergers and makes other changes aimed toward companies seeking a more codified, statutory model of corporate governance, say attorneys at Bracewell.

  • How Ending OFCCP Will Affect Affirmative Action Obligations

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    As President Donald Trump's administration plans to eliminate the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs, which enforces federal contractor antidiscrimination compliance and affirmative action program obligations, contractors should consider the best compliance approaches available to them, especially given the False Claims Act implications, say attorneys at Ogletree.

  • Rising Enforcement Stakes For Pharma Telehealth Platforms

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    Two pieces of legislation recently introduced in Congress could transform the structure and promotion of telehealth arrangements as legislators increasingly scrutinize direct-to-consumer advertising platforms, potentially paving the way for a new U.S. Food and Drug Administration policy with bipartisan support, say attorneys at Sheppard Mullin.

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