Public Policy

November 04, 2025
Dechert Tracks Significant Decline In U.S. Merger Probes

Dechert LLP's latest merger review report counted a dramatic decrease in the number of significant U.S. Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission tie-up investigations between July and September and year-to-date, coming in at just two-thirds of the average over the last 15 years.
November 04, 2025
Mass. Attys Split As Punitive Damages Rules Go To Top Court

A case before Massachusetts' top appellate court over whether more safeguards are needed to cap runaway punitive damage awards has divided attorneys, with some saying the big-dollar verdicts can be skewed by improper evidence and others calling the matter a solution in search of a problem.
November 04, 2025
Industry, Enviros Oppose EPA Plan To Ditch GHG Reporting

Industry and environmental groups alike are pushing back against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's proposal to repeal a program that requires power plants, fossil fuel and natural gas suppliers, and other facilities to report their greenhouse gas emissions.
November 04, 2025
Judge Voids DOT Directive Tying State Grants To Immigration

The U.S. Department of Transportation cannot condition billions in grants on states cooperating with President Donald Trump's immigration crackdown, a Rhode Island federal judge ruled Tuesday, saying the administration "blatantly overstepped" its authority by imposing sweeping and unlawful conditions on federally appropriated funds.
November 04, 2025
States' Zillow, Redfin Suit In Va. Paused Amid Govt. Shutdown

A Virginia federal judge has granted a joint motion to pause an antitrust suit filed by Virginia and four other states against Zillow Group Inc., Zillow Inc. and Redfin Corp., ruling the suit will be paused until the current federal government shutdown ends.
November 04, 2025
Calif. Coalition Slams $350M Cut To Minority-Serving Colleges

A coalition of Democratic state and federal California lawmakers is calling on U.S. Education Secretary Linda McMahon to allocate money to support minority-serving colleges and universities, saying the federal government's decision to withhold $350 million in discretionary funding undermines the ability to serve underrepresented communities.
November 04, 2025
Fla. Law Banning Lab Meat Is Preempted, 11th Circ. Hears

A California company urged the Eleventh Circuit Tuesday to reverse a lower court's decision denying a preliminary injunction against a Florida state law banning lab-grown meat, arguing the Sunshine State's prohibition is federally preempted.
November 04, 2025
Ex-County Staffer, Housing Leader Admit To Bribery Scheme

A former program director for a Detroit housing nonprofit and former Wayne County taxpayer assistant pled guilty Tuesday to operating a scheme to remove homes from the county's foreclosure list to fraudulently transfer to new ownership and sell the properties.
November 04, 2025
9th Circ. Revives Ore. Right To Life Suit: 3 Things To Know

A divided Ninth Circuit panel sided with an Oregon anti-abortion group last week and reinstated its lawsuit challenging a state law that requires health plans to cover abortion and contraceptives.
November 04, 2025
Wash. AG Launches Public Records Unit To Up Transparency

The Washington State Office of the Attorney General is launching a new unit designed to expand access to government records, the office announced on Tuesday, noting that public records requests in the state have nearly doubled over the past decade.
November 04, 2025
'Chinese Military' Tag Is Unlawful, Drone Maker Tells DC Circ.

Drone maker DJI has taken its arguments that the Pentagon unlawfully labeled it a "Chinese military company" to a higher court.
November 04, 2025
Alcohol Interests Urge Congress To Ban Intoxicating Hemp

Alcohol industry trade organizations on Tuesday urged congressional leaders to close the federal policy loophole that allowed for the proliferation of loosely regulated products containing intoxicating THC derived from hemp.
November 04, 2025
DHS Accelerates New Rule To Protect Property, Citing Unrest

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security said Tuesday that a rule aimed at helping protect federal property must take effect this week, rather than in January, due to a "cascade of violence" threatening federal buildings and law enforcement officers.
November 04, 2025
Top Groups Lobbying The FCC

October's government shutdown didn't snuff out lobbying efforts at the Federal Communications Commission. While the number of disclosed appearances fell sharply, various groups managed to share their views on broadband "nutrition" labels, next-generation TV, C-band spectrum, anti-robocall rules and more.
November 04, 2025
Okla. Tribes Push For Quick Win In Gaming Compact Dispute

Three Oklahoma tribes are asking a D.C. federal court for a summary judgment win in a dispute over Class II gaming compacts with the state, arguing that the governor lacked authority to enter into the agreements with two other tribes.
November 04, 2025
DOJ Ignores Court Discovery Order In Letitia James Case

The U.S. Department of Justice has refused to provide New York Attorney General Letitia James access to documents related to her October indictment on mortgage fraud charges, arguing Tuesday that a Virginia federal judge was too early in making the discovery order.
November 04, 2025
Confirmation Ends Dem-Appointed Judges' Lock On 1st Circ.

The Senate voted 52-46 on Tuesday to confirm Joshua D. Dunlap, a partner at Pierce Atwood LLP, to the First Circuit.
November 04, 2025
Ohio Board Bumps Apartment Building's Value

An apartment building should have its value increased from $24 million to $41.5 million based on its most recent sales price, the Ohio Board of Tax Appeals ruled.
November 04, 2025
Ex-Conn. Official Gets Sentencing Delayed Pending 2nd Trial

A Connecticut federal judge on Tuesday indefinitely delayed sentencing for Konstantinos "Kosta" Diamantis, a former Connecticut budget official convicted of soliciting and accepting bribes connected to school construction projects, after defense counsel requested a pause until a second trial on unrelated corruption charges concludes.
November 04, 2025
2nd Circ. Hints Bankman-Fried's $11B Forfeiture Is Overkill

The Second Circuit suggested Tuesday that the government's $11 billion forfeiture order against Sam Bankman-Fried may be unconstitutionally large, noting that the staggering amount tops the raft of cases tasking the court with determining if such money judgments pass Eighth Amendment muster.
November 04, 2025
Approach The Bench: Justice McKenna On Earning Her Master's

Sabrina McKenna, acting chief justice of the Hawaii Supreme Court, had been on the bench for about three decades before she decided to go back to school to study the work of judging.
November 03, 2025
Feds Defend Cases Against James Comey, Letitia James

The U.S. Department of Justice on Monday took a swing at bids by former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James to get their indictments thrown out, telling a federal judge the appointment of interim U.S. Attorney Lindsey Halligan was valid.
November 03, 2025
'Frankly, They're Irrelevant:' ABA Ratings In Trump's 2nd Term

The American Bar Association, long considered the gold standard for rating judicial nominees, no longer gets to interview them as Trump officials claim the group's "not qualified" rating for some nominees during Trump's first term shows it is a biased and "leftist" organization. Ironically though, ABA ratings for President Donald Trump's second-term picks are mostly positive so far.
November 03, 2025
Squires' First Orders Reject PTAB Petitions En Masse

U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Director John Squires, true to his word, rejected 13 petitions for inter partes review with no explanation, furthering the administration's controversial push toward narrowing the Patent Trial and Appeal Board's place in patent litigation.
November 03, 2025
BofA Says It's Fielding 'Fair Access' Regulatory Inquiries

Bank of America Corp. has told investors it is facing government scrutiny tied to President Donald Trump's push to crack down on alleged political and religious discrimination by financial institutions.

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

The Emerging Issues Shaping Real Estate Project Insurance

As real estate faces increasingly complex considerations — such as climate losses, "nuclear verdicts" and regulatory changes — insurance is evolving into a strategic function that should be discussed early in the planning stages of a project, says Jason Adams at Cox Castle.
How '24 Statements Show FTC's Direction On Political Speech

Two top Federal Trade Commission officials made concurring statements in 2024 that detailed a potential push to protect political speech, which have served as a preview of the commission's potential new focus on investigating social media and financial services firms to secure changes in those companies' internal business practices, says Benjamin Goldman at Montgomery McCracken.
Attys Beware: Generative AI Can Also Hallucinate Metadata

In addition to the well-known problem of AI-generated hallucinations in legal documents, AI tools can also hallucinate metadata — threatening the integrity of discovery, the reliability of evidence and the ability to definitively identify the provenance of electronic documents, say attorneys at Law & Forensics.
What May Be Ahead In Debanking Enforcement

President Donald Trump's executive order on politicized or unlawful debanking has spurred a flurry of activity by the federal banking regulators, so banks should expect debanking-related complaints submitted by consumers to increase, and for federal regulators to look for more enforcement opportunities, say attorneys at Bradley Arant.
Balancing Reliability, Competition In FERC's Pipeline Proposal

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's proposed transparency requirements for interstate natural gas pipelines endeavor to improve electric system reliability but could also unintentionally foster coordination, says Lyle Larson at Balch & Bingham.
SEC Crypto Custody Relief Offers Clarity For Funds

A recent U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission staff letter supplies a workable path for registered investment advisers and funds seeking to offer crypto custody services by using state trust companies, and may portend additional useful guidance regarding crypto custody, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.
DC Circuit Charts Path On FERC Orders In Loper Bright Era

The D.C. Circuit's recent decision in Solar Energy Industries Association v. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, upholding the agency's assessment of a power production facility's output, laid out an approach for addressing statutory interpretation in FERC appeals in light of the U.S. Supreme Court's game-changing Loper Bright decision, say attorneys at Bracewell.
DOJ's UnitedHealth Settlement Highlights New Remedies Tack

The use of divestitures and Hart-Scott-Rodino Act compliance in the recent U.S. Department of Justice settlement with UnitedHealth Group and Amedisys underscores the DOJ Antitrust Division's willingness to utilize merger remedies under the second Trump administration, say attorneys at Buchanan Ingersoll.
When Atty Ethics Violations Give Rise To Causes Of Action

Though the Model Rules of Professional Conduct make clear that a violation of the rules does not automatically create a cause of action, attorneys should beware of a few scenarios in which they could face lawsuits for ethical lapses, says Brian Faughnan at Faughnan Law.
A Shift To Semiannual Reporting May Reshape Litigation Risk

While the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's proposed change from quarterly to semiannual reporting may reduce the volume of formal filings, it wouldn't reduce litigation risk, instead shifting it into less predictable terrain — where informal disclosures, timing ambiguities and broader materiality debates will dominate, says Pavithra Kumar at Advanced Analytical Consulting Group.
TikTok Divestiture Deal Revolves Around IP Considerations

The divestiture deal between the U.S. and China to resolve a security dispute over TikTok's U.S. operations is seen as a diplomatic breakthrough, but its success hinges on the treatment of intellectual property and may set a precedent in the global contest over digital sovereignty and IP control, say attorneys at Brownstein Hyatt.
What's New In FDA's Latest Cell And Gene Therapy Guidance

New draft guidance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, along with other recent initiatives, come together to promote cell and gene therapy product development by streamlining development and review pathways, say attorneys at Holland & Knight.
CFIUS Trends May Shift Under 'America First' Policy

The arrival of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States' latest annual report suggests that the Trump administration's "America First" policy will have a measurable effect on foreign investment, including improved trendlines for investments from allied sources and increasingly negative trendlines for those from foreign adversary sources, say attorneys at Debevoise.
How Gov't May Use FARA To Target 'Domestic Terrorism'

After the Trump administration’s recent memo directing law enforcement to use the Foreign Agents Registration Act to prosecute domestic terrorism, nonprofit organizations receiving funding from foreign sources must assess their registration obligations under the statute, say attorneys at Pillsbury.
What's Changing For Cos. In New Calif. Hazardous Waste Plan

While the latest hazardous waste management plan from California's Department of Toxic Substances Control still awaits final approval, companies can begin aligning internal systems now with the plan's new requirements for environmental justice, waste and disposal reduction, waste criteria, and capacity planning, says Thierry Montoya at Frost Brown.