Public Policy

  • April 25, 2025

    OCC Slashes Fines In Deals With Ex-Wells Fargo Auditors

    The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency has settled with two former Wells Fargo executives who were fighting seven-figure penalty orders for their alleged roles in the bank's fake accounts scandal, agreeing to accept greatly reduced fines totaling $150,000.

  • April 25, 2025

    CFPB Abandons $2.25M Student Loan Trust Deal, Drops Case

    The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau on Friday voluntarily dismissed its long-running debt collection practices suit against the National Collegiate Student Loan Trusts, abandoning a $2.25 million proposed settlement that had been held up by objectors.

  • April 25, 2025

    FINRA Urges Justices To Reject Constitutional Challenge

    The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority on Friday called on the U.S. Supreme Court to turn away a case claiming that the regulator's in-house disciplinary process is unconstitutional, saying that there is no circuit split at issue and that the petition is "plagued with vehicle problems."

  • April 25, 2025

    19 AGs Sue Trump Admin Over Anti-DEI School Funding Threat

    Nearly 20 state attorneys general sued the U.S. Department of Education in Massachusetts federal court Friday accusing it of embarking on efforts to withhold funding from educational institutions that engage in vague, undefined, "illegal" diversity, equity and inclusion practices through an agency action passed earlier this month.

  • April 25, 2025

    Refusing Mental Healthcare Means Liability, Pa. Justices Rule

    Physicians in Pennsylvania can be held liable for turning away a mental health patient who goes on to harm someone if that patient came to the hospital asking for help, the state Supreme Court ruled Friday.

  • April 25, 2025

    Okla. Backs Wind Farm At 10th Circ. In Osage Mineral Dispute

    Oklahoma is backing Enel Power in its Tenth Circuit bid to undo a $4.2 million judgment and order requiring it to remove 84 wind turbines from the Osage Nation reservation, saying the project provides tax revenue, employment and a stable power source for tens of thousands of homes.

  • April 25, 2025

    Up Next At High Court: Class Cert., Religious Charter Schools

    The U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in five cases this coming week, including in disputes over whether courts can certify classes of plaintiffs when some members haven't suffered an injury and whether students alleging disability discrimination in public schools must meet a higher standard of proof to bring claims under the Americans with Disabilities Act.

  • April 25, 2025

    FDIC Defends In-House Enforcement For Banking At 7th Circ.

    The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. has pushed back against a former Illinois community bank chairman's argument that the U.S. Supreme Court's recent Jarkesy decision prohibits the FDIC from using in-house proceedings to bring enforcement claims that seek civil penalties, saying that banking-related actions, like the one at issue, are "different" from what Jarkesy involved.

  • April 25, 2025

    US Tourism Dips Amid ICE Confinement Of Foreign Travelers

    Stories of foreign travelers getting stuck in prolonged immigration detention while trying to enter the U.S. has other potential visitors spooked, leading to a predicted downturn for the hospitality industry and an economic hit for local businesses that rely on tourists.

  • April 25, 2025

    Calif. Judge Rips Trump Admin's 'Whack-A-Mole' ICE Policies

    A California federal judge deciding whether to issue a nationwide injunction in multiple cases challenging the government's termination of foreign students' F-1 visa records expressed frustration with the Trump administration's abrupt policy changes Friday, saying "it's a new world order every day — it's like whack-a-mole."

  • April 25, 2025

    Texas High Court Keeps Alive REIT's 'Short And Distort' Suit

    The Texas Supreme Court found that a farmland-centered real estate investment trust's suit against a Dallas-based hedge fund could continue, but in a Friday opinion it also said a bid to dismiss the suit under the state's anti-SLAPP law could proceed on the merits.

  • April 25, 2025

    DOJ Says Journalists Must Answer Subpoenas

    U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi has revoked the Biden administration's policy preventing the U.S. Department of Justice from seeking records and compelling testimony from journalists in order to crack down on leaks, according to a memo issued Friday and obtained by Law360.

  • April 25, 2025

    Telecom Org. Demands FCC Rethink Copper Retirement

    A group made up of former FCC officials and telecom industry experts is hopping mad about the Federal Communications Commission's move to retire copper lines and move toward newer technology, calling it an "embarrassment of monumental proportions."

  • April 25, 2025

    Patents Commissioner Hits Positive Note On Agency Reforms

    At an event to celebrate World Intellectual Property Day on Friday, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's acting patent division leader acknowledged the changes underway at the agency under the Trump administration, but said one key metric is trending in the right direction: pending patent applications.

  • April 25, 2025

    Seattle Part-Time Judge Censured For Forged Parking Doc

    Washington's judicial conduct board censured a part-time district court judge on Friday and recommended the state's high court oust him from office based on findings that he forged a note embossed with a county seal and another judge's signature stamp to get a parking discount near the Seattle courthouse.

  • April 25, 2025

    Google Ad Tech Judge Wants To Get Moving On Remedies

    The Virginia federal judge overseeing the government's ad tech monopolization case against Google issued an order on Friday calling for a hearing over her concerns about the length of time the sides are requesting to prepare for a trial to determine potential remedies.

  • April 25, 2025

    HHS Says Cuts Target Excess After Judge Seeks More Info

    The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services told a Rhode Island federal judge that a group of states has no basis to challenge the cancellation of billions in grants supporting public health programs because they already received the funds appropriated to them by Congress.

  • April 25, 2025

    Trimmed Challenge To Fla. Lab-Grown Meat Ban Moves Ahead

    A Florida federal judge Friday largely disposed of a food technology company's lawsuit challenging the state's law that bans cultivated, or lab-grown, meat products but kept alive a claim that the law is unconstitutional because it violates the company's right to sell its products through interstate commerce.

  • April 25, 2025

    Trans Prisoners Fight For Care Over New White House Hurdles

    After staff at a New Jersey federal prison told Alishea Sophia Kingdom that, due to an executive order by President Donald Trump, she would no longer be receiving hormone therapy to treat gender dysphoria, Kingdom lodged the latest in a series of suits against the Federal Bureau of Prisons that contend following the executive order violates the Eighth Amendment's prohibition of cruel and unusual punishment.

  • April 25, 2025

    DHS Ordered To Restore Visa Status For More Wash. Students

    A federal judge on Friday ordered the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to temporarily restore student visa status for four more international students in Washington state, on the same day the Trump administration said it would restore thousands of foreign students' visa records that had been abruptly terminated.

  • April 25, 2025

    Interior's Energy Permits Plan Has Legal And Practical Risks

    The U.S. Department of the Interior's plan to truncate environmental reviews and accelerate the approval process for certain energy projects could be vulnerable to lawsuits, given the legwork needed to ensure project reviews are sufficient.

  • April 25, 2025

    Tort Report: Texas Justices Set Dram Shop Standard

    The Texas Supreme Court's clarification of a bar's liability in a suit over the alleged overserving of alcohol and a suit over a Boeing whistleblower's suicide lead Law360's Tort Report, which compiles recent personal injury and medical malpractice news that may have flown under the radar.

  • April 25, 2025

    Judge Asks How Ed Dept. Can Fulfill Mandates Without Staff

    A Massachusetts federal judge on Friday appeared skeptical of arguments by the Trump administration that it can continue delivering legally mandated services without reinstating hundreds of U.S. Department of Education employees who were fired last month.

  • April 25, 2025

    Judge Blocks Trump Order Limiting Fed. Worker Bargaining

    A Washington, D.C., federal judge on Friday blocked President Donald Trump's order last month seeking to end collective bargaining for workers at more than a dozen federal agencies with national security roles, two days after suggesting during oral arguments that Trump's order was retaliatory.

  • April 25, 2025

    Feds Fight Unions' Bid To Reverse Cuts To FMCS

    A group of unions lack standing to ask a New York federal judge to reverse staffing cuts and field office closures at the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, the federal government has argued, opposing the group's bid for an injunction undoing the shrinkage of the labor-management dispute resolution agency.

Expert Analysis

  • What PFAS-Treated Clothing Tariff Bill Would Mean For Cos.

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    In keeping with a nationwide trend of greater restrictions on per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, legislation pending in the U.S. House of Representatives would remove tariff advantages for PFAS-treated clothing — so businesses would be wise to proactively adapt their supply chains and review contracts to mitigate liability, say attorneys at Alston & Bird.

  • How Tariffs May Affect Proxy Contests This Season

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    While global tariffs imposed by the Trump administration will certainly chill at least some activity this proxy season, and make defending contests significantly easier, there will likely be many new activist investments once there is more economic certainty, meaning more proxy fights this fall, say attorneys at Sidley.

  • Running A Compliant DEI Program After EEOC, DOJ Guidance

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    Following recent guidance from the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the U.S. Department of Justice that operationalized the Trump administration's focus on ending so-called illegal DEI, employers don't need to eliminate DEI programs, but they must ensure that protected characteristics are not considered in employment decisions, say attorneys at Holland & Knight.

  • A Closer Look At New NYSE, Nasdaq Listing Rule Changes

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    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has recently approved changes to the New York Stock Exchange's and the Nasdaq's listing rules on reverse stock splits, minimum share price requirements and required liquidity for initial listings, meaning listed companies facing delisting will have fewer means to regain compliance, say attorneys at Cahill Gordon.

  • Opinion

    GENIUS Act Can Bring Harmony To Crypto-Banking Discord

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    ​​​​​​​By embracing crypto innovation while establishing appropriate guardrails, the so-called GENIUS Act charts a path forward that promotes financial inclusion and technological advancement without compromising stability or constitutional rights, says J.W. Verret at George Mason University's Antonin Scalia Law School.

  • Opinion

    US Reassessment Of OECD Tax Deal Is Right Move

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    The wholesale U.S. reevaluation of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development's global tax deal ordered by President Donald Trump is a positive step that could ultimately create a more durable international tax system, says Anne Gordon at the National Foreign Trade Council.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: Be An Indispensable Associate

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    While law school teaches you to research, write and think critically, it often overlooks the professional skills you will need to make yourself an essential team player when transitioning from a summer to full-time associate, say attorneys at Stinson.

  • The Path Forward For Construction Cos. After Calif. Wildfires

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    The increasing frequency of disastrous wildfires, like those that recently occurred in California, presents a set of complex challenges for the construction industry, including regulatory hurdles and supply chain disruptions that can complicate rebuilding efforts, say attorneys at Cozen O'Connor.

  • What 2nd Trump Admin Means For Ship Pollution Compliance

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    As the second Trump administration's civil and criminal enforcement policies take shape, the maritime industry must ensure it complies with both national and international obligations to prevent oil pollution from seagoing vessels — with preventive efforts and voluntary disclosures being some of the best options for mitigating risk, say attorneys at Holland & Knight.

  • Know The Rules And Costs Of New Fla. Condo Inspection Law

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    Following the first report deadline for a structural integrity law meant to prevent disasters like the 2021 Surfside collapse, Florida condominium associations and unit owners should understand the process of conducting compliant inspections and anticipate new assessments to fund required maintenance, say attorneys at Ball Janik.

  • Mass. AG Emerges As Key Player In Consumer Protection

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    Through enforcement actions and collaborations with other states — including joining a recent amicus brief decrying the defunding of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau — Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell has established herself as a thought leader for consumer protection and corporate accountability, say attorneys at Troutman Pepper.

  • SEC Confidential Review Process Provides Issuers Flexibility

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    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's recently announced enhancements to the process for confidentially submitting draft registration statements will be immediately impactful for issuers seeking to access the public capital markets, and should provide more grounds to explore and plan public offerings, say attorneys at Lowenstein Sandler.

  • Series

    Birding Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Observing and documenting birds in their natural habitats fosters patience, sharpens observational skills and provides moments of pure wonder — qualities that foster personal growth and enrich my legal career, says Allison Raley at Arnall Golden.

  • What Pending FCPA Trials Suggest About DOJ Priorities

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    Following President Donald Trump's executive order in February instructing the U.S. Department of Justice to temporarily pause enforcement of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, developments surrounding five FCPA cases already set for trial provide a glimpse into how the DOJ is attempting to navigate the situation at hand, say attorneys at Covington.

  • Measuring And Mitigating Harm From Discriminatory Taxes

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    In response to new tariffs and other recent "America First Trade Policy" pronouncements, corporations should assess and take steps to minimize their potential exposure to discriminatory and reciprocal tax measures that are likely to come, say economists at Charles River Associates.

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