Public Policy

  • September 23, 2025

    Chief Judge In Ala. To Take Semiretirement Status Next Year

    Chief U.S. District Judge David Proctor of the Northern District of Alabama has informed the president that he will take senior status Jan. 1, 2026.

  • September 23, 2025

    Texas Bans Hemp Sales To Minors Under Emergency Rule

    Texas regulators on Tuesday adopted emergency rules restricting the sale of hemp-derived psychoactive products to anyone under the age of 21.

  • September 23, 2025

    1st Circ. Won't Let Citizens Bank Escape Escrow Interest Suit

    The First Circuit has revived a proposed class action accusing Citizens Bank of violating Rhode Island law by not making interest payments for mortgage escrow accounts, ruling the action must be reinstated in part because of a U.S. Supreme Court decision handed down after the case was dismissed.

  • September 23, 2025

    Minnesota's Deepfake Crackdown Foreshadows Legal Clashes

    Minnesota's law cracking down on deepfake videos aimed at influencing elections has drawn separate court challenges to stop its enforcement, including one by X Corp., offering a glimpse into the hurdles other states and Congress may face as they address the proliferation of digital replicas created with artificial intelligence.

  • September 23, 2025

    Judge Demands Summary Of Unspent Foreign Aid Funds

    A D.C. federal judge ordered the Trump administration to file a summary of uncommitted foreign aid funds from pre-2024 appropriations acts expiring at the end of September, after aid organizations said the government was deliberately trying to evade his injunction requiring that it obligate more than $6 billion by the end of the month.

  • September 23, 2025

    Chemours Asks 4th Circ. To Toss Ohio River Pollution Order

    Chemours told the Fourth Circuit a West Virginia federal judge botched the law and the science about the risks a forever chemical poses when he ordered its Washington Works facility to stop discharging permit-exceeding amounts of the substance into the Ohio River.

  • September 23, 2025

    Admin Argues Copyright Chief Seeks 'Sweeping Remedies'

    The Trump administration told a D.C. federal court that it had the authority to remove Shira Perlmutter as head of the U.S. Copyright Office, saying her suit over her firing seeks "sweeping remedies" she isn't entitled to.

  • September 23, 2025

    Bipartisan House Reps Float Bill Protecting Older Job Seekers

    House lawmakers from both sides of the aisle said they have introduced legislation that would amend the Age Discrimination in Employment Act to state explicitly that it shields job applicants as well as employees.

  • September 23, 2025

    DOL Greenlights Guaranteed Income Investments In 401(k)s

    The U.S. Department of Labor's employee benefits arm issued guidance Tuesday making clear that employers can offer lifetime income insurance products as a default investment in 401(k) plans, responding to an executive order by President Donald Trump calling for expanded access to nontraditional retirement plan assets.

  • September 23, 2025

    Ga. Panel Says Kemp Doesn't Have To Probe Election Board

    The Georgia Court of Appeals on Tuesday said a trial court rightly dismissed a suit that sought to force the state's governor to hold a hearing on ethics charges brought against three Republican members of the State Election Board.

  • September 23, 2025

    Star Chef Didn't Violate 'Vague' Pact With Boston, Judge Says

    A Massachusetts state court has ruled that a "vague" agreement between celebrity chef Barbara Lynch and the city of Boston to escrow proceeds from the sale of her flagship No. 9 Park restaurant while the city seeks to collect her unpaid taxes doesn't prevent Lynch from using the funds to pay other creditors.

  • September 23, 2025

    Full Effects Of US Tariffs 'Yet To Be Felt,' OECD Report Says

    Economic growth in the U.S. is expected to dip in 2026 partly because of global trade tensions, the full effects of which "have yet to be felt," the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development reported Tuesday.

  • September 22, 2025

    Trump Appoints 'Loyal' Aide Following Va. US Atty's Exit

    One of President Donald Trump's White House aides and former personal attorneys Monday was sworn in as interim U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, a day after the resignation of the office's previous Senate-approved top prosecutor, who had declined to bring charges against two of the president's foes.

  • September 22, 2025

    Oracle To Secure TikTok Users' Data In Deal To Skirt US Ban

    Tech giant Oracle will be tasked with safeguarding U.S. TikTok users' personal data, and the app's recommendation algorithm will be "retrained" and operated outside the control of TikTok's Chinese parent company under a deal that President Donald Trump is expected to sign this week to avert a shutdown of TikTok, the White House said Monday. 

  • September 22, 2025

    Google Ad Tech Breakup 'Drastic' But Best, DOJ Tells Judge

    A U.S. Department of Justice attorney pressed a Virginia federal judge Monday to break up Google's advertising placement technology business, asserting in opening statements that a divestiture is doable and the only way to fully address Google's monopoly.

  • September 22, 2025

    VoIP Provider Seeks Faster Switch To Internet-Based Lines

    Local carriers are dragging their feet in changing from older switching systems to internet-based call interconnection, and federal rules should be crafted to hasten the transition, says a telecom technology platform.

  • September 22, 2025

    $100K H-1B Fee Will Likely Hurt Both US And Foreign Workers

    The new $100,000 fee for H-1B visas, which took effect on Sunday with little advance notice, blindsided immigration attorneys who told Law360 that it could ultimately hurt domestic workers by driving U.S. companies to do business elsewhere.

  • September 22, 2025

    Colo. Justices Unsure How To Interpret Open Records Law

    Colorado Supreme Court justices grilled an attorney representing the state Monday about how its interpretation of Colorado's open records laws actually protects the identity of children, and whether its reading of the statute isn't overly broad.

  • September 22, 2025

    New Framework Needed For Satellite Power Caps, Orgs Say

    More than a dozen groups on Monday told the Federal Communications Commission it's time to update spectrum sharing rules between low earth orbit and other satellites to spur industry growth.

  • September 22, 2025

    UK, US To Collaborate On Capital Markets, Crypto Policy

    The U.S. Department of the Treasury and the United Kingdom's financial ministry on Monday announced the formation of a joint taskforce to explore ways to collaborate on digital asset policy and "improve links" between the two countries' capital markets.

  • September 22, 2025

    T-Mobile, Sprint Push DC Circ. To Revisit $92M FCC Fines

    T-Mobile and Sprint are asking the full D.C. Circuit to review a $92 million fine from the Federal Communications Commission over their sale of sensitive user location data with third-party companies, asking for an en banc rehearing of their challenge after a three-judge panel unanimously affirmed the penalty last month. 

  • September 22, 2025

    DC Circ. Mulls International Media Funding, Firings

    The D.C. Circuit is set to decide whether or not to allow the Trump administration to continue dismantling the agency that oversees state news broadcaster Voice of America after hearing consolidated arguments Monday morning in a quartet of cases challenging the shutdown.

  • September 22, 2025

    DOJ Urges 7th Circ. To Affirm Strike Of Ill. Assault Rifle Ban

    The Department of Justice's civil rights chief told a Seventh Circuit panel on Monday that an Illinois law banning assault weapons and high capacity magazines is unconstitutional and that the appellate court set an "inaccurate standard" when it denied an earlier bid to block the law's enforcement.

  • September 22, 2025

    Feds Urge No Injunction In Ill. Migrant Shelter Fund Fight

    An Illinois federal judge hearing Chicago and other municipalities' dispute over migrant-focused grant funds the U.S. Department of Homeland Security stopped reimbursing should not halt that decision while the parties' case plays out, because the funds aren't being moved or used elsewhere, the federal government argued Monday.

  • September 22, 2025

    Judge Lets Suit Over Audible's Expiring Credits Move Forward

    A Washington federal judge has declined to toss a consumer's proposed class action against Audible Inc. over the expiration dates on membership "credits," saying such vouchers don't have to be backed by a specific cash value to be covered by the Evergreen State's gift card law.

Expert Analysis

  • How Sweeping Budget Bill Shakes Up Health Industry

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    With the recently passed One Big Beautiful Bill Act marking one of the most significant overhauls of federal health policy since the passage of the Affordable Care Act, providers, managed care organizations and life sciences companies must now shift focus from policy review to implementation planning, say advisers at Holland & Knight.

  • Deep-Sea Mining Outlook Murky, But May Be Getting Clearer

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    U.S. companies interested in accessing deep-sea mineral resources face uncertainty over new federal regulations and how U.S. policy may interact with pending international agreements — but a Trump administration executive order and provisions of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act should help bring clarity, say attorneys at Holland & Knight.

  • Legal Ops, Compliance Increasingly Vital To Antitrust Strategy

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    With deal timelines tightening and disclosure requirements intensifying, legal operations and compliance teams are becoming critical drivers of premerger strategy, cross-functional alignment and regulatory credibility, says Alexander Lima at Wesco International.

  • What's Next For CFPB After 'Big Beautiful' Funding Cuts

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    While the One Big Beautiful Bill Act's funding cuts to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau are unlikely to have an independent effect in the short run, they could exacerbate the existing issue of wide regulatory fluctuations in successive administrations in the longer run, say attorneys at Covington.

  • Series

    Adapting To Private Practice: From ATF Director To BigLaw

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    As a two-time boomerang partner, returning to BigLaw after stints as a U.S. attorney and the director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, people ask me how I know when to move on, but there’s no single answer — just clearly set your priorities, says Steven Dettelbach at BakerHostetler.

  • What To Know As SEC Looks To Expand Private Fund Access

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    As the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission considers expanding retail access to private markets, understanding how these funds operate — and the role of financial intermediaries in guiding investors — is increasingly important, say attorneys at K&L Gates.

  • Fla. Law Is Part Of State Trend On Curbing Foreign Influence

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    A recently effective Florida law that broadly prohibits charities from receiving or soliciting funds from individuals and entities associated with certain foreign countries, the first of its kind in the nation, follows a growing state-level focus on foreign influence regulation, say attorneys at Venable.

  • 4 In-Flux Employment Law Issues Banks Should Note

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    Attorneys at Ogletree provide a midyear update on employment law changes that could significantly affect banks and other financial service institutions — including federal diversity equity and inclusion updates, and new and developing state and local artificial intelligence laws.

  • New DOJ Penalty Policy Could Spell Trouble For Cos.

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    In light of the U.S. Department of Justice’s recently published guidance making victim relief a core condition of coordinated resolution crediting, companies facing parallel investigations must carefully calibrate their negotiation strategies to minimize the risk of duplicative penalties, say attorneys at Debevoise.

  • IPR Decisions Clarify Stewart's 'Settled Expectations' Factor

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    Recent discretionary denial decisions from U.S. Patent and Trademark Office acting Director Coke Morgan Stewart have begun to illuminate the contours of her "settled expectations" doctrine, informing when it might be worth petitioning for inter partes review if the patent at issue has been in force for a few years, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • Mulling Worker Reclassification In Light Of No Tax On OT

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    The One Big Beautiful Bill Act's no-tax-on-overtime provisions provide tax relief for employees who regularly work overtime and are nonexempt from the Fair Labor Standards Act, but reclassifying employees may lead to higher compliance costs and increased wage and hour litigation for employers, says Steve Bronars at Edgeworth Economics.

  • Clean Energy Tax Changes Cut Timelines, Add Red Tape

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    With its dramatic changes to energy tax credits, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act will reshape project financing and investment planning — and wind and solar developers, especially those in the early stages of projects, face stricter timelines and heightened compliance challenges, says Dan Ruth at Balch & Bingham.

  • 5 Consumer Protection Compliance Issues In NY State Budget

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    Companies that engage with New York consumers should promptly familiarize themselves with new state budget provisions that require finance and retail companies to make certain business practices more transparent and easier for customers to execute, say attorneys at Mintz.

  • Balancing The Promises And Perils Of Tokenizing Securities

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    Tokenizing listed securities offers the promise of greater efficiency, accessibility and innovation, but a recent U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission statement makes clear that the federal securities laws continue to apply to tokenized securities, so financial institutions and technology developers must work together to create clear rules, say attorneys at Orrick.

  • How To Increase 3rd-Party Preissuance Patent Submissions

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    Attorneys Marian Underweiser and Marc Ehrlich, who helped draft the America Invents Act, discuss changes that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office could potentially implement to facilitate its hopes for increased participation in front-end patent challenges.

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