Public Policy

October 22, 2025
BREAKING: OCC Drops $10M Fine, Ban In Wells Fargo Ex-Exec Deal

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency has agreed to end a long-running case accusing a former Wells Fargo risk officer of failing to prevent the bank's fake accounts scandal, striking a deal that drops its pursuit of a $10 million fine and industry ban.
October 22, 2025
Trump Seeks To Dismiss NY Law Claims In Ex-Aide's Suit

President Donald Trump urged a New York federal court to toss allegations of human rights violations in a discrimination lawsuit brought by a former aide claiming she was banished from his first incoming administration after she became pregnant.
October 22, 2025
Wash. Tribe May Reignite Decades-Old Fishing Rights Dispute

The Sauk-Suiattle Indian Tribe wants to meet and confer with other participants in a 50-year-old Washington federal court case over tribal fishing rights, saying if a meeting doesn't take place it will look to open a new subproceeding to decide where the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community can fish.
October 22, 2025
NJ Justices To Review Judicial Privacy Law For 3rd Circ. Case

The New Jersey Supreme Court has agreed to a request from the Third Circuit to interpret whether the judicial privacy measure Daniel's Law requires a certain mental state in order to establish liability.
October 22, 2025
Unions Pursue More Protection For Fed. Workers In Shutdown

Eight unions asked a California federal judge to step up the level of protection she provided to thousands of federal workers' jobs during the government shutdown, urging her to expand the number of jobs she's protecting and turn a temporary restraining order into a preliminary injunction.
October 22, 2025
Trump Flouted Clean Air Act With Rule Delay, Enviro Orgs. Say

President Donald Trump violated the Clean Air Act when he delayed deadlines to comply with air pollution standards for companies in the chemical manufacturing industry, green groups alleged in Washington federal court Wednesday.
October 22, 2025
House GOP Faces Lawsuit Over Grijalva Swearing-In Standoff

The state of Arizona and U.S. Representative-elect Adelita Grijalva are demanding that House Speaker Mike Johnson seat Grijalva after her special election victory last month, claiming in a new lawsuit that Johnson and other House officials are trying to prevent her from voting to release documents related to federal investigations into Jeffrey Epstein.
October 22, 2025
Montana Tribe's $325K Public Safety Bid Too High, Feds Say

The federal government says it has provided every available dollar to the Northern Cheyenne Tribe for criminal investigations and telecommunications services, arguing that a decision to only partially fund the tribe's contract proposal is consistent with the spirit and letter of the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act of 1975.
October 22, 2025
10th Circ. Won't Revive Ex-IHS Doc's Retaliation Suit

A doctor can't reinstate his suit alleging he was terminated from the U.S. Indian Health Service for complaining that his COVID-19 vaccine exemption request was rejected and that superiors failed to investigate sexual misconduct, the Tenth Circuit said, upholding a win for the IHS and a staffing company.
October 22, 2025
Kirkland Partner, Ex-Sen. Cornyn Counsel Tapped For US Atty

A Dallas-based Kirkland & Ellis LLP litigation partner who previously served as U.S. Sen. John Cornyn's chief counsel has been nominated as U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Texas.
October 22, 2025
La. Justice Faces Questions On Campaigns At Nom Hearing

Two nominees for Louisiana federal court positions appeared before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday, including a state Supreme Court justice who faced Democratic questions about the election process for his current role.
October 22, 2025
NC Biz Court Bulletin: COVID Coverage, A Suspect Signature

The North Carolina Business Court has rounded the corner into fall with insurance disputes over COVID-19 coverage at a chain of outlet malls and the theft of over $900,000 in legal THC reportedly stolen from a warehouse in the Southwest.
October 22, 2025
Broadcast Distributors Decry Blackout Of Nexstar Stations

Nexstar Media Group is coming under fire for using a looming blackout as "deal leverage" in negotiations with Verizon that will decide how much the TV station titan will receive in exchange for letting Verizon retransmit Nexstar's channels.
October 22, 2025
NY Bill Seeks Clean Energy Payment Exemption For Tax Caps

New York would exempt payments in lieu of taxes for renewable energy projects from local governments' property tax cap calculations under a bill introduced in the state Assembly.
October 22, 2025
DOJ Pushes To Pause DACA Health Suit Due To Shutdown

Pointing to the government shutdown, the U.S. Department of Justice asked a North Dakota federal judge to pause litigation over a regulation that allowed immigrants brought to the U.S. as children without authorization to access Affordable Care Act health coverage.
October 22, 2025
Ex-Conn. School Buildings Official Convicted Of Corruption

A federal jury on Wednesday convicted Connecticut's former school construction director on corruption charges, agreeing with prosecutors that Konstantinos "Kosta" Diamantis accepted bribes, committed extortion and lied to both the FBI and the IRS about payments he admitted accepting from two construction firms.
October 21, 2025
Ga. Justices Weigh City's Duty In $33M Fatal Crash Case

The Georgia Supreme Court considered Tuesday whether to overturn a state appellate court's ruling that a metro Atlanta city must pay a $33 million verdict awarded to the parents of a college student who died after crashing into a roadside planter.
October 21, 2025
Trump Special Counsel Pick Backs Out Over Lack Of Support

President Donald Trump's pick to lead the U.S. Office of Special Counsel, the independent agency tasked with safeguarding federal employees, on Tuesday announced he was withdrawing his nomination over a lack of Republican support, following a news report that he sent a series of racist text messages.
October 21, 2025
Apple Slams 'Fatally Broad' App Store Injunction At 9th Circ.

Apple urged the Ninth Circuit Tuesday to scrap a mandate blocking it from charging any commission on iPhone app purchases made outside its systems, slamming the district court's "fatally broad" injunction and arguing that the court's zero-commission rule is "the antithesis of a proper civil contempt remedy."
October 21, 2025
Novo Nordisk Says Officials Not Qualified To Doubt Drug Bills

Attorneys for Novo Nordisk Inc. on Tuesday sought to undercut witness testimony that Medicaid claims in Washington state for the company's hemophilia drug NovoSeven were shockingly high, leading one state auditor to suspect fraud.
October 21, 2025
Fed's Waller Floats 'Skinny' Master Accounts For Fintechs

Federal Reserve Gov. Christopher Waller on Tuesday proposed allowing financial technology firms to connect to the central bank's payment rails through specialized, "skinny" master accounts, a move he said could support payment innovation while keeping risks to the Fed in check.
October 21, 2025
Patent Landscape Shifts As Squires Takes On Key PTAB Role

The announcement that U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Director John Squires will now make all decisions on whether to institute America Invents Act patent reviews is expected to reshape litigation, by leading fewer accused companies to file challenges, attorneys say.
October 21, 2025
Feds Sued Over 'Harmful' Grazing On Wash. National Forest

A trio of environmental groups urged a Washington federal judge to order the U.S. Forest Service to revisit a management plan adopted for the Colville National Forest, alleging the agency failed to confront a longstanding practice of allowing "excessive and harmful" cattle grazing.
October 21, 2025
Gov't Says Texas Migrant Law 'Complements' Federal Law

The Trump administration threw its weight behind a Texas law that allows local law enforcement to arrest people suspected of crossing the border illegally, telling the Fifth Circuit the law "complements existing federal immigration law."
October 21, 2025
Wash. Tribe Fights State Over Cannabis Shop On School Land

A tribal group that calls itself a "self-governing dependent Indian community" has sued a Washington state court clerk in federal court, seeking to stop her from asserting jurisdiction over a dispute involving a cannabis operation on school lands in Indian Country.

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

SEC's No-Action Relief Could Dramatically Alter Retail Voting

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission recently cleared the way for ExxonMobil to institute a novel change in retail shareholder voting that could greatly increase voter turnout, granting no-action relief that represents an effective and meaningful step toward modernizing the shareholder voting process and the much-needed democratization of retail investors, say attorneys at Cozen.
New Mass. 'Junk Fee' Regs Will Be Felt Across Industries

The reach of a newly effective regulation prohibiting so-called junk fees and deceptive pricing in Massachusetts will be widespread across industries, which should prompt businesses to take note of new advertising, pricing information and negative option requirements, say attorneys at Hinshaw.
SDNY OpenAI Order Clarifies Preservation Standards For AI

The Southern District of New York’s recent order in the OpenAI copyright infringement litigation, denying discovery of The New York Times' artificial intelligence technology use, clarifies that traditional preservation benchmarks apply to AI content, relieving organizations from using a “keep everything” approach, says Philip Favro at Favro Law.
What's At Stake In Justices' Merits Hearing Of FTC Firing

In December, the U.S. Supreme Court will review President Donald Trump's firing of Democratic Federal Trade Commissioner Rebecca Slaughter, a decision that will implicate a 90-year-old precedent and, depending on its breadth, could have profound implications for presidential authority over independent agencies, say attorneys at Holland & Knight.
Cybersecurity Rule For DOD Contractors Creates New Risks

A rule locking in the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification system for defense contractors increases False Claims Act and criminal enforcement risks by narrowing a key exemption and mandating affirmations of past compliance, which may discourage new companies from entering the defense contracting market, say attorneys at Haynes Boone.
Compliance Steps To Take As FCRA Enforcement Widens

As the Fair Credit Reporting Act receives renewed focus from both federal and state enforcers, regulatory and litigation risk is most acute in several core areas, which companies can address by implementing purpose processes and quick remediation of consumer complaints, among other steps, say attorneys at Wiley.
What EPA's Continued Defense Of PFAS Rule Means For Cos.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's recent decision to continue defending a Biden-era rule designating two per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances as Superfund hazards may provide the EPA with significant authority over national PFAS cleanup policy — and spur further litigation by both government and private parties, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.
6 Shifts In Trump Tax Law May Lend A Hand To M&A Strategy

Changes in the Trump administration's recent One Big Beautiful Bill Act stand to create a more favorable environment for mergers and acquisitions, including full bonus depreciation and an expanded code section, say attorneys at K&L Gates.
Trends In Post-Grant Practice Since USPTO Denial Guidance

Six months after the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office updated its guidance on discretionary denial of inter partes review and post-grant review, noteworthy trends in denial statistics have emerged, warranting a reassessment of strategies for parallel proceedings, says Andrew Ramos at Bayes.
Examining The Quietest EEOC Enforcement Year In A Decade

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission filed the fewest merit lawsuits in a decade in fiscal year 2025, but recent litigation demonstrates its enforcement priorities, particularly surrounding the healthcare industry, the most active districts, and pregnancy- and religion-based claims, say attorneys at Seyfarth.
Transource Ruling Affirms FERC's Grid Planning Authority

The Third Circuit's recent decision in Transource Pennsylvania v. DeFrank, reversing a state agency's denial of an electric transmission facility permit, provides a check on states' ability to veto needed power projects, and is a resounding endorsement of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's regional transmission planning authority, say attorneys at Wilson Sonsini.
Assessing The Future Of The HIPAA Reproductive Health Rule

In light of a Texas federal court's recent decision to strike down a U.S. Department of Health and Human Services rule aimed to protect the privacy of patients seeking abortions and gender-affirming care, entities are at least temporarily relieved from compliance obligations, but tensions are likely to continue for the foreseeable future, says Liz Heddleston at Wood Rogers.
State Paid Leave Laws Are Changing Employer Obligations

A wave of new and expanded state laws covering paid family, medical and sick leave will test multistate compliance systems, marking a fundamental operational shift for employers that requires proactive planning, system modernization and policy alignment to manage simultaneous state and federal obligations, says Madjeen Garcon-Bonneau at PrestigePEO.
How Crypto Embrace Will Affect Banks And Credit Unions

The second Trump administration has moved aggressively to promote crypto-friendly reforms and initiatives, and as the embrace of stablecoins and distributed ledger technology grows, community banks and credit unions should think strategically as to how they might use these innovations to best serve their customers, says Jay Spruill at Woods Rogers.
In NY, Long COVID (Tolling) Still Applies

A series of pandemic-era executive orders in New York tolling state statutes of limitations for 228 days mean that many causes of action that appear time-barred on their face may continue to apply, including in federal practice, for the foreseeable future, say attorneys at Sher Tremonte.