Public Policy

  • July 16, 2025

    Mass. Judges To Mull Dismissals Amid Defender Pay Standoff

    Nearly two months after many court-appointed attorneys in Massachusetts stopped accepting new cases over what they say is poor pay, a solution still appears elusive, even as judges will soon start hearing motions to dismiss cases under an emergency order issued by a state high court justice.

  • July 16, 2025

    Dominion Exec Settles Defamation Suit With Election Denier

    A former Dominion Voting Systems Inc. executive reached a settlement on Wednesday in Colorado federal court with a right-wing podcast and speaking tour that he said were spreading defamatory statements surrounding the 2020 election.

  • July 16, 2025

    Justice Kavanaugh Pauses 8th Circ.'s Voting Rights Ruling

    Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh on Wednesday administratively paused an Eighth Circuit decision to vacate two North Dakota tribes' challenge to two of the state's voting laws, pending the outcome of a forthcoming petition to the full high court.

  • July 16, 2025

    FCC Looks To Streamline Regs For Enviro Reviews

    The Federal Communications Commission expects to move a plan forward in August that would overhaul its rules for scrutinizing telecom and broadband projects under the National Environmental Policy Act.

  • July 16, 2025

    House Panel Urged To Modernize Tax Rules For Digital Assets

    Congress needs to create tax rules for digital assets such as cryptocurrency and nonfungible tokens because the current regime is burdensome for businesses and pushing development out of the U.S., industry representatives told a House Ways and Means Committee subcommittee Wednesday.

  • July 16, 2025

    DOJ Tells 9th Circ. TPS Cancellation Delay Can't Stand

    The U.S. Department of Justice maintained that the Ninth Circuit should vacate a California federal judge's order postponing its termination of temporary protected status for Venezuelans, based on the U.S. Supreme Court's recent ruling curtailing nationwide injunctions.

  • July 16, 2025

    9th Circ. Tosses Atty-Farmer's Suit Over USDA Organic Label

    The Ninth Circuit on Tuesday upheld a U.S. Department of Agriculture rule allowing farm collectives in the U.S. and other countries to be certified as "organic" under one certificate and not inspected annually, tossing an attorney-turned-Oregon hazelnut farmer's suit alleging Turkish growers were defrauding the system.

  • July 16, 2025

    States Push To Keep Nationwide Block On Birthright Order

    A coalition of states told a Massachusetts federal court Tuesday that nothing less than a nationwide injunction can provide complete relief in the states' case against President Donald Trump's executive order targeting birthright citizenship.

  • July 16, 2025

    Flowers Foods Pushes Justices To Take Up Arbitration Case

    Flowers Foods pressed the U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday to take up a case in which the Tenth Circuit decided to keep a distributor's overtime suit out of arbitration, urging the justices to cure a deep circuit split once and for all.

  • July 16, 2025

    Charter, Cox Ask FCC To Approve $34.5B Combination

    Charter Communications and Cox Communications asked federal telecom regulators this week to approve their $34.5 billion megadeal to combine into a broadband, video and mobile services behemoth.

  • July 16, 2025

    FEMA Targeted In 20-State Suit Over Pre-Disaster Grant Cuts

    A coalition of 20 states led by Washington and Massachusetts sued the Federal Emergency Management Agency in Boston federal court Wednesday, accusing the Trump administration of illegally cutting off billions of dollars in grants for proactive disaster mitigation projects across the country.

  • July 16, 2025

    US Fights NY's Bid To Move Climate Superfund Suit Upstate

    The federal government is urging a Southern District of New York judge not to transfer its lawsuit challenging the state's climate change Superfund law to the Northern District, where it would join similar litigation filed by several Republican-led states.

  • July 16, 2025

    Booz Allen Hit With Retaliation, Wrongful Firing Suit

    Booz Allen Hamilton has been sued for race discrimination and retaliation in Georgia federal court by the Black former chief technologist of its global converged resilience practice, who said he was discriminated against and then fired for raising concerns about fraudulent billing.

  • July 16, 2025

    DOJ Tells FCC Terminals Critical To Undersea Cable Security

    The U.S. Department of Justice is calling for new Federal Communications Commission rules to better protect undersea cable systems from foreign adversaries, saying cable licensees should have to report information about nonlicensee entities that operate equipment on submarine cables landing in the U.S.

  • July 16, 2025

    Dems Ask FCC To Drop CBS Probe, Cite Fox 'Double Standard'

    U.S. Senate Democrats are calling on the Federal Communications Commission to drop its probe into alleged news distortion at CBS, claiming there's a "double standard" based on a Fox News interview with President Donald Trump last year about the Jeffrey Epstein case.

  • July 16, 2025

    Judge Sets Execution Date In Shaken Baby Syndrome Case

    A Texas judge on Wednesday granted the state's request to set an execution date for a man convicted of killing his daughter based on a diagnosis of shaken baby syndrome despite his pending appeal before the state's highest criminal court.

  • July 16, 2025

    NC Rec Center Immune In Overheating Wrongful Death Suit

    A North Carolina state appeals panel on Wednesday cleared a Scotland County recreational center in a suit alleging that its negligence led to the death from overheating of a basketball player, finding that the center is entitled to governmental immunity.

  • July 16, 2025

    Charity Care Is Not Unconstitutional Taking, NJ Justices Rule

    The New Jersey Supreme Court on Wednesday held that a state requirement to treat patients regardless of the patient's ability to pay does not amount to unconstitutional per se or regulatory taking, backing a lower court's decision that dismissed a group of Garden State hospitals' challenge to the requirement.

  • July 16, 2025

    Florida AG Faces Pushback On Out-Of-State Atty Proposal

    A proposal from Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier to allow out-of-state attorneys to work for the state government without having to take the state's bar exam is facing criticism within the Florida bar, with its board of governors set to consider whether to formally oppose the rule change.

  • July 16, 2025

    Jeanine Pirro Scrutinized On Jan. 6, Ex-Husband's Pardon

    Former Fox News host and New York state judge Jeanine Pirro, nominated to be U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, fielded questions from senators Wednesday on the Jan. 6 Capitol riot and President Donald Trump's pardon of her ex-husband, ahead of the anticipated committee vote on her nomination.

  • July 16, 2025

    Calif. Senate Won't Tackle Consumer Internet Cap

    State legislation to limit how much companies can charge consumers for internet service in California has been pulled from consideration in the state's Senate, for now, the bill's sponsor told Law360 Wednesday.

  • July 16, 2025

    Speaker's Aide Won't Rule Out 'Secure 3.0' Retirement Bill

    An aide to House Speaker Mike Johnson told tax attorneys in Washington, D.C., Wednesday that he's not ruling out Congress passing a retirement policy overhaul that's known informally as Secure 3.0, though exact timing on such an effort remains unclear because of the busy year-end schedule.

  • July 16, 2025

    USTR To Probe Brazil's Trade Practices For Possible Tariffs

    The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative announced Tuesday evening it will launch an investigation into Brazil's trade practices to determine whether tariff actions could be necessary after a request by President Donald Trump and prior tariff threats.

  • July 16, 2025

    Calif. Tribe Opposes Dismissal Of Suit Over Cannabis Raids

    The Round Valley Indian Tribes urged a California federal court not to dismiss their claims against Mendocino County and its sheriff alleging they illegally raided cannabis growers on tribal lands, saying the complaint sufficiently contends that the sheriff and county have an ongoing policy of continuing the raids.

  • July 15, 2025

    GTCR Seeks Rival's Sales Data To Counter FTC Challenge

    The private equity firm looking to buy medical device coating company Surmodics is seeking Salesforce data from another competitor in the space, saying the information is crucial to showing that the industry will still be competitive if its acquisition is cleared.

Expert Analysis

  • How Providers Can Brace For Drug Pricing Policy Changes

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    Though it's uncertain which provisions of the Trump administration's executive order aimed at addressing prescription drug costs will eventually be implemented, stakeholders can reduce potential negative outcomes by understanding pathways that could be used to effectuate the order's directives, say attorneys at McDermott.

  • Comparing New Neural Data Privacy Laws In 4 States

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    Although no federal law yet addresses neural privacy comprehensively, the combined effect of recent state laws in Colorado, California, Montana and Connecticut is already shaping the regulatory future, but a multistate compliance strategy has quickly become a gating item for those experimenting with neuro-enabled workplace tools, says Kristen Mathews at Cooley.

  • 2025's First Half Brings Regulatory Detours For Fintechs

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    The first half of the year has resulted in a bifurcated regulatory environment for fintechs, featuring narrowed enforcement in some areas, heightened scrutiny in others and a policy window that, with proper compliance, offers meaningful opportunities for innovation, say attorneys at Sheppard Mullin.

  • Debunking 4 Misconceptions Around Texas' IV Therapy Law

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    Despite industry confusion, an IV therapy law enacted in Texas last week may actually be the most business-friendly regulatory development the medical spa industry has seen in recent years, says Keith Lefkowitz at Hendershot Cowart.

  • A Pattern Emerges In Justices' Evaluation Of Veteran Statute

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    The recent Soto v. U.S. decision that the statute of limitations for certain military-related claims does not apply to combat-related special compensation exemplifies the U.S. Supreme Court's view, emerging in two other recent opinions, that it is a reviewing court's obligation to determine the best interpretation of the language used by Congress, says attorney Kenneth Carpenter.

  • Opinion

    Senate's 41% Litigation Finance Tax Would Hurt Legal System

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    The Senate’s latest version of the Big Beautiful Bill Act would impose a 41% tax on the litigation finance industry, but the tax is totally disconnected from the concerns it purports to address, and it would set the country back to a time when small plaintiffs had little recourse against big defendants, says Anthony Sebok at Cardozo School of Law.

  • Psychedelic Treatment Regs May Be At A Tipping Point

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    Recent scientific and public attention suggest that development of psychedelics as treatment for some conditions may be at a tipping point, which could bring on more rapid change and opportunities for stakeholders who may in the future benefit from greater access to safe and effective psychedelic medicines, say attorneys at King & Spalding.

  • In NRC Ruling, Justices Affirm Hearing Process Still Matters

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Nuclear Regulatory Commission v. Texas safeguards the fairness, clarity and predictability of the regulatory system by affirming that to challenge an agency's decision in court, litigants must first meaningfully participate in the hearing process that Congress and the agency have established, says Jonathan Rund at the Nuclear Energy Institute.

  • Comparing Stablecoin Bills From UK, EU, US And Hong Kong

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    For multinational stablecoin issuers, navigating the differences and similarities among regimes in the U.K., EU, Hong Kong and U.S., which are currently unfolding in several key ways, is critical to achieving scalable, compliant operations, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • What Baseball Can Teach Criminal Attys About Rule Of Lenity

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    Judges tend to assess ambiguous criminal laws not unlike how baseball umpires approach checked swings, so defense attorneys should consider how to best frame their arguments to maximize courts' willingness to invoke the rule of lenity, wherein a tie goes to the defendant, says Jonathan Porter at Husch Blackwell.

  • Series

    Performing As A Clown Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    To say that being a clown in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade has changed my legal career would truly be an understatement — by creating an opening to converse on a unique topic, it has allowed me to connect with clients, counsel and even judges on a deeper level, says Charles Tatelbaum at Tripp Scott.

  • Focusing On Fluoride: From FDA To Class Action

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    A class action filed two days after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced plans to remove ingestible fluoride prescription drug products for children from the market may be the tip of the iceberg in terms of the connection between government pronouncements on safety and their immediate use as evidence in lawsuits, says Rachel Turow at Skadden.

  • How Energy Cos. Can Prepare For Potential Tax Credit Cuts

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    The Senate Finance Committee's version of the One Big Beautiful Bill act would create a steep phaseout of renewable energy tax credits, which should prompt companies to take several actions, including conduct a project review to discern which could begin construction before the end of the year, say attorneys at Husch Blackwell.

  • The CFTC Is Shaking Up Sports Betting's Legal Future

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    The sports betting industry faces a potential sea change amid recent state and federal actions across the regulatory landscape that have expanded access to sporting event contracts against the backdrop of waning Commodity Futures Trading Commission opposition, says Nick Covek at Foley & Lardner.

  • DOJ Atty Firing Highlights Tension Between 2 Ethical Duties

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    The U.S. Department of Justice's recent firing of a prosecutor-turned-whistleblower involved in the Abrego Garcia v. Noem case illustrates the tricky balancing act between zealous client advocacy and a lawyer’s duty of candor to the court, which many clients fail to appreciate, says David Atkins at Yale Law School.

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