Public Policy

  • October 16, 2025

    Many NY Trial Judges Elevated In Secret, Report Finds

    Hundreds of New York state judges are permanently elevated to top trial courts via a secretive appointment process, according to a report released Thursday.

  • October 16, 2025

    Trump Taps V&E's Swett As New FERC Chair

    President Donald Trump will appoint Vinson & Elkins LLP energy regulatory counsel Laura Swett as chair of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the White House confirmed to Law360 Thursday.

  • October 16, 2025

    Ex-Paralegal Says She Was Scapegoat For NC City Atty

    A former paralegal in a North Carolina city attorney's office said she was falsely accused of misusing city resources on her boss's behalf and was not given a fair shot to clear her name, which has allegedly damaged her reputation and made it difficult to find a new job.

  • October 16, 2025

    Mass. Board Reduces Condo Value For Its Street Proximity

    A Massachusetts condominium unit with a desirable view was overvalued by a local assessor, a state panel said, agreeing with the owner that its location close to a street was a detriment to its value.

  • October 16, 2025

    Mass. Tax Board Reduces Condo's Fair Cash Value

    A Massachusetts condominium's value should be lowered because the trust that owns the property proved that the property was less updated and smaller compared with similar properties, the state tax board ruled. 

  • October 16, 2025

    Firm's Case Against GILTI Regs Can Proceed, DC Judge Says

    An Israeli law firm's suit alleging that U.S. Department of the Treasury regulations regarding overseas income create disproportionate burdens for small entities may continue, a D.C. federal judge said, though dismissing a parallel claim brought by an individual attorney.

  • October 16, 2025

    Ill. Judge Tosses Law Firm's $36M Pandemic Loan Fraud Suit

    An Illinois federal judge dismissed a Michigan law firm's $36 million whistleblower suit against dozens of automotive dealerships, ruling that the information underpinning its claims of pandemic loan fraud was already publicly available.

  • October 16, 2025

    US Attorney Nominations For Missouri And Indiana Advance

    The Senate Judiciary Committee voted to approve, along party lines, two U.S. attorney nominees for Missouri and Indiana on Thursday.

  • October 15, 2025

    Vought Aims To Close CFPB Within '2 Or 3 Months'

    White House budget chief Russell Vought said Wednesday that he wants to shutter the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and expects to succeed in the next few months, despite the Trump administration's claims in court that the agency is just being downsized.

  • October 15, 2025

    Top Del. Judge Details Views On Willful Infringement Issues

    A lawsuit cannot provide an accused infringer with the notice needed for a patent owner to allege indirect and willful infringement, and enhanced infringement demands aren't subject to dismissal motions, Delaware's top judge has ruled.

  • October 15, 2025

    OCC Conditionally OKs Palmer Luckey's Thiel-Backed Bank

    The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency on Wednesday gave its initial green light to a new virtual currency-focused national bank backed by tech entrepreneurs Peter Thiel and Palmer Luckey, marking the first such approval for a new bank since Jonathan Gould was sworn in as Comptroller in July.

  • October 15, 2025

    Patent Examiners Facing Productivity Push, Higher Standards

    Officials at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on Wednesday detailed changes to patent examiners' performance requirements, outlining increased productivity goals, heightened supervisory scrutiny, and more strenuous evaluation standards for the examiner corps.

  • October 15, 2025

    ICE Policies Harm Noncitizen Crime Survivors, Suit Says

    Legal advocacy groups and noncitizen victims of domestic violence and other serious crimes have lodged a proposed class action in California federal court, accusing the Trump administration of unlawfully ignoring deportation and exploitation protections that Congress took decades to craft.

  • October 15, 2025

    Goldstein Can't Dismiss 2016 Tax Charges As Time-Barred

    A Maryland federal judge denied SCOTUSblog co-founder Tom Goldstein's motion to dismiss four of the 22 federal tax charges brought against him in January, ruling that his defense that the counts stemming from the 2016 tax year should be time-barred will have to be raised at trial.

  • October 15, 2025

    Conn. Pot Licensing Program Is Discriminatory, Suit Says

    A would-be cannabis grower is challenging Connecticut's marijuana licensing program, claiming it unconstitutionally prioritizes in-state "social equity" applicants "above all others" in direct violation of the dormant commerce clause, according to a federal lawsuit.

  • October 15, 2025

    Trump Fundraiser Guilty Of Mar-A-Lago Straw Donor Scheme

    A New York man who raised funds for President Donald Trump's 2020 reelection campaign was found guilty Wednesday of making straw donor contributions under others' names, a scheme prosecutors said was partly intended to help Chinese nationals gain access to Trump.

  • October 15, 2025

    Court Ends Hemp Grower's Suit Over Seized Crop

    An Oregon cannabis cultivator can't sue the U.S. Department of Homeland Security on claims it failed to return 383 pounds of legal hemp mistakenly assumed to be illicit marijuana, a federal judge ruled, saying the government gets sovereign immunity.

  • October 15, 2025

    JPMorgan Dinged By Judge For Raising Arbitration Issue Late

    A Washington federal judge hinted on Wednesday that she's likely to stand by her past decision spurning JPMorgan Chase's attempt to force arbitration of a customer's racial discrimination claims, suggesting the bank lost its chance to make the points it's now relying on to persuade the court to reconsider.

  • October 15, 2025

    High Court Leans Toward Limiting Voting Rights Act Suits

    The U.S. Supreme Court's conservative supermajority seemed ready Wednesday to further limit the use of the Voting Rights Act in challenging alleged racial discrimination in legislative redistricting, but appeared divided over how to accomplish that.

  • October 15, 2025

    Proposed Bill Could Stall NFL Bears' Suburban Stadium Plan

    A member of the Illinois General Assembly has introduced a bill that could delay the Chicago Bears' efforts to build a stadium in the suburbs by requiring a 30-day window to review any proposed state or local agreements on new or renovated pro sports stadiums.

  • October 15, 2025

    Judge Won't Block Mich. Medicaid Mental Health Restructure

    A Michigan state judge has ruled that the Great Lakes State has the authority to competitively bid and restructure the geographic territory of prepaid inpatient health plans that manage mental health care for the state's Medicaid beneficiaries.

  • October 15, 2025

    FDIC's Hill Discusses Stablecoin Rulemaking Lift

    Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. acting Chairman Travis Hill said Wednesday that crafting a licensing regime for stablecoin issuers under his agency's purview will likely be relatively "straightforward," but the recently passed stablecoin legislation has also tasked banking regulators with thornier policy issues.

  • October 15, 2025

    Meat Industry Fights To Defend Nix Of Slaughterhouse Rules

    A meat and poultry industry group has told the Ninth Circuit it opposes green groups' challenge to the federal government's decision to rescind a Biden-era proposal that would have imposed stricter water discharge regulations on slaughtering, processing and rendering facilities.

  • October 15, 2025

    States Want To Keep Eye On $14B HPE-Juniper Deal Review

    The Justice Department is in the middle of trying to settle its challenge to Hewlett Packard Enterprise's $14 billion purchase of Juniper Networks, but a dozen states are now trying to get involved and have asked a California federal judge to allow them to intervene in the litigation.

  • October 15, 2025

    Some Sugar Producers Escape Info Sharing Claims

    A Minnesota federal court dismissed several major sugar producers from a case accusing them of sharing competitively sensitive information but is allowing claims against Domino and United Sugar Producers & Refiners to proceed.

Expert Analysis

  • How FDIC Appeals Plan Squares With Fed, OCC Processes

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    The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.'s recent proposal to revise its appeals process merits a fresh comparison to the appeals systems of the Federal Reserve and Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, and would provide institutions with greater transparency and independence, say attorneys at Alston & Bird.

  • How GILTI Reform Affects M&A Golden Parachute Planning

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    Deal teams should evaluate the effect of a recent seemingly technical change to U.S. international tax law on the golden parachute analysis that often plays a critical part of many corporate transactions to avoid underestimating its impact on an acquirer's worldwide taxable income following a triggering transaction, say attorneys at MoFo.

  • SEC Rulemaking Radar: The Debut Of Atkins' 'New Day'

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    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's regulatory flex agenda, published last week, demonstrates a clear return to appropriately tailored and mission-focused rulemaking, with potential new rules applicable to brokers, exchanges and trading, among others, say attorneys at Goodwin.

  • Restored Charging Project Funds Revive Hope For EV Market

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    While 2025 began with a host of government actions that prompted some to predict the demise of the U.S. electric vehicle market, the Trump administration's recent restoration of federal funding for EV charging infrastructure under new terms presents market participants with reason for optimism, says Levi McAllister at Morgan Lewis.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: Adapting To The Age Of AI

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    Though law school may not have specifically taught us how to use generative artificial intelligence to help with our daily legal tasks, it did provide us the mental building blocks necessary for adapting to this new technology — and the judgment to discern what shouldn’t be automated, says Pamela Dorian at Cozen O'Connor.

  • Ch. 11 Ruling Voiding $2M Litigation Funding Sends A Warning

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    A recent Texas bankruptcy court decision that a postconfirmation litigation trust has no obligations to repay a completely drawn down $2 million litigation funding agreement serves as a warning for estate administrators and funders to properly disclose the intended financing, say attorneys at Kleinberg Kaplan.

  • A Changing Playbook For Fighting Records Requests In Del.

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    The Delaware Supreme Court's recent decision in Wong v. Amazon, reversing the denial of an inspection demand brought by a stockholder, serves as a stark warning to corporations challenging books and records requests, making clear that companies cannot defeat such demands solely by attacking the scope of their stated purpose, say attorneys at Duane Morris.

  • Tesla Verdict May Set New Liability Benchmarks For AV Suits

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    The recent jury verdict in Benavides v. Tesla is notable not only for a massive payout — including $200 million in punitive damages — but because it apportions fault between the company's self-driving technology and the driver, inviting more scrutiny of automated vehicle marketing and technology, says Michael Avanesian at Avian Law Group.

  • Insuring Against FCA Risk In Shifting Trade Landscape

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    In today's heightened trade enforcement environment, companies should proactively assess whether their insurance programs are positioned to respond to potential False Claims Act or customs-related claims, including reviewing directors and officers, professional liability, and representations and warranties policies for key terms, say attorneys at Pillsbury.

  • What To Expect As Trump's 401(k) Order Materializes

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    Following the Trump administration’s recent executive order on 401(k) plan investments in alternative assets like cryptocurrencies and real estate, the U.S. Department of Labor and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission will need to answer several outstanding questions before any regulatory changes are implemented, say attorneys at Cleary.

  • Demystifying The Civil Procedure Rules Amendment Process

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    Every year, an advisory committee receives dozens of proposals to amend the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, most of which are never adopted — but a few pointers can help maximize the likelihood that an amendment will be adopted, says Josh Gardner at DLA Piper.

  • RI Menopause Law Brings New Considerations For Employers

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    Rhode Island becoming the first state to provide express antidiscrimination and accommodation protections for employees' menopause-related conditions may be a bellwether for similar protections in other jurisdictions, so employers should consider that while such benefits may improve recruitment and retention, complications may arise from voluntarily adding them, say attorneys at Proskauer.

  • A Foreign Currency Breach Won't Always Sink EB-5 Cases

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    Recent court decisions show that, while EB-5 investors must be able to show the lawfulness of their funds and methods of transfer, a third-party currency exchanger's violation of another country’s currency export control law does not, by itself, taint the funds for purposes of U.S. investment, says Jun Li at Reid & Wise.

  • How The 5th, DC Circuits Agreed On FCC Forfeiture Orders

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    The Fifth and D.C. Circuits split this year on the Federal Communications Commission's process for adjudicating enforcement actions, but both implicitly recognized the problem with penalizing a party based on a forfeiture order that has not yet been challenged in any way in court, says Jared Marx at HWG.

  • FTC, CoStar Cases Against Zillow May Have Broad Impact

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    Zillow's partnerships with Redfin and Realtor.com have recently triggered dual fronts of legal scrutiny — an antitrust inquiry from the Federal Trade Commission and a mass copyright infringement suit from CoStar — raising complex questions that reach beyond real estate, says Shubha Ghosh at Syracuse University College of Law.

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