Public Policy

June 09, 2025
Florida Will Ask 11th Circ. To Revive Trans Health Suit

The state of Florida indicated Friday it will ask the Eleventh Circuit to reopen its lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services challenging a rule setting coverage requirements on employers for gender-affirming care, despite the new administration's reversal on the rule.
June 09, 2025
Nev. Dem Threatens To Block Commerce Picks Over BEAD

A Nevada senator derided the U.S. Department of Commerce's overhaul of the government's $42.5 billion broadband deployment program and threatened to put a Senate hold on some of President Donald Trump's agency nominees until her state's federal funding is restored.
June 09, 2025
COVID Funds Bribery Scheme Gets Ex-Calif. Official 5 Years

A former member of the Orange County Board of Supervisors was sentenced to five years in prison Monday in California federal court after admitting to steering $10 million worth of COVID-19 relief funds to a nonprofit linked to his daughter, in return for more than $500,000 in bribes.
June 09, 2025
EchoStar Questions FCC Process In SpaceX, VTel Fight

EchoStar said the Federal Communications Commission should not be "pulling the rug out from" under it as it fights to keep the spectrum rights it got from T-Mobile, arguing that it was being unfairly singled out by SpaceX and VTel, who want the commission to review the buildout of Dish's network.
June 09, 2025
RFK Jr. Fires CDC's Entire 17-Member Vaccine Advisory Panel

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced Monday that Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. removed every member of the committee that provides advice and guidance on the use of vaccines to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, pledging to replace them with his preferred picks.
June 09, 2025
Fed Circ. Weighs AI Co.'s Standing In Fight With Intel Agency

Federal Circuit judges grappled Monday with how to define exactly who could challenge the administration of federal contracts, in an en banc hearing of Percipient.ai's suit accusing the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency of bypassing certain requirements in a 2021 contract with CACI.
June 09, 2025
Enviro Groups, Tribes Can Intervene In Coal Leasing Ban Row

A Wyoming federal judge allowed a coalition of tribes and environmental groups to intervene in a challenge to the Biden administration's 2024 decision ending new coal leasing on public lands in the Powder River Basin, citing the groups' participation in prior suits over leasing at the site.
June 09, 2025
Carebourn Opposes SEC's Bid To Remand 'Dealer' Case

Financial firm Carebourn Capital LP on Monday urged the Eighth Circuit to reject the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's bid to remand a $12 million unregistered dealer judgment the agency won, arguing the SEC is trying to skirt the case's liability issues.
June 09, 2025
2nd Circ. Weighs Menendez Bail Bid Over Evidence Mishap

The Second Circuit questioned Monday whether providing excluded evidence to the jury in former U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez's bribery trial is the type of error that can justify bail pending appeal.
June 09, 2025
Trump Orders Targeting DEI, LGBTQ+ Funding Partly Blocked

A California federal judge Monday blocked portions of President Donald Trump's executive orders targeting diversity and inclusion policies and programs serving the LGBTQ+ community, saying a group of nonprofits is likely to succeed in showing that stripping their federal funding violates their constitutional rights.
June 09, 2025
DOJ's KKR Suit Turning M&A 'Into A Trap,' PE Group Says

A private equity trade group is seeking to back KKR's bid to dismiss a Justice Department lawsuit seeking fines that could top $650 million for allegedly hiding key documentation and entire transactions from merger notification, arguing that enforcers are trying to create a brand new requirement for "perfect" filings.
June 09, 2025
Okla. Says High Court Shouldn't Skip 10th Circ. PBM Ruling

Oklahoma told the U.S. Supreme Court the federal government wrongly suggested that the justices bypass the state's challenge to a Tenth Circuit decision nullifying parts of a state law regulating pharmacy benefit managers, arguing Monday that the solicitor general doesn't recognize the magnitude of the issue.
June 09, 2025
Senate Confirms Brett Shumate To Head DOJ Civil Division

The Senate voted 51-41 along party lines on Monday evening to confirm Brett Shumate to be assistant attorney general for the Civil Division of the U.S. Department of Justice.
June 09, 2025
Veteran Appeals VA Discontinuation Of Trans Health Coverage

A transgender woman urged a veterans appeals court Monday to find that the Veterans Health Administration is wrongly refusing to refill her prescriptions for hormone therapy following a federal notice discontinuing gender-affirming care for veterans.
June 09, 2025
Senate Confirms Gibson Dunn Partner For EPA's No. 2 Post

The U.S. Senate on Monday confirmed David Fotouhi, a partner at Gibson Dunn & Crutcher LLP, to serve in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's No. 2 post.
June 09, 2025
DC Judge Won't Intervene In CPB Board Firings

A D.C. federal judge declined to block President Donald Trump's attempt to fire three members of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting's board, ruling that Trump likely had authority to remove them while noting the CPB has since changed its own rules to protect its members from removal moving forward.
June 09, 2025
Judge Denies Obstructing ICE As Disciplinary Hearing Begins

An attorney for a Massachusetts state judge, who was accused of plotting to let a man wanted by immigration agents escape out of a back door of a courthouse in 2018, said at the start of a disciplinary inquiry Monday that the judge did not know about the plan, pointing the finger at the wanted man's lawyer.
June 09, 2025
Feds Approve Mont. Coal Mine Expansion Amid Controversy

The Interior Department has said it will expand by nine years the mining plan for a Montana coal mine at the center of litigation over the mine's environmental impacts, authorizing Signal Peak Energy to recover 57 million tons of coal in a move that aligns with the Trump administration's energy emergency directive.
June 09, 2025
6th Circ. Urged To Revive Suit Over Student Loan Freeze

A Michigan think tank has urged the Sixth Circuit to revive its challenge to a Biden-era student loan forgiveness program during the COVID-19 pandemic, telling the appellate court that a district judge was wrong to find it didn't have standing.
June 09, 2025
3rd Circ. Rejects Ralph Lauren's COVID-19 Coverage Appeal

The Third Circuit on Monday rejected a consolidated appeal from Ralph Lauren Corp. and luggage retailers Tumi Inc. and Samsonite LLC over property insurance coverage for COVID-19-related losses, finding a New Jersey Supreme Court decision from January 2024 wholly settled the matter.
June 09, 2025
Speaker Johnson Defends AI Moratorium In Reconciliation Bill

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., gave a full-throated defense on Monday of the AI moratorium included in the House's version of the budget reconciliation bill, which has drawn bipartisan criticism.
June 09, 2025
Philly Cut From American Airlines Suit After Contrary Takes

The city of Philadelphia was incorrectly kept in a slip-and-fall suit against it and American Airlines, the result of a tangled web of claims and cross-claims that saw two judges making contrary rulings in violation of court rules meant to keep members of the bench from overruling each other, a state appellate court ruled Monday.
June 09, 2025
FCC Says Power Cos. Can Call Customers About Usage

The Federal Communications Commission ruled Monday that power companies are free to call or text customers who have supplied their telephone numbers to inform them about so-called "demand management" programs aimed at cutting usage during peak hours.
June 09, 2025
FCC Affirms $2.4M Fine For Miami DJ's 'Pirate Radio'

The Federal Communications Commission affirmed a nearly $2.4 million fine against a Miami-area DJ for operating an alleged illegal "pirate radio" in 2023, finding that he disregarded previous calls to stop unauthorized radio operations in the past.
June 09, 2025
Migrant Kids Funding Suit Belongs In Claims Court, Feds Say

The government has asked a California federal judge to dismiss a lawsuit challenging its termination of legal services programs for immigrant unaccompanied minors, arguing that the case is essentially a contract dispute the court lacks authority over.

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

Max Pressure On Iran May Raise Secondary Sanctions Risk

New sanctions designations announced June 6 are the latest in a slew of actions the administration has taken to put pressure on Iran’s military programs and petroleum exports that will likely increase non-U.S. businesses’ secondary sanctions risk, says John Sandage at Berliner Corcoran.
Platforms Face Liability Shift Under Anti-Revenge Porn Law

The federal Take It Down Act, signed into law last month, aims to combat deepfake pornography with criminal penalties for individual wrongdoers, but the notice and takedown provisions change the broad protections provided by Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act in ways that directly affect platform providers, say attorneys at Troutman.
4 Midyear Employer Actions To Reinforce Compliance

The legal and political landscape surrounding what the government describes as unlawful diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives has become increasingly complex over the past six months, and the midyear juncture presents a strategic opportunity to reinforce commitments to legal integrity, workplace equity and long-term operational resilience, say attorneys at Krevolin & Horst.
CFPB's Guidance Withdrawal Deepens Industry Uncertainty

Following the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's recent withdrawal of dozens of guidance documents in a post-Chevron world, financial services providers are left to make their own determinations about the complex issues addressed in the now-revoked materials, presenting a significant compliance burden, say attorneys at Bradley Arant.
Justices Widen Gap Between Federal, Calif. Enviro Reviews

While the U.S. Supreme Court's recent opinion in Seven County Infrastructure Coalition v. Eagle County, Colorado, narrowed the scope of National Environmental Policy Act reviews, it may have broadened the gulf between reviews conducted under NEPA and those under the California Environmental Quality Act, say attorneys at Hanson Bridgett.
In 2nd Place, Va. 'Rocket Docket' Remains Old Reliable

The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia was again one of the fastest civil trial courts in the nation last year, and an interview with the court’s newest judge provides insights into why it continues to soar, says Robert Tata at Hunton.
SEC Signals Opening For Private Fund Investment Reform

At SEC Speaks in late May, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission made clear that it's considering allowing registered funds of private funds to be offered broadly to true retail investors, meaning existing funds should review their disclosures focusing on conflicts of interest, liquidity and fees, say attorneys at Stradley Ronon.
CIPA May Not Be Necessary To Protect Ad Tech Plaintiffs

A California bill designed to protect businesses from advertising technology claims under the California Invasion of Privacy Act by amending the act retroactively has been highly contested by various consumer advocacy groups, but other existing law may sufficiently protect any plaintiff who suffers actual harm from such tech, says Justin Donoho at Duane Morris.
Parsing A Lack Of Antitrust Info-Sharing Enforcement Clarity

Information sharing among competing firms has recently faced dramatic changes in antitrust agency guidance, while courts grapple with the permissible scope of pricing algorithms, leaving companies in limbo, but potential Trump administration changes could offer some reprieve, say attorneys at Axinn.
What FCA Liability Looks Like In The Cybersecurity Realm

Two recent settlements highlight how whistleblowers and the U.S. Department of Justice have been utilizing the False Claims Act to allege fraud predicated on violations of cybersecurity standards — timely lessons given new bipartisan legislation introducing potential FCA liability for artificial intelligence use, say attorneys Rachel Rose and Julie Bracker.
'A Deal Is A Deal': Tariffs No Excuse To Dodge Contract Terms

Tariff policy uncertainty is unlikely to be a basis for allowing a party to avoid contractual obligations, but businesses can still plan for future disputes related to pricing, operations and the supply chain, including with the addition of tariffs to any force majeure provision, say attorneys at Arnold Porter.
Proposed State AI Rule Ban Could Alter Employer Compliance

A proposal in the congressional budget bill that would ban state and local enforcement of laws and regulations governing artificial intelligence may offer near-term clarity by freezing conflicting rules, but long-term planning would remain difficult for employers seeking safe, lawful AI deployment strategies, say attorneys at Fisher Phillips.
Operating Via Bank Charter Offers Perks Amid Industry Shift

As bank regulators become more receptive to streamlining barriers that have historically stood in the way of de novo bank formation, and as fintechs show more interest in chartering, attorneys at Goodwin outline the types of charters available and their benefits.
How Attorneys Can Become Change Agents For Racial Equity

As the administration targets diversity, equity and inclusion efforts and law firms consider pulling back from their programs, lawyers who care about racial equity and justice can employ four strategies to create microspaces of justice, which can then be parlayed into drivers of transformational change, says Susan Sturm at Columbia Law School.
5 Takeaways From DOJ's Media Compulsory Process Rules

The U.S. Department of Justice’s new rules, making it easier for law enforcement investigating leaks to compel members of the media and third parties to disclose information, could have wide-ranging impacts, from reduced protections for journalists and organizations, to an expanded focus on nonclassified material, say attorneys at WilmerHale.