Public Policy

  • June 12, 2025

    Ohio Law Bars Cities' Negligence Claims Against Hyundai, Kia

    A California federal court sided with Hyundai and Kia by finding that an Ohio products liability law bars negligence claims from five Ohio cities in sprawling multidistrict litigation alleging the automakers knowingly sold vehicles with design flaws that resulted in a car theft crime spree.

  • June 12, 2025

    Wash. Justice Doubts Both Sides In Election Law Fight

    A Washington Supreme Court justice said Thursday he believed a political action committee and county auditor are both wrong about the disputed meaning of a state law governing city charter amendment elections, as he and his colleagues flagged discrepancies in the parties' arguments.

  • June 12, 2025

    Suit Over Biden Mining Rule Paused As Trump Plans Changes

    State and federal litigants in a suit over a Biden-era regulation that imposed more requirements on states to address possible mining law violations were granted a breather Thursday after the Trump administration said it plans to loosen the mandate once again.

  • June 12, 2025

    DHS Begins Sending Termination Notices To Parolees

    The U.S. Department of Homeland Security on Thursday said it has started sending termination notices to people granted temporary residency and work authorizations through a parole program the Biden administration launched for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans.

  • June 12, 2025

    Hemp Retailer Sues DC, Feds Over District's Cannabis Policy

    A Washington, D.C., hemp retailer has filed a pair of complementary lawsuits challenging the tangled enforcement and regulatory policies that govern cannabis and hemp in the nation's capital.

  • June 12, 2025

    Review Ordered For Alaska Gold Mine As Permits Kept Alive

    An Alaska federal judge isn't revoking key permits for a proposed gold mine in the state's Yukon–Kuskokwim region despite finding legal flaws in an environmental review, but she has ordered government agencies to reassess the risks of a catastrophic tailings spill while construction remains paused.

  • June 12, 2025

    Locals Approve $3B Plan To Lure NHL Team Back To Atlanta

    Officials in Forsyth County, Georgia, north of Atlanta, have signed off on a $3 billion mixed-use plan anchored by an arena, which developers hope will draw a professional hockey team back to the region.

  • June 12, 2025

    NH High Court Upholds Towns Keeping Excess Tax Revenue

    The right of New Hampshire communities to retain excess statewide education property taxes for other purposes doesn't violate the state constitution's uniformity clause, the state Supreme Court ruled, partially reversing a trial court.

  • June 12, 2025

    Texas Man Gets 11 Years In Cross-Border Transport Case

    A Texas federal court has sentenced a man to 11 years in prison for helping lead a violent conspiracy to monopolize the transport of used vehicles and other goods from the U.S. through Mexico for resale in Central America.

  • June 12, 2025

    NJ Judge Clarifies Provisions Of New Affordable Housing Law

    A New Jersey state judge has denied a bid from a coalition of 29 Garden State municipalities to block a number of provisions of a new affordable housing directive, but he provided clarity on some parts of the directive, and the coalition is calling the clarification a win.

  • June 12, 2025

    Legal Noncitizens OK For Domicile Tax Break, SC Judge Says

    A legally present couple from India showed intent to remain domiciled in their South Carolina home and therefore qualify for the property tax treatment granted for owner-occupied residences, an administrative judge ruled.

  • June 12, 2025

    8th Circ. Stubs Out Challenge To FDA Menthol Vape Denial

    The Eighth Circuit on Thursday threw out a challenge from SWT Global Supply Inc. to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's denial of its application to market menthol-flavored e-cigarettes, saying the agency didn't arbitrarily or capriciously find that the company's sales plan failed to meet its standards for promoting public health.

  • June 12, 2025

    Calif. Sues Trump Over 'Wildly Partisan' EV Waiver Repeal

    The California attorney general and 10 other states sued the Trump administration in federal court Thursday, minutes after President Donald Trump signed resolutions repealing California's Clean Air Act waiver that allowed the state to establish its own vehicle emissions standards, slamming the resolutions as unconstitutional, irrational and "wildly partisan."

  • June 12, 2025

    DHS Tightens Rules On Info Disclosure, Medical Exam Validity

    U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has issued two policy updates this week, one changing how the agency will disclose derogatory information when it intends to issue an adverse decision, and another reversing course on how long medical exams are valid.

  • June 12, 2025

    Tribal Students Sue Feds Over Change To Financial Aid Policy

    Two New York tribal members want a federal district court to block a decision by the U.S. Education Department to reverse course on its residence documentation policy for Indigenous students seeking financial aid, saying the agency offered no justification for the change that will prevent them from attending college.

  • June 12, 2025

    Stranded Asylum-Seekers Sue Trump Over Border Closure

    A proposed class of asylum-seekers stranded in Mexico has sued the Trump administration, arguing there is no legal basis to shut down the southern U.S. border to people who are entitled under U.S. law to apply for asylum when they arrive in the U.S. or at the border.

  • June 12, 2025

    China Agrees To Loosen Rare Earth Restrictions, US Says

    Chinese trade negotiators have agreed to lift export controls on rare-earth elements in exchange for the U.S. walking back a campaign to revoke visas for Chinese students, according to statements by U.S. officials, which experts said leave key issues unresolved.

  • June 12, 2025

    Philly Suburb Retirees Sue Ch. 9 Receiver Over Asset Sale

    A committee of retired city employees sued the Chapter 9 receiver overseeing the city of Chester, Pennsylvania's municipal bankruptcy, arguing that by requiring water system assets be sold to a publicly owned entity, the receiver is forgoing private bids that could generate an extra $270 million for the city's creditors. 

  • June 12, 2025

    Harvard Researcher Held By ICE Over Specimens Released

    A Harvard Medical School researcher and Russian national who has been detained by U.S. immigration authorities since February, when frog embryo specimens were found in her luggage at Logan Airport, was released from custody Thursday while she awaits trial on a smuggling charge.

  • June 12, 2025

    Detroit Can't Block Sidewalk Hazard Suit, Mich. Justices Say

    Detroit cannot claim immunity in a lawsuit over a man's injuries from tripping on a metal post embedded in a sidewalk, the Michigan Supreme Court said Wednesday, ruling that the protrusion constitutes a dangerous defect under state law.

  • June 12, 2025

    Judiciary Committee Clears Squires For Full Senate Vote

    The U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee approved former Goldman Sachs intellectual property attorney John Squires to serve as U.S. Patent and Trademark Office director on Thursday, putting his nomination in the hands of the full Senate.

  • June 12, 2025

    Mass. Judge, On Stand, Denies Helping Immigrant Evade ICE

    A Massachusetts judge accused of approving a plan to let a man elude immigration officers by letting him leave the court through a back door seven years ago testified Thursday that was not her intent when she granted a request to let him speak with an attorney in a courthouse lockup.

  • June 12, 2025

    DOJ Sues NY Over Law Blocking ICE Arrests At Courthouses

    The federal government slapped New York with a lawsuit Thursday challenging the state's policies that block immigration officials from arresting individuals near its state courthouses.

  • June 12, 2025

    Former Secretary Of State Pompeo Joins Torridon Law In DC

    Torridon Law PLLC announced Thursday that Mike Pompeo, who served as CIA director and secretary of state during the first Trump administration, has joined the firm in Washington, D.C.

  • June 12, 2025

    Schumer Slams Delay In BEAD Funding As 'Shameful'

    Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., blasted the Trump administration on the Senate floor Thursday for delaying the government's $42.5 billion broadband infrastructure program, saying it will harm New Yorkers who lack connectivity.

Expert Analysis

  • Calif. Digital Assets Proposal Provides Only Partial Clarity

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    Recently proposed regulations under California's Digital Financial Assets Law answer some important questions about the new regime, particularly regarding its interaction with the state's money transmission law, but many key compliance questions remain, say attorneys at Stinson.

  • Staying The Course Amid Seismic DOJ White Collar Changes

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    While some of the big changes at the U.S. Department of Justice during the second Trump administration — like an embrace of cryptocurrency and more politicized prosecutions — were expected, there have also been surprises, so practitioners should advise clients to stay focused on white collar compliance in this unpredictable environment, say attorneys at Keker.

  • Opinion

    The BigLaw Settlements Are About Risk, Not Profit

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    The nine Am Law 100 firms that settled with the Trump administration likely did so because of the personal risk faced by equity partners in today's billion‑dollar national practices, enabled by an ethics rule primed for modernization, says Adam Forest at Scale.

  • DOJ Could Target Journalists Under Media Policy Reversion

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    The U.S. Department of Justice's recently announced media policy largely mirrors policies in effect from 2014 to 2020, but ambiguities in key statutory terms could allow the administration to apply it to journalists in new ways and expand investigations beyond leaks of classified information, says Julie Edelstein at Wiggin.

  • Current Antitrust Zeitgeist May Transcend Political Parties

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    The Trump administration's "America First" antitrust policy initially suggests a different approach than the Biden administration's, but closer examination reveals key parallels, including a broad focus on anticompetitive harm beyond consumer welfare and aggressive enforcement of existing laws, say attorneys at Arnold & Porter.

  • House Bill Tax Tweaks Would Hinder Renewable Projects

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    Provisions in the budget reconciliation bill recently passed by the U.S. House of Representatives would rapidly phase out clean energy tax credits, constrain renewable energy financing arrangements and impose sweeping restrictions on projects with foreign ties, which may create compliance and supply chain issues for many developers, say attorneys at Paul Hastings.

  • Neb.'s Cannabis Regulatory Void Poses Operational Risks

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    With the Nebraska Legislature recently declining to advance any cannabis legislation, leaving the state without a regulatory framework for voter-passed initiatives, the risks of operating without clear rules will likely affect patients, providers and caregivers, says John Cartier at Omnus Law.

  • Fla. Bill May Curb Suits Over Late-Night Collections Emails

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    A recently passed Florida bill exempting email communications from the Florida Consumer Collection Practices Act's quiet hours ban may significantly reduce frivolous lawsuits aimed at creditors and debt collectors who use email communications to collect outstanding balances from consumers, say attorneys at Holland & Knight.

  • State Tort Claims May Help Deter Bribes During FCPA Pause

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    As the U.S. pauses Foreign Corrupt Practices Act enforcement, companies that lose business due to competitors' bribery should consider using state tortious interference suits to expose corruption, deter illegal practices and obtain compensation for commercial losses, says Jason Manning at Levy Firestone.

  • 4 States' Enforcement Actions Illustrate Data Privacy Priorities

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    Attorneys at Wilson Elser examine recent enforcement actions based on new consumer data privacy laws by regulators in California, Connecticut, Oregon and Texas, centered around key themes, including crackdowns on dark patterns, misuse of sensitive data and failure to honor consumer rights.

  • Google Ad Tech Ruling Creates Antitrust Uncertainty

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    A Virginia federal court’s recent decision in the Justice Department’s ad tech antitrust case against Google includes two unusual aspects in that it narrowly construed U.S. Supreme Court precedent when rejecting Google's two-sided market argument, and it found the company liable for unlawful tying, say attorneys at Ballard Spahr.

  • Series

    Brazilian Jiujitsu Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Competing in Brazilian jiujitsu – often against opponents who are much larger and younger than me – has allowed me to develop a handful of useful skills that foster the resilience and adaptability necessary for a successful legal career, says Tina Dorr of Barnes & Thornburg.

  • Key Steps For Traversing Federal Grant Terminations

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    For grantees, the Trump administration’s unexpected termination or alteration of billions of dollars in federal grants across multiple agencies necessitates a thorough understanding of the legal rights and obligations involved, either in challenging such terminations or engaging in grant termination settlements and closeout procedures, say attorneys at Holland & Knight.

  • Challenges For Fiduciaries Adding Crypto To 401(k) Plans

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    As cryptocurrencies gain popularity and their restrictions loosen, investors may become interested in adding crypto options to their retirement plans, but fiduciaries should consider how to balance the increased demand and their obligations under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, say attorneys at Jenner & Block.

  • Birthright Ruling Could Alter Consumer Financial Litigation

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    The U.S. Supreme Court’s upcoming decision about the validity of the nationwide injunctions in the birthright citizenship cases, argued on May 15, could make it much harder for trade associations to obtain nationwide relief from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's enforcement of invalid regulations, says Alan Kaplinsky at Ballard Spahr.

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