Public Policy

  • May 27, 2025

    Expert Says DuPont Knew Of PFAS Risk At NJ Site

    A former U.S. Environmental Protection Agency policy adviser told a New Jersey federal court on Tuesday that E.I. du Pont de Nemours knew of the risk of "forever chemicals" and failed to disclose that risk to federal and Garden State regulators despite its obligation to do so.

  • May 27, 2025

    Lawmakers Float Fast Patent Program For AI, Semiconductors

    Lawmakers in the U.S. Senate and House have introduced legislation that would require the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to create an experimental program to prioritize patent applications for technologies like artificial intelligence and semiconductors.

  • May 27, 2025

    Calif. Faces Long Odds Keeping Tariff Suit In District Court

    A California federal judge said Tuesday that "California has a bit of an uphill battle" keeping its lawsuit challenging President Donald Trump's recent tariffs in federal district court, noting that two judges have already sent similar cases to the U.S. Court of International Trade.

  • May 27, 2025

    Debate Over Moratorium On State AI Oversight Goes To Senate

    Before going on recess, the U.S. House of Representatives passed their budget reconciliation bill that includes a hotly debated moratorium on states' enforcement of artificial intelligence-related legislation, and the debate continues as the bill heads to the U.S. Senate, where at least a few Republicans have voiced opposition.

  • May 27, 2025

    DOJ Wants Google Docs Analyzing Potential Ad Tech Breakup

    Enforcers are asking a Virginia federal court for access to Google documents analyzing a potential break up of the company's ad tech business, as the court considers what remedies to impose after finding Google monopolized key ad tech markets.

  • May 27, 2025

    Feds No Longer Advise COVID Shot For Kids, Pregnant Adults

    The nation's public health agency on Tuesday pulled the COVID-19 vaccine from the list of recommended shots for healthy children and pregnant adults, a move that experts say could reduce demand for the vaccine and make it more expensive for some families.

  • May 27, 2025

    Mass. Pot Regulator Enters Battle Over Town's Hosting Fees

    Massachusetts' cannabis regulator is seeking to intervene in a lawsuit brought by a group of marijuana retailers in state court, alleging a town unlawfully pocketed approximately $6 million in community impact fees.

  • May 27, 2025

    Ill. Panel Says Man Can't Keep Guns Bought During Injunction

    An Illinois man cannot possess or register assault weapons he purchased during a period of time that the enforcement of Illinois' ban on such rifles was blocked by a federal court, an intermediary appellate panel ruled Friday.

  • May 27, 2025

    Canada Could Use Tax System For Growth, OECD Says

    While Canada's economy has been largely resilient, changes in areas like goods and services taxes and its research and development tax incentives could help protect against projected slowed growth brought on by its trade dispute with the U.S., the Organization for Economic Coooperation and Development said.

  • May 27, 2025

    Crypto Exec's IRS Privacy Appeal Tossed By 5th Circ.

    A cryptocurrency executive who sought to quash IRS summonses for his bank records must wait at least until the U.S. government decides whether to bring legal proceedings against him before he can appeal a ruling denying his request to block the agency's demands, the Fifth Circuit said Tuesday.

  • May 27, 2025

    Ferry Cos. Urge Mich. Judge To Block Rate Freeze Ordinance

    Ferry service companies that provide transportation into and out of a popular Michigan tourist destination are asking a federal judge to stop the city of Mackinac Island from enforcing an ordinance that the companies say would put the businesses at risk of closing.

  • May 27, 2025

    Trump Withdraws Biden's NEPA Greenhouse Gas Guidance

    The White House Council on Environmental Quality on Tuesday said it's withdrawing 2023 National Environmental Policy Act guidance for federal agencies that are assessing the greenhouse gas and climate change effects of actions, including the approval of infrastructure projects.

  • May 27, 2025

    Conn. Firefighters Say Age Bias Taints Retirement Program

    Connecticut's municipal employee pension system unlawfully barred a group of firefighters with over two decades of service from participating in a deferred retirement program because they're under 55 years old, the workers and their union claimed in a federal lawsuit.

  • May 27, 2025

    Bank Groups Agree To Pause Of Fed Stress Test Suit

    Major banking trade groups and the board of governors of the U.S. Federal Reserve System came together to ask an Ohio federal judge to pause their dispute over the board's big bank stress test practices, telling the court that the trade groups' concerns are being addressed.

  • May 27, 2025

    DC Circ. Backs FERC In NY Grid Upgrade Cost Fight

    The D.C. Circuit on Tuesday upheld the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's refusal to allow New York utilities to earn investment returns from grid upgrades, saying the agency reasonably concluded that shifting from the current nonprofit approach was unwarranted.

  • May 27, 2025

    Wireless Mics Need Fewer Reg Restrictions, FCC Told

    A group that advocates for making more spectrum available for wireless microphones has its own ideas about what regulations the Federal Communications Commission should be cutting, starting with two areas it says are hindering the wireless mic industry.

  • May 27, 2025

    Philly Atty Suspended 3 Years For Sexual Conduct With Client

    Philadelphia personal injury lawyer Brian Dooley Kent has been suspended from the practice of law for three years for engaging in sexual conduct with a client he represented while investigating claims against the Church of Scientology.

  • May 27, 2025

    Texas Judge Certifies Class In Alien Enemies Act Case

    A Texas federal judge has certified a class of Venezuelan nationals in custody in the Western District of Texas subject to President Donald Trump's proclamation invoking the Alien Enemies Act to remove alleged Tren de Aragua gang members from the United States.

  • May 27, 2025

    Justices Will Consider Judges' Limits Under First Step Act

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday agreed to hear arguments in a case that could determine how much discretion trial judges have when considering whether to reduce defendants' sentences under the First Step Act.

  • May 27, 2025

    DOJ Pushes Back Against Agri Stats Recusal Bid

    The U.S. Department of Justice told a Minnesota federal judge Friday there is no reason to recuse himself from a case accusing Agri Stats of helping meat processors exchange sensitive information because the clerk who allegedly created a conflict is not working on the case.

  • May 27, 2025

    Rental Co. Signs Deal With Pa. AG Over AI-Related Delays

    The Pennsylvania arm of a Las Vegas-based rental management company will pay the state $45,000 — including $30,000 in refunds for tenants — to settle allegations that its artificial intelligence platform contributed to delays in repairs and rentals of unsafe housing, the Pennsylvania attorney general's office announced Tuesday.

  • May 27, 2025

    Calif. Bar Seeks More Remedies After Problematic Feb. Exam

    The state bar of California has formally asked the state Supreme Court to approve measures including a limited provisional licensure program and a more direct pathway to admission for out-of-state attorneys, in the state bar's latest attempt to seek equitable remedies amid the fallout from the bungled February 2025 California bar exam.

  • May 27, 2025

    Trump, Ex-Copyright Head Duel Over Her Firing

    Former U.S. Copyright Office director Shira Perlmutter on Tuesday said a Washington, D.C., federal judge should ignore the Trump administration's argument that her recent firing was legal, the latest salvo in her lawsuit against the federal government as she seeks to block her removal.

  • May 27, 2025

    Feds Ask Justices To Lift Due Process Order For Migrants

    The Trump administration on Tuesday asked the U.S. Supreme Court to halt a Massachusetts federal judge's order requiring the government to provide due process to deportees sent to countries where they have no ties, arguing that the ruling is "wreaking havoc" on the removal process.

  • May 27, 2025

    Feds Can't Turn Off NY Funding In Congestion Pricing Fight

    A Manhattan federal judge on Tuesday temporarily blocked as "arbitrary and capricious" a Trump administration threat to withhold federal transportation funds from New York as part of a White House effort to undo New York City's congestion pricing program.

Expert Analysis

  • Maintaining Legal Compliance For GenAI In Life Sciences

    Author Photo

    As companies continue to implement generative artificial intelligence to enhance all phases of drug discovery, they must remain mindful of legal, regulatory and practical considerations as best practices in this space emerge and evolve, say attorneys at Sullivan & Cromwell.

  • Assessing Jurisdictional Issues In 2nd Circ. Bank Audi Case

    Author Photo

    The Second Circuit's reasoning last month in Raad v. Bank Audi that the exercise of personal jurisdiction must be based on conduct taking place within the jurisdiction reminds foreign financial institutions to continually monitor how plaintiffs are advocating for an expansive view of personal jurisdiction in the U.S., say attorneys at Freshfields.

  • Series

    Teaching Business Law Makes Me A Better Lawyer

    Author Photo

    Teaching business law to college students has rekindled my sense of purpose as a lawyer — I am more mindful of the importance of the rule of law and the benefits of our common law system, which helps me maintain a clearer perspective on work, says David Feldman at Feldman Legal Advisors.

  • Enviro Justice Efforts After Trump's Disparate Impact Order

    Author Photo

    The Trump administration's recent executive order directing the U.S. Department of Justice to unwind disparate impact regulations may end some Biden-era environmental justice initiatives — but it will not end all efforts, whether by state or federal regulators or private litigants, to address issues in environmentally overburdened communities, say attorneys at ArentFox Schiff.

  • What Disparate Impact Order Means For Insurers' AI Use

    Author Photo

    A recent executive order seeking to bar disparate impact theory conveys a meaningful policy shift, but does not alter the legal status of federal antidiscrimination law or enforceability of state laws, such as those holding insurers accountable for using artificial intelligence in a nondiscriminatory matter, say attorneys at Eversheds Sutherland.

  • Choosing A Road To Autonomous Vehicle Compliance

    Author Photo

    As autonomous vehicle manufacturers navigate the complex U.S. regulatory landscape, they may opt for different approaches to following federal, state and local rules and laws, as they balance the tradeoffs between innovation, compliance and speed of deployment, say attorneys at Sidley.

  • Navigating The Expanding Frontier Of Premerger Notice Laws

    Author Photo

    Washington's newly enacted law requiring premerger notification to state enforcers builds upon a growing trend of state scrutiny into transactions in the healthcare sector and beyond, and may inspire other states to enact similar legislation, say attorneys at Simpson Thacher.

  • Evolving Federal Rules Pose Further Obstacles To NY LLC Act

    Author Photo

    Following the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network's recent changes to beneficial ownership information reporting under the federal Corporate Transparency Act — dramatically reducing the number of companies required to make disclosures — the utility of New York's LLC Transparency Act becomes less apparent, say attorneys at Pillsbury.

  • The Risks Of Trump's Plan To Fast-Track Deregulation

    Author Photo

    A recent memorandum issued by President Donald Trump directing the repeal of so-called unlawful regulations, and instructing that agencies invoke the good cause exception under the Administrative Procedure Act, signals a potentially far-reaching deregulatory strategy under the guise of legal compliance, say attorneys at GableGotwals.

  • Deregulation Memo Presents Risks, Opportunities For Cos.

    Author Photo

    A recent Trump administration memo providing direction to agencies tasked with rescinding regulations under an earlier executive order — without undergoing the typical notice-and-review process — will likely create much uncertainty for businesses, though they may be able to engage with agencies to shape the regulatory agenda, say attorneys at Blank Rome.

  • Action Steps To Prepare For Ramped-Up Export Enforcement

    Author Photo

    In light of recent Bureau of Industry and Security actions and comments, companies, particularly those with any connection to China, should consider four concrete steps to shore up their compliance programs given the administration's increasingly aggressive approach to export enforcement, say attorneys at Gibson Dunn.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: Mastering Discovery

    Author Photo

    The discovery process and the rules that govern it are often absent from law school curricula, but developing a solid grasp of the particulars can give any new attorney a leg up in their practice, says Jordan Davies at Knowles Gallant.

  • DOJ Signals Major Shift In White Collar Enforcement Priorities

    Author Photo

    In a speech on Monday, an official outlined key revisions to the U.S. Department of Justice’s voluntary self-disclosure, corporate monitorship and whistleblower program policies, marking a meaningful change in the white collar enforcement landscape, and offering companies clearer incentives and guardrails, say attorneys at McGuireWoods.

  • Understanding Compliance Concerns With NY Severance Bill

    Author Photo

    New York's No Severance Ultimatums Act, if enacted, could overhaul how employers manage employee separations, but employers should be mindful that the bill's language introduces ambiguities and raises compliance concerns, say attorneys at Norris McLaughlin.

  • What New Study Means For Recycling Compliance In Calif.

    Author Photo

    Companies must review the California recycling agency's new study to understand its criteria for assessing claims of product and packaging recyclability under a law that takes effect next year, and then decide whether the risks of making such claims in the state outweigh the benefits, say attorneys at Keller & Heckman.

Want to publish in Law360?


Submit an idea

Have a news tip?


Contact us here
Can't find the article you're looking for? Click here to search the Public Policy archive.
Hello! I'm Law360's automated support bot.

How can I help you today?

For example, you can type:
  • I forgot my password
  • I took a free trial but didn't get a verification email
  • How do I sign up for a newsletter?
Ask a question!