Public Policy

  • July 01, 2025

    Monthly Merger Review Snapshot

    The U.S. Department of Justice reached the agency's first three merger settlements of the second Trump administration, clearing deals in the technology and aerospace sectors after divestitures, while the Federal Trade Commission put conditions on an advertising merger. Here, Law360 looks at the major merger review developments from June.

  • July 01, 2025

    NJ Governor Signs Bill Hiking Tax For Online Sports Betting

    New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy has approved a bill that will increase the tax for online gambling and sports betting to 19.75% just hours after the measure was passed by both houses of the state's Legislature.

  • July 01, 2025

    Texas Rep. Must Tell Feds If He'll Blame Attys In Bribery Case

    A Houston judge said Monday that U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar and his wife must disclose to federal prosecutors whether they plan to use an advice-of-counsel defense in their trial on bribery charges.

  • July 01, 2025

    Mass. Justices Affirm Insurers Can Tap Workers' Comp Fund

    Insurers who have stopped writing workers' compensation policies but are still paying on older claims in Massachusetts are entitled to partial reimbursement from a state trust fund created to offset the higher costs of covering some individuals, because the money comes from employers rather than the insurers, the state's highest court concluded on Tuesday.

  • July 01, 2025

    Amazon Escapes Worker's Military Leave Suit

    A former Amazon employee cannot show that she was fired because she requested to take military leave or because she needed to care for her son, a New York federal judge ruled, saying she can't rebut the company's argument that she was fired for violating security protocol.

  • July 01, 2025

    Judge Rules Gun Ban For Medical Pot Users Constitutional

    A Pennsylvania federal judge ruled Monday that a federal policy barring medical marijuana patients from owning firearms does not violate the Second Amendment, granting the U.S. Department of Justice's motion to dismiss a challenge brought by a state prosecutor and others.

  • July 01, 2025

    Conn. Tribe Fights State's Bid To Halt 80-Acre Land Transfer

    The Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation is fighting an emergency motion by Connecticut to halt the U.S. Department of the Interior's transfer of 80 acres into trust for the federally recognized tribe, saying the state fails to establish that a stay is necessary.

  • July 01, 2025

    Ga. Justices To Review $33M Verdict In Student Crash Death

    The Supreme Court of Georgia has agreed to review a state appellate court's decision that a metro Atlanta city must pay a $33 million verdict awarded to the parents of a college student who died after crashing into a roadside planter.

  • July 01, 2025

    Axing Lit Funding Tax Bid Relieves Industry But Fears Remain

    Litigation funders are breathing a sigh of relief after a provision to impose a 41% punitive tax on the $16 billion industry was stripped Tuesday from the massive federal spending bill, but many think the episode is just the prelude to further battles with corporate opponents.

  • July 01, 2025

    Mich. Judge Halts Mackinac Island Ferry Rate Ordinance

    A Michigan federal judge has temporarily blocked Mackinac Island city officials from regulating ferry prices, a move the judge said preserves both the status quo and the availability of ferry service to the tourist destination.

  • July 01, 2025

    US Attorney Picks Include Alina Habba And Senator's Son

    The president sent 14 U.S. attorney nominations to the Senate on Tuesday, including Alina Habba, the president's former counselor and personal attorney, for the District of New Jersey and Arch Moore Capito, the son of Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W. Va., for the Southern District of West Virginia.

  • July 01, 2025

    'ComEd Four' Lobbyist Deserves 4 Years In Prison, Feds Say

    Federal prosecutors argued on Monday that a lobbyist convicted alongside Commonwealth Edison CEO Anne Pramaggiore and two others for bribing former Illinois House Speaker Mike Madigan should serve more than four years behind bars for falsifying books and records to hide the funneling of payments to Madigan's allies for do-nothing jobs.

  • July 01, 2025

    Pa. Leaders Split At 3rd Circ. Over Tossing Undated Votes

    A Third Circuit panel's uncertainty over Pennsylvania's rejection of undated mail-in ballots intensified Tuesday during an oral argument as top Keystone State officials took opposing sides about the constitutionality of the date requirement.

  • July 01, 2025

    Top Personal Injury, Med Mal News: 2025 Midyear Report

    A U.S. Supreme Court ruling over whether personal injury claims can be brought under a RICO statute and a $7.4 billion settlement reached with the Sackler family and Purdue Pharma are among Law360's top personal injury and medical malpractice cases from the first six months of 2025.

  • July 01, 2025

    NY AG Urges Lawmakers To Strengthen Stablecoin Legislation

    New York's Attorney General Letitia James is calling on U.S. lawmakers to strengthen pending bills to regulate so-called stablecoins in a letter made public Tuesday that argued neither the House nor the Senate's proposals contain the necessary guardrails to protect consumers.

  • July 01, 2025

    House Report Says Ad Group Colluded With Foreign Gov'ts

    The World Federation of Advertisers' digital safety initiative targeted conservative voices with a digital advertising pressure campaign meant to "undermine American civil liberties" and "limit" consumer choice up until the project's discontinuation last year, according to a new report from the Republican-controlled House Judiciary Committee.

  • July 01, 2025

    Proxy Firms Don't 'Solicit' Investor Votes, DC Circ. Rules

    A D.C. Circuit panel Tuesday ruled that proxy advisory firms do not "solicit" proxy votes, thus denying a manufacturing industry group's attempt to revive a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission rule regulating those firms.

  • July 01, 2025

    US Trade Blueprint Should Delay Tariffs, South Africa Says

    The South African government said Tuesday it requested that the U.S. extend a July 9 deadline for trade talks before higher tariff rates kick in for it and other major trading partners, in anticipation of a new U.S. blueprint to guide prospective trade deals in the region.

  • July 01, 2025

    Groups Urge Fed. Circ. To Stop USPTO Retroactive Denials

    Advocacy groups in the communications, automotive and technology fields have thrown their support behind Motorola's challenge of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's decision to retroactively apply a decision withdrawing earlier guidance on when the Patent Trial and Appeal Board should not review patent challenges.

  • July 01, 2025

    RI Judge Orders Halt To HHS Layoffs, Reorganization

    A Rhode Island federal judge on Tuesday blocked the Trump administration from carrying out mass layoffs at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, finding the reorganization usurped congressional spending authority and likely violated the Administrative Procedure Act.

  • July 01, 2025

    DOL Rule Would Reverse Obama-Era Domestic Worker Regs

    The U.S. Department of Labor is looking to roll back Obama-era regulations that redefined domestic service workers and required they be paid minimum and overtime wages, saying returning to regulations from 1975 could help expand access to care services.

  • July 01, 2025

    Senate Passes Budget Bill, Rebuking National Injunctions

    The Senate voted 51-50 on Tuesday to pass the budget reconciliation bill, including various provisions that seek to greatly restrict the use of nationwide injunctions, which Republicans heavily criticized after district courts repeatedly stalled parts of President Donald Trump's agenda with the legal maneuver.

  • July 01, 2025

    ND, Tribes Spar Over High Court Order In 8th Circ. Voting Row

    Two Indigenous tribes and North Dakota's secretary of state are feuding in the Eighth Circuit about how much weight a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling that found a Planned Parenthood patient doesn't have a private right to sue South Carolina carries over a bid to rehear a voting rights dispute.

  • June 30, 2025

    Newsom Signs CEQA Reform, Aiming To Ease Housing Crisis

    California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Monday evening signed into law two bills overhauling the state's landmark environmental law to knock down hurdles to new development in an effort to address the state's ongoing housing shortage.

  • June 30, 2025

    Trump Tariff Challenge Belongs In Trade Court, Groups Argue

    The America First Legal Foundation and Coalition for a Prosperous America on Monday backed the federal government in an appeal brought by toy makers challenging President Donald Trump's emergency tariffs, arguing that the lower court should've never issued an injunction because the dispute belongs in the U.S. Court of International Trade.

Expert Analysis

  • Focusing On Fluoride: From FDA To Class Action

    Author Photo

    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

    Author Photo

    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

    Author Photo

    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

    Author Photo

    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.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: Rejecting Biz Dev Myths

    Author Photo

    Law schools don’t spend sufficient time dispelling certain myths that prevent young lawyers from exploring new business opportunities, but by dismissing these misguided beliefs, even an introverted first-year associate with a small network of contacts can find long-term success, says Ronald Levine at Herrick Feinstein.

  • Fla. Condo Law Fix Clarifies Control Of Common Areas

    Author Photo

    Florida's repeal of a controversial statutory provision that permitted developers of mixed-use condominium properties to retroactively assert control over common facilities marks a critical shift in legal protections for unit owners and associations, promoting fairness, transparency and accountability, say attorneys at Pardo Jackson.

  • Trade In Limbo: The Legal Storm Reshaping Trump's Tariffs

    Author Photo

    In the final days of May, decisions in two significant court actions upended the tariff and trade landscape, so until the U.S. Supreme Court rules, businesses and supply chains should expect tariffs to remain in place, and for the Trump administration to continue pursuing and enforcing all available trade policies, say attorneys at Ice Miller.

  • Shareholder Takeaways From NY Internal Affairs Doctrine Suit

    Author Photo

    A May New York Court of Appeals decision in Ezrasons v. Rudd involving Barclays — affirming the state's "firmly entrenched" internal affairs doctrine — is a win for all corporate stakeholders seeking stability in resolving disputes between shareholders and directors and officers, say attorneys at Sadis & Goldberg.

  • The Legal Fallout Of The Open Model AI Ecosystem

    Author Photo

    The spread of open-weight and open-source artificial intelligence models is introducing potential harms across the supply chain, but new frameworks will allow for the growth and development of AI technologies without sacrificing the safety of end users, says Harshita Ganesh at CMBG3 Law.

  • Move Beyond Surface-Level Edits To Master Legal Writing

    Author Photo

    Recent instances in which attorneys filed briefs containing artificial intelligence hallucinations offer a stark reminder that effective revision isn’t just about superficial details like grammar — it requires attorneys to critically engage with their writing and analyze their rhetorical choices, says Ivy Grey at WordRake.

  • 3 Rulings May Reveal Next Frontier Of Gov't Contract Cases

    Author Photo

    Several U.S. Supreme Court decisions over the past year — involving wire fraud, gratuities and obstruction — offer wide-ranging and arguably conflicting takeaways for government contractors that are especially relevant given the Trump administration’s focus on diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, say attorneys at Rogers Joseph.

  • How Ore. Law Puts New Confines On Corp. Health Ownership

    Author Photo

    A newly enacted law in Oregon strengthens the state’s restrictions on corporate ownership of healthcare practices, with new limitations on overlapping control, permissible services, restrictive covenants and more making it necessary for practices to review decades-old physician practice arrangements, say attorneys at Ropes & Gray.

  • Early Trends In Proxy Exclusion After SEC Relaxes Guidance

    Author Photo

    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s recent guidance broadening shareholder proposal exclusion under Rule 14a-8 has been undoubtedly useful to issuers this proxy season, but it does not guarantee exclusion, say attorneys at Debevoise.

  • How New Texas Law Revamps Electric Grid To Meet Demand

    Author Photo

    A new Texas law enacted in response to the burdens that data centers, crypto mining and other large-scale users are placing on the state's electric grid means that stakeholders must review updated requirements around grid interconnection, disclosure of development plans and operational flexibility during tight conditions, say attorneys at Jackson Walker.

  • Best Practices For State Banks Eyeing Federal Conversions

    Author Photo

    Amid a notable uptick — fueled by ongoing regulatory upheaval — in state-chartered banks exploring conversion to national bank charters, banks contemplating the decision should weigh the benefits, like uniform supervision, and potential impediments, like costly exam fees, say attorneys at Skadden.

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.