Public Policy

  • July 01, 2025

    DC Circ. Tosses Mich. Utility's Grid Upgrade Challenge

    A D.C. Circuit panel Tuesday upheld the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's refusal to grant a Michigan transmission owner sole ownership of grid upgrades needed to serve a Michigan solar farm, rejecting arguments that existing agreements guaranteed it full ownership rights.

  • July 01, 2025

    Google Wants Texas Ad Tech Trial To Wait On DOJ Judge

    Google has asked a Texas federal judge to delay the looming August trial in a case from state enforcers targeting its advertising technology until after a Virginia federal judge issues her final judgment in a similar case by the U.S. Department of Justice.

  • July 01, 2025

    Turkey Cos. Must Face Price-Fix Suit From Litigation Funder

    An Illinois federal judge rejected a summary judgment bid from major turkey processors fighting a price-fixing antitrust suit, ruling that a litigation funding company can continue to pursue claims against the poultry processors as a stand-in for wholesale food distributor plaintiffs.

  • July 01, 2025

    NJ Assault Weapon Ban Unconstitutional, 3rd Circ. Told

    Gun advocates told a Third Circuit panel on Wednesday that a Garden State federal court did not go far enough when it overturned the state's ban on AR-15 assault rifles, arguing that the state's ban on a number of other firearms and large capacity magazines should also be overturned.

  • July 01, 2025

    DC Circ. OKs Trump Firing Of Privacy Board Dems, For Now

    The D.C. Circuit on Tuesday halted a lower court's order that blocked the Trump administration from firing two Democratic members of the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board, suggesting in a per curiam order that members of the oversight board lacked adjudicatory functions that could shield them from termination.

  • July 01, 2025

    Apple Backers Raise Price, Privilege Concerns At 9th Circ.

    Trade groups and advocacy organizations have raised a series of concerns with the Ninth Circuit about a federal district court mandate blocking Apple from charging commissions on iPhone app purchases made outside its systems, arguing an Epic Games Inc. injunction redux improperly compels speech, imperils price-setting autonomy and threatens legal privilege.

  • July 01, 2025

    State AGs Sue Gov't To Halt Medicaid Data Sharing With ICE

    A California-led coalition of nearly two dozen state attorneys general is pushing a federal court to stop the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services from giving immigration officials "unfettered access" to Medicaid recipients' personal health information, arguing that the sharing flouts decades of policy and practice.

  • July 01, 2025

    The Sharpest Dissents From The Supreme Court Term

    The term's sharpest dissents often looked beyond perceived flaws in majority reasoning to raise existential concerns about the role and future of the court, with the justices accusing one another of rewarding executive branch lawlessness, harming faith in the judiciary and threatening democracy, sometimes on an emergency basis with little briefing or explanation.

  • July 01, 2025

    Mich. Judge Probes Conflict In Ex-GC's Whistleblower Suit

    A Michigan appellate judge Tuesday pressed an attorney representing a town's former general counsel for proof that his client was fired for reporting what he described as corruption, suggesting his role as both human resources director and general counsel may have created inherent conflicts justifying the dismissal.

  • July 01, 2025

    All Eyes On Congress After FCC Subsidy's High Court Win

    Supporters of the Federal Communications Commission's subsidies for phone and broadband service notched a clear win at the U.S. Supreme Court last week when justices upheld the Universal Service Fund's levy on telecom companies, but lawmakers now face pressure to beef up the $9 billion program's revenue sources.

  • July 01, 2025

    Banking Groups Call For Indexing Of Regulatory Thresholds

    The American Bankers Association and its state counterparts are urging federal regulators to prioritize updating thresholds that trigger heightened supervisory obligations to account for inflation and the growth of the banking sector, arguing that the current standards unintentionally subject some institutions to burdensome requirements.

  • July 01, 2025

    RI Urges 1st Circ. To Toss Challenge To Pot License Regs

    Rhode Island marijuana regulators told the First Circuit on Tuesday that a lower court federal judge was correct to toss a constitutional challenge to the state's cannabis regulations, which had not yet been published when the lawsuit was initially filed.

  • July 01, 2025

    Justices Face Busy Summer After Nixing Universal Injunctions

    The U.S. Supreme Court's decision to limit nationwide injunctions was one of its biggest rulings of the term — a finding the court is likely going to be dealing with all summer. Here, Law360 takes a look at the decision, how it and other cases on the emergency docket overshadowed much of the court's other work, and what it all means for the months to come.

  • July 01, 2025

    Mobile Cos. Applaud Senate Revival Of Spectrum Auctions

    The wireless industry on Tuesday praised the Senate's narrow passage of a budget reconciliation package that directs the federal government to identify and auction hundreds of megahertz of electromagnetic spectrum for private companies' use.

  • 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.

Expert Analysis

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

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    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

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    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

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    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

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    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

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    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

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    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

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    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

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    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.

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    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

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    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

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    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

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    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

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    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.

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    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.

  • Mergers Face Steeper Slopes In State Antitrust Reviews

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    The New York Supreme Court's recent summary judgment in New York v. Intermountain Management, blocking the acquisition and shuttering of a ski mountain in the Syracuse area, underscores the growing trend among state antitrust enforcers to scrutinize and challenge anticompetitive conduct under state laws, say attorneys at Robins Kaplan.

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