Public Policy

July 21, 2025
Ex-ComEd CEO Gets 2 Years For Burying Madigan Bribes

The former CEO of Commonwealth Edison and later Exelon Utilities was sentenced to two years in prison Monday for a scheme to pay millions to associates of ex-Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan to secure his support for major energy legislation, and for hiding the nature of those payments to circumvent the company's internal accounting controls.
July 21, 2025
EPA Asks 9th Circ. To Reverse Calif. Judge In Fluoride Suit

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is asking the Ninth Circuit to reverse a California federal judge who ruled that the EPA's current "optimal" level of fluoride in drinking water poses an unreasonable risk of lowering children's IQ.
July 21, 2025
Stadium Deal Still On Despite Trump Threat, DC Officials Say

The mayor and city council chair of Washington, D.C., said on Monday that they were focusing on their roles in approving the $3 billion plan for a new stadium for the NFL's Commanders, regardless of President Donald Trump's weekend threat to kill the deal if the team's racist former nickname was not brought back.
July 21, 2025
States, Territories Get The OK For $42B In Broadband Grants

The U.S. Department of Commerce said Monday that all 56 states and territories taking part in a $42.5 billion expansion of U.S. broadband service can now begin picking contractors to get the work done on the ground.
July 21, 2025
Officials' Intent Key In Visa Revocation Trial, Judge Says

A Massachusetts federal judge hearing a free-speech case stemming from the arrests of pro-Palestinian student activists said Monday he is grappling with whether immigration officials were carrying out an official Trump administration policy or using their own discretion to implement a broader set of priorities within the law.
July 21, 2025
4th Circ. Reverses Portion Of Railroads' Broadband Suit

The Fourth Circuit has ruled that the Association of American Railroads has standing to challenge a Virginia state law requiring railroads to allow for broadband crossings, reversing a trial court decision and dealing another blow to a law that the Virginia Supreme Court already gutted on state constitutional grounds in May.
July 21, 2025
Judge Allows Calif. Tribe In Casino Suit, Denies Dismissal Bid

A California tribe at the center of a dispute over a decision to take 70 acres into trust for its proposed Sonoma County hotel and casino project can intervene in the litigation, a federal judge said, while finding that the Indigenous nation cannot dismiss the case based on sovereign immunity.
July 21, 2025
Feds Move To Drop Some Counts Against Texas Rep. Cuellar

The federal government on Friday moved to drop counts of a bribery indictment against U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar and his wife, citing "prosecutorial discretion."
July 21, 2025
DOL Rescinds ERISA Guidance On Citi Racial Equity Program

The U.S. Department of Labor rescinded a Biden-era opinion letter Monday that had backed Citi's commitment to pay fees for diverse investment managers overseeing Citi-sponsored benefit plans regulated by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, saying the letter no longer reflected the department's views.
July 21, 2025
Not So Fast: CFPB Shelves Bid To Scrap State Notice Rules

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau on Monday withdrew a plan to repeal rules that regulate how state officials are supposed to alert it before suing companies under its federal enforcement authority, reversing course after industry groups lobbied to tighten, not toss, the requirements.
July 21, 2025
NJ US Atty Accused Of Ethics Violations Amid Possible Exit

A group of ethics experts and former presidential advisors requested an ethics investigation into interim U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Alina Habba on Monday, as she reportedly approaches the end of her run as the top federal prosecutor in the Garden State.
July 21, 2025
Ruger Says Colo. Shooting Suits Can't Lean On Conn. Ruling

Sturm Ruger & Co. on Monday asked a Connecticut state judge to strike lawsuits by the families of the victims of a Colorado mass shooting, saying litigation from the Sandy Hook massacre does not open the Constitution State's unfair trade practices statute to all advertising-based claims against gunmakers.
July 21, 2025
Trump DOJ To Appeal Axing Of Order Targeting Jenner & Block

The U.S. Department of Justice plans to fight a federal judge's ruling that struck down President Donald Trump's executive order targeting Jenner & Block LLP, as it filed a notice of appeal Monday in D.C. federal court.
July 21, 2025
Trump Admin's Harvard Cuts Vex Judge: 'Staggering To Me'

A Massachusetts federal judge said Monday that the Trump administration has not presented evidence that Harvard has failed to address antisemitism on its campus and expressed bewilderment at the government's legal justifications for cutting $2.2 billion in funding.
July 21, 2025
Top 4 Texas Cases To Watch: A Midyear Report

Several major cases are taking shape in the Lone Star State, including the Southwest Airlines Pilots Association's suit seeking to hold Boeing accountable for lost revenue after the 737 Max was grounded, as well as the continuing fallout of a former Houston judge's romance scandal that could cost a Texas firm millions of dollars. Here's a look at the top cases to watch in Texas through the rest of the year.
July 21, 2025
Senate Panel To Revote On US Atty Noms After Dem Walkout

The Senate Judiciary Committee is poised to revote on five U.S. attorney nominees on Thursday, including Jeanine Pirro, former Fox News host and New York state judge, after Democrats walked out of last week's meeting over objections to how the consideration of controversial Third Circuit nominee Emil Bove was being handled.
July 21, 2025
How Criminal Law Is Shaped By Administrative Decisions

Behind line prosecutors are administrators, policies, and day-to-day logistics that enable and shape not only prosecutors' work but trends in how justice is administered throughout the country, according to a New York University School of Law professor and researcher.
July 18, 2025
Law360 Names 2025's Top Attorneys Under 40

Law360 is pleased to announce the Rising Stars of 2025, our list of more than 150 attorneys under 40 whose legal accomplishments belie their age.
July 18, 2025
Top 4 Texas Court Rulings Of 2025: Midyear Report

Texas courts made several high-profile decisions in the first half of 2025, including backing a multibillion-dollar mattress merger, awarding more than $6 million to employees fired by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, and granting the state a $1.4 billion data privacy settlement with Google. Here are four of the biggest court rulings in Texas so far this year.
July 18, 2025
Judge Demands Layoff Plans From Trump Administration

A California federal judge on Friday ordered the Trump administration to hand over reorganization and reduction-in-force plans linked to an executive order directing layoffs at federal agencies, finding that the government's privilege claim was outweighed by the plaintiffs' need for the information to pursue their claims under the Administrative Procedure Act.
July 18, 2025
3rd Circ. Pick 'Respected' By Trump, Mysterious To Senators

The senior White House lawyer nominated to represent Delaware on the Third Circuit is a constitutional scholar and presidential immunity defender touted as "highly respected" by President Donald Trump, although some Delaware lawmakers have questioned her ties to the First State.
July 18, 2025
USPTO Calls On Fed. Circ. To Reject Fight Over Fintiv Policy

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office urged the Federal Circuit on Friday to reject allegations that its handling of policies governing Fintiv-based discretionary denials violates due process, claiming SAP America Inc. is just upset that its Patent Trial and Appeal Board challenges were rejected.
July 18, 2025
Calif. Sues Trump Admin Over $4B High-Speed Rail Fund Cuts

California's High-Speed Rail Authority hit the Trump administration with an Administrative Procedure Act lawsuit in California federal court Friday, claiming the Federal Railroad Administration's abrupt termination of $4 billion in grants to the electric rail project was arbitrary, politically motivated and based on Trump's "extreme antipathy toward California."
July 18, 2025
FCC Seeks To Change How It Handles Broadband Report

The Federal Communications Commission got the ball rolling Friday on its annual inquiry into how available advanced telecommunications are to everyone in the country, only a few weeks before it will vote to change the way it evaluates how well broadband is being deployed.
July 18, 2025
As Trump Signs Stablecoin Bill, Attorneys Talk Compliance

President Donald Trump on Friday signed into law a bill to regulate stablecoins, known as the Genius Act, and practitioners are now turning their attention to helping firms comply with both the provisions of the statute and the coming rulemakings from regulators.

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

Legal Considerations Around Ibogaine As Addiction Therapy

Recent funding approval in Texas pertaining to ibogaine for the potential treatment of substance use disorders signals a growing openness to innovative addiction treatments, but also underscore the need for rigorous compliance with state and federal requirements and ethical research standards, say attorneys at Husch Blackwell.
Unpacking DOJ's Suit Against Maryland Federal Bench

Political hoopla aside, the Trump administration’s suit naming the Maryland federal district court and all of its judges, which challenges a standing order that delays deportation upon the filing of a habeas petition, raises valid questions about both the validity of the order and the DOJ’s approach, says Steven Gordon at Holland & Knight.
What Calif. Insurance Ruling Means For Smoke Damage Limits

As California continues to grapple with an increasing number of wildfire claims, a state court's recent Aliff v. California FAIR Plan decision serves as a clear directive to insurers that policy language that narrows the scope of fire coverage below the California Insurance Code's minimum standards is impermissible, say attorneys at Wood Smith.
Wash. Law Highlights Debate Over Unemployment For Strikers

A new Washington state law that will allow strikers to receive unemployment benefits during work stoppages raises questions about whether such laws subsidize disruptions to the economy or whether they are preempted by federal labor law, says Daniel Johns at Cozen O'Connor.
Why SEC Abandoned Microcap Convertible Debt Crackdown

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has recently dismissed several cases targeting microcap convertible debt lenders, a significant disavowal of what was a controversial enforcement initiative under the Biden administration and a message that the new administration will focus on clear fraud, say attorneys at O'Melveny.
Justices' Resentencing Ruling Fortifies First Step Act Tools

The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent Hewitt v. U.S. ruling clarifies that resentencing after vacatur must reflect the law in effect at the time of the new sentencing, ultimately strengthening the strategic tools available to defense attorneys under the First Step Act, says Benson Varghese at Varghese Summersett.
The Metamorphosis Of The Major Questions Doctrine

The so-called major questions doctrine arose as a counterweight to Chevron deference over the past few decades, but invocations of the doctrine have persisted in the year since Chevron was overturned, suggesting it still has a role to play in reining in agency overreach, say attorneys at Crowell & Moring.
A Rapidly Evolving Landscape For Noncompetes In Healthcare

A wave of new state laws regulating noncompete agreements in the healthcare sector, varying in scope, approach and enforceability, are shaped by several factors unique to the industry and are likely to distort the market, say attorneys at Seyfarth.
New PTAB Denial Processes Grow More And More Confusing

Guidance from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office about the Patent Trial and Appeal Board's new workload management and discretionary denial processes has been murky and inconsistent, and has been further muddled by the acting director's seemingly contradictory decisions, say attorneys at Finnegan.
Arguing The 8th Amendment For Reduction In FCA Penalties

While False Claims Act decisions lack consistency in how high the judgment-to-damages ratio in such cases can be before it becomes unconstitutional, defense counsel should cite the Eighth Amendment's excessive fines clause in pre-trial settlement negotiations, and seek penalty decreases in post-judgment motions and on appeal, says Scott Grubman at Chilivis Grubman.
GENIUS Act Creates 'Commodity' Uncertainty For Stablecoins

Half a century ago, Congress made trading in onion futures on commodity exchanges unlawful, and payment stablecoins could soon face a similarly unstable fate in the markets as the GENIUS Act heads to the president's desk for signature, says Peter Malyshev at Cadwalader.
EU Space Act Could Stifle US Commercial Operators

The EU Space Act, proposed last month, has the potential to raise global standards for safety and sustainability in space, but the U.S. and EU need to harmonize their regulatory approaches to avoid imposing regulatory burdens that undermine commercial innovation and agility, say Jessica Noble and Adriane Mandakunis at Aegis Space Law.
Cos. Face Convergence Of Anti-Terrorism Act, FCPA Risks

Recent moves by the U.S. Department of Justice to classify cartels and transnational criminal organizations as terrorist groups, and to use a range of statutes including the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act to pursue these types of targets, mean that companies operating in certain jurisdictions are now subject to overlapping exposure, say attorneys at Miller & Chevalier.
Feds' Shift On Reputational Risk Raises Questions For Banks

While banking regulators' recent retreat from reputational risk narrows the scope of federal oversight in some respects, it also raises practical questions about consistency, reputational management and the evolving political landscape surrounding financial services, say attorneys at Smith Anderson.
Biotech Collaborations Can Ease Uncertainty Amid FDA Shift

As concerns persist that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's reduced headcount will impede developments at already-strapped biotech companies, licensing and partnership transactions can provide the necessary funding and pathways to advance innovative products, say attorneys at Troutman.