Public Policy

  • May 14, 2025

    Pa. Justices Seem OK With Transit Crimes Special Prosecutor

    Elements of Pennsylvania's Constitution seem to support the Legislature's ability to single out Philadelphia and its district attorney, Larry Krasner, for special treatment in a law establishing a "special prosecutor" for crimes committed within its regional transit agency, several state Supreme Court justices suggested during arguments on Krasner's challenge to the law Wednesday.

  • May 14, 2025

    FERC Chair Floats Plan To Slash Grid Project Perks

    The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's approval of financial perks for $3 billion worth of transmission projects has prompted Chair Mark Christie to suggest a way to scale back the awarding of additional rate incentives to grid developers.

  • May 14, 2025

    Trump Scraps Biden-Era Restrictions On AI Chip Exports

    The U.S. Department of Commerce announced Tuesday it has rescinded guidelines on artificial intelligence technology exports issued under former President Joe Biden, saying it would take other steps "to strengthen export controls" on AI semiconductor chips.

  • May 14, 2025

    10th Circ. Wary Of Hemp Interests' Challenge To Wyoming Law

    A Tenth Circuit panel on Wednesday appeared skeptical that a Wyoming state law regulating hemp-derived intoxicating products was preempted by the federal law legalizing hemp nationwide.

  • May 14, 2025

    EPA Plans Cutbacks And Delays To PFAS Drinking Water Regs

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Wednesday said it will retain the current drinking water standards for two toxic PFAS but will delay compliance deadlines for public water systems and eliminate limits on other forever chemicals.

  • May 14, 2025

    States Ask Court To End Trump's Wind Project Freeze

    A coalition of states on Wednesday asked a Massachusetts federal judge for a preliminary injunction ordering the Trump administration to end its freeze on wind energy project permitting, saying the policy could erase nearly $100 billion in investments and cost 40,000 jobs if left in place throughout the president's term.

  • May 14, 2025

    DC Judge Restores Canceled ABA Domestic Violence Grants

    A D.C. federal judge on Wednesday reinstated terminated federal grant funding for the American Bar Association's Commission on Domestic & Sexual Violence, finding that "the First Amendment prohibits the type of reprisal DOJ appears likely to have taken."

  • May 14, 2025

    Judiciary To Share Pros, Cons Of AI For Courts With Congress

    The federal judiciary is looking at the benefits and drawbacks of artificial intelligence for the court system and will share its discoveries with Congress, top officials testified on Wednesday.

  • May 14, 2025

    CFTC's Mersinger Will Depart Agency To Lead Crypto Lobby

    U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commissioner Summer Mersinger is leaving the agency to lead cryptocurrency industry group the Blockchain Association, the organization announced Wednesday.

  • May 14, 2025

    RFK Jr. Defends HHS Cuts, Pledges To 'Spend Smarter'

    In his first appearance on Capitol Hill since his confirmation, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Wednesday characterized a massive reorganization and reductions in workforce as practical moves to optimize the sprawling agency.

  • May 14, 2025

    DOJ Says No Hiring Private Counsel From Firms Suing US

    Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche has issued a memo directing the U.S. Department of Justice to avoid engaging with firms that are suing the government over its policies or that represent clients in similar suits.

  • May 14, 2025

    NY AG Says Capital One Denied Millions In Account Interest

    New York's attorney general on Wednesday sued Capital One in New York federal court, alleging the bank deprived online savings customers of millions of dollars in interest, a case that echoes a lawsuit the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau recently abandoned.

  • May 14, 2025

    Ex-FDNY Safety Chief Gets 3 Years For $57K Bribery Haul

    A Manhattan federal judge hit a former fire prevention chief for the New York Fire Department with a three-year prison sentence Wednesday for taking bribes to expedite safety checks, saying the longtime, well-off public servant acted out of greed.

  • May 14, 2025

    Monitor Says Okla. Pot Agency Fired Her For Blowing Whistle

    A former contract monitor for the Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority is suing the agency, alleging she was wrongly fired and had her file marked "no rehire," preventing her from finding other government work, in retaliation for reporting on a conflict of interest.

  • May 14, 2025

    Grassley Targets Universal Injunctions In Budget Negotiations

    Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, is looking to address universal injunctions as part of the budget reconciliation process, Law360 has learned.

  • May 13, 2025

    Judge Opts For 'Remedial Manager' To Reform Rikers Jail

    A Manhattan federal judge on Tuesday stopped short of ordering a receiver to take control of Rikers Island in an effort to clamp down on incidents of excessive force against the jail population, instead opting for a "remediation manager" with more narrow powers to work in collaboration with city officials to reform the notorious jail complex.

  • May 13, 2025

    CFPB Floats Repeal Of Biden-Era Registry, Designation Rules

    The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said Tuesday that it will seek to close its "repeat offender" registry and stop disclosing its decisions to tag potentially risky firms for closer oversight, stepping back from two Biden-era initiatives aimed at greater nonbank scrutiny.

  • May 13, 2025

    CFPB Calls Off Suit Over Walmart Driver Deposit Accounts

    The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau told a Minnesota federal court Tuesday that it is dropping its enforcement lawsuit that accused Walmart and fintech company Branch Messenger Inc. of forcing delivery drivers to use costly deposit accounts to receive wages, months after the court put the case on hold.

  • May 13, 2025

    Feds Challenge Montana Tribes' Full Police Funding Demand

    The U.S. Department of the Interior is asking a federal court to deny two Montana tribes a summary judgment win in their challenge over inadequate police funding, arguing the agency has gone above and beyond what the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act requires for money allocations.

  • May 13, 2025

    Ga. Law Shields Pesticide Makers From Failure-To-Warn Suits

    Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp has signed new legislation into law that will soon shield pesticide manufacturers from liability in failure-to-warn suits, coming on the heels of a $2.1 billion verdict against the makers of Roundup weed killer delivered by a state jury earlier this year.

  • May 13, 2025

    Pot Payment Co. Wants Court To Enforce $1.3M Deal

    A Boulder, Colorado, fintech company said its former business associates in a failed joint venture to create a cannabis payment system cannot be trusted to pay the $1.3 million settlement meant to end all claims of fraud, urging a Nevada federal court to step in and force them to follow through.

  • May 13, 2025

    X Says Elon Musk Can't Sit For Media Matters Deposition

    X Corp. told a Texas federal judge that left-leaning watchdog Media Matters for America cannot make billionaire CEO Elon Musk sit for a deposition in X's disparagement suit, saying Musk lacks specific knowledge about the case and is "one of the busiest men on the planet."

  • May 13, 2025

    DOJ Antitrust Deputy Says Gov't 'Out-Lawyered' Google

    The deputy head of the U.S. Justice Department's Antitrust Division took a victory lap Tuesday after dual monopolization wins over Google's search and advertising technology businesses, citing the cases as proof that the government's attorneys can win in a "David versus Goliath" battle.

  • May 13, 2025

    Gov't To Restore Climate Webpages After Lawsuit Pressure

    The U.S. Department of Agriculture is reversing course and has committed to restore climate change-focused webpages that were taken offline following the January presidential inauguration, according to a court filing in a lawsuit from environmental groups challenging the removals.

  • May 13, 2025

    FTC Remains Concerned With Merger 'Underenforcement'

    A Federal Trade Commission official emphasized Tuesday that Trump administration merger enforcers are worried about taking insufficient action against tie-ups, as they stand by Biden-era guidelines meant to enshrine a more aggressive tack against corporate concentration.

Expert Analysis

  • Tips For Companies Crafting Tariff Surcharge Disclosures

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    As the Trump administration imposes tariffs on imports, retail businesses considering itemizing tariff-related costs separately for consumers must ensure that any disclosures are both accurate and defensible to avoid regulatory enforcement or private suits, says Christopher Cole at Katten.

  • Series

    Adapting To Private Practice: From NY Fed To BigLaw

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    While the move to private practice brings a learning curve, it also brings chances to learn new skills and grow your network, requiring a clear understanding of how your skills can complement and contribute to a firm's existing practice, and where you can add new value, says Meghann Donahue at Covington.

  • Reviewing Trump Admin's Rapid Pro-Crypto Regulatory Pivot

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    The digital asset industry has received a boost from the explicitly pro-crypto Trump administration, which in its first few months reversed Biden-era rules and installed industry proponents at regulatory agencies, marking one of the biggest regulatory about-faces by a government in recent memory, says Robert Appleton at Olshan Frome.

  • Cos. Face Enviro Justice Tug-Of-War Between States, Feds

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    The second Trump administration's sweeping elimination of environmental justice policies, programs and funding, and targeting of state-level EJ initiatives, creates difficult questions for companies on how best to avoid friction with federal policy, navigate state compliance obligations and maintain important stakeholder relationships with communities, say attorneys at Arnold & Porter.

  • Top 3 Litigation Finance Deal-Killers, And How To Avoid Them

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    Like all transactions, litigation finance deals can sometimes collapse, but understanding the most common reasons for failure, including a lack of trust or a misunderstanding of deal terms, can help both parties avoid problems, say Rebecca Berrebi at Avenue 33 and Boris Ziser at Schulte Roth.

  • A 2-Step System For Choosing A Digital Asset Reporting Path

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    Under the Internal Revenue Service's new digital asset reporting regulation, each type of asset may have three potential reporting destinations, so a detailed testing framework can help to determine the appropriate path, says Keval Sonecha at Sonecha & Amlani.

  • NEPA Repeal Could Slow Down Environmental Review

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    As the Trump administration has rescinded the Council on Environmental Quality's long-standing National Environmental Policy Act regulations, projects that require NEPA review may be bogged down by significant regulatory uncertainty and litigation risks, potentially undermining the administration's intent to streamline the permitting process, say attorneys at Mayer Brown.

  • 5th Circ. Ruling Is Latest Signal Of Shaky Qui Tam Landscape

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    In his recent concurring opinion in U.S. v. Peripheral Vascular Associates, a Fifth Circuit judge joined a growing list of jurists suggesting that the False Claims Act's whistleblower provisions are unconstitutional, underscoring that acceptance of qui tam relators can no longer be taken for granted, say attorneys at Miller & Chevalier.

  • Foreign Countries Have Strong Foundation To Fill FCPA Void

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    Though the U.S. has paused enforcement of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, liberal democracies across the globe are well equipped to reverse any setback in anti-corruption enforcement, potentially heightening prosecution risk for companies headquartered in the U.S., says Stephen Kohn at Kohn Kohn.

  • How Attys Can Use A Therapy Model To Help Triggered Clients

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    Attorneys can lean on key principles from a psychotherapeutic paradigm known as the "Internal Family Systems" model to help manage triggered clients and get settlement negotiations back on track, says Jennifer Gibbs at Zelle.

  • A Tale Of Two Admins: Parsing 1st Half Of SEC's FY 2025

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    The first half of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's fiscal year 2025, which ended March 31, was unusually eventful, marked by a flurry of enforcement actions in the last three months of former Chair Gary Gensler's tenure and a prompt pivot after Inauguration Day, say attorneys at Jones Day.

  • A Closer Look At Amendments To Virginia Noncompete Ban

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    Recently passed amendments in Virignia will prohibit noncompetes for all employees who are eligible for overtime pay under federal law, and though the changes could simplify employers’ analyses as to restrictive covenant enforceability, it may require them to reassess and potentially adjust their use of noncompetes with some workers, say attorneys at McGuireWoods.

  • What Bank Regulator Consolidation Would Mean For Industry

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    Speculation over the Trump administration’s potential plans to consolidate financial service regulators is intensifying uncertainty, but no matter the outcome for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the industry should expect continued policy changes, say attorneys at Foley & Lardner.

  • Getting Ahead Of The SEC's Continued Focus On Cyber, AI

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    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is showing it will continue to scrutinize actions involving cybersecurity and artificial intelligence, but there are proactive measures that companies and financial institutions can take to avoid regulatory scrutiny going forward, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • Navigating Florida's Bad Faith Reforms After Appellate Ruling

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    A Florida appellate court's recent decision is among the first to interpret two significant amendments to the state's insurance bad faith law, and its holding that one of the statutes could not apply retroactively may affect insurers' interpretation of the other statute, say attorneys at Cozen O'Connor.

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