Public Policy

  • March 12, 2025

    NY Judge Tees Up Bail, Venue Fights For Columbia Activist

    A Manhattan federal judge on Wednesday ordered expedited briefing on whether a Palestinian activist and Columbia University graduate student who was arrested on Saturday should be granted bail pending his release petition, and on where the case belongs, saying there's "some need for speed here."

  • March 12, 2025

    DOL Escapes Writers' Suit Over Contractor Rule, For Now

    A Tennessee federal judge tossed a suit from two freelance writers seeking to block the U.S. Department of Labor's new rule regulating whether workers are independent contractors or employees under federal law, saying the writers can't show that the regulation would hurt their career opportunities.

  • March 11, 2025

    Payday Lenders Want One More High Court Bout With CFPB

    Payday lender groups have asked the U.S. Supreme Court to again take up their challenge to a Consumer Financial Protection Bureau rule finalized during President Donald Trump's first term, this time seeking an appeal focused on the rule's allegedly "tainted" origin.

  • March 11, 2025

    Feds Unsure When It Can Resume Refugee Program

    A "deterioration of functions" in the federal government's refugee program means the U.S. Department of State can't currently tell how long it will take to restore the program under a recent order in Washington federal court, the Trump administration informed the court.

  • March 11, 2025

    DOGE Must Quickly Cough Up Records To Watchdog Group

    A D.C. federal judge has ordered the U.S. Department of Government Efficiency to promptly hand over requested records on its role in mass firings and "dramatic disruptions" to federal programs to a watchdog group, finding that the public will likely be "irreparably harmed" if DOGE keeps dragging its feet.

  • March 11, 2025

    Dems Rip Trump's 'Sham' Invasion Claim As Power Grab

    Democratic lawmakers led by the ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee demanded on Tuesday that President Donald Trump rescind his Jan. 20 proclamation promising states "protection against invasion" by migrants, arguing that Trump is illegally using the "sham" claim of invasion as a pretext to expand executive power unconstitutionally.

  • March 11, 2025

    NJ Justices Say NY Doc Can't Be On Med Mal Verdict Form

    The New Jersey Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that an anesthesiologist accused of causing a patient's death during surgery can't have the verdict sheet at the upcoming trial apportion blame to a New York doctor who was never named as a party in the suit.

  • March 11, 2025

    USPTO Acting Director To Review Bitcoin, Railway Patents

    The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's current acting director made some of her first moves wading into patent board rulings, deciding last week to take a closer look at two board decisions involving blockchain mines and railway signs.

  • March 11, 2025

    Conn. Judge Puzzled By Agency's 'Flip-Flop' On Rehab Permit

    A Connecticut appellate judge said Tuesday that a state agency's recommendation to reject a residential substance use treatment facility in the town of Kent, followed by its "flip-flop" to approve the plan without any changes to the underlying facts, "truly puzzles me."

  • March 11, 2025

    Trump Admin Shutters EPA's Enviro Justice Office

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Tuesday dissolved its more than 30-year-old environmental justice and civil rights office, the latest in a string of EPA actions targeting efforts to ease pollution burdens on historically disadvantaged communities.

  • March 11, 2025

    Insurer Says It's Off The Hook For Pay Transparency Suit

    Houston Casualty Co. said Tuesday that its liability insurance policy does not cover an underlying lawsuit accusing a Washington company that owns McDonald's franchises of violating the state's pay transparency law for job postings.

  • March 11, 2025

    Perkins Coie Slams Trump's Executive Order Retaliation

    Perkins Coie LLP sued the Trump administration Tuesday over an executive order targeting the firm for its diversity-focused hiring efforts and its representation of certain political figures including former Sen. Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign, calling the order "an affront to the Constitution" that aims to chill future representation of certain clients.

  • March 11, 2025

    'Congress Never Came Up' In CFPB Firing Talks, Worker Says

    A Consumer Financial Protection Bureau employee recounted before a D.C. federal judge on Tuesday a frantic effort to fire 1,200 agency staffers before a court order halted it, saying the prospect of first securing congressional approval was never mentioned.

  • March 11, 2025

    Pharmacies To Appeal In Bid To Keep Making Weight Loss Drug

    A group of compounding pharmacies said Monday they would appeal to the Fifth Circuit after a Texas federal judge denied an injunction that would allow compounding pharmacies to produce a lucrative weight loss drug.

  • March 11, 2025

    NTSB Flags Helicopters Near DCA As 'Intolerable Risk'

    The National Transportation Safety Board recommended Tuesday that helicopter flights near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport be permanently restricted following January's deadly midair collision over the Potomac River, saying helicopter traffic in the vicinity of a key airport runway poses an "intolerable risk to aviation safety."

  • March 11, 2025

    Trade Court Affirms Use Of Indian Data For Catfish Duties

    The U.S. Court of International Trade upheld the Department of Commerce's decision to use Indian data over Indonesian data to determine antidumping duties for Vietnamese catfish, despite protests to the contrary from the Catfish Farmers of America.

  • March 11, 2025

    Utilities Want FCC To Clarify TCPA Prior Consent Rule

    Power utilities asked the Federal Communications Commission to clarify that federal law allows companies to contact customers about participating in company demand management programs, particularly by calling and texting customers during peak load periods encouraging them to shift energy consumption to nonpeak times.

  • March 11, 2025

    Hedge Fund Group Sends SEC Its Regulatory Wish List

    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission should reevaluate rules that impose "significant, unjustified costs and burdens on investors and other market participants with little to no corresponding benefits," the Managed Funds Association said in a letter to the regulator Tuesday.

  • March 11, 2025

    NJ Residents Push To Repackage Contaminated Water Claims

    Residents of National Park, New Jersey, asked a state appellate court panel for permission to revive and amend their proposed class claims over contaminated water, arguing Tuesday that the allegations are a matter for tort law, not contract law.

  • March 11, 2025

    Judge Rules Tribal Immunity Bars Minn. Casino Lawsuit

    A federal district court judge on Tuesday dismissed a challenge by a commercial casino and horse racetrack operator that claimed several Minnesota tribal entities are illegally dominating the state's gambling industry through Class III gaming.

  • March 11, 2025

    Feds Push Back On Enviro Orgs., Tribes In Yellowstone Bison Case

    The Interior Department is asking a federal court to reconsider orders that allowed environmental groups to intervene and add two more federal agencies as necessary parties to a challenge over the management of the bison population in Yellowstone National Park, arguing the move is an attempt to hijack the litigation.

  • March 11, 2025

    NY's Banking Regulator Hangs 'Help Wanted' Sign In DC

    At a Washington, D.C., appearance on Tuesday, New York's top financial services regulator Adrienne Harris had a message for the legions of federal financial agency employees who have been cut loose by the Trump administration in recent weeks: She's hiring.

  • March 11, 2025

    EPA Officially Cuts $20B In Funding For Climate Projects

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Tuesday canceled $20 billion in congressionally approved grant funding for climate change projects that it had frozen for weeks and criticized as wasteful and out of step with the Trump administration's priorities.

  • March 11, 2025

    Trump, Ontario Back Down After Two-Day Trade Flare-Up

    President Donald Trump called off additional tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum Tuesday after the Ontario government dropped a briefly imposed surcharge on electricity exports, the White House told Law360 on Tuesday evening. 

  • March 11, 2025

    Senate Confirms Gail Slater To Lead DOJ Antitrust

    The Senate voted 78-19 on Tuesday to confirm Gail Slater to be assistant attorney general for the Antitrust Division at the U.S. Department of Justice.

Expert Analysis

  • A Look At Healthcare Transaction Oversight In Oregon

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    Understanding Oregon's enforcement authority and its impact on proposed transactions last year provides a road map to the state's plans to strengthen its processes this year, though enforcement could be challenged by ongoing litigation, say attorneys at Ropes & Gray.

  • The Political Branches Can't Redefine The Citizenship Clause

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    The U.S. Supreme Court’s Wong Kim Ark opinion and subsequent decisions, and the 14th Amendment’s legislative history, establish that the citizenship clause precludes the political branches from narrowing the definition of citizen based on how a parent’s U.S. presence is categorized, says federal public defender Geremy Kamens.

  • Questions Remain After Justices' Narrow E-Rate FCA Ruling

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    The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision in Wisconsin Bell, holding that requests for reimbursement from the Federal Communications Commission's E-Rate program are subject to False Claims Act liability, resolves one important question but leaves several others open, says Jason Neal at HWG.

  • Bill Would Bring Welcome Clarity To Del. Corporate Law

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    A recently proposed bill in Delaware that would provide greater predictability for areas including director independence and controlling stockholders reflects prudential adjustments consistent with the state's long history of refining and modernizing its corporate law, say attorneys at Simpson Thacher.

  • Opinion

    At 100, Federal Arbitration Act Is Used To Thwart Justice

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    The centennial of the Federal Arbitration Act, a law intended to streamline dispute resolution in commercial agreements, is an opportunity to reflect on its transformation from a tool of fairness into a corporate shield that impedes the right to a fair trial, says Lori Andrus at the American Association for Justice.

  • Opinion

    Attorneys Must Act Now To Protect Judicial Independence

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    Given the Trump administration's recent moves threatening the independence of the judiciary, including efforts to impeach judges who ruled against executive actions, lawyers must protect the rule of law and resist attempts to dilute the judicial branch’s authority, says attorney Bhavleen Sabharwal.

  • Colo. Anti-SLAPP Cases Highlight Dismiss Standard Disparity

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    A pair of recent decisions from the Colorado Court of Appeals highlights two disparate standards for courts evaluating anti-SLAPP motions: one that requires a court to accept the plaintiff's evidence as true and another that allows the court to assess its merits, says Jacob Hollars at Spencer Fane.

  • Short-Term Predictions For The CFPB's Fate Under Trump

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    Though the Trump administration is unlikely to succeed in abolishing the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, new leadership will likely moderate enforcement, possibly prompting state attorneys general to step up supervision, say attorneys at Husch Blackwell.

  • Ga. Tort Reform Bill May Help Dampen 'Nuclear' Verdicts

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    Many aspects of the tort reform bill just passed by the Georgia Legislature — including prohibitions on suggesting damage amounts to juries, and limits to recovering phantom damages — face opposition from the plaintiffs bar, but are a key first step toward addressing excessive damage awards in the state, say attorneys at Alston & Bird.

  • Rethinking 'No Comment' For Clients Facing Public Crises

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    “No comment” is no longer a cost-free or even a viable public communications strategy for companies in crisis, and counsel must tailor their guidance based on a variety of competing factors to help clients emerge successfully, says Robert Bowers at Moore & Van Allen.

  • Reading The Tea Leaves On Mexico, Canada And China Tariffs

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    It's still unclear whether the delay in the imposition of U.S. tariffs on Canadian and Mexican imports will result in negotiated resolutions or a full-on trade war, but the outcome may hinge on continuing negotiations and the Trump administration's possible plans for tariff revenues, say attorneys at Eversheds Sutherland.

  • DOJ Memos Likely To Increase Mandatory Minimum Charges

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    In line with previous administrations’ pingpong approach to sentencing policy, new U.S. Department of Justice leadership recently rescinded Biden-era memos on charging decisions, cabining prosecutorial discretion and likely leading to more mandatory minimum sentences, say attorneys at Arnold & Porter.

  • A Closer Look At FDX's New Role As Banking Standard-Setter

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    Should the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau let ​​​​​​​stand the decision empowering Financial Data Exchange as an industry standard-setter, it will be a significant step toward broader financial data-sharing, but its success will depend on industry adoption, regulatory oversight and consumer confidence, say attorneys at Clark Hill.

  • Opinion

    High Court Must Acknowledge US History Of Anti-Trans Laws

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    Despite Justice Amy Coney Barrett's claim to the contrary during oral arguments in U.S. v. Skrmetti, U.S. governments at every level have systematically discriminated against transgender people, and the U.S. Supreme Court must consider this historical context in upcoming cases about transgender issues, says Paisley Currah at the City University of New York.

  • What To Expect In Crypto Banking After SEC Nixed Guidance

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    With the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission recently rescinding its controversial cryptocurrency accounting guidance, the industry's focus will turn to the potentially significant hurdle to crypto banking posed by the federal banking regulators, say attorneys at Duane Morris.

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