Public Policy

  • March 03, 2025

    Catholic Charity Org. Sues HHS Over Frozen Refugee Funds

    Catholic Charities Fort Worth sued the Trump administration in D.C. federal court Monday, accusing the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services of illegally withholding more than $36 million in grant funding meant for resettling refugees in Texas.

  • March 03, 2025

    FDIC Beats Bank's Constitutional Fight Over In-House Judges

    A Kansas federal judge tossed on Monday a local bank's constitutional challenge to administrative law judges presiding over the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.'s $20.5 million anti-money laundering enforcement proceeding against the bank, ruling that the district court does not have the jurisdictional authority to hear the bank's Seventh Amendment claims.

  • March 03, 2025

    Texas High Court Told Telecom Law Clears State Constitution

    Texas is hoping its highest court will overturn a ruling that found the state violated its own constitutional rules about gift-giving by capping the amount cities can charge telecoms for using their rights-of-way to such a degree that they were basically forced to give away public money.

  • March 03, 2025

    Transparency Law Flouts Biz Owners' Privacy, Judge Says

    A Michigan federal judge on Monday ruled the Corporate Transparency Act's beneficial ownership reporting requirements constitute an unreasonable intrusion into business owners' privacy, shortly after the U.S. Department of the Treasury said it was suspending enforcement of the embattled law.

  • March 03, 2025

    Conn. Justices Set New Atty Duty In Deathbed Will Dispute

    Three intended beneficiaries of a late businessman's will can sue attorney Anthony J. Palermino for allegedly failing to tell his client that TD Ameritrade account documents would need to be changed to fulfill his deathbed wishes, the Connecticut Supreme Court ruled Monday, finding that attorneys have a duty to third-party beneficiaries in such situations.

  • March 03, 2025

    National Gaming Chair Gets Pause In Alaskan Casino Suit

    A federal judge has paused litigation against acting National Indian Gaming Commission Chairwoman Sharon M. Avery until the court can determine if an Alaskan Native village is a required party in the dispute that looks to block plans for a 58,000-square-foot casino in Anchorage.

  • March 03, 2025

    Calif. Farm Sues Tenn. Sheriff Over $3.9M In Destroyed Hemp

    A California hemp farm is suing a Tennessee sheriff's department, alleging that a deputy wrongly arrested a driver who was carrying $3.9 million in legal hemp and had it destroyed.

  • March 03, 2025

    Trump Admin Defends Right To Send DOGE Into Agencies

    A group of unions is trying to limit the president's right to oversee the executive branch by claiming that Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency can't access agencies' computer systems, the Trump administration told a D.C. federal judge, asking him to nix the unions' injunction bid.

  • March 03, 2025

    DOJ Opposes Anthropic's Amicus Bid In Google Search Case

    The U.S. Department of Justice is telling a D.C. federal judge to keep Anthropic PBC out of the remedies phase of its search antitrust case against Google, arguing that the artificial intelligence company is trying to backdoor its way to intervenor privileges through an amicus curiae request.

  • March 03, 2025

    SEC's Peirce Taps Ex-Willkie Partner For Crypto Task Force

    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has hired a former Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP partner into a leadership role in its new task force created to transform the agency's approach toward the cryptocurrency industry.

  • March 03, 2025

    Some 'ComEd Four' Bribery Counts Vacated Over Jury Charge

    An Illinois federal judge on Monday ordered a retrial on four bribery charges in the case against an ex-Commonwealth Edison executive and three lobbyists convicted of conspiring to bribe former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan, finding the jury was improperly instructed in the wake of a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling but leaving intact the overarching conspiracy conviction.

  • March 03, 2025

    Chamber Leads Group Challenging NY Climate Superfund Bill

    A U.S. Chamber of Commerce-led coalition asked a New York federal judge to block a "plainly unconstitutional" Empire State law that promises to impose $75 billion in cost-recovery demands on fossil fuel companies to help pay for climate adaptation projects.

  • March 03, 2025

    EPA Chief Asks Watchdog To Investigate $20B Grant Program

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said Monday it's asking its internal investigators to look into how $20 billion in congressionally supplied grant money has been distributed.

  • March 03, 2025

    Trump's Refugee Shutdown 'Eviscerates' Law, Judge Says

    A Washington federal judge has further explained his decision to block President Donald Trump's sudden shutdown of the U.S. refugee entry program, saying the president's "America First" policy unlawfully "eviscerates" a plan approved by Congress decades ago.

  • March 03, 2025

    Ligado Says It's Time To Share Weather Satellite Band

    It's time for the government to start sharing a slice of spectrum previously set aside for weather instruments, Ligado Networks and a host of other industry players are telling the Federal Communications Commission after the agency signaled it was open to considering the idea.

  • March 03, 2025

    Enviro Groups Say DOGE Teams Are Violating Transparency Law

    Five federal agencies are violating their legal obligations to provide transparency about their connection to the Elon Musk-headed entity that's leading the Trump administration's effort to reduce government staffing and spending levels, environmentalists said in a D.C. federal lawsuit filed Monday.

  • March 03, 2025

    Pa. Supreme Court Snapshot: Negligence Damages Caps

    The Pennsylvania Supreme Court will start and end its March session examining long-standing precedents, beginning Tuesday with an argument that will spotlight damages against government entities, and wrapping up Wednesday with a matter hinging on a rule that lets general contractors share their subcontractors' immunity under the workers' compensation law.

  • March 03, 2025

    Vape Co.'s Challenge Of FDA Penalty Rejected

    A Washington, D.C., federal judge has thrown out an online vape retailer's constitutional challenge to a U.S. Food and Drug Administration enforcement proceeding, ruling that claims fell outside the court's jurisdiction.

  • March 03, 2025

    Monthly Merger Review Snapshot

    Japan's Nippon Steel is challenging a decision blocking its $14.9 billion merger with U.S. Steel Corp. on national security grounds, as door manufacturer Jeld-Wen continues fighting a landmark order forcing it to sell a Pennsylvania factory and the Justice Department pushes cases targeting mergers in the home health, networking and corporate travel spaces.

  • March 03, 2025

    2nd Circ. Denies Amish Schools' Vaccine Rule Challenge

    The Second Circuit on Monday denied a religious challenge to New York's immunization law from three Amish schools and two Amish parents, saying both the appellate court and the U.S. Supreme Court have a history of upholding school immunization requirements implemented by states.

  • March 03, 2025

    ACLU Sues To Halt Trump Admin Guantánamo Transfers

    The American Civil Liberties Union has sued the Trump administration in D.C. federal court, seeking to halt the future transfer of noncitizens from the United States to Guantánamo Bay, which it said is being carried out in violation of the Immigration and Nationality Act.

  • March 03, 2025

    Oklahoma DAs Look To Nix DOJ's Jurisdiction Lawsuits

    Two Oklahoma district attorneys are asking a federal court to dismiss a challenge by the United States that seeks to block them from prosecuting Native Americans for conduct on tribal lands, arguing that the lawsuits are a collateral attack on a recent state appellate court decision.

  • March 03, 2025

    NJ Justices Skeptical Of Judicial Privacy Law Challenge

    The New Jersey Supreme Court appeared skeptical Monday over reviving a journalist's lawsuit alleging municipal officials improperly relied on the judicial safety measure Daniel's Law to chill his attempt to expose a city police director's out-of-town address.

  • March 03, 2025

    Treasury Halts Enforcement Of Corporate Transparency Act

    The U.S. Treasury Department won't enforce the Corporate Transparency Act on U.S. businesses and will change regulations so it only applies to foreign companies registered stateside, according to an announcement that activists said invites criminals into the U.S. and lawyers said could provoke judicial scrutiny.

  • March 03, 2025

    Colo. Says 1933 Dictionary Supports Netflix Subscription Tax

    The plain meaning of tangible personal property has long encompassed Netflix streaming video subscriptions, Colorado's tax department told a state appeals court, urging it to allow a sales tax on the company's products.

Expert Analysis

  • Hydrogen Regs Will Provide More Certainty — If They Survive

    Author Photo

    Newly finalized regulations implementing the Section 45V clean hydrogen tax credit allow producers more flexibility, and should therefore help put the industry on more solid footing — but the incoming Trump administration and Republican Congress will have multiple options for overturning or altering the regulations, say attorneys at Steptoe.

  • Top 10 Noncompete Developments Of 2024

    Author Photo

    Following an eventful year in noncompete law at both state and federal levels, employers can no longer rely on a court's willingness to blue-pencil overbroad agreements and are proceeding at their own peril if they do not thoughtfully review and carefully enforce such agreements, say attorneys at Faegre Drinker.

  • 5 E-Discovery Predictions For 2025 And Beyond

    Author Photo

    In the year to come, e-discovery will be shaped by new and emerging trends, from the adoption of artificial intelligence provisions in protective orders, to the proliferation of emojis as a source of evidence in contemporary litigation, say attorneys at Littler.

  • NY Plastic Pollution Verdict May Not Bode Well For Other Suits

    Author Photo

    The dismissal of New York state's public nuisance complaint against PepsiCo over pollution of the Buffalo River with the company's single use plastic bottles may not augur well for similar lawsuits filed by Baltimore and Los Angeles County, although tort law varies from state to state, say attorneys at Winston & Strawn.

  • Key Ethical Issues For Gov't Attys Moving To Private Practice

    Author Photo

    Transitioning from government service to private practice presents complex ethical challenges for attorneys, including navigating conflicts of interest, confidential information rules and post-employment restrictions, say attorneys at HWG.

  • Climate Disclosure Spotlight Shifts To 2 Calif. Laws

    Author Photo

    With Donald Trump's election spelling the all-but-certain demise of the proposed federal climate disclosure rules, new laws in California currently stand as the nation's only broadly applicable climate disclosure requirements — and their brevity is both a blessing and a curse, say attorneys at Davis Polk.

  • A Deep Dive Into DOJ's Proposed FARA Shake-Up

    Author Photo

    The U.S. Department of Justice's recently published and long-awaited proposed amendments to the Foreign Agents Registration Act's implementing regulations, if adopted, would mark dramatic changes to the commercial exemption and new requirements for labeling informational materials, says Tessa Capeloto at Wiley.

  • Preparing For Mexican Drug Cartels' Terrorist Designation

    Author Photo

    In the event President-elect Donald Trump designates Mexican drug cartels as foreign terrorist organizations, businesses will need to consider how their particular industry is affected and evaluate previously legitimate practices given the cartels' involvement so many sectors of the economy, say attorneys at King & Spalding.

  • Final Hydrogen Tax Credit Regs Add Flexibility For Producers

    Author Photo

    The recently released final regulations implementing the Inflation Reduction Act's clean hydrogen production tax credit offer taxpayers greater flexibility, reducing risk and creating more certainty for investments in the industry, thus diminishing — but not eliminating — the risk of legal challenges to the regulations, say attorneys at Steptoe.

  • Where Payments Law And Regulation Are Headed In 2025

    Author Photo

    The Trump administration will likely bring significant changes to payments regulations in 2025, but maintaining internal compliance efforts in the absence of robust federal oversight will remain key as state authorities and private plaintiffs step into the breach, say attorneys at Stinson.

  • What To Expect From Federal Cybersecurity Policy In 2025

    Author Photo

    There are 12 cyber policy questions to keep an eye on as the new administration and Republican control of Congress present an opportunity to advance less regulatory approaches and revisit some choices from the prior administration, say attorneys at Wiley.

  • Republican Trifecta Amplifies Risks For Cos. In 3 Key Areas

    Author Photo

    Expected coordination between a Republican Congress and presidential administration may expose companies to simultaneous criminal, civil and congressional investigations, particularly with regard to supply chain risks in certain industries, government contracting and cross-border investment, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • 2 Cases May Signal Where FTC Is Headed On Labor Issues

    Author Photo

    Two recent Federal Trade Commission challenges to no-hire clauses in agreements between building service firms and their customers include comments by future FTC Chair Andrew Ferguson that may offer insight into the direction the FTC is headed on labor issues, says Michael Wise at Squire Patton.

  • How Decline Of Deference Will Affect Trump Policymaking

    Author Photo

    An administrative law regime without Chevron deference may limit the Trump administration’s ability to implement new policies in the short term, but ultimately help it in the long term, and all parties with an interest in regulatory changes will have to take a fresh approach to litigation, say attorneys at Covington.

  • 5 Evolving Concerns For Family Offices In 2025

    Author Photo

    Complex regulatory changes and emerging operational risks will force family offices to stay on their toes in 2025, with timely action particularly necessary to address several tax and reporting developments that may affect their investments and business operations, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

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.
Hello! I'm Law360's automated support bot.

How can I help you today?

For example, you can type:
  • I forgot my password
  • I took a free trial but didn't get a verification email
  • How do I sign up for a newsletter?
Ask a question!