Public Policy

  • March 07, 2025

    Colo. Judge Won't Block DHS 'Protected Area' Policy

    A Colorado federal judge on Friday declined Denver Public Schools' bid to temporarily block Department of Homeland Security guidance on immigration enforcement in "protected areas," ruling at a hearing that an injunction wouldn't actually protect the district and its students from immigration actions.

  • March 07, 2025

    4th Circ. Overturns Remand Of Md., SC PFAS Suits Against 3M

    U.S. district court judges erred when they sent lawsuits Maryland and South Carolina filed against 3M over environmental contamination from consumer products containing forever chemicals back to state courts, a split Fourth Circuit panel ruled Friday.

  • March 07, 2025

    FTC: Outlining World Sans Amazon Price-Floor 'Not Possible'

    The Federal Trade Commission told a Washington federal judge Friday that it can only offer pieces, and not the entire outline, of what an alternative world might look like without Amazon.com's allegedly monopolistic pricing floor created by penalties for sellers offering their goods more cheaply through other retailers.

  • March 07, 2025

    Contractor Can't Bury Medical Marijuana Discrimination Suit

    A Pennsylvania federal judge on Friday denied a Cleveland construction company's bid to escape a prospective employee's suit alleging that the company violated Pennsylvania's medical cannabis law when it rescinded his job offer, saying there are questions of fact about whether he would have been able to do the job.

  • March 07, 2025

    AGs Say Anti-Trans Admin Puts $367M Hospital Grants At Risk

    Attorneys general from Washington and three other states told a federal court that the Trump administration has canceled thousands of dollars in grant funding for gender-affirming care — and threatened to strip up to nearly $370 million more — in violation of court injunctions.

  • March 07, 2025

    Grand Rapids Moves Social Equity Fee Dispute To Fed. Court

    The city of Grand Rapids, Michigan, is looking to push into federal court a state lawsuit filed by cannabis companies looking to upend the fees, fines and residency requirements of the municipality's social equity program, arguing Friday that their claims all touch on federal issues.

  • March 07, 2025

    Hints Of A New High Court Majority Emerge In Trump Cases

    The U.S. Supreme Court's recent rejection of President Donald Trump's bid to keep frozen nearly $2 billion in foreign aid funding gave court watchers a glimpse of a coalition majority that could end up thwarting some of the president's more aggressive and novel attempts to expand executive power.

  • March 07, 2025

    Immigration Lawyers Sue Feds Over Surprise Form Changes

    The American Immigration Lawyers' Association and Benach Collopy LLP sued U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services in D.C. federal court on Friday, saying the agency abruptly revised 10 forms to eliminate gender markers without prior warning.

  • March 07, 2025

    New Bellwethers Score Cert. In Generic Drug Price-Fixing MDL

    The Pennsylvania federal court overseeing sprawling multidistrict litigation springing from claims that pharmaceutical giants worked together to hike the cost of off-brand drugs has certified several sets of classes for the cases for the MDL's latest bellwethers.

  • March 07, 2025

    Trump Admin Pressed to Keep Ariz. Indian Affairs Office Open

    A pair of Arizona Democratic senators are calling on President Donald Trump's administration to allow a Phoenix-based Bureau of Indian Affairs office to remain open, saying it must provide clarity on how the decision to close the location was reached.

  • March 07, 2025

    Google Says Special Master Can't Make Ad Tech Trial Calls

    Google is opposing a bid in Texas federal court from state enforcers accusing the company of monopolizing key digital advertising technology to have a special master make decisions about what evidence will be admitted during trial.

  • March 07, 2025

    GAO Says Congress Can't Undo Calif. Emissions Waivers

    The U.S. Government Accountability Office is weighing in against the Trump administration's effort to team up with Congress to take away California's ability to set its own greenhouse gas emissions standards for vehicles.

  • March 07, 2025

    AGs Back Fight Against End Of Venezuelans' Protected Status

    The attorneys general of 18 states urged a California federal judge on Friday to postpone the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's early termination of deportation protections for more than 500,000 Venezuelans, saying DHS Secretary Kristi Noem gave no sound reason for ending the temporary protections.

  • March 07, 2025

    USPTO Scraps Expedited Review Program For New Filers

    The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office is winding down a program that expedites review of patent applications from first-time filers, the agency announced, saying the initiative will "expire as scheduled" on Tuesday.

  • March 07, 2025

    Okla. Gov.'s Brother Can't Use McGirt Ruling to Avoid Ticket

    Keith Stitt, brother of Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt, can't dodge a speeding ticket on the back of a 2020 landmark U.S. Supreme Court ruling, a state appeals court panel said, arguing that the city of Tulsa, Oklahoma, maintains jurisdiction over the dispute.

  • March 07, 2025

    CPKC Rail Merger Enviro Review Needs Redo, DC Circ. Told

    A group of Illinois towns told the D.C. Circuit on Friday that federal regulators relied on flawed train traffic data to approve Canadian Pacific's $31 billion merger with Kansas City Southern, failing to account for significant public safety and environmental harms to Windy City communities.

  • March 07, 2025

    Trump DOJ's Shift Threatens To Upend Police Reform

    As the Trump administration abandons consent decrees — court-ordered agreements designed to curb police misconduct — experts warn that a crucial mechanism for law enforcement accountability is disappearing.

  • March 07, 2025

    SD Lawmakers Request Study Of Tax Relief For Homeowners

    South Dakota instructed its Legislative Research Council to review the state's property tax policies and identify ways to provide property tax relief to homeowners under a concurrent resolution approved by state lawmakers.

  • March 07, 2025

    Ex-Santos Staffer Gets 1 Year For Fundraising Fraud

    A former staffer for expelled U.S. Rep. George Santos, R-N.Y., was sentenced to a year and a day in prison Friday after pleading guilty to posing as a top aide to former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy to solicit donations.

  • March 07, 2025

    Ukraine Off The Hook For European Import Duties On Steel

    The European Commission on Friday proposed a year's extension to its exemption of duties for steel imports from Ukraine, in support of the country's economy following Russia's "unprovoked and unjustified war of aggression," it said in a statement.

  • March 07, 2025

    Cosmetics Co. Sues Insurer Over Calif. Water Pollution Claims

    A cosmetics company facing water pollution claims told a California federal court its insurer denied coverage in bad faith, saying though the insurer agreed to defend a lawsuit from the California attorney general, the insurer still wrongly refused to reimburse costs from two prior, related suits that were ultimately rescinded.

  • March 07, 2025

    Trucker Overtime Carveout Is Focus Of Reintroduced Bill

    A bipartisan group of lawmakers introduced a bill that would nix a Fair Labor Standards Act carveout making certain truck drivers overtime-exempt.

  • March 07, 2025

    Prison Phone Co. Floats New FCC Rate Cap Plan

    Prison phone company NCIC Correctional Services is hoping to kill several birds with one stone by presenting the Federal Communications Commission with a proposal it says would fix issues with a 2024 order changing how the phone prison payment system works and resolve some issues it has on appeal at the First Circuit.

  • March 07, 2025

    Tariffs, Diversity And DOGE Dominate Trump 2.0 'Risk Factors'

    Public companies are busily reworking risk disclosures since the arrival of President Donald Trump's second administration, seeking to walk a fine line of being upfront with investors about potential threats to business despite vast legal and policy uncertainties.

  • March 07, 2025

    U. Of Washington To Pay $4M To End COVID Tuition Case

    The University of Washington will pay $4 million to settle a class action filed by students seeking tuition reimbursement from the COVID-19 campus shutdown, according to a settlement that received a judge's preliminary approval this week.

Expert Analysis

  • Reg Waiver Eases Calif. Rebuilding, But Proceed With Care

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    California Gov. Gavin Newsom's executive order suspending some environmental review and permitting requirements for the reconstruction of homes and businesses damaged by recent wildfires may streamline rebuilding efforts, but will require careful navigation of the evolving regulatory landscape, says Gregory Berlin at Alston & Bird.

  • The Post-Macquarie Securities Fraud-By-Omission Landscape

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    While the U.S. Supreme Court's 2024 opinion in Macquarie v. Moab distinguished inactionable "pure omissions" from actionable "half-truths," the line between the two concepts in practice is still unclear, presenting challenges for lower courts parsing statements that often fall within the gray area of "misleading by omission," say attorneys at Katten.

  • Trump's Energy Plans: Climate, Data Centers, LNG And More

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    With a host of executive orders addressing climate and emissions policies, expanded energy development, offshore and onshore projects, liquefied natural gas and more, the second Trump administration has already given energy companies much to consider, say attorneys at Gibson Dunn.

  • AI Will Soon Transform The E-Discovery Industrial Complex

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    Todd Itami at Covington discusses how generative artificial intelligence will reshape the current e-discovery paradigm, replacing the blunt instrument of data handling with a laser scalpel of fully integrated enterprise solutions — after first making e-discovery processes technically and legally harder.

  • What To Do When ICE Shows Up At The Hospital

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    In light of recent executive orders and changes to enforcement directives permitting U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to enter sensitive locations like hospitals, healthcare providers should understand how to balance compliance with existing health laws and patient care obligations, say attorneys at Davis Wright.

  • Unpacking The Legal Foundation Of Trump's New Trade War

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    President Donald Trump's recent executive orders and proclamations regarding emergencies at the U.S. border are based on statutory powers enabling a president to address extraordinary external threats — and could be used to fend off legal challenges to the tariffs levied on Mexican and Canadian goods, says Chris Zona at Mandelbaum Barrett.

  • A View Of The Shifting Insurance Regulatory Landscape

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    Attorneys at Eversheds Sutherland explore how the Federal Insurance Office's climate report, the new presidential administration and the California wildfires might affect the insurance regulatory landscape.

  • Trump's Energy Plans: Funding, Permits And Nuclear Power

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    In the wake of President Donald Trump's flurry of first-day executive orders focusing on the energy sector, attorneys at Gibson Dunn analyze what this presidency will mean for energy-related grants and loans, changes to permitting processes and developments in nuclear power.

  • When Innovation Overwhelms The Rule Of Law

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    In an era where technology is rapidly evolving and artificial intelligence is seemingly everywhere, it’s worth asking if the law — both substantive precedent and procedural rules — can keep up with the light speed of innovation, says Reuben Guttman at Guttman Buschner.

  • FTC Focus: Avoiding 'Gun Jumping' Violations

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    The Federal Trade Commission's recent record $5.6 million "gun jumping" enforcement action against XCL Resources, EP Energy and Verdun Oil sends a clear message about the seriousness of violations of the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act's premerger requirements, and highlights compliance tips such as avoiding premature integration of operations, say attorneys at Proskauer.

  • What Compensation Committees Must Keep In Mind In 2025

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    New disclosure obligations, an evolving discussion on the analysis of executive perks and updated proxy adviser policies — on top of a new presidential administration — are all important things compensation committees must pay close attention to in 2025, say attorneys at Simpson Thacher.

  • Likely Doomed CFPB Contract Rule Still Has Industry Pointers

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    While the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's January proposal on consumer financial contract provisions is unlikely to be finalized under the new administration, its provisions are important for industry to recognize, particularly if state attorneys general decide to take up the enforcement mantle, say attorneys at Saul Ewing.

  • Preparing For A Possible End To The Subminimum Wage

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    The U.S. Department of Labor's proposed rule to end the subminimum wage for employees with disabilities may significantly affect the community-based rehabilitation and training programs that employ these workers, so certified programs should be especially vigilant about compliance during this period of evaluation and scrutiny, say attorneys at Jackson Lewis.

  • Engaging With Feds On Threats To Executives, Employees

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    In an increasingly polarized environment, where companies face serious concerns about how to protect executives and employees, counsel should consider working with federal law enforcement soon after the discovery of threats or harassment, says Jordan Estes at Gibson Dunn.

  • The Risk And Reward Of Federal Approach To AI Regulation

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    The government has struggled to keep up with artificial intelligence's furious pace, but while an overbroad federal attempt to adopt a more unified approach to regulating AI poses its own risks, so does the current environment of regulatory uncertainty, say attorneys at Covington.

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