Public Policy

  • March 06, 2025

    Dems Intro Their Own Version Of The JUDGES Act

    Top Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee reintroduced a version of the JUDGES Act on Thursday that would not take effect until after the next president is elected, unlike a version from their Republican counterparts that would take effect this year.

  • March 06, 2025

    FDA Nominee Hedges On Job Cuts, Abortion Drug In Hearing

    The nominee to lead the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Dr. Marty Makary, repeatedly hedged about whether he would reconvene a flu vaccine committee, maintain access to the abortion drug mifepristone or control future job cuts during his confirmation hearing in front of a Senate panel on Thursday. 

  • March 06, 2025

    Minn. Tax Court Upholds $1.2M Lake House Value

    A Minnesota homeowner's action to lower the $1.2 million tax valuation of his home was rejected by the state tax court, which said he failed to overcome the presumed validity of the assessment.

  • March 06, 2025

    Senate Panel Backs McKernan For CFPB, 3 Other Trump Picks

    A U.S. Senate panel on Thursday advanced President Donald Trump's nomination of Jonathan McKernan to head the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, setting him up for likely confirmation to the beleaguered agency.

  • March 06, 2025

    DC Judge Won't Block USAID From Firing Contractors

    A D.C. federal judge on Thursday declined to temporarily block the termination of personal services contractors working for the U.S. Agency for International Development, concluding their challenge to the dismantling of the agency is likely ill-suited for federal court.

  • March 06, 2025

    Trump Administration Ordered To Release Funds To States

    A Rhode Island judge on Thursday ordered the Trump administration to stop withholding funds from states, saying an executive order freezing federal grants, loans and other payments approved by Congress "fundamentally undermines" the separation of powers and is causing irreparable harm.

  • March 06, 2025

    Senate Panel Advances Trump's Pick For DOL Deputy

    A U.S. Senate committee advanced President Donald Trump's nominee for deputy labor secretary Thursday despite concerns from Democrats about U.S. Department of Labor layoffs.

  • March 05, 2025

    DOGE Firings, Agency Cuts Targeted In New Sierra Club Suit

    The Sierra Club and Union of Concerned Scientists were among several groups that lobbed a new suit against Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency on Wednesday, slamming the billionaire and DOGE for the "lawless" slashing of funds and federal workers.

  • March 05, 2025

    Utah Poised To Be 1st To Require App Stores To Verify Ages

    Utah lawmakers on Wednesday sent to the governor's desk first-of-its-kind legislation that would require app stores such as the ones operated by Apple and Google to verify users' ages and block those who are under 18 from downloading apps or making in-app purchases without parental consent. 

  • March 05, 2025

    DC Circ. Lets Trump Remove Watchdog Chief As Feds Appeal

    The D.C. Circuit on Wednesday issued a stay that allows President Donald Trump to fire the head of the Office of Special Counsel while the government appeals a district court order that permanently reinstalled the federal employment watchdog.

  • March 05, 2025

    NYC Can't Recoup $80M In FEMA Funds From Trump, For Now

    A Manhattan federal judge on Wednesday refused to order the Trump administration to immediately return over $80.4 million in funds allocated to New York City to defray the costs of sheltering migrants, after the Biden-era money was clawed back without notice.

  • March 05, 2025

    Jury Mulling Judge's Murder Trial Hears More Arguments

    With jury deliberations in the murder trial of a California judge who fatally shot his wife stretching into their sixth day Wednesday, the presiding judge allowed the prosecution and defense to make additional arguments addressing the jury's question about the willfulness requirement for second-degree murder.

  • March 05, 2025

    PTAB Bar Urges Congress, Lutnick To Protect USPTO Workers

    The PTAB Bar Association is calling on intellectual property leaders in Congress, along with Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, to spare the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office from Trump administration initiatives to freeze hiring and require in-person work.

  • March 05, 2025

    Army To Disinter 19 Students From Boarding School Cemetery

    The Office of Army Cemeteries says it will honor the requests of three Oklahoma tribes and disinter the remains of 19 Indigenous children from a cemetery at the site of the former Carlisle Indian Industrial School in Pennsylvania.

  • March 05, 2025

    Big City Mayors Testify Sanctuary Policies Keep Citizens Safe

    The mayors of Boston, Chicago, Denver and New York City were grilled by the House Oversight Committee on Wednesday during a daylong, oft-contentious hearing in which the city leaders were repeatedly interrupted by Republicans as they defended their cities' policies towards immigrants.

  • March 05, 2025

    MSPB Temporarily Reinstates Fired Agriculture Dept. Workers

    The Merit Systems Protection Board stayed the firings of over 5,600 probationary employees of the U.S. Department of Agriculture on Wednesday, ordering the employees back to work while the U.S. Office of the Special Counsel continues investigating whether the dismissals were a prohibited personnel practice.

  • March 05, 2025

    Arizona's 15-Week Abortion Ban Blocked As Unconstitutional

    An Arizona state judge on Wednesday ruled that the state's abortion ban after 15 weeks of pregnancy is "unconstitutional" and cannot be enforced.

  • March 05, 2025

    Los Angeles County Sues SoCal Edison Over Eaton Fire

    Los Angeles County joined the many dozens suing Southern California Edison over the devastating Eaton Fire on Wednesday, as the most populous county in the United States alleges in its lawsuit that the utility's faulty equipment caused the destructive blaze.

  • March 05, 2025

    Contractors Claim Constitutional Injury In USAID Cuts

    A group representing U.S. citizen personal services contractors working for the U.S. Agency for International Development insisted before a D.C. federal judge on Wednesday that their challenge to the Trump administration's dismantling of the humanitarian agency differs from another brought by workers employed directly by USAID.

  • March 05, 2025

    Agri Stats Wants Another Shot At DOJ Specifics

    Agri Stats is continuing to ask a Minnesota federal court to force the U.S. Department of Justice to identify specific data fields in the company's industry reports that allegedly allow chicken, pork and turkey producers to exchange competitively sensitive information.

  • March 05, 2025

    'Hot Damn' To FCC Taking On Pole Cost Fixes, Cable Biz Says

    A Republican on the Federal Communications Commission told cable leaders Wednesday it should be a key FCC priority to reform cost sharing rules for upgrading utility poles to accommodate broadband equipment.

  • March 05, 2025

    FCC Could Weigh Network Options To Back Up GPS

    The Federal Communications Commission plans to vote this month on whether to dig deeper into proposals to set aside spectrum for an Earth-based broadband network and backup to the Global Positioning System.

  • March 05, 2025

    Mining Co. Says Colombia Still Owes On $8.9M Award

    A British mining and metals company has brought an $8.9 million arbitral award it won against Colombia following a dispute over nickel mining royalties to federal court in Washington, D.C., arguing that the country has only paid a fraction of the amount due.

  • March 05, 2025

    Black Colo. Homeowner Joins DOJ's Race Bias Refi Suit

    A Denver homeowner joined the federal government in its suit accusing Rocket Mortgage LLC and other parties in Colorado federal court of deliberately undervaluing her home because she's a Black woman.

  • March 05, 2025

    9th Circ. Upholds Arizona's Wine Retailer Law Challenge

    Arizona isn't being discriminatory by requiring companies that want to ship alcohol to people's homes to have a business location in the state, the Ninth Circuit has declared in a split ruling that upheld the state's win against a challenge to the law laying down that mandate.

Expert Analysis

  • How Cos. Can Respond To CFPB Digital Asset Safeguard Plan

    Author Photo

    Though the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s proposal to regulate online payment platforms via existing federal laws would create new challenges, digital payment companies that engage with the rulemaking process could help shape a win-win regulatory framework that protects consumer data and ensures the sector’s growth, says Allison Raley at Arnall Golden.

  • Navigating The Potential End Of GLP-1 Drug Shortages

    Author Photo

    The U.S. Food and Drug Administration's determination of whether GLP-1 products are in shortage may affect how compounders provide these products and spur a range of litigation including patent disputes and unfair competition suits, say attorneys at Goodwin.

  • High Court Could Further Limit Deference With TCPA Fax Case

    Author Photo

    The Supreme Court's decision to hear McLaughlin Chiropractic Associates v. McKesson, a case involving alleged junk faxes that centers whether district courts are bound by Federal Communications Commission rules, offers the court a chance to possibly further limit the judicial deference afforded to federal agency interpretations of statutes, says Samantha Duke at Rumberger Kirk.

  • Politicized OIGs Could Target Federal Employees, Contractors

    Author Photo

    After President Donald Trump fired nearly 20 inspectors general last week, it’s worth exploring how the administration could use Offices of Inspectors General to target federal employees and contractors, why it would be difficult to fight this effort, and one possible bulwark against the politicization of these watchdogs, says Sara Kropf at Kropf Moseley.

  • Future Of Crypto-Asset Classification Is In 2nd Circ.'s Hands

    Author Photo

    A definitive ruling from the Second Circuit in a rare interlocutory appeal in the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's ongoing court battle with Coinbase could finally establish clear guidelines on the classification of digital assets, influencing how they are regulated and traded in the U.S., say attorneys at Manatt.

  • 5 Ways To Create Effective Mock Assignments For Associates

    Author Photo

    In order to effectively develop associates’ critical thinking skills, firms should design mock assignments that contain a few key ingredients, from messy fact patterns to actionable feedback, says Abdi Shayesteh at AltaClaro.

  • Overseas Investment Rule Calls For Compliance Caution

    Author Photo

    Investors should be leery of who and what they are investing in now that the federal outbound investment regime, effective Jan. 2, has extended the governement's regulatory reach to businesses and parties not previously subject to trade restrictions, says Thaddeus McBride at Bass Berry.

  • Opinion

    Revised Fla. Rules Of Civil Procedure Will Modernize Litigation

    Excerpt from Practical Guidance
    Author Photo

    The landmark amendments to the Florida Rules of Civil Procedure that took effect on Jan. 1 may require significant adjustments to practice and case management approaches, but the changes should ultimately reduce the cost and burden of modern litigation, and foster a more efficient and equitable justice system, says retired Florida state judge Ralph Artigliere.

  • Assessing Gary Gensler's Legacy At The SEC

    Author Photo

    Gary Gensler's tenure as U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission chair is defined by a record of commonsense regulation in some areas and social activism in others, and by increasing judicial skepticism about the SEC's authority to fulfill its regulatory, enforcement, administrative law and adjudicatory functions, say attorneys at Arnold & Porter.

  • Opinion

    Legal Personhood Can Give Natural Entities Their Day In Court

    Author Photo

    Granting legal personhood to natural entities like the River Thames, or vulnerable species like the Pacific bearded seal and Arctic ringed seal, could protect them from ecological threats and the vagaries of politics, and help us transform our relationship with nature, says Sachin Nandha at the International Centre for Sustainability.

  • 5 Factors From Biden's Final Worker Antitrust Guidelines

    Author Photo

    The recent Federal Trade Commission and the U.S. Department of Justice's joint antitrust guidelines for business activities affecting workers cap a flurry of final announcements from the Biden administration, but it's unclear whether the agencies will maintain their support for these measures in the Trump administration, say attorneys at Simpson Thacher.

  • Calif. Cannabis Decision Deepens Commerce Clause Divide

    Author Photo

    In Peridot Tree v. Sacramento, the Eastern District of California joined a growing minority of courts that have found the dormant commerce clause inapplicable to state-regulated marijuana, and the Ninth Circuit will soon provide important guidance on this issue, say attorneys at Perkins Coie.

  • Takeaways From DOJ Fraud Section's 2024 Year In Review

    Author Photo

    Attorneys at Paul Weiss highlight notable developments in the U.S. Department of Justice Fraud Section’s recently released annual report, and discuss what the second Trump administration could mean for enforcement in the year to come.

  • 4 Employment Law Areas Set To Change Under Trump

    Author Photo

    President Donald Trump's second term is expected to bring significant changes to the U.S. employment law landscape, including the potential for updated worker classification regulations, and challenges to diversity, equity and inclusion that are already taking shape, say attorneys at Debevoise.

  • Recent Suits Show Antitrust Agencies' Focus On HSR Review

    Author Photo

    The U.S. Department of Justice's suit this month against KKR for inaccurate and incomplete premerger filings, along with other recent cases, highlights the agency's increasing scrutiny of Hart-Scott-Rodino Act compliance for private equity firms, say attorneys at Willkie.

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!