Public Policy

  • 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.

  • March 07, 2025

    NY's Crackdown On Illicit Pot Is Unconstitutional, Club Says

    A self-described cannabis club has launched a legal challenge to New York policies aimed at combating unregulated marijuana sales, saying authorities' raids unconstitutionally shut down its businesses.

  • March 07, 2025

    GOP Rep Wants Legislative Redo Of Broadband Program

    A key House Republican has filed legislation to overhaul the U.S. Commerce Department's multibillion-dollar broadband deployment program to remove some regulations tied to federal funding.

  • March 07, 2025

    Conn. Justice Questions Fairness Of Water Rate Hike Rebuff

    Connecticut's utility regulator may have treated an Eversource subsidiary unfairly when it told the company it could not increase consumers' water rates to make up for $42 million in capital expenditures, a state Supreme Court justice said Friday.

  • March 07, 2025

    DOJ Cites SDNY Prosecutors' Texts In Bid To End Adams Case

    President Donald Trump's Justice Department doubled down Friday on its bid to toss the corruption case against New York City Mayor Eric Adams, citing newly released internal correspondence showing "troubling conduct" by Southern District of New York prosecutors the agency criticized as "careerist" and insubordinate.

  • March 07, 2025

    Judicial Impeachment Calls Could Drive Anger At Bench

    Twenty-nine years ago, then-U.S. Chief Justice William Rehnquist laid out a cautionary tale on impeachments of judges.

  • March 07, 2025

    Judge Slams 'Unreasonable' Atty Fee Request in FOIA Case

    A D.C. federal judge rejected an asylum-seeker's request for more than $130,000 in attorney fees in a successful Freedom of Information Act case against the federal government, saying "serious deficiencies" in her attorney's billing practices render the request "patently unreasonable."

  • March 07, 2025

    Budtenders Say Curaleaf's Tips Policy Violates Federal Law

    A proposed class of budtenders for Curaleaf Inc.'s Maryland dispensaries are suing the company, saying it violates the Fair Labor Standards Act with its policy of paying out tips to managers.

  • March 07, 2025

    Judge Upholds Denial Of Class Cert. For 'Bridgegate' Drivers

    A New Jersey federal judge has refused to disturb his 2023 denial of class certification for George Washington Bridge travelers who claimed the infamous "Bridgegate" traffic jam violated their constitutional rights, ruling that the plaintiffs' arguments were already considered and found to be immaterial to the case.

  • March 07, 2025

    EPA To Drop Enforcement Suit Against La. Neoprene Maker

    The Trump administration is dropping a lawsuit alleging that a neoprene manufacturer's air emissions pose a health threat to the surrounding community, saying the action is part of its effort to "end radical DEI programs" and "eliminate ideological overreach."

  • March 07, 2025

    California Bar Orders Investigation Of Flawed Exam

    The State Bar of California is bringing on an independent investigator to look into the problem-plagued administration of the February bar exam, which left scores of test-takers feeling cheated.

  • March 07, 2025

    Mass. Housing Law Called Unfunded Mandate In Latest Suit

    A controversial Massachusetts housing law requiring multifamily zoning near Boston-area transit facilities is facing a new legal challenge after the town of Wrentham argued in a Thursday state court suit that it's an unfunded mandate on localities.

  • March 07, 2025

    NC High Court Hopeful Fights Judge's Recusal Over Donation

    A Republican judge challenging ballots cast in the North Carolina Supreme Court race he lost by 734 votes said his colleague on the state Court of Appeals shouldn't be recused from hearing his case because he contributed to the GOP jurist's campaign, noting the panel hasn't even been selected yet.

  • March 07, 2025

    DC Judge Declines To Block DOGE From Treasury Systems

    A D.C. federal judge on Friday declined to wall off access to the federal government's payment systems from employees of the so-called Department of Government Efficiency during a lawsuit brought by retirees and union groups, determining the alleged privacy risks were not enough to warrant the court's intervention.

  • March 07, 2025

    Immigrant Rights Groups Fight IRS Data Sharing With DHS

    Two Illinois-based immigrant and Latino rights groups filed a suit Friday seeking to block the Internal Revenue Service from disclosing the names and addresses of taxpayers with taxpayer identification numbers to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and other agencies with the purpose of enforcing immigration laws.

  • March 07, 2025

    Minn. Bill Seeks To Subtract OT, Tips, Bonuses From Income

    Minnesota would allow taxpayers to subtract the amount of overtime pay, tips and bonuses earned from their gross income under a bill introduced in the state Senate.

  • March 07, 2025

    Minn. Bills Seek Sales Tax Break For Home Construction

    Construction materials for single-family and multifamily homes for first-time homebuyers would be exempt from some Minnesota sales and use taxes under legislation introduced in the state Senate.

  • March 07, 2025

    10th Circ. Urged To Reject Bid To Nix Microcaptive Notice

    The federal government urged the Tenth Circuit to affirm a ruling that rejected a plumbing supply company's request to invalidate an IRS notice that added reporting requirements for certain microcaptive insurance arrangements, saying the lower court correctly found the suit would illegally hinder tax collection.

  • March 07, 2025

    Retrial In Landmark Graft Case Faces Potential Roadblocks

    A retrial in a public corruption case tied to an infrastructure initiative under former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo faces possible obstacles after being returned to a federal judge by the U.S. Supreme Court, with the parties awaiting further legal guidance from the justices and the defense saying the Trump administration's priorities may sink the case.

  • March 06, 2025

    Trump Executive Order Creates 'Strategic Bitcoin Reserve'

    President Donald Trump on Thursday signed an executive order establishing a "Strategic Bitcoin Reserve" that White House crypto czar David Sacks said would hold Bitcoin forfeited in criminal or civil asset forfeiture proceedings.

  • March 06, 2025

    Amid Court Setbacks, Trump Wants Foes To Foot Legal Bills

    With judges hitting the brakes on the White House's aggressive agenda, President Donald Trump on Thursday vowed to up the ante with his legal adversaries by seeking legal costs and damages if his administration ultimately prevails after initial setbacks in litigation.

  • March 06, 2025

    Federal Arts Agency Sued Over 'Gender Ideology' Restrictions

    East Coast theater groups Thursday hauled the National Endowment for the Arts into Rhode Island federal court to challenge a restriction on funding to federal grant applicants who "promote gender ideology," saying the prohibition issued after an executive order from President Donald Trump unconstitutionally placed vague restrictions on artists' speech.

  • March 06, 2025

    MyPillow CEO Found In Contempt For Failing To Give Up Docs

    MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell was found in contempt of court by a Minnesota federal judge on Thursday for failing to produce documents in voting machine company Smartmatic's defamation suit claiming that he lied about its operations during the 2020 presidential election.

  • March 06, 2025

    'Debanking' In Crosshairs Of GOP Bill On Reputational Risk

    Senate Republicans on Thursday unveiled legislation that would bar federal regulators from scrutinizing for "reputational risk" in bank supervision, a measure aimed at curbing the so-called debanking of crypto firms and other politically sensitive customer categories.

Expert Analysis

  • 3 Ways Trump Can Nix SEC's Climate Disclosure Rules

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    Given President Donald Trump's campaign statements and agency appointments, it's likely that his administration will try to annul the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's climate disclosure rules, but his options for doing so present unique opportunities and challenges, with varying levels of permanence and impact, say attorneys at DLA Piper.

  • A Compliance Update For Credit Card Reward Partnerships

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    While the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's interest in credit card rewards programs could fade under the new administration, a recent circular focusing on both issuers and their merchant partners means that co-brand credit card partnerships with banks could be subject to increased scrutiny ahead, say attorneys at Goodwin.

  • Will 4th Time Be A Charm For NY's 21st Century Antitrust Act?

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    New York's recently introduced 21st Century Antitrust Act would change the landscape of antitrust enforcement in the state and probably result in a sharp increase in claims — but first, the bill needs to gain traction after three aborted attempts, says Tyler Ross at Shinder Cantor.

  • Perspectives

    Accountant-Owned Law Firms Could Blur Ethical Lines

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    KPMG’s recent application to open a legal practice in Arizona represents the first overture by an accounting firm to take advantage of the state’s relaxed law firm ownership rules, but enforcing and supervising the practice of law by nonattorneys could prove particularly challenging, says Seth Laver at Goldberg Segalla.

  • Foreign Trade Zones Can Help Cos. With Tariff Exposure

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    Companies navigating shifts in global trade — like the Trump administration’s newly levied tariffs on Chinese goods — should consider whether the U.S. Department of Commerce's poorly understood foreign trade zone program could help reduce their import costs, says James Grogan at FTI Consulting.

  • How FTC Consumer Protection May Fare Under Reg Freeze

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    Attorneys at Crowell & Moring consider how President Donald Trump's executive order directing agencies to freeze all pending rulemaking activity may frustrate any Federal Trade Commission efforts to change or eliminate rules that made it across the finish line before the inauguration.

  • Critical Steps For Navigating Intensified OFAC Enforcement

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    The largely overlooked SkyGeek settlement from the end of 2024 heralds the arrival of the Office of Foreign Assets Control's long anticipated enhanced enforcement posture and clearly demonstrates the sanctions-compliance benefits of immediately responding to blocked payments, says Jeremy Paner at Hughes Hubbard.

  • Unpacking HHS' Proposal To Amend HIPAA Security Rule

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    While the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' proposal to amend the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act's security rule could face scrutiny under the Trump administration, it reflects a clear concern over health data security and could push entities to implement operational changes, say attorneys at Sheppard Mullin.

  • Expect Scrutiny Of Banks To Persist, Even Under Trump

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    Although the change in administrations brings some measure of uncertainty as to the nature of bank compliance oversight, if regulators in Washington, D.C., attempt to dilute the vigilance of federal superintendence, the states are waiting in the wings to fill the void, say attorneys at Polsinelli.

  • 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.

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