Public Policy

  • March 11, 2025

    NJ High Court Approves AG Conflicts Waiver Pilot Program

    The New Jersey Supreme Court has given the go-ahead for a two-year pilot program through which the state attorney general will be allowed to waive conflicts of interest for public clients represented by the Office of the Attorney General.

  • March 11, 2025

    Bipartisan Bill Penalizing Child Labor Violations Reintroduced

    A bill that would heavily penalize companies that have been found in violation of child labor laws and would bar them from securing government contracts has been reintroduced by two senators.

  • March 11, 2025

    1st Circ. Upholds Block On Trump's Birthright Citizenship Order

    The First Circuit on Tuesday refused to disturb a Massachusetts federal judge's ruling that blocked the Trump administration's move to end birthright citizenship, rejecting the government's claim that states suing over the policy lacked standing.

  • March 11, 2025

    Utah Lawmakers OK Min. Tax Rate Consensus Certification

    Utah would require a minimum property tax rate imposed by school districts to be certified by the state's tax commission, the governor's Office of Planning and Budget and the state Legislature's Office of the Legislative Fiscal Analyst under a bill approved by state lawmakers and headed to the governor.

  • March 11, 2025

    White House Names Ex-Goldman Sachs Atty To Lead USPTO

    U.S. President Donald Trump has nominated John Squires, Goldman Sachs' former longtime chief intellectual property counsel, to serve as the next U.S. Patent and Trademark Office director.

  • March 11, 2025

    Trump Admin Must Restore $250M In Teacher Grants For Now

    A federal judge in Massachusetts late Monday ordered the Trump administration to temporarily restore $250 million in funding for teacher training grants that it had slashed over their ties to diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.

  • March 11, 2025

    Womble Bond Partner Named US Attorney For Western NC

    A white collar defense attorney and business litigator from Womble Bond Dickinson's Charlotte office will helm the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of North Carolina, filling a vacancy left by former U.S. Attorney Dena J. King.

  • March 10, 2025

    CFPB Hasn't Justified Pausing Comerica Suit, Judge Rules

    A Texas federal judge on Monday refused to pause the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's case accusing Comerica of mismanaging a government benefit card program, ruling that the CFPB hasn't explained why staying the case "would be in the interest of justice."

  • March 10, 2025

    Justices Seen Resolving Circuit Split Over Med Mal Law

    The U.S. Supreme Court said Monday it will decide whether a Delaware medical malpractice statute requiring an expert affidavit can apply in federal court, which experts said will give the justices the opportunity to reassess the so-called Erie doctrine and the relationship between state and federal courts.

  • March 10, 2025

    EPA Says It Wants To Redo Biden-Era Chemical Risk Rule

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Monday told the D.C. Circuit it wants to reconsider a Biden-era rule that strengthened regulations to assess chemicals' health and environmental risks.

  • March 10, 2025

    Warren Says Defense Nominee Has 'Clear Conflict Of Interest'

    Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren called out deputy defense secretary nominee Stephen Feinberg on Sunday for a "clear conflict of interest" due to his ties to Ligado Networks, which is suing the federal government for $40 billion, and urged him to agree to recuse himself from any decisions about the company.

  • March 10, 2025

    Split SEC Pulls Subpoena Authority From Enforcement Head

    A divided U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Monday withdrew a 15-year-old policy that allowed the director of enforcement to greenlight new investigations and approve the issuance of subpoenas, leaving the decision squarely in the hands of the agency's Republican majority.

  • March 10, 2025

    ICE Can't Deport Columbia Student Suing Over Campus Arrest

    A New York federal judge barred immigration officials Monday from deporting a pro-Palestinian Columbia University graduate student, a day after he sued the Trump administration for allegedly violating his constitutional rights by arresting him outside his on-campus home that he shares with his pregnant wife who is a U.S. citizen.

  • March 10, 2025

    FCC Chair Suggests YouTube Censors Christian Content

    The Federal Communications Commission's new leader wants to know if YouTube and Google have a policy, "secret or otherwise," of discriminating against faith-based programming after receiving a complaint from the network that owns the popular Christian streaming service PureFlix.

  • March 10, 2025

    Tribal Nations, Students Sue Feds Over School Staffing Cuts

    Three tribal nations and five Native American students are asking a D.C. federal court to block a Trump administration executive order calling for large-scale federal workforce reductions, saying the directive devastated operations and undermined Bureau of Indian Education schools across the nation.

  • March 10, 2025

    Bad Police Work Led To 30-Year Sentence, Conn. Jury Told

    A Connecticut man who served 30 years in prison for a murder he did not commit should be compensated because one local police officer failed to disclose key evidence and another sat by as the state police fed facts to an informant, his attorneys told a federal jury Monday afternoon.

  • March 10, 2025

    OCC Nixes Supervisory Hurdle For Banks' Crypto Biz

    The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency has told banks that they no longer need to obtain a nonobjection from the regulator to push forward with crypto plans, reaffirming interpretations issued under the first Trump administration and rescinding a Biden-era supervisory requirement for crypto activities.

  • March 10, 2025

    Medtronic Compliance Officer's Journey To State Senate Seat

    A Medtronic compliance officer is taking on a role making different kinds of policies at the Minnesota State Capitol, following his successful bid for a state senate seat in late January. He told Law360 his compliance background is a natural fit for his new role in the public sector.

  • March 10, 2025

    EPA Climate Grantee Sues Citibank, Agency Over Frozen Cash

    A climate-change-focused nonprofit is accusing Citibank NA and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in D.C. federal court of breaching a contract to deliver billions of dollars in grant funding that's been frozen by the Trump administration.

  • March 10, 2025

    Colo. Justices To Review Insurers' Noncooperation Defense

    The Colorado Supreme Court will consider whether a pair of insurance companies can defeat a man's bad-faith lawsuit by arguing his failure to turn over medical information about a surgery before his auto accident breached a contractual duty, according to an order Monday granting two petitions for review.

  • March 10, 2025

    Advocacy Orgs. Slam FCC's '60 Minutes' Probe As Unfounded

    The FCC "has denied requests alleging much worse" than CBS' choice to edit down then-Vice President Kamala Harris' "60 Minutes" interview, says an advocacy group that is asking the agency to kill its probe into whether the network committed "news distortion."

  • March 10, 2025

    Ski Resort Buy Deemed Illegal In Precedential NY AG Win

    New York's attorney general celebrated a precedent-setting antitrust win Monday, faulting a ski mountain operator for buying a rival just to shut it down.

  • March 10, 2025

    USCIS To Allow Grace Period For Immigration Form Changes

    U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services said it will provide a grace period before newly revised forms with only male and female gender options go into effect, a day after immigration lawyers filed a lawsuit challenging the abrupt policy change.

  • March 10, 2025

    Patent Office Solicitor Moves To PTAB Vice Chief Judge Role

    Farheena Y. Rasheed, who had been the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's solicitor since June, has moved to a new role as a Patent Trial and Appeal Board acting vice chief judge, to assist the board as it deals with several vacancies, the office said Monday.

  • March 10, 2025

    Border Agent Admits To Making Migrants Expose Themselves

    A U.S. Customs and Border Protection agent has pled guilty in New York federal court to forcing women to expose their breasts to him during processing as they attempted to enter the country.

Expert Analysis

  • Expect Continued Antitrust Enforcement In Procurement

    Author Photo

    The scope of federal antitrust enforcement under the second Trump administration remains uncertain, but the Procurement Collusion Strike Force, which collaborates with federal and state agencies to enforce antitrust laws in the government procurement space, is likely to remain active — so contractors must stay vigilant, say attorneys at Ballard Spahr.

  • Takeaways From Oral Argument In High Court Trademark Case

    Author Photo

    Unpacking oral arguments from Dewberry Group v. Dewberry Engineers, which the U.S. Supreme Court is expected to rule on this year, sheds light on the ways in which the decision could significantly affect trademark infringement plaintiffs' ability to receive monetary damages, say attorneys at Buchanan Ingersoll.

  • In-House Counsel Pointers For Preserving Atty-Client Privilege

    Author Photo

    Several recent rulings illustrate the challenges in-house counsel can face when attempting to preserve attorney-client privilege, but a few best practices can help safeguard communications and effectively assert the privilege in an increasingly scrutinized corporate environment, says Daniel Garrie at Law & Forensics.

  • What Banks Need To Know About Trump's Executive Orders

    Author Photo

    While the numerous executive orders and memos from the last few weeks don't touch on many of the issues the banking industry expected the Trump administration to address, banks still need to pay attention to the flurry of orders from strategic, compliance and operational perspectives, say attorneys at Arnold & Porter.

  • How SDNY US Atty Nom May Shape Enforcement Priorities

    Author Photo

    President Donald Trump’s nominee for U.S. attorney in the Southern District of New York, former U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Jay Clayton, will likely shift the office’s enforcement priorities, from refining whistleblower policies to deemphasizing novel prosecutorial theories, say attorneys at Cohen & Gresser.

  • How FAR Council's Proposal May Revamp Conflicts Reporting

    Author Photo

    The Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council's recent proposal for updating organizational conflict of interest rules includes some welcome clarifications, but new representation and disclosure obligations would upend long-standing practices, likely increase contractors’ False Claims Act risks, and necessitate implementation of more complex OCI compliance programs, say attorneys at Wiley.

  • Emerging Energy Trends Reflect Shifting Political Landscape

    Author Photo

    As the Trump administration settles in, some emerging energy industry trends, like expanded support for fossil fuel production, are right off of its wish list — while others, like the popularity of Inflation Reduction Act energy tax credits, and bipartisan support for carbon capture, reflect more complex political realities, say attorneys at Greenberg Traurig.

  • 4 Potential Effects Of 3rd Circ.'s Coinbase Ruling

    Author Photo

    The Third Circuit's recent landmark decision in Coinbase v. U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that the SEC's refusal to engage in rulemaking to clarify its stance on crypto enforcement was "insufficiently reasoned" could have wide-ranging impacts, including on other cases, legislation and even the SEC's reputation itself, says Daniel Payne at Cole-Frieman.

  • Applying ABA Atty Role Guidance To White Collar Matters

    Author Photo

    The American Bar Association’s recently published guidance, clarifying the duties outside counsel owes to both organizational clients and those organizations' constituents, provides best practices that attorneys representing companies in white collar and other investigative matters should heed, say attorneys at MoFo.

  • What Trump Admin's Anti-DEI Push Means For FCA Claims

    Author Photo

    President Donald Trump's recent rescission of a 60-year-old executive order imposing nondiscrimination requirements on certain federal contractors has far-reaching implications, including potential False Claims Act liability for contractors and grant recipients who fail to comply, though it may be a challenge for the government to successfully establish liability, say attorneys at Bass Berry.

  • Pete Seeger's Lessons For 2025 Congressional Investigations

    Author Photo

    The constitutional invalidation of singer Pete Seeger's contempt of Congress conviction serves as a reminder for the 119th Congress to focus its investigations on the details, instead of committee member motivations, says Matthew Miller at Foley Hoag.

  • As EPA Backs Down, Expect Enviros To Step Up Citizen Suits

    Author Photo

    As President Donald Trump's U.S. Environmental Protection Agency draws down federal enforcement efforts, environmental groups will step into the void and file citizen suits — so companies should focus on compliance efforts, stay savvy about emerging analytical and monitoring methods, and maintain good relations with neighbors, say attorneys at Beveridge & Diamond.

  • CFPB's Message To States Takes On New Weight Under Trump

    Author Photo

    The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's January guidance to state enforcers has fresh significance as the Trump administration moves to freeze the bureau's work, and industry should expect states to use this series of recommendations as an enforcement road map, say attorneys at Brownstein Hyatt.

  • What's Next For State Regulation Of Hemp Cannabinoids

    Author Photo

    Based on two recent federal court cases that indisputably fortify broad state authority to regulate intoxicating hemp cannabinoid products, 2025 will feature continued aggressive state regulation of such products as industry stakeholders wait for Congress to release its plans for the next five-year Farm Bill, say attorneys at Foley Hoag.

  • What Companies Should Consider During FCPA Pause

    Author Photo

    While waiting for updated guidance on Foreign Corrupt Practices Act criminal investigations after a Feb. 10 executive order froze FCPA enforcement, companies should consider the implications of several possible policy shifts, rather than relaxing internal oversight of questionable business practices, say attorneys at Simpson Thacher.

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!