Public Policy

  • March 04, 2025

    Trump Asks 2nd Circ. To Take Over Hush Money Appeal

    President Donald Trump asked the Second Circuit to take over his New York state court appeal of his hush money conviction, saying the "extraordinary" case implicated official acts from his first term.

  • March 04, 2025

    FERC Enforcement Case Is Constitutionally Valid, DOJ Says

    The Trump administration has told a North Carolina federal judge that a Federal Energy Regulatory Commission market manipulation case against an energy-efficiency aggregator complies with a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision curbing the enforcement authority of federal agencies.

  • March 04, 2025

    HHS Cuts Hit Attys Tackling Medicare Appeals Backlog

    The Department of Health and Human Services is terminating more than a dozen attorneys charged with reducing a massive backlog of Medicare appeals at an internal administrative board. The cuts may slow an already cumbersome administrative process.

  • March 04, 2025

    Calif. Bar Staff Asks Board To Ditch Meazure's July Exam

    The State Bar of California recommended to its board of trustees to forgo its current partnership with bar exam administer ProctorU Inc., doing business as Meazure Learning, ahead of the July 2025 test following the disastrous rollout of its February exam, which prompted a nationwide class action filed in California federal court last week.

  • March 04, 2025

    Kan. Man Says 80s Pot Conviction Can't Block Gun Purchase

    A man who was convicted of a cannabis crime in 1984 is suing the FBI and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, alleging he was wrongly denied an application to purchase a firearm even though he completed his sentence in 1987 and his conviction was expunged in 2018.

  • March 04, 2025

    Career DOJ Atty, Civil Division Chief Of Staff Joins Jenner

    Jenner & Block LLP has hired the former chief of staff of the Justice Department's Civil Division, who is joining the firm after spending her entire career in public service, the firm announced Tuesday. 

  • March 04, 2025

    Colo. Biotech, Founders Owe SEC $14.3M Over Fraud Claims

    A Colorado federal judge has ordered a biotech startup and two of its founders to pay the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission roughly $14.3 million and barred them from serving as officers and directors of public companies after finding that they fraudulently raised over $10 million by overstating their own investments in the company.

  • March 04, 2025

    Holland & Hart Adds Alaska US Rep And Her Chief Of Staff

    Holland & Hart LLP has expanded its federal affairs group with Alaska's former U.S. representative, who is joining the team in Anchorage alongside her prior chief of staff, the firm announced Monday.

  • March 04, 2025

    IRS Crypto Summons Broke Privacy Law, 5th Circ. Told

    The IRS failed to comply with privacy law in seeking a cryptocurrency executive's third-party bank records, the executive told the Fifth Circuit, saying the agency never notified his attorney even though it was aware he was represented by counsel.

  • March 04, 2025

    Justices Doubt Mexico Can Pin Cartel Deaths On US Gun Cos.

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday appeared highly skeptical of a suit by the Mexican government that seeks to hold Smith & Wesson and other American gunmakers liable for cartel violence, with justices from both sides of the ideological spectrum suggesting that the claims are too speculative.

  • March 04, 2025

    Court Can't Review Nix Of Venezuela Protected Status, DHS Says

    The U.S. Department of Homeland Security told a California federal court it lacks authority to review a recent decision to scrap existing deportation protections for hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans, and urged the court to reject a push to have it put on hold.

  • March 04, 2025

    New Crowell & Moring Group To Advise On Gov't Procurement

    Crowell & Moring LLP has launched a new governmental consulting group to provide companies with guidance on how to obtain and carry out federal procurements, the firm announced Tuesday.

  • March 04, 2025

    Ore. House OKs Extending Medical Provider Taxes

    Oregon would extend the sunset on medical provider and insurance assessments, worth more than $5 billion over four years and used to help fund state healthcare programs, under legislation approved by the state House of Representatives.

  • March 04, 2025

    USCIS Plans To Ask Noncitizens For Social Media Handles

    U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced Tuesday that it plans to examine social media accounts of anyone trying to enter the country, as well as noncitizens applying for immigration benefits.

  • March 04, 2025

    CFPB Drops Zelle Fraud Prevention Suit Against Big Banks

    The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau on Tuesday abandoned its lawsuit against JPMorgan Chase and other major banks over digital payment fraud on Zelle, the latest Biden-era enforcement action to be dropped by the agency's Trump-appointed interim leadership.

  • March 04, 2025

    High Court Says EPA Went Too Far With SF Water Permit

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday sided with San Francisco in its attempt to escape the terms of a federal sewer and wastewater system permit that the city challenged as too vague and difficult to comply with.

  • March 03, 2025

    USAID Leader Details Toll On 'Critical' Aid Under Trump

    The U.S. Agency for International Development has been "wholly prevented" from delivering "critical" lifesaving services around the world, and that will lead to preventable death, destabilization and threats to national security "on a massive scale," according to memos from an agency leader made public Monday.

  • March 03, 2025

    DC Judge Calls For CFPB Official To Testify In Shutdown Suit

    A Washington, D.C., federal judge on Monday signaled skepticism of Trump administration claims that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau isn't going away, summoning a senior agency official to testify next week as she weighs a possible preliminary injunction.

  • March 03, 2025

    Calif. Jury Struggling To Reach Verdict In Judge's Murder Trial

    The murder trial of Orange County Superior Court Judge Jeffrey Ferguson took a dramatic turn on the fourth day of jury deliberations when jurors indicated they were at an impasse on whether Judge Ferguson is guilty of second-degree murder for shooting his wife to death in August 2023.

  • March 03, 2025

    TikTok And Reddit Face UK Probes Over Kids' Data Handling

    Britain's data protection watchdog on Monday stepped up its efforts to ensure that children are being protected online, launching investigations into how popular digital platforms TikTok, Reddit and Imgur gather and use minors' personal information.

  • March 03, 2025

    Ultragenyx Loses Bid To Toss Suit Over Henrietta Lacks' Cells

    A Maryland federal judge on Monday refused to toss a lawsuit lodged by the family of the late Henrietta Lacks against biotechnology company Ultragenyx for allegedly profiting off her stolen "immortal" cells, saying proof Ultragenyx engaged in intrastate business in Maryland would thwart its contention the lawsuit was filed too late.

  • March 03, 2025

    Colo. Judge Vacates Fed Orders Allowing Wild Horse Removal

    A Colorado federal judge vacated two U.S. Bureau of Land Management orders removing wild horses and donkeys from public lands Monday, finding they violate not only administrative and environmental laws, but a law governing protected populations of wild horses.

  • March 03, 2025

    Trump Admin Defends MSPB Chair's Ouster As Constitutional

    President Donald Trump and other administration officials pursued their argument that the U.S. Supreme Court's Humphrey's Executor ruling doesn't apply to the Merit Systems Protection Board, telling a D.C. federal judge that the removal of the agency's chair was lawful.

  • March 03, 2025

    ICE Contractor Loses Immunity Bid In Family Separation Suit

    A California federal judge Monday largely denied a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement contractor's attempt to escape litigation that a father and son brought against the transportation company for its role in a policy that separated them and thousands of other immigrant families during the first Trump administration.

  • March 03, 2025

    Trump Deportees Sue Panama To Stop Refoulement To Iran

    A group of asylum-seekers deported from the U.S. lodged a complaint at the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, asking the tribunal to stop Panama from returning them to their home countries where they say they will face certain persecution.

Expert Analysis

  • Anticipating How GAO Pleading Standards May Shift

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    The 2025 National Defense Authorization Act's mandate to create an enhanced pleading standard at the U.S. Government Accountability Office may change the calculus for where to file when challenging a U.S. Department of Defense procurement, say attorneys at Rogers Joseph.

  • Issues To Watch In 2025's ERISA Litigation Landscape

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    Whether 2024’s uptick in new Employee Retirement Income Security Act cases will continue this year will likely depend on federal courts’ resolution of several issues, including those related to excessive fees, defined contribution plan forfeitures, and pleading standards for ERISA-prohibited transaction claims, say attorneys at Groom Law.

  • Roundup

    Banking Brief: State Law Recaps From Each Quarter Of 2024

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    In this Expert Analysis series, throughout 2024 attorneys provided quarterly recaps discussing the biggest developments in banking regulation, litigation and policymaking in various states, including New York, California and Illinois.

  • How DOGE's Bite Can Live Up To Its Bark

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    All signs suggest that the Department of Government Efficiency will be an important part of the new Trump administration, with ample tools at its disposal to effectuate change, particularly with an attentive Republican-controlled Congress, say attorneys at K&L Gates.

  • 2024 Was A Significant Year For HIPAA Compliance

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    The Office of Civil Rights' high level of Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act activity in 2024 and press releases about its specific focus on certain cybersecurity issues make it abundantly clear that the OCR is not going to tolerate widespread compliance complacency, says Nathan Kottkamp at Williams Mullen.

  • Examining DOJ Corporate Whistleblower Pilot's First 100 Days

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    Though the U.S. Department of Justice’s corporate whistleblower awards pilot program has successfully elicited numerous tips since its August launch, stakeholder feedback leaves questions about how the scheme compares to other whistleblower awards and protections — and how it will fare in the incoming Trump administration, say attorneys at Joseph Greenwald.

  • Proactively Managing Tariff Impacts On Megaprojects

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    President-elect Donald Trump's proposed tariffs may compound the complexity, duration and risks associated with financing and building large-scale infrastructure projects — so owners and contractors should plan to take possible tariff-related cost and schedule overruns into account when drafting contracts, say attorneys at Crowell & Moring.

  • New York Climate Superfund Law May Face Preemption Fight

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    New York state's new climate superfund law highlights a growing trend of states supplementing their climate litigation efforts with legislative initiatives — but it will likely encounter the same federal preemption questions raised about state and local lawsuits seeking redress for climate harms, say attorneys at ArentFox Schiff.

  • Forecasting The Future Of The FTC Post-Inauguration

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    The incoming Federal Trade Commission leadership's agenda, which is expected to be in sharp contrast with the Biden administration's enforcement posture, will be noticeable right away in the first few weeks of the Trump administration, say attorneys at Cooley.

  • 5 Notable Information Security Events In 2024

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    B. Stephanie Siegmann at Hinckley Allen discusses 2024's largest and most destructive data breaches seen yet, ranging from ransomware disrupting U.S. healthcare systems on a massive scale, to tensions increasing between the U.S. and China over cyberespionage and the control of U.S. data.

  • Opinion

    Trump Should Pass On Project 2025's Disparate Impact Plan

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    The Trump administration should reject Project 2025's call to eliminate the disparate impact doctrine because, as its pro-business Republican creators intended, a focus on dismantling unnecessary barriers to qualified job candidates serves companies' best interests more successfully than the alternatives, says Susan Carle at American University.

  • Opinion

    Laken Riley Act Will Not Advance Immigration Reform

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    By granting states legal standing to sue the U.S. Department of Homeland Security for immigration violations, the Laken Riley Act enables states to block all kinds of federal actions they don't like but provides little reason for them to be invested in positive change, says Jacob Hamburger at Cornell University Law School.

  • Series

    Playing Rugby Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    My experience playing rugby, including a near-fatal accident, has influenced my legal practice on a professional, organizational and personal level by showing me the importance of maintaining empathy, fostering team empowerment and embracing the art of preparation, says James Gillenwater at Greenberg Traurig.

  • How 2025 NDAA May Affect DOD Procurement Protests

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    A bid protest pilot program included in the 2025 National Defense Authorization Act shifts litigation costs onto unsuccessful bid protesters and raises claim-filing thresholds, which could increase risks to U.S. Department of Defense contractors who file protests, and reduce oversight of DOD procurement awards, say attorneys at Venable.

  • Looking Back At 2024's Noteworthy State AG Litigation

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    State attorneys general across the U.S. took bold steps in 2024 to address unlawful activities by corporations in several areas, including privacy and data security, financial transparency, children's internet safety, and other overall consumer protection claims, say attorneys at Troutman Pepper.

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