Public Policy

  • March 13, 2025

    Feds Can't Pause NYC Congestion Pricing Cases

    A New York federal judge denied the federal government's request to prioritize a case filed by Empire State transportation authorities over a newly launched Manhattan congestion pricing program that the Trump administration has moved to kill, saying Thursday the court wouldn't stay other cases over the program that are further along.

  • March 13, 2025

    Public Broadcasting Sues FEMA Over Emergency Alert Funds

    The nonprofit responsible for providing funding to more than 1,500 U.S. public radio and television stations filed suit Thursday in D.C. federal court, accusing the Federal Emergency Management Agency of placing an unlawful hold on $40 million in grant funds meant to bolster the national's emergency alert system.

  • March 13, 2025

    Trump Asks Justices To Limit Pauses Of Birthright Order

    President Donald Trump asked the U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday to limit three nationwide court orders prohibiting the implementation of his executive order aimed at limiting birthright citizenship, arguing that the coast-to-coast injunctions upended the judicial process and are trying to micromanage the executive branch.

  • March 13, 2025

    Activist Sues To Block Columbia University Sharing Info With Feds

    Detained Palestinian activist and Columbia University graduate student Mahmoud Khalil on Thursday sued the university in New York federal court to stop it from caving into lawmakers' demand for students' disciplinary records, saying the demand clearly aims to chill protected speech.

  • March 13, 2025

    SEC's Expansion Of Confidential Filings Likely To Spur Deals

    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's latest effort to expand companies' ability to confidentially file for more securities offerings during initial stages should accelerate the pace of public issuances, according to capital markets lawyers.

  • March 13, 2025

    Law School's Remote Learning Stance Baffles Mich. Judge

    A Michigan federal judge said Thursday it "makes no sense" that Wayne State University Law School couldn't allow a student with a disability to attend classes virtually, pressing an attorney for the university as to why the school couldn't do so, considering it had gone fully remote during the COVID-19 pandemic.

  • March 13, 2025

    Bankers Seek 1-Year Waiver Of TCPA Consent Rule

    Banking organizations asked the Federal Communications Commission for a one-year waiver of a consumer consent rule under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act that restricts their ability to make prerecorded calls and texts once consent has been revoked.

  • March 13, 2025

    $181K Sanctions Against Texas AG-Tied Investor Stand

    A Texas appeals court upheld around $181,000 in sanctions against the real estate developer at the center of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton's failed impeachment, finding in a Thursday opinion that developer Natin Paul breached court orders when he wired money to an NBA player.

  • March 13, 2025

    NY AG James Pitches Bill To Expand Consumer Protection Law

    New York Attorney General Letitia James on Thursday announced legislation that would expand the state's ban on deceptive business practices to also protect against unfair and abusive practices, an idea backed by Biden-era Federal Trade Commission and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau heads.

  • March 13, 2025

    Experts Sound Alarm Over Law Used To Detain Grad Student

    An obscure provision of the Immigration and Nationality Act being invoked to deport Columbia University student activist Mahmoud Khalil was meant to be used sparingly, leading immigration attorneys to question how the Trump administration intends to use it moving forward.

  • March 13, 2025

    Split 7th Circ. Kills Injunction In Indiana Power Line Dispute

    The Seventh Circuit has knocked down an injunction blocking an Indiana right of first refusal law that gives Indiana-based utilities the first shot at securing new transmission project contracts before those from other states.

  • March 13, 2025

    Calif. AG Appealing State Limits On Pay-For-Delay Ban

    California enforcers are appealing to the Ninth Circuit after a lower court found that a new state law restricting "reverse payment" settlements between brand-name and generic-drug makers cannot be used to regulate deals that were struck outside the state.

  • March 13, 2025

    Students' Regalia Rights Bill Heads To New Mexico Governor

    A bill aimed at protecting the rights of Native American students to wear tribal regalia at graduation ceremonies in New Mexico is heading toward the governor's desk for approval.

  • March 13, 2025

    Seminole Say Minn. Order Backs Bid To Nix Gaming Ad Suit

    The Seminole Tribe of Florida says a recent federal court order that dismissed a Minnesota casino and horse racetrack operator's claims that tribal entities' Class III gaming operations are illegal supports its bid to nix a proposed class action over allegedly misleading advertisements by its Hard Rock Digital gaming vendor.

  • March 13, 2025

    Drone-Maker Wants DOD Info On Listing As Chinese Military Co.

    Drone manufacturer DJI wants the U.S. Department of Defense to turn over classified information behind the decision to list it as a Chinese military company, claiming the materials are essential for its lawsuit contesting the designation.

  • March 13, 2025

    Ex-FCC Chief Ajit Pai Named Wireless Group's CEO

    President Donald Trump's first Federal Communications Commission chief Ajit Pai, who led the charge to repeal net neutrality during his first term, has been tapped as the new head of wireless trade group CTIA.

  • March 13, 2025

    Ex-Nebraska Student Says Univ. Sex Bias Led To Expulsion

    A former University of Nebraska-Lincoln student sued the school and its officials Wednesday in Nebraska federal court, saying they relied on sex-based stereotypes and biases to expel him from the college after he was accused of sexual assault.

  • March 13, 2025

    Housing Advocacy Groups Sue Over HUD Grant Cuts

    A coalition of advocacy organizations filed a proposed class action in Massachusetts federal court Thursday against the Trump administration over the termination of dozens of grants to programs targeting housing discrimination.

  • March 13, 2025

    Ga. Judge Slams 'Meaningless' Reading Of Open Records Act

    A Georgia appellate judge took his colleagues to task Thursday for not backing a local newspaper publisher's effort to force a city to hand over its police records, writing that a majority opinion that declined to fully resolve the dispute "substitute[s] our policy preferences for the policy choices of the legislature."

  • March 13, 2025

    FCC Creates New Nat'l Security Arm Focused On China

    The Federal Communications Commission will operate a new organization within the agency focused solely on national security, particularly cybersecurity threats emerging from the Chinese government.

  • March 13, 2025

    Judge Hits 'Reset Button' In 3M, DuPont PFAS Cleanup Case

    New Jersey's environmental regulators have tried to force EIDP and DuPont Chemours to begin remediation efforts on "forever chemical" contamination at a former facility in Salem County — which is at the center of ongoing litigation — a move that seemingly undermined a federal judge's authority and put in jeopardy a looming May trial date.

  • March 13, 2025

    PBMs Tell FTC 5-Month Delay Too Long For In-House Insulin Trial

    The nation's "Big Three" pharmacy benefit managers say they want to get to trial in the Federal Trade Commission's administrative suit against them sooner rather than later, arguing that the agency's request for a five-month delay would be too long, but they're open to a three-week postponement.

  • March 13, 2025

    Pa. Justices Let Convicted Doctor Reapply For License

    A former University of Pittsburgh Medical Center radiologist who lost his license for unlawfully prescribing Vicodin can seek reinstatement less than 10 years after his 2019 suspension thanks to a change in state law defining a drug trafficking offense, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled Thursday.

  • March 13, 2025

    Smartmatic Wants MyPillow CEO Held In Contempt

    MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell hasn't paid the sanctions he owes to Smartmatic for filing "frivolous claims" against the voting systems company, Smartmatic told a D.C. federal judge in an effort to hold him in civil contempt.

  • March 13, 2025

    9th Circ. Ends Idaho Abortion Law Row After Mutual Dismissal

    A Ninth Circuit panel has dropped an appeal from Idaho claiming the state's strict abortion ban doesn't conflict with a federal law protecting emergency abortions, after the Trump administration announced its decision to drop the Biden-era legal challenge. 

Expert Analysis

  • How Foreign Cos. Should Prep For New UK Fraud Law

    Author Photo

    As the U.K. prepares to hold companies criminally liable for failing to prevent fraudulent acts of their associates, U.S. and global companies should review their compliance measures against the broad language of this new offense, which could permit prosecution of acts committed entirely abroad, say attorneys at Latham & Watkins.

  • Opinion

    NCAA Name, Image, Likeness Settlement Is A $2.8B Mistake

    Author Photo

    While the plaintiffs in House v. NCAA might call the proposed settlement on name, image and likeness payments for college athletes a breakthrough, it's a legally dubious Band-Aid that props up a system favoring a select handful of male athletes at the expense of countless others, say attorneys at Clifford Chance.

  • What FERC Scrutiny Of Directors, Assets Means For Investors

    Author Photo

    The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has recently paid dramatically increased attention to appointments of power company directors by investors, and ownership of vertical assets that provide inputs for electric power production and sale — so investors in FERC-regulated entities should be paying more attention to these matters as well, say attorneys at Day Pitney.

  • What's Potentially In Store For CFTC Under New Leadership

    Author Photo

    Under the leadership of acting U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission Chairman Caroline Pham, and with the nomination of former commissioner Brian Quintenz to serve as permanent chair, the commission is set to widely embrace digital assets and event contracts, say attorneys at Davis Wright.

  • Revived Executive Order Is A Deregulatory Boon To Banks

    Author Photo

    A recently reinstated 2019 executive order reveals the Trump administration’s willingness to provide unprecedented protections for regulated parties — including financial institutions — but to claim them, banks and other entities must adopt a forward-leaning posture to work with the regulators, say attorneys at Davis Wright.

  • 3 Ways Civil Plaintiffs Could Fill An FCPA Enforcement Gap

    Author Photo

    While the Department of Justice recently announced it would deprioritize Foreign Corrupt Practices Act investigations into U.S. businesses without obvious ties to international crime, companies should stay alert to private plaintiffs, who could fill this enforcement void — and win significant civil damages — through several legal channels, says Eric Nitz at MoloLamken.

  • CO2 Oil Recovery Vs. Carbon Capture: Key Legal Differences

    Author Photo

    As more states seek primacy over carbon capture and storage wells, it is increasingly important for companies to understand the regulations surrounding CCS, and how they differ from the arguably less complex legal framework for the closely related technology of carbon dioxide-enhanced oil recovery, says Sarah Milocco at Husch Blackwell.

  • Examining Trump Meme Coin And SEC's Crypto Changes

    Author Photo

    While the previous U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission tended to view most crypto-assets as securities, the tide is rapidly changing, and hopefully the long-needed reevaluation of this regulatory framework is not tarnished by an arguable conflict of interest due to President Donald Trump's affiliation with the $Trump meme coin, say attorneys at Thompson Coburn.

  • Steps For Federal Grantees Affected By Stop-Work Orders

    Author Photo

    Broad changes in federal financial assistance programs are on the horizon, and organizations that may receive a stop-work order from a federal agency must prepare to be vigilant and nimble in a highly uncertain legal landscape, say attorneys at Arnold & Porter.

  • Opinion

    State FCAs Should Cover Local Fund Misuse, State Tax Fraud

    Author Photo

    New Jersey and other states with similar False Claims Acts should amend them to cover misappropriated municipal funding, and state and local tax fraud, which would encourage more whistleblowers to come forward and increase their recoveries, says Kenneth Levine at Stone & Magnanini.

  • Dewberry Ruling Is A Wakeup Call For Trademark Owners

    Author Photo

    The U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Dewberry v. Dewberry hones in on the question of how a defendant's affiliates' profits should be treated under the Lanham Act, and should remind trademark litigants and practitioners that issues involving monetary relief should be treated seriously, say attorneys at Finnegan.

  • Anticipating Calif. Oversight Of PE Participation In Healthcare

    Author Photo

    A new bill recently introduced in the California Senate revives last year's attempt to increase oversight of healthcare transactions involving private equity groups and hedge funds, meaning that attorneys may soon need to assess the compliance status of existing management relationships and consider modifying contract terms, says Andrew Demetriou at Husch Blackwell.

  • A Look At The Student Loan Case Pending At Supreme Court

    Author Photo

    The Trump administration is likely to drop the U.S. Supreme Court case of U.S. Department of Education v. Career Colleges and Schools of Texas after its review of the 2022 borrower defense to repayment rule, but any outcome will be significant for institutions participating in programs covered by Title IV of the Higher Education Act, say attorneys at Duane Morris.

  • New HSR Rules Augur A Deeper Antitrust Review By Agencies

    Author Photo

    After some initial uncertainty, the new Hart-Scott-Rodino Act rules did go into effect last month, and though their increased information requirements create greater initial burdens for merging parties, the rules should lead to greater certainty and predictability through a more efficient and effective review process, says Craig Malam at Edgeworth Economics.

  • New Fla. Financial Abuse Law May See Limited Buy-In

    Author Photo

    Florida's newly effective financial protection law comes with compliance burdens and uncertainties that could discourage financial institutions from participating, even though the law aims to shield them from liability for delaying transactions when they suspect exploitation of elderly and vulnerable account holders, say attorneys at Shutts & Bowen.

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!