Public Policy

  • December 20, 2024

    How Lawyers May Sue The Trump Administration … Again

    During the last Trump administration, BigLaw firms challenged White House policies, focusing on immigration, environmental regulations and healthcare. This time around, attorneys could rely on old tools, and some new tactics, to stall the executive branch.

  • December 20, 2024

    If Gov't Shuts Down, Judiciary Will Be Funded Until Jan. 10

    If there is a government shutdown, the federal judiciary would be funded at least until Jan. 10, the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts said Friday.

  • December 20, 2024

    HUD Awards $225 Million To Boost Manufactured Housing

    The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development announced that it has awarded $225 million under a grant program for manufactured housing communities, prioritizing tribal applicants and resident-managed communities.

  • December 20, 2024

    Year In Review: The Biggest Trade Policy Moves Of 2024

    The final year of the Biden administration saw trade policy kept on the back burner, particularly as campaign season ramped up, but nevertheless 2024 yielded a number of White House moves on tariffs, enforcement and negotiations that kept attorneys at attention. Here, Law360 walks you through the most noteworthy trade policy developments of the past 12 months.

  • December 20, 2024

    CFPB Sues BofA, Wells Fargo, JPMorgan Over Zelle Fraud

    The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau sued Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo on Friday, alleging their customers have lost more than $870 million through a "massive scale" of fraud on the payment network Zelle while the banks turned a blind eye.

  • December 19, 2024

    Monsanto PCB Trial Groups Can Grow, Wash. Judge Says

    A Washington state judge laid out a plan on Wednesday to consolidate a series of alleged chemical poisoning cases pending against Monsanto in connection to an Evergreen State school, largely rejecting the company's arguments that it would be prejudiced if plaintiffs merged into larger trial groups.

  • December 19, 2024

    Uber Sues Seattle Over Courier Account Deactivation Law

    A Seattle ordinance aimed at preventing app-based workers from being unfairly deactivated from apps they use poses "grave constitutional problems," Uber alleged in a suit filed Wednesday in Washington federal court, saying the local law forces the transportation company to express views inconsistent with how it approaches privacy and safety.

  • December 19, 2024

    DOJ Targets Groups' Standing In Asylum Limits Fight

    The U.S. Department of Justice told a federal judge immigrant rights groups don't have standing to challenge asylum restrictions enacted for the southern border based on claims that they prevent the groups from serving asylum seekers.

  • December 19, 2024

    Atkins-Tied Crypto Group Lays Out Its Priorities For New SEC

    Crypto industry group The Digital Chamber, which counts U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission chair nominee Paul Atkins as an advisory board member, has urged the Wall Street regulator to "reset its historically troubled relationship" with the crypto industry by rolling back certain rule proposals and resolving non-fraud suits against crypto firms soon after President-elect Donald Trump takes office next year.

  • December 19, 2024

    Feds Fight Calif. Tribe's Bid To Block Casino Trust Order

    The federal government is fighting a bid by a California tribe to block the U.S. Department of the Interior from approving a casino project on its historic homelands, arguing that it has not yet identified any irreparable harm that would justify a temporary restraining order.

  • December 19, 2024

    PhRMA Wins Bid To Halt W.Va. Drug Discount Expansion Law

    The country's biggest pharmaceutical lobbying group has won preliminary injunctions against a West Virginia law that the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America claims unconstitutionally expands a federal drug discount program, with a federal judge finding that the law threatens to create a situation where "the fox guards the henhouse."

  • December 19, 2024

    FTC Says PBMs Can't Get Preliminary Block In Insulin Case

    The Federal Trade Commission urged a Missouri federal judge Thursday not to temporarily block its in-house case accusing pharmacy benefits managers of artificially inflating insulin prices through unfair rebate schemes, arguing Congress clearly empowered such in-house adjudications and the officials who handle them.

  • December 19, 2024

    Groups Say CARB Fuel Program Will Spur Environmental Harms

    Environmental groups sued the California Air Resources Board in California state court on Wednesday, saying amendments to the state's low carbon fuel standard program will only further spur the expansion of factory farms, increasing environmental degradation in the San Joaquin Valley.

  • December 19, 2024

    Bank Groups Seek Halt Of CFPB's $5 Overdraft Fee Rule

    Bank groups have asked a Mississippi federal judge to put an interim hold on the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's new rule establishing a $5 overdraft fee cap at larger banks and credit unions, arguing that the agency is trying to unwind more than a half-century of regulatory interpretation at a great potential cost to the industry.

  • December 19, 2024

    New Jersey AG Can Run Paterson Police Dept. During Appeal

    The day after a New Jersey appellate panel ruled that state Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin's takeover of a Garden State police department was unlawful, state Supreme Court Chief Justice Stuart J. Rabner granted the prosecutor's bid to stay the decision temporarily and directed the parties to file briefs.

  • December 19, 2024

    Vape Cos. Challenge Iowa Law Banning Many E-Cigarettes

    Iowan vape interests are looking to stop state officials from enforcing a new law prohibiting the sale of many e-cigarettes, claiming in a federal lawsuit that the statute was pushed by "Big Tobacco" company Reynolds American Inc. and targets products that help people quit smoking.

  • December 19, 2024

    4th Circ. Says Temporary BIA Judges Can Be Reappointed

    Judges can be temporarily appointed to the Board of Immigration Appeals for a term "not to exceed six months," but they can also be reappointed as many times as the attorney general sees fit, the Fourth Circuit has ruled in a case that challenges the seating of such a judge.

  • December 19, 2024

    FERC Chair Plays Coy On Impact Of LNG Export Study

    Willie Phillips, chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, wouldn't say on Thursday how the agency would incorporate a recently released federal study on the economic and environmental effects of liquefied natural gas exports into its reviews of proposed export terminals, and cited limits on FERC's authority.

  • December 19, 2024

    Visa Sponsorship Form Needs Clarity, Ombudsman Says

    A U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services watchdog is urging the agency to revise a form used to sponsor noncitizen relatives, saying it has caused confusion and imposed extra costs and delays on people trying to reunite with family members.

  • December 19, 2024

    House Rejects 3-Month Funding Bill Despite Trump Support

    The U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday rejected a three-month temporary funding deal that would have staved off a government shutdown and had been hastily introduced after President-elect Donald Trump criticized an earlier proposed continuing resolution.

  • December 19, 2024

    Bill Aimed At IHS Recruitment, Retention Heads To House

    A bill designed to make it easier for the Indian Health Service to recruit and retain medical workers is headed for the U.S. House of Representatives for consideration after easily passing the U.S. Senate this week.

  • December 19, 2024

    FCC Told No Way To Network-Level Scan Of Calls For AI

    Consumer advocacy groups have come together to tell the Federal Communications Commission that they hate spam calls as much as anyone else, but they can't support a plan that would allow calls to be scanned for artificial intelligence at the network level.

  • December 19, 2024

    $1.1B Diablo Canyon Award Challenge Meets Skeptical Judge

    A California federal judge appeared skeptical Thursday that an environmental group has standing to challenge the U.S. Department of Energy's award of $1.1 billion to help Pacific Gas & Electric Co. continue operating the Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant.

  • December 19, 2024

    McKesson Urges Justices To Keep Hobbs Act's 'Exclusivity'

    McKesson Corp. is urging the U.S. Supreme Court to preserve circuit courts' "exclusive" jurisdiction for Federal Communications Commission orders, warning that regulatory consistency nationwide could be undermined if lower courts are allowed to step in.

  • December 19, 2024

    2nd Circ. Mulls Dormant Commerce Applicability To Marijuana

    A Second Circuit panel appeared conflicted Thursday on whether the dormant commerce clause applies to federally illegal marijuana and, if so, whether New York cannabis regulators still had an interest in ensuring that some cannabis licenses went to locals.

Expert Analysis

  • 5 Ways SEC's Crypto Approach Could Change Under Trump

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    Given the Trump campaign's procrypto stance, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission could take a number of different approaches to crypto policy in the next administration, including pausing registration-only enforcement actions and proposing tailored rules that take into account the differences between crypto-assets and traditional securities, say attorneys at WilmerHale.

  • Health Policy Predictions For Trump's Second Administration

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    As President-elect Donald Trump's nominations for health policy and enforcement heads work their way through the confirmation process, healthcare organizations can look at nominee backgrounds, campaign statements and actions from Trump's previous presidency to predict incoming priorities, say attorneys at McDermott.

  • Opinion

    FTC Actions In Oil Cases Go Against Its Own Rulemaking

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    Two recent Federal Trade Commission actions concerning the oil and gas industry appear to defy its own merger guidelines, with allegations that fall far short of the commission's own standard — raising serious questions about the agency's current approach, say attorneys at Clifford Chance.

  • How Global Data Center Regs May Influence US Policies

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    As regulators around the world react to the growth of data centers, and their increasing consumption of energy, water and land, international policies in this area may influence how the incoming U.S. administration regulates data centers in this country, say attorneys at HWG.

  • Series

    Flying Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Achieving my childhood dream of flying airplanes made me a better lawyer — and a better person — because it taught me I can conquer difficult goals when I leave my comfort zone, focus on the demands of the moment and commit to honing my skills, says Ivy Cadle at Baker Donelson.

  • Key Points From New Maritime Oil Price Cap Advisory

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    The Price Cap Coalition's updated advisory regarding the maritime oil industry's compliance with the Russian oil price cap highlights the role of governmental authorities, additional areas warranting due diligence and the need for training programs, say attorneys at Miller & Chevalier.

  • Post-Election Implications For The EPA's Methane Rules

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    Amid the U.S. Supreme Court's recent denial of requests to halt implementation of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's methane rule in two suits, and given the outcome of the election, a complete reversal of the methane rule is expected, but state-level policymaking and enforcement will continue, says John Watson at Spencer Fane.

  • Opinion

    Justices Should Squash Bid To Criminalize Contract Breaches

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    In Kousisis v. U.S., the U.S. Supreme Court should reject the sweeping legal theory that breaches of contract can satisfy the property element of the mail and wire fraud statutes, which, if validated, would criminalize an array of ordinary conduct and violate basic constitutional principles, say attorneys at The Norton Law Firm.

  • 'Reverse Redlining' Suit Reveals Language Risks For Lenders

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    The Justice Department's case against consumer finance provider Colony Ridge highlights the government's focus on lending to consumers with limited English proficiency and the risks of generating marketing materials in other languages while conducting actual transactions in English, say attorneys at Goodwin.

  • Trump Patent Policy May Be Headed In Unexpected Direction

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    While commentators have assumed that the patent policy of President-elect Donald Trump's second administration will largely mirror the pro-patent policy of his first, these predictions fail to take into account the likely oversized influence of Elon Musk, says Jorge Contreras at the University of Utah.

  • NLRB One-Two Punch Curbs Employer Anti-Organizing Tools

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    The National Labor Relations Board’s recent decisions in Siren Retail and Amazon, limiting employer speech about the impact of unionization and outlawing captive audience meetings, severely curtail employers' arsenal of tools to combat an organizing campaign — though this may soon change under a new administration, say attorneys at Benesch.

  • Mitigating Defamation Liability Risks Of AI-Generated Content

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    Until Congress and the courts provide clear guidance about defamation liability stemming from generative artificial intelligence tools, companies should begin building controls to prevent the creation of defamatory content, says Michael Gerrity at Accenture.

  • Key Requirements In New Maryland Pay Transparency Laws

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    Although several jurisdictions now require pay transparency in job advertisements, Maryland's new law is among the broadest in the country, both in terms of what is required and the scope of its applicability, says Sarah Belger at Quarles & Brady.

  • What Trump's Next Term May Mean For Biz Immigration

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    Leonard D'Arrigo at Harris Beach discusses the employment-based immigration policies businesses can potentially expect during President-elect Donald Trump’s second term, based on policies enacted during his first administration, statements made during his campaign and proposals in Project 2025.

  • Takeaways From Final Regulations For China Investment Ban

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    ​The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s final rule banning U.S. investment in emerging Chinese technology clarifies some key requirements, includes additional exceptions for covered transactions and attempts to address concerns that the rule will put U.S. businesses at a competitive disadvantage, say attorneys at Simpson Thacher.

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