Public Policy

  • December 20, 2024

    EPA Releases Recommendations For PFAS In Bodies Of Water

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday released draft recommendations for the amounts of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, for bodies of water that, when finalized, can be used by states and tribes.

  • December 20, 2024

    Psychedelics Law Reformers Hit Multiple Setbacks In 2024

    In 2024, advocates, physicians and researchers attempted to broaden lawful access to federally illegal psychedelic drugs through a variety of avenues — the new drug approval process, litigation and a ballot initiative — with the upshot that the law remains largely unchanged and, for the most part, still restricts legal use and possession of these substances.

  • December 20, 2024

    'Dreamers' Urge 8th Circ. To Uphold Health Coverage Rule

    Recipients of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals have urged the Eighth Circuit to pause a district court order halting a Biden administration regulation qualifying them for Affordable Care Act coverage, saying the lower court relied on "strained speculation" to find standing.

  • December 20, 2024

    Utah Judge Pauses Challenge To Corporate Transparency Act

    A Utah federal judge has stayed a case seeking to block the Corporate Transparency Act to see how the new administration of President-elect Donald Trump handles the law after a kindred case in Texas won a preliminary injunction on it.

  • December 20, 2024

    Ky. Man Drops Suit Against Virtual Casino Creators

    A Kentucky resident has dismissed a lawsuit he brought against the producers of online gaming apps he described as "social casinos" that constitute illegal wagering and cause the same problems as real-life gambling.

  • December 20, 2024

    Top Privacy & Cybersecurity Developments Of 2024

    The state data privacy law patchwork continued to add new and varied pieces in 2024, while major hacks shook up the healthcare industry and other critical sectors, and the first U.S. laws setting guardrails for the use of artificial intelligence technologies emerged.

  • December 20, 2024

    Biggest Illinois Decisions Of 2024

    A U.S. Supreme Court decision narrowing the federal bribery statute caused waves in several high-profile Chicago public corruption cases at every litigation stage, almost instantly making a former Indiana mayor's high court win one of the biggest Illinois cases of the year.

  • December 20, 2024

    Biggest Colorado Decisions Of 2024

    The Colorado Supreme Court shocked legal experts in 2024 when it walked back a landmark tenants rights ruling based on a technicality. In another case, three justices called for the elimination of peremptory challenges in order to address racial bias in jury selection. Here's a look at some of the biggest Colorado decisions of the year.

  • December 20, 2024

    Lambda Legal Adds Attorney In NY Focused On Trans Rights

    LGBTQ+ advocacy group Lambda Legal has hired a new senior attorney focused on the organization's work defending the transgender community.

  • 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.

Expert Analysis

  • Tracking The Slow Movement Of AI Copyright Cases

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    The tech community may be expecting a prompt resolution on whether products generated by artificial intelligence are a fair use of copyrighted works, but legal history shows that a response to this question — at the heart of over 30 pending cases — will take years, say attorneys at White & Case.

  • Federal Salary History Ban's Reach Is Limited

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    Though a newly effective Office of Personnel Management rule takes important steps by banning federal employers from considering job applicants' nonfederal salary histories, the rule's narrow applicability and overconfidence in the existing system's fairness will likely not end persistent pay inequities, says Margaret House at Kalijarvi Chuzi.

  • Call For Input Shows How Banks, Fintechs Can Address Risks

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    A recent request for information by federal banking regulators suggests that watchdogs are zeroing in on the bank-fintech partnerships they have long perceived as risky to consumers, but analyzing the publication can help companies anticipate regulators’ chief concerns and take steps to avoid becoming enforcement targets, say attorneys at K&L Gates.

  • How Property Insurance Coverage Shrank After The Pandemic

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    Insurers litigating property claims are leveraging rulings that provided relief in the COVID-19 context to reverse the former majority rule on physical loss or damage in all contexts, say attorneys at Reed Smith.

  • Considering Chevron's End Through A State Tax Lens

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    States took the lead in encouraging Chevron's demise, turning away from Chevron-type deference in state tax administration ahead of the U.S. Supreme Court’s Loper Bright decision, a trend likely to accelerate as courts take a more active role in interpreting tax laws, say attorneys at Eversheds Sutherland.

  • NYC Hotel Licensing Law's Costs May Outweigh Its Benefits

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    A hotel licensing bill recently approved by New York's City Council could lead to the loss of many nonunionized hotels that cannot afford to comply, says Stuart Saft at Holland & Knight.

  • The Unfolding Potential of Green Hydrogen In Brazil

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    A new federal law in Brazil establishing a legal framework for hydrogen development is the country's latest step toward creating a favorable environment for green hydrogen production, but significant challenges — including high production costs, technological hurdles and a lack of infrastructure — remain, says David Andrew Taylor at Almeida Advogados.

  • E-Discovery Quarterly: Recent Rulings On Metadata

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    Several recent rulings reflect the competing considerations that arise when parties dispute the form of production for electronically stored information, underscoring that counsel must carefully consider how to produce and request reasonably usable data, say attorneys at Sidley.

  • How New OCC Priorities Will Affect Bank Compliance

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    With the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency recently releasing a new bank supervision plan for fiscal year 2025, all banks, not only those primarily supervised by the OCC, should consider how compliance with its guidelines creates opportunities and challenges, says Andrew Karp at Cadwalader.

  • SEC Rulemaking Radar: The View From Election Day

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    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission seems poised to tackle many of the remaining items on its most recent Regulatory Flexibility Agenda by early 2025, despite the presidential election and the potential for a new chair to be nominated soon, say attorneys at Goodwin.

  • What FTC's 'Bitcoin ATM' Report Tells Us About Crypto Scams

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    The Federal Trade Commission's recent insights into bitcoin ATM scams highlight the technical evolution of fraudsters, the application of old scams to new technology, and the persistent financial impact on victims, say attorneys at DLA Piper.

  • A Shift In Control Of Congress May Doom These Enviro Regs

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    If the election leads to a change in control of Congress, lawmakers will likely use the lookback provision of the Congressional Review Act to challenge the Biden administration's late-term regulatory efforts — including recent initiatives on air pollutant source classification, lead pipe removal and hydrofluorocarbon emissions, say attorneys at Jones Walker.

  • How The Presidential Election Will Affect Workplace AI Regs

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    The U.S. has so far adopted a light-handed approach to regulating artificial intelligence in the labor and employment area, but the presidential election is unlikely to have as dramatic of an effect on AI regulations as it may on other labor and employment matters, say attorneys at Littler.

  • Election Could Bring Change In Weather For Offshore Wind

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    Under another Trump administration, the offshore wind sector would encounter substantial headwinds, as Trump's policy track record emphasizes fossil fuel dominance and environmental rollbacks, while a Harris victory would likely further entrench the pro-renewable energy stance taken by the Biden administration, say attorneys at Jones Walker.

  • A Look At Grewal's Record-Breaking Legacy After SEC Exit

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    Gurbir Grewal resigned as director of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's Division of Enforcement last month after more than three years on the job, leaving behind a legacy marked by record numbers of penalties and enforcement actions, as well as mixed results in aggressive lawsuits against major crypto players, say attorneys at Debevoise.

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