Public Policy

  • March 07, 2025

    10th Circ. Urged To Reject Bid To Nix Microcaptive Notice

    The federal government urged the Tenth Circuit to affirm a ruling that rejected a plumbing supply company's request to invalidate an IRS notice that added reporting requirements for certain microcaptive insurance arrangements, saying the lower court correctly found the suit would illegally hinder tax collection.

  • March 07, 2025

    Retrial In Landmark Graft Case Faces Potential Roadblocks

    A retrial in a public corruption case tied to an infrastructure initiative under former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo faces possible obstacles after being returned to a federal judge by the U.S. Supreme Court, with the parties awaiting further legal guidance from the justices and the defense saying the Trump administration's priorities may sink the case.

  • March 06, 2025

    Trump Executive Order Creates 'Strategic Bitcoin Reserve'

    President Donald Trump on Thursday signed an executive order establishing a "Strategic Bitcoin Reserve" that White House crypto czar David Sacks said would hold Bitcoin forfeited in criminal or civil asset forfeiture proceedings.

  • March 06, 2025

    Amid Court Setbacks, Trump Wants Foes To Foot Legal Bills

    With judges hitting the brakes on the White House's aggressive agenda, President Donald Trump on Thursday vowed to up the ante with his legal adversaries by seeking legal costs and damages if his administration ultimately prevails after initial setbacks in litigation.

  • March 06, 2025

    Federal Arts Agency Sued Over 'Gender Ideology' Restrictions

    East Coast theater groups Thursday hauled the National Endowment for the Arts into Rhode Island federal court to challenge a restriction on funding to federal grant applicants who "promote gender ideology," saying the prohibition issued after an executive order from President Donald Trump unconstitutionally placed vague restrictions on artists' speech.

  • March 06, 2025

    MyPillow CEO Found In Contempt For Failing To Give Up Docs

    MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell was found in contempt of court by a Minnesota federal judge on Thursday for failing to produce documents in voting machine company Smartmatic's defamation suit claiming that he lied about its operations during the 2020 presidential election.

  • March 06, 2025

    'Debanking' In Crosshairs Of GOP Bill On Reputational Risk

    Senate Republicans on Thursday unveiled legislation that would bar federal regulators from scrutinizing for "reputational risk" in bank supervision, a measure aimed at curbing the so-called debanking of crypto firms and other politically sensitive customer categories.

  • March 06, 2025

    CBS Calls Trump's $20B Suit 'Affront To The 1st Amendment'

    Paramount Global and CBS Broadcasting urged a Texas federal court on Thursday to toss President Donald Trump's $20 billion lawsuit accusing the network of deceptively doctoring a "60 Minutes" interview with Kamala Harris before last year's election, calling the litigation "an affront to the First Amendment" and arguing it was incorrectly lodged in Texas.

  • March 06, 2025

    Calif. Woman Accuses Fla. Sugar Co. Of Greenwashing

    Florida Crystals Corp. is deceptively advertising sugar products as eco-friendly when it knows that its farming practices are "unnecessarily poisoning people and the planet," a Santa Cruz, California, woman has said in a proposed class action accusing the company of greenwashing.

  • March 06, 2025

    Feds Say 11th Circ. Should Affirm Value Of Ex-Braves' Farm

    Despite dropping a bid for civil fraud penalties this week against two former Atlanta Braves players accused of overvaluing a conservation easement donation, the federal government has told the Eleventh Circuit it still stands by a U.S. Tax Court ruling that the players' valuation of the property was "firmly planted in the realm of fantasy."

  • March 06, 2025

    State AGs Want Fees In Kroger Wash., Ore. Merger Cases

    A total of 10 attorneys general kicked off two separate bids Wednesday for attorney fees in the state and federal court cases in Washington and Oregon that blocked Kroger's $24.6 billion bid to buy Albertsons, arguing in the federal lawsuit that their substantial participation alongside the Federal Trade Commission means they "substantially prevailed."

  • March 06, 2025

    Judge Says He's 'Wrestling' Over Int'l Aid Freeze Injunction

    A D.C. federal judge said Thursday he was still "wrestling" over a requested preliminary injunction that would stop the federal government from terminating foreign assistance grants and contracts en masse, questioning plaintiff organizations on their assertions of standing and the government's claims of "unreviewable" executive power over foreign affairs.

  • March 06, 2025

    9th Circ. Shreds 'Muddled' Argument In Amazon Antitrust Case

    A panel of the Ninth Circuit on Thursday picked apart arguments from consumers in their lawsuit alleging Amazon violated antitrust law through the e-commerce giant's fulfillment services, with the judges saying an amended complaint was "extraordinarily light on any actual evidence" and the arguments appeared "muddled."

  • March 06, 2025

    USPTO's AI Strategy Doc From Biden Era Gets Scrubbed

    The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has seemingly withdrawn its artificial intelligence strategy issued in the last days of the Biden administration, scrubbing from the internet a report that emphasized the safe and responsible development of the technology.

  • March 06, 2025

    Comerica Demands To Face Music In CFPB Suit Amid Stay Bid

    Comerica Bank has urged a Texas federal judge to reject the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's request for a stay of its lawsuit accusing the bank of mismanaging a government benefit card program, arguing the delay lacks "any legal justification" and would harm the bank.

  • March 06, 2025

    Wash. Biz Groups Say Water Regs Rule Likely To Be Repealed

    A group of business associations is fighting a bid by Washington state and a slew of Native American tribes to dismiss the associations' challenge to a decision that established water quality standards for the Evergreen State, saying the rule is set to be repealed under the new federal administration.

  • March 06, 2025

    Insurer's 9th Circ. Procedural Win Highlights Appraisal Rules

    A Ninth Circuit panel affirmed that a property owner could not litigate its insurer's failure to pay for losses before a required appraisal to resolve disagreements, highlighting the importance of appraisal provisions and how they could limit potential policyholder challenges. Here, Law360 speaks to Colin Kemp, an insurance recovery attorney for Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP, about Mount Vernon Specialty Insurance Co.'s procedural victory and its implications for coverage challenges.

  • March 06, 2025

    Dems Tell DOJ Musk May Be Strong-Arming X Advertisers

    Democratic lawmakers led by Sens. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Cory Booker, D-N.J., have warned the U.S. Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission that billionaire Elon Musk might be using his position in the Trump administration to bully companies that advertise on his social media platform, X.

  • March 06, 2025

    Hunter Biden Seeks To Drop Data Hack Suit Over Money Woes

    Hunter Biden on Wednesday requested that a California federal court let him dismiss his lawsuit accusing a former Trump White House aide of hacking his data as part of a campaign targeting the Biden family, saying "significant debt in the millions of dollars range" has left him unable to continue litigation.

  • March 06, 2025

    Top Groups Lobbying The FCC

    The Federal Communications Commission heard from advocates more than 50 times in February about their priorities, including opening valuable airwaves for 5G, clearing hurdles to rural broadband, and pushing T-Mobile's $4.4 billion deal to take over UScellular's wireless operations.

  • March 06, 2025

    Democrats Seek Clampdown On FCC 'Weaponization'

    House and Senate Democrats are going after what they're calling President Donald Trump's "weaponization of the FCC" with a pair of bills that would prevent the agency from revoking the licenses of television or radio stations based on the viewpoints they air.

  • March 06, 2025

    Religious Org. Seeks Protective Order In Ayahuasca Row

    A church seeking a religious exemption to use the federally controlled psychedelic ayahuasca in its ceremonies is urging an Arizona federal judge to protect potentially sensitive internal documents sought by drug enforcers.

  • March 06, 2025

    Tribal Water Rights Bills Advance To US Senate Floor

    A slew of tribal water rights settlement bills are heading to the U.S. Senate for review, and, if approved, they will allow for the completion of multimillion-dollar infrastructure projects, sustainable management and the delivery of drinking water to several Indigenous communities.

  • March 06, 2025

    Colorado Judge Tosses AG's Kroger Merger Claim

    A Colorado state judge in Denver has dismissed the state's challenge to the previously proposed merger between Kroger and Albertsons, saying it became moot when the companies dropped their proposed merger following injunctions in Oregon and Washington federal courts.

  • March 06, 2025

    As FDIC Walks Back Biden-Era Policies, Bank Groups Applaud

    The financial services industry has welcomed the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.'s recent moves withdrawing various rule proposals from the Biden administration, delaying the compliance deadline for another measure and proposing to rescind a policy statement on bank mergers. 

Expert Analysis

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

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    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

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    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

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    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

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    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.

  • How Criminal Enforcement Of Trump Tariffs May Work

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    While tariff enforcement has traditionally been handled as a civil matter, tariffs are central to President Donald Trump's broader economic, immigration and national security agendas — making it likely that the U.S. Department of Justice will be tasked with criminal enforcement of tariff evasion, say attorneys at BakerHostetler.

  • Takeaways From CFTC's Private Fund Rule Amendments

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    The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission's recently adopted amendments to Rule 4.7 of the Commodity Exchange Act ensure that investors in the complex derivatives markets receive relevant and comprehensive information, and further align suitability criteria for investors in private funds, says Rita Molesworth at Willkie.

  • National Bank Act Rulings Facilitate More Preemption Analysis

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    Two recent National Bank Act preemption decisions from an Illinois federal court and the Ninth Circuit provide the first applications of the U.S. Supreme Court’s May ruling in Cantero v. Bank of America, opening the potential for several circuit courts to address the issue this year, say attorneys at Moore & Van Allen.

  • Series

    Collecting Rare Books Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    My collection of rare books includes several written or owned by prominent lawyers from early U.S. history, and immersing myself in their stories helps me feel a deeper connection to my legal practice and its purpose, says Douglas Brown at Manatt Health.

  • Emphasize Social Spaces During RE Project Public Review

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    As Boston continues to work through revisions to its public review process for real estate projects, developers attempting to balance impact mitigation and community improvements may benefit from emphasizing the ways in which development plans can facilitate open social exchange, says David Linhart at Goulston & Storrs.

  • What NHTSA's Autonomous Vehicle Proposal Means For Cos.

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    The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's recently proposed framework for review and oversight of vehicles equipped with automated driving systems offers companies a more flexible, streamlined approach to regulatory approvals for AVs, including new exemption pathways, assessments by independent experts and other innovations, say attorneys at Covington.

  • Preparing For Stricter Anti-Boycott Enforcement Under Trump

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    Given the complexity of U.S. anti-boycott regulations and the likelihood of stepped-up enforcement under the new administration, companies should consider adopting risk-based anti-boycott compliance programs that include training employees to recognize and assess potential boycott requests, and to report them expeditiously when necessary, say attorneys at Debevoise.

  • Opinion

    New DOJ Leaders Should Curb Ill-Conceived Prosecutions

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    First-of-their-kind cases have seemingly led to a string of overly aggressive prosecutions in recent years, so newly sworn-in leaders of the U.S. Department of Justice should consider creating reporting channels to stop unwise prosecutions before they snowball, says Jonathan Porter at Husch Blackwell.

  • Tips For Pharma-Biotech Overlap Reporting In New HSR Form

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    While there’s no secret recipe for reporting overlaps to the Federal Trade Commission in the new Hart-Scott-Rodino Act form, there are several layers of considerations for all pharma-biotech companies and counsel to reflect on internally before reporting on any deal, say attorneys at A&O Shearman.

  • Opinion

    Judge Should Not Have Been Reprimanded For Alito Essay

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    Senior U.S. District Judge Michael Ponsor's New York Times essay critiquing Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito for potential ethical violations absolutely cannot be construed as conduct prejudicial to the administration of the business of the courts, says Ashley London at the Thomas R. Kline School of Law of Duquesne University.

  • A Look At Drug Price Negotiation Program's Ongoing Impact

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    More than two years after the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act and the rapid implementation of the drug price negotiation program, attorneys at Ropes & Gray discuss how the IRA has influenced licensing strategies, and how maximum fair prices under the law have economically affected certain drugs.

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