Public Policy

  • March 10, 2025

    OCC Nixes Supervisory Hurdle For Banks' Crypto Biz

    The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency has told banks that they no longer need to obtain a nonobjection from the regulator to push forward with crypto plans, reaffirming interpretations issued under the first Trump administration and rescinding a Biden-era supervisory requirement for crypto activities.

  • March 10, 2025

    Medtronic Compliance Officer's Journey To State Senate Seat

    A Medtronic compliance officer is taking on a role making different kinds of policies at the Minnesota State Capitol, following his successful bid for a state senate seat in late January. He told Law360 his compliance background is a natural fit for his new role in the public sector.

  • March 10, 2025

    EPA Climate Grantee Sues Citibank, Agency Over Frozen Cash

    A climate-change-focused nonprofit is accusing Citibank NA and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in D.C. federal court of breaching a contract to deliver billions of dollars in grant funding that's been frozen by the Trump administration.

  • March 10, 2025

    Colo. Justices To Review Insurers' Noncooperation Defense

    The Colorado Supreme Court will consider whether a pair of insurance companies can defeat a man's bad-faith lawsuit by arguing his failure to turn over medical information about a surgery before his auto accident breached a contractual duty, according to an order Monday granting two petitions for review.

  • March 10, 2025

    Advocacy Orgs. Slam FCC's '60 Minutes' Probe As Unfounded

    The FCC "has denied requests alleging much worse" than CBS' choice to edit down then-Vice President Kamala Harris' "60 Minutes" interview, says an advocacy group that is asking the agency to kill its probe into whether the network committed "news distortion."

  • March 10, 2025

    Ski Resort Buy Deemed Illegal In Precedential NY AG Win

    New York's attorney general celebrated a precedent-setting antitrust win Monday, faulting a ski mountain operator for buying a rival just to shut it down.

  • March 10, 2025

    USCIS To Allow Grace Period For Immigration Form Changes

    U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services said it will provide a grace period before newly revised forms with only male and female gender options go into effect, a day after immigration lawyers filed a lawsuit challenging the abrupt policy change.

  • March 10, 2025

    Patent Office Solicitor Moves To PTAB Vice Chief Judge Role

    Farheena Y. Rasheed, who had been the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's solicitor since June, has moved to a new role as a Patent Trial and Appeal Board acting vice chief judge, to assist the board as it deals with several vacancies, the office said Monday.

  • March 10, 2025

    Border Agent Admits To Making Migrants Expose Themselves

    A U.S. Customs and Border Protection agent has pled guilty in New York federal court to forcing women to expose their breasts to him during processing as they attempted to enter the country.

  • March 10, 2025

    Tariff Shifts Creating Compliance Chaos For Energy Cos.

    The unpredictability of President Donald Trump's tariff maneuvers is challenging energy companies' ability to comply with fluctuating mandates and making tariff violations more likely.

  • March 10, 2025

    Paxton Says Ex-Aides Want Excessive Whistleblower Atty Fees

    The Texas attorney general's office and four of Ken Paxton's former deputies took jabs at each other over whether a court should hear more evidence in their long-running whistleblower suit, with the office alleging the aides have sought attorney fees outside the scope of the case while the ex-employees say the office "misses the point."

  • March 10, 2025

    FCC Allows Higher Power Level For SpaceX Mobile Coverage

    The Federal Communications Commission relaxed technical limits on SpaceX's new satellite-based backup for T-Mobile service, as long as it controls possible harmful signal interference to other network users.

  • March 10, 2025

    DOJ Wants In On Invisalign Monopoly Arguments At 9th Circ.

    The U.S. Department of Justice wants to be there when orthodontists and consumers who purchased clear teeth aligners face off with the company behind Invisalign at the Ninth Circuit next month, so it can tell the appellate judges where the lower court went wrong in killing their monopoly suits.

  • March 10, 2025

    Wash. AG Says Sheriff Is Illegally Aiding Feds On Immigration

    Washington's attorney general has accused the sheriff of a rural county of violating a state law that restricts local police agencies from assisting in the enforcement of federal immigration law, saying the sheriff is bolstering President Donald Trump's deportation policies after initially signaling his office would work to comply with state law.

  • March 10, 2025

    Ontario Slaps Electricity Export Surcharge On NY, Mich., Minn.

    New York, Michigan and Minnesota residents receiving electricity from Ontario could face cost increases as a new 25% export surcharge is applied in response to President Donald Trump's 25% tariffs, the province's government announced Monday.

  • March 10, 2025

    Michigan Told To Take A Stance On Clinic's Gender Policies

    A federal judge said Monday that Michigan can't stay mum on whether a religious medical clinic's pronoun, gender transition and faith-based hiring policies violate state law, as the clinic sues to block the law's enforcement.

  • March 10, 2025

    DOT Pulls Biden Enviro Justice Highway Funding Policy

    The U.S. Department of Transportation on Monday rescinded Biden-era memorandums that advised state and local agencies receiving funds from 2021's Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to prioritize highway, road, bridge and other projects that promoted social justice or climate resiliency goals.

  • March 10, 2025

    Judge May Pause Trump Admin's Cuts To Teacher Training

    A Massachusetts federal judge hinted Monday it would be reasonable to order the U.S. Department of Education to temporarily reinstate $250 million in teacher-training grants targeted for cuts by the Trump administration over their ties to diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.

  • March 10, 2025

    Judge Tosses Challenge To Chicago Tenant Law

    An Illinois federal judge dismissed a Chicago apartment building owner's suit over a local ordinance that requires the owners of foreclosed rental properties to pay qualifying tenants with a one-time relocation fee or offer them a new lease.

  • March 10, 2025

    Senate Confirms Trump's Labor Secretary Pick

    The U.S. Senate confirmed President Donald Trump's nominee for labor secretary Monday evening, with support from more than a dozen Democrats and opposition from some members of the nominee's own party.

  • March 10, 2025

    AFL-CIO, Unions Defend Fight Against DOGE Access

    The AFL-CIO and a group of unions sought to keep alive their claims that Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency can't legally access data from the U.S. Department of Labor and other federal agencies, telling a D.C. federal judge they have standing to file their suit.

  • March 10, 2025

    DOJ Defends Musk's Influence Against States' Challenge

    The U.S. Department of Justice is defending Elon Musk's influence in the federal government against a constitutional challenge brought by 14 states, telling D.C. federal court that the "special government employee" does not occupy an official office that would be subject to the Constitution's appointments clause.

  • March 10, 2025

    GOP Sens. Escalate Fight With ABA Over 'Leftist' Statements

    A group of Senate Republicans are once again going after the American Bar Association, which they claim has become a "leftist" organization, and announced Monday they will disregard ABA ratings on judicial nominees and encouraged the Trump administration and their colleagues to do the same.

  • March 10, 2025

    Ga. Judge Rejects 'Futile' Bid To Amend Utility Commish Suit

    A Georgia federal judge has refused to revive a lawsuit that challenged the legality of how the state elects members of its utility commission, calling residents' bid to amend the suit — after an initial win was nixed by the Eleventh Circuit — "unduly delayed, inherently prejudicial, and futile."

  • March 10, 2025

    Trump Asks For Stay Of NLRB Member's Reinstatement

    The Trump administration asked the D.C. Circuit on Monday to stay a federal judge's order reinstating fired National Labor Relations Board member Gwynne Wilcox, saying the order steps on the president's authority to control the workings of the executive branch.

Expert Analysis

  • How Criminal Enforcement Of Trump Tariffs May Work

    Author Photo

    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

    Author Photo

    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

    Author Photo

    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

    Author Photo

    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

    Author Photo

    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.

    Author Photo

    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

    Author Photo

    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

    Author Photo

    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

    Author Photo

    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

    Author Photo

    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

    Author Photo

    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.

  • Opinion

    Congress Must Consider Accurate Data About Patent Thickets

    Author Photo

    If Congress revisits a controversial bill this year aimed at limiting the number of patents pharmaceutical manufacturers could assert, it must make sure to act based on accurate reports — such as a recent U.S. Patent and Trademark Office study that found no evidence of patent thicketing, says David Kappos at the Council for Innovation Promotion.

  • Aviation Watch: Litigation Liabilities After DC Air Tragedy

    Author Photo

    While it will likely take at least a year before the National Transportation Safety Board determines a probable cause for the Jan. 29 collision between a helicopter and a jet over Washington, D.C., the facts so far suggest the government could face litigation claims, says Alan Hoffman, a retired attorney and aviation expert.

  • 5 Key Takeaways From Energy Secretary's Confirmation

    Author Photo

    The recent confirmation hearing for U.S. Department of Energy Secretary Chris Wright highlighted several important themes, including his vision for transforming the DOE, his nuanced stance on renewables, and a renewed emphasis on energy abundance and affordability, says Connor McCulloch at Ankura Consulting Group.

  • What Day 1 Bondi Memos Mean For Corporate Compliance

    Author Photo

    After Attorney General Pam Bondi’s flurry of memos last week declaring new enforcement priorities on issues ranging from foreign bribery to diversity initiatives, companies must base their compliance programs on an understanding of their own core values and principles, says Hui Chen at CDE Advisors.

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!