Public Policy

  • March 10, 2025

    High Court Will Review Colo.'s Conversion Therapy Ban

    The U.S. Supreme Court announced Monday that it will review a challenge to Colorado's ban on licensed therapists providing conversion therapy to transgender minors, in a case that asks whether the state's law is a permissible regulation of professional conduct or an unconstitutional restriction of speech.

  • March 10, 2025

    Colo. Justices To Weigh Attys' Duties When Borrowing Claims

    Colorado justices will consider if and when attorneys can borrow claims from other lawsuits and still satisfy their personal duty to conduct a "reasonable inquiry" under professional rules, according to an order on Monday agreeing to hear a telecommunications company's challenge to a stockholder suit.

  • March 10, 2025

    Denver Strip Clubs Challenge $14M Wage Theft Fines

    The city of Denver engaged in "shocking and unconstitutional government overreach" by conducting unlawful probes into a group of strip clubs' pay practices and ordering them to pay almost $14 million in fines, the entities told a Colorado federal court.

  • March 10, 2025

    Colo. Court Affirms Property Tax Valuation For Partial Build

    A partly built commercial building in Colorado was properly valued by a county board of equalization, as the state doesn't have an exemption for partial builds, a state appeals court ruled.

  • March 10, 2025

    Judge Who Shot Wife Gets Mistrial As Jury Hangs On Murder

    A California judge declared a mistrial Monday in the murder trial of Orange County Superior Court Judge Jeffrey Ferguson, who shot and killed his wife in their Anaheim Hills home in 2023, after jurors said they remained at an impasse over whether he was guilty of second-degree murder.

  • March 10, 2025

    Justices To Weigh If Del. Expert Law Applies In Federal Court

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday agreed to review whether federal courts must apply a Delaware state law requiring an expert affidavit for all medical malpractice complaints.

  • March 10, 2025

    Supreme Court Vacates Ruling On Nazi-Looted Art Dispute

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday vacated a unanimous Ninth Circuit decision holding that a Spanish museum is not obligated to return a painting that was stolen from a Jewish family by the Nazis, months after California changed its law in response to the dispute.

  • March 07, 2025

    As Key Hearing Looms, CFPB Emails Hint At Signs Of Life

    Recent batches of Consumer Financial Protection Bureau internal emails hint at early, fumbling efforts to bring parts of the agency back online, but whether these flickers of life will undercut an employee union's fight to keep the agency intact remains to be seen.

  • March 07, 2025

    Trump DOJ Agrees: Google Must Sell Chrome Browser

    The Department of Justice on Friday reiterated to a D.C. federal judge that Google should have to divest the Chrome browser to give rival search engines a fighting chance against its illegal monopoly, but backed off its previous request that Google sell its investments in artificial intelligence companies.

  • March 07, 2025

    ByteDance Wants Sanctions For Attys After Client's Perjury

    TikTok's parent company ByteDance has urged a California court to sanction Nassiri & Jung LLP attorneys it says "enabled" a former engineer's perjury in a suit alleging he was wrongly fired, arguing that the lawyers should've prevented their client's "abuse of the justice system."

  • March 07, 2025

    Feds Say California Tribes' Casino Challenge Comes Too Late

    The U.S. Department of the Interior and other agencies have asked a D.C. federal judge to deny two tribes' challenge to another tribe's plan to build a casino-hotel complex on 221 acres of trust land, saying their request for a stay is improper and untimely.

  • March 07, 2025

    Trump Sues Capital One Over 'Illegal' De-Banking

    President Donald Trump's company and his son Eric Trump sued Capital One on Friday in a Florida state court, claiming it illegally canceled hundreds of Trump-affiliated accounts in the aftermath of the Jan. 6, 2021, attacks on the U.S. Capitol.

  • March 07, 2025

    Colo. Judge Won't Block DHS 'Protected Area' Policy

    A Colorado federal judge on Friday declined Denver Public Schools' bid to temporarily block Department of Homeland Security guidance on immigration enforcement in "protected areas," ruling at a hearing that an injunction wouldn't actually protect the district and its students from immigration actions.

  • March 07, 2025

    4th Circ. Overturns Remand Of Md., SC PFAS Suits Against 3M

    U.S. district court judges erred when they sent lawsuits Maryland and South Carolina filed against 3M over environmental contamination from consumer products containing forever chemicals back to state courts, a split Fourth Circuit panel ruled Friday.

  • March 07, 2025

    FTC: Outlining World Sans Amazon Price-Floor 'Not Possible'

    The Federal Trade Commission told a Washington federal judge Friday that it can only offer pieces, and not the entire outline, of what an alternative world might look like without Amazon.com's allegedly monopolistic pricing floor created by penalties for sellers offering their goods more cheaply through other retailers.

  • March 07, 2025

    Contractor Can't Bury Medical Marijuana Discrimination Suit

    A Pennsylvania federal judge on Friday denied a Cleveland construction company's bid to escape a prospective employee's suit alleging that the company violated Pennsylvania's medical cannabis law when it rescinded his job offer, saying there are questions of fact about whether he would have been able to do the job.

  • March 07, 2025

    AGs Say Anti-Trans Admin Puts $367M Hospital Grants At Risk

    Attorneys general from Washington and three other states told a federal court that the Trump administration has canceled thousands of dollars in grant funding for gender-affirming care — and threatened to strip up to nearly $370 million more — in violation of court injunctions.

  • March 07, 2025

    Grand Rapids Moves Social Equity Fee Dispute To Fed. Court

    The city of Grand Rapids, Michigan, is looking to push into federal court a state lawsuit filed by cannabis companies looking to upend the fees, fines and residency requirements of the municipality's social equity program, arguing Friday that their claims all touch on federal issues.

  • March 07, 2025

    Hints Of A New High Court Majority Emerge In Trump Cases

    The U.S. Supreme Court's recent rejection of President Donald Trump's bid to keep frozen nearly $2 billion in foreign aid funding gave court watchers a glimpse of a coalition majority that could end up thwarting some of the president's more aggressive and novel attempts to expand executive power.

  • March 07, 2025

    Immigration Lawyers Sue Feds Over Surprise Form Changes

    The American Immigration Lawyers' Association and Benach Collopy LLP sued U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services in D.C. federal court on Friday, saying the agency abruptly revised 10 forms to eliminate gender markers without prior warning.

  • March 07, 2025

    New Bellwethers Score Cert. In Generic Drug Price-Fixing MDL

    The Pennsylvania federal court overseeing sprawling multidistrict litigation springing from claims that pharmaceutical giants worked together to hike the cost of off-brand drugs has certified several sets of classes for the cases for the MDL's latest bellwethers.

  • March 07, 2025

    Trump Admin Pressed to Keep Ariz. Indian Affairs Office Open

    A pair of Arizona Democratic senators are calling on President Donald Trump's administration to allow a Phoenix-based Bureau of Indian Affairs office to remain open, saying it must provide clarity on how the decision to close the location was reached.

  • March 07, 2025

    Google Says Special Master Can't Make Ad Tech Trial Calls

    Google is opposing a bid in Texas federal court from state enforcers accusing the company of monopolizing key digital advertising technology to have a special master make decisions about what evidence will be admitted during trial.

  • March 07, 2025

    GAO Says Congress Can't Undo Calif. Emissions Waivers

    The U.S. Government Accountability Office is weighing in against the Trump administration's effort to team up with Congress to take away California's ability to set its own greenhouse gas emissions standards for vehicles.

  • March 07, 2025

    AGs Back Fight Against End Of Venezuelans' Protected Status

    The attorneys general of 18 states urged a California federal judge on Friday to postpone the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's early termination of deportation protections for more than 500,000 Venezuelans, saying DHS Secretary Kristi Noem gave no sound reason for ending the temporary protections.

Expert Analysis

  • SEC Motion Response Could Reveal New Crypto Approach

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    Cumberland DRW recently filed to dismiss the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s enforcement action against it for the unlawful purchase and sale of digital asset securities, and the agency's response should unveil whether, and to what extent, the Trump administration will relax the federal government’s stance on digital asset regulation, say attorneys at O'Melveny.

  • What Employers Should Know For Next Round Of H-1B Filings

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    With the fiscal year 2026 H-1B visa period opening soon, employers should brush up on the registration and filing procedures, as well as organize applicable data, to ensure they are ready for this dynamic, multistep process, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • What Contractors Can Do To Address Material Cost Increases

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    In light of the Trump administration's plans to increase tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China, construction industry players should proactively employ legal strategies to mitigate the impacts that price increases and uncertainty may have on projects, says Brenda Radmacher at Seyfarth Shaw.

  • 5 Things For Private Employers To Do After Trump's DEI Order

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    Following President Donald Trump's recent executive order pushing the private sector to narrow, and even end, diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, employers should ensure DEI efforts align with their organization's mission and goals, are legally compliant, and are effectively communicated to stakeholders, say attorneys at Mintz.

  • What Calif. Bill Could Mean For Battery Energy Storage

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    A newly proposed bill in the California Legislature would place major restrictions on the development of battery energy storage system projects in the state — but with Gov. Gavin Newsom's strong support for clean energy technology, the legislation will likely face significant obstacles, say attorneys at Sheppard Mullin.

  • 3 Ways Trump Can Nix SEC's Climate Disclosure Rules

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    Given President Donald Trump's campaign statements and agency appointments, it's likely that his administration will try to annul the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's climate disclosure rules, but his options for doing so present unique opportunities and challenges, with varying levels of permanence and impact, say attorneys at DLA Piper.

  • A Compliance Update For Credit Card Reward Partnerships

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    While the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's interest in credit card rewards programs could fade under the new administration, a recent circular focusing on both issuers and their merchant partners means that co-brand credit card partnerships with banks could be subject to increased scrutiny ahead, say attorneys at Goodwin.

  • Will 4th Time Be A Charm For NY's 21st Century Antitrust Act?

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    New York's recently introduced 21st Century Antitrust Act would change the landscape of antitrust enforcement in the state and probably result in a sharp increase in claims — but first, the bill needs to gain traction after three aborted attempts, says Tyler Ross at Shinder Cantor.

  • Perspectives

    Accountant-Owned Law Firms Could Blur Ethical Lines

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    KPMG’s recent application to open a legal practice in Arizona represents the first overture by an accounting firm to take advantage of the state’s relaxed law firm ownership rules, but enforcing and supervising the practice of law by nonattorneys could prove particularly challenging, says Seth Laver at Goldberg Segalla.

  • Foreign Trade Zones Can Help Cos. With Tariff Exposure

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    Companies navigating shifts in global trade — like the Trump administration’s newly levied tariffs on Chinese goods — should consider whether the U.S. Department of Commerce's poorly understood foreign trade zone program could help reduce their import costs, says James Grogan at FTI Consulting.

  • How FTC Consumer Protection May Fare Under Reg Freeze

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    Attorneys at Crowell & Moring consider how President Donald Trump's executive order directing agencies to freeze all pending rulemaking activity may frustrate any Federal Trade Commission efforts to change or eliminate rules that made it across the finish line before the inauguration.

  • Critical Steps For Navigating Intensified OFAC Enforcement

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    The largely overlooked SkyGeek settlement from the end of 2024 heralds the arrival of the Office of Foreign Assets Control's long anticipated enhanced enforcement posture and clearly demonstrates the sanctions-compliance benefits of immediately responding to blocked payments, says Jeremy Paner at Hughes Hubbard.

  • Unpacking HHS' Proposal To Amend HIPAA Security Rule

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    While the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' proposal to amend the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act's security rule could face scrutiny under the Trump administration, it reflects a clear concern over health data security and could push entities to implement operational changes, say attorneys at Sheppard Mullin.

  • Expect Scrutiny Of Banks To Persist, Even Under Trump

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    Although the change in administrations brings some measure of uncertainty as to the nature of bank compliance oversight, if regulators in Washington, D.C., attempt to dilute the vigilance of federal superintendence, the states are waiting in the wings to fill the void, say attorneys at Polsinelli.

  • Reg Waiver Eases Calif. Rebuilding, But Proceed With Care

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    California Gov. Gavin Newsom's executive order suspending some environmental review and permitting requirements for the reconstruction of homes and businesses damaged by recent wildfires may streamline rebuilding efforts, but will require careful navigation of the evolving regulatory landscape, says Gregory Berlin at Alston & Bird.

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