Public Policy

  • October 23, 2024

    Judges Hint Settlement May Have Waived Atty's Free Speech

    Attorney Timothy Brignole and his Hartford law firm, Brignole Bush & Lewis LLC, may have surrendered free speech rights when they signed a nondisparagement agreement with a former employee, stripping them of the ability to claim First Amendment protection over comments attributed to them in a lawsuit, judges of the Connecticut Appellate Court hinted Wednesday.

  • October 23, 2024

    No More Coverage For Paper Co.'s Pollution Claim, Panel Says

    A WestRock Co. subsidiary that owned a Montana paper mill later identified as a Superfund site isn't entitled to additional coverage from its AIG insurer, an Illinois state appeals court ruled, saying two pollution conditions on the property were related and subject to a single $5 million limit of liability.

  • October 23, 2024

    NM Pot Cos. Say Border Agents Wrongfully Seized Product

    A group of state-licensed New Mexico cannabis companies allege in a new lawsuit that federal agents have been unlawfully seizing inventory and cash in contravention of a long-held U.S. policy of not interfering with state-regulated marijuana entities.

  • October 23, 2024

    3 Things To Know About Proposed OTC Contraception Regs

    The Biden administration's proposal to require private health insurers to pick up the cost of over-the-counter contraception could increase access for an estimated 52 million women. Here are three things to know about the newly proposed regulations.

  • October 23, 2024

    Conn. Dispensary Can't Fight $500K Fee, State Agency Says

    Connecticut's consumer protection agency is urging a superior court to trash a suit accusing state officials of causing a marijuana dispensary to miss a deadline and costing it half a million dollars, arguing that the state law doesn't give the court the authority to second-guess the state-issued bill.

  • October 23, 2024

    1st Circ. Sets Oral Arguments In Boies' Cannabis Suit For Dec. 5

    The First Circuit has scheduled oral arguments in an appeal by a group of cannabis businesses, represented by litigator David Boies, challenging the federal prohibition on marijuana.

  • October 23, 2024

    Dems Urge DHS To Clear Immigrant Work Permit Backlog

    Democratic lawmakers on Tuesday pushed the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to eliminate a growing backlog of immigrant work permit applications by the end of President Joe Biden's term, saying DHS should "surge" resources and streamline the application process.

  • October 23, 2024

    DOJ Bolsters Defense In Pork Price-Fixing Case, Cos. Say

    Hormel, Tyson, JBS and other pork producers told a Minnesota federal court that a Justice Department intervention into a private price-fixing litigation actually backs their defense, even though the government took no position on the merits of the case.

  • October 23, 2024

    Dallas Judge Denies Nightclub's TRO, Citing 'Gamesmanship'

    An attorney who owns a Dallas nightclub shouldn't have waited until 6 a.m. Wednesday to alert the city attorney's office about a hearing in the club's effort to stall the city council's vote on zoning approval, a state judge said during the hearing, calling it "gamesmanship."

  • October 23, 2024

    Juvenile Court Judge, Atty Picked For Mass. Appeals Court

    A longtime Juvenile Court justice and a veteran criminal defense attorney are Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey's latest picks for the state's intermediate-level appellate court, her office announced Wednesday.

  • October 23, 2024

    NJ City Permitted Bigger Project To End Suit, Opponent Says

    A property owner's nonprofit has brought a new lawsuit claiming that the city of Hoboken, New Jersey, gave a developer more than $50 million in project benefits in a settlement that could nearly double the scope of a pair of mixed-use developments along the scenic Palisades cliffs.

  • October 23, 2024

    NYC Lawmakers Propose Giving Workers Sick Time For Pets

    Two New York City Council members introduced a bill Wednesday that would let workers use sick leave to care for pets and service animals, a novel move that one lawmaker said is meant to promote the health benefits of animal ownership.

  • October 23, 2024

    ICE, Nonprofits End FOIA Row Over Alleged Sterilization Docs

    Three nonprofits dismissed their Freedom of Information Act lawsuit against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement seeking records related to unnecessary and "nonconsensual" gynecological procedures performed on immigrant detainees at an ICE detention center in Georgia, according to a notice filed Wednesday in D.C. federal court.

  • October 23, 2024

    Telecom Group Sues To Cancel FTC's 'Click To Cancel' Rule

    A major cable and internet industry group and others sued the Federal Trade Commission Wednesday over its new "click to cancel" rule, asking the Fifth Circuit to vacate the regulation one week after it was adopted in a 3-2 commission vote.

  • October 23, 2024

    Southwest Union Wants 2nd Look At Colo. Sick Leave Deal

    A Transport Workers Union affiliate urged a Colorado court to rethink its recent decision dismissing the union's claims against the state challenging a settlement with Southwest Airlines over a sick leave law, arguing the judge wrongly analyzed the statute's exemption for workers covered by a labor contract.

  • October 23, 2024

    Colo. Justices Leery of Tossing Fraudster's Sentence

    Colorado Supreme Court justices appeared doubtful Wednesday that a convicted fraudster could avoid his sentence of 20 years probation after he served four years in prison, suggesting that while there was practically little difference from a previous sentence they threw out, it no longer violated state law.

  • October 23, 2024

    FCC To Probe Broadband, Cable And Phone Customer Service

    The Federal Communications Commission is looking to find out how well the broadband, video distribution and phone industries are doing when it comes to customer service.

  • October 23, 2024

    Religion Law Can't Save Sacred Worship Site, High Court Told

    A law designed to protect religious freedom can't help an Apache nonprofit's bid to save a sacred worship site in Arizona from destruction, the federal government said, arguing that the tribe is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to nullify a congressional statute crafted to allow federal third-party land transfers.

  • October 23, 2024

    Navarro Seeks Justices' Review Of Presidential Records Ruling

    Former Trump administration adviser Peter Navarro has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to review a circuit court's ruling that the federal government can use the Presidential Records Act to force Navarro to hand over emails from his tenure at the White House.

  • October 23, 2024

    NC Justices Scrutinize Scope Of Liability Shield In COVID Law

    An attorney for a doctor accused of medical malpractice faced sharp questioning Wednesday as North Carolina justices pushed him to define how much protection from liability was granted by an emergency law enacted to safeguard the state's healthcare providers during the COVID-19 pandemic.

  • October 23, 2024

    High Court Won't Pause Google's Subpoena Of State Agency

    The U.S. Supreme Court refused Wednesday to block Google's request for documents in a case accusing the tech giant of monopolizing key digital ad technology as a South Carolina agency challenges an order forcing it to comply with the subpoena.

  • October 23, 2024

    Russian Asylum Seeker Says ICE Is Unlawfully Detaining Her

    A disabled Russian asylum seeker hauled U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement into Louisiana federal court, alleging the agency repeatedly refused to release her based on a cursory conclusion that she was a flight risk despite barely being able to walk.

  • October 23, 2024

    GOP Says Dems Using FEC Suit To Silence Republicans

    The National Republican Senatorial Committee is seeking to intervene as a defendant in a lawsuit brought by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee against the Federal Election Commission that argues the agency should have stopped the Republicans from using a tactic that allegedly lets them bypass spending limits on advertising.

  • October 23, 2024

    Texas Sues Biden Admin. To Get Voter Citizenship Status Data

    Texas is hauling the U.S. Department of Homeland Security into court again, this time over allegations that the agency has refused to turn over information pertaining to the citizenship status of registered voters in the Lone Star State.

  • October 23, 2024

    Colo. Man Admits To Threatening Judge, Election Officials

    A Southern Colorado man pled guilty on Wednesday to making online threats against election officials, a state judge and federal law enforcement agents, acknowledging at a hearing that his social media posts, including one threatening to shoot the state judge, were motivated by "pure hate and anger."

Expert Analysis

  • Opinion

    CFPB's AI Stance Backslides On Innovation Issues

    Author Photo

    The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's recent response to a Treasury Department's request for information about artificial intelligence in the financial services sector uses alarmist rhetoric about the technology's risks, ceding an opportunity to help shape this important discussion, says Mike Silver at Husch Blackwell.

  • Strategies To Defend Against Healthcare Nuclear Verdicts

    Author Photo

    The healthcare industry is increasingly the target of megaclaims, particularly those alleging medical malpractice, but attorneys representing providers can use a few tools to push back on flimsy litigation and reduce the likelihood of a nuclear verdict, says LaMar Jost at Wheeler Trigg.

  • 5 Tips To Succeed In A Master Of Laws Program And Beyond

    Author Photo

    As lawyers and recent law school graduates begin their Master of Laws coursework across the country, they should keep a few pointers in mind to get the most out of their programs and kick-start successful careers in their practice areas, says Kelley Miller at Reed Smith.

  • Opinion

    Portland's Gross Receipts Tax Oversteps City's Authority

    Author Photo

    Recent measures by Portland, Oregon, that expand the voter-approved scope of the Clean Energy Surcharge on certain retail sales eviscerate the common meaning of the word "retail" and exceed the city's chartered authority to levy tax, say Nikki Dobay at Greenberg Traurig and Jeff Newgard at Peak Policy.

  • Series

    After Chevron: SEC Climate And ESG Rules Likely Doomed

    Author Photo

    Under the U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision in Loper Bright, without agency deference, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's climate disclosure and environmental, social and governance rules would likely be found lacking in statutory support and vacated by the courts, says Justin Chretien at Carlton Fields.

  • NYC Wage Info Bill Highlights Rise In Pay Transparency Laws

    Author Photo

    With New York City the latest to mull requiring companies to annually report employee wage data, national employers should consider adapting their compliance practices to comply with increasingly common pay transparency and disclosure obligations at state and local levels, says Kelly Cardin at Littler Mendelson.

  • Assessing Whether Jarkesy May Limit FINRA Prosecutions

    Author Photo

    The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision in Jarkesy v. U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, holding that civil securities fraud defendants are entitled to jury trials, may cause unpredictable results when applied to Financial Industry Regulatory Authority prosecutions, say Barry Temkin and Kate DiGeronimo at Mound Cotton.

  • The Bank Preemption Ripple Effects After Cantero, Flagstar

    Author Photo

    The importance of federal preemption for financial institutions will only increase as technology-driven innovations evolve, which is why the U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision in Cantero v. Bank of America and vacatur of Kivett v. Flagstar Bank have real modern-day significance for national banks, say attorneys at WilmerHale.

  • Examining Patent Subject Matter Eligibility Of AI Inventions

    Author Photo

    In light of U.S. Patent and Trademark Office data showing that patent applications for artificial intelligence inventions are likelier to get rejected based on patent-ineligible subject matter, inventors seeking protection should be aware of the difficulties and challenges pertaining to patent eligibility, say Georgios Effraimidis at NERA and Joel Lehrer at Goodwin.

  • Series

    Being An Opera Singer Made Me A Better Lawyer

    Author Photo

    My journey from the stage to the courtroom has shown that the skills I honed as an opera singer – punctuality, memorization, creativity and more – have all played a vital role in my success as an attorney, says Gerard D'Emilio at GableGotwals.

  • What Cos. Need to Know About Battery Labeling Law

    Author Photo

    With new labeling requirements for button cell battery packaging taking effect in September, manufacturers and importers must review compliance, testing procedures, and necessary paperwork as the consequences of noncompliance can lead to costly penalties and supply chain woes, says Aasheesh Shravah at CM Law.

  • What Drug Cos. Must Know About NY Price Transparency Law

    Author Photo

    Drug manufacturers must understand the contours of New York's recently implemented law requiring self-reporting of drug price increases, as well as best practices for compliance and challenges against similar laws in other states, say Elizabeth Bierut and Angie Garcia at Friedman Kaplan.

  • Navigating The Uncertain Landscape Of Solar Tariffs

    Author Photo

    Solar cell and module manufacturers, exporters and importers must navigate an uncertain compliance landscape, given ongoing challenges to U.S. Department of Commerce antidumping and countervailing duty determinations, which have been mounted both by U.S. and non-U.S. manufacturers, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • Amid SEC Rule Limbo, US Cos. Subject To ESG Regs In EU

    Author Photo

    Though the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is facing legal challenges to its climate-disclosure rulemaking, the implementation of the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive in the European Union will force U.S. companies to comply with exactly the kinds of ESG disclosures that are not yet mandated in the U.S., say attorneys at Squire Patton.

  • Pros, Cons Of Disclosing Improper Employee Retention Credit

    Author Photo

    Employers considering the Internal Revenue Service’s second voluntary disclosure program, which allows companies to avoid penalties for erroneously claiming employee retention credits for the 2021 tax year by repaying the credits and naming the tax advisers who encouraged these abusive practices, should carefully weigh the program’s benefits against its potential drawbacks, say attorneys at Winston & Strawn.

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!