Public Policy

  • June 25, 2024

    Split DC Circ. Backs Bush-Era Mining Deregulation

    A divided D.C. Circuit panel on Tuesday upheld a Bush-era mining regulation that removed limits on how much land near a mining site can be used for secondary operations like waste disposal, ruling against environmental groups that accused regulators of illegally walking back a more restrictive interpretation of federal mining law.

  • June 25, 2024

    Flint Judge Wants To Keep City 'Motivated' To Fix Lead Pipes

    A Michigan federal judge on Tuesday all but approved a proposal from the state to step in and help the city of Flint finish replacing lead water service lines and restoring properties for residents, noting the city's repeated failures to meet its obligations under a 7-year-old settlement agreement.

  • June 25, 2024

    After Rahimi Win, Feds Set Sights On Felon Gun Ban

    In a bid to capitalize on last week's U.S. Supreme Court ruling upholding a federal law that prohibits domestic abusers from possessing firearms, the U.S. solicitor general has called on the justices to next tackle a slew of constitutional challenges to the separate, sweeping ban on people convicted of felonies owning guns.

  • June 25, 2024

    Ga. County Wants Battery Fire Suit Sent Back To State Court

    A Georgia county that sued an electric vehicle battery manufacturer for allegedly dumping hundreds of batteries that led to a massive fire at a local recycling plant asked a federal judge Monday to send the case back to state court.

  • June 25, 2024

    Judge Says Sales Discount Doesn't Justify Redoing Steel Duty

    The U.S. Court of International Trade refused to force the U.S. Department of Commerce to raise antidumping duties on Australian hot-rolled steel to account for a discount that an Australian producer offered its importer, saying the importer paid the duty when it took the steel from the producer.

  • June 25, 2024

    No Need To Ship Net Neutrality Appeals To DC, 6th Circ. Told

    The Sixth Circuit should stand up to the "concerted effort" to push administrative law matters out of other appellate courts and into the D.C. Circuit by refusing to transfer a bundled set of challenges to the FCC's new net neutrality rules, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce has said.

  • June 25, 2024

    Indiana U Settles Ricin-Carrying Fruit Fly Export Violations

    Indiana University has escaped fines, but it must instead educate the broader academic community at large on export controls under a settlement with the U.S. Department of Commerce after the institution sent unlicensed shipments overseas, of fruit flies carrying a subunit of ricin.

  • June 25, 2024

    FCC Says Anti-Redlining Rule 'Dutifully' Carries Out Law

    The Federal Communications Commission has urged the Eighth Circuit to toss multiple industry challenges to its rules against discrimination in broadband deployment, saying its use of a wide-reaching standard for prohibited bias fits the law's requirements.

  • June 25, 2024

    Dems Seek 'Honest Evaluation' Of New ICBM Program

    Thirteen Democrats, including the co-chairs of the Congressional Nuclear Weapons and Arms Control Working Group, are calling for an "honest evaluation" of the U.S. Air Force's new intercontinental ballistic missile program due to cost overruns.

  • June 25, 2024

    $3M Broker Commission Deal Stayed To Await NAR Settlement

    A Massachusetts federal court will not consider a $3 million settlement reached between home sellers and a multiple listing service over broker commission rules until after a decision on a much larger settlement in the separate sprawling case against the National Association of Realtors.

  • June 25, 2024

    NC Development Bill Violates UN Declaration, Tribe Says

    A North Carolina tribe is fighting state legislation that it says does not assure protections over one of the most significant archaeological Native American discoveries in recent years, arguing its language violates international law and centuries-old treaties.

  • June 25, 2024

    Russian Ferrosilicon Gets Preliminary Duties Topping 748%

    The U.S. Department of Commerce handed down preliminary duties of 283.27% and 748.58% in its anti-dumping and countervailing duty investigations, respectively, into Russian producers of ferrosilicon, a key input in steelmaking.

  • June 25, 2024

    Ariz. Lawmakers Say State Has No Interest In Monument Fight

    The Arizona State Legislature says Gov. Katie Hobbs and Attorney General Kris Mayes can't show that they have an interest in lawsuits against President Joe Biden's proclamation designating an Indigenous site in the Grand Canyon region a national monument and they shouldn't be allowed to intervene in the litigation.

  • June 25, 2024

    Medical Marijuana Bill Sent To NC House After Senate Sign-Off

    The North Carolina Senate has approved a bill that would legalize medical marijuana statewide as part of larger legislation boosting hemp regulations and outlawing the use of three other drugs in the Tar Heel state.

  • June 25, 2024

    Texas' Challenge To Biden Admin. Asylum Rule Survives

    A Texas federal judge ruled Tuesday that he got it right when he declined the federal government's attempt to end the state's suit challenging a Biden administration rule that broadens immigration officers' power over the asylum system, saying Texas did enough to withstand a motion to dismiss.

  • June 25, 2024

    Trump Atty Argues Feds Lied To Get Mar-A-Lago Warrant

    An attorney representing Donald Trump in his criminal case over retaining classified documents after leaving the White House urged a Florida federal judge Tuesday to toss evidence seized during the raid on Mar-a-Lago, arguing the government put false information on the warrant application to search the former president's estate.

  • June 25, 2024

    DC Council OKs Tax Hikes On High-End Property, Payroll

    Washington, D.C., would impose a special tax rate on high-end residential properties, boost the premium for the district's paid leave program and make other tax and spending changes under legislation passed Tuesday by the district council.

  • June 25, 2024

    Pot Cos. Push Back On Calif. City's Bid To Toss $5.4M Fee Suit

    Six cannabis companies are fighting the California city of Cudahy's bid to dismiss a suit alleging that the city reneged on a promise to waive $5.4 million in fees accrued during the COVID-19 shutdowns, saying the motion largely disputes allegations that the court has to accept as true under a motion to dismiss.

  • June 25, 2024

    Fintech Exec Gets 3 Yrs In Crypto Market Manipulation Plot

    The former head of financial engineering at fintech company Hydrogen Technology Corp. was sentenced Tuesday to nearly three years in prison for conspiring to manipulate the market for Hydrogen's digital assets.

  • June 25, 2024

    Drilling Permit Challenge Should Stay Dead, DOI Tells DC Circ.

    The U.S. Department of the Interior told the D.C. Circuit a federal judge correctly ruled environmental groups cannot challenge the federal approval of thousands of drilling permits in New Mexico and Wyoming because they failed to establish any particularized injury.

  • June 25, 2024

    Calif. Pot Co. Accused Of 'Lab Shopping' To Skirt Safety Rules

    A California marijuana cultivator has been accused of selling cannabis products with unacceptable levels of contaminants, getting around state requirements by seeking out laboratories that turned a "blind eye" to its crops' impurities, according to a proposed class action.

  • June 25, 2024

    Gov't Asks Ala. Fed. Court To Stay Gender Care Case

    The Biden administration has asked an Alabama federal court to stay a suit challenging a state law criminalizing gender-affirming care for transgender youth, which has drawn attention because of judge-shopping allegations leveled against plaintiff's counsel, as the U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear a separate but potentially precedential suit.

  • June 25, 2024

    Ex-Trump Atty Seeks Discovery Stay In Dominion Voting Suit

    A former One America News reporter and Trump attorney is urging a D.C. federal judge to grant her a discovery pause in civil defamation litigation brought by Dominion Voting Systems, arguing that responding to requests now could put her defense at risk in a criminal case in Arizona.

  • June 25, 2024

    House GOP Looks To Hold Biden Ghostwriter In Contempt

    The House Judiciary Committee will consider a resolution on Thursday on whether to hold President Biden's ghostwriter Mark Zwonitzer in contempt for refusing to turn over materials related to special counsel Robert Hur's investigation of the president's handling of classified documents.

  • June 25, 2024

    Atlanta City Council To Consider $2M Settlement In Taser Case

    Atlanta's City Council is set to consider a $2 million settlement next week in a case in which two college students allege they were pulled from their car and Tasers used on them by police in 2020 during protests related to the police killing of George Floyd.

Expert Analysis

  • Opinion

    DOJ Messaging App Warnings Undermine Trust In Counsel

    Author Photo

    The U.S. Department of Justice Antitrust Division's increasingly ominous warnings to defense and in-house counsel about the consequences of not preserving ephemeral messaging and messages sent using collaboration tools could erode confidence and cooperation, says Mark Rosman at Proskauer.

  • Using A Children's Book Approach In Firm Marketing Content

    Author Photo

    From “The Giving Tree” to “Where the Wild Things Are,” most children’s books are easy to remember because they use simple words and numbers to tell stories with a human impact — a formula law firms should emulate in their marketing content to stay front of mind for potential clients, says Seema Desai Maglio at The Found Word.

  • A Changing Regulatory Landscape For Weight Loss Drugs

    Author Photo

    As drugs originally approved to treat diabetes become increasingly popular for weight loss purposes, federal and state regulators and payors are increasing their focus on how these drugs are prescribed, and industry participants should pay close attention to rapidly evolving compliance requirements, say attorneys at Goodwin.

  • The State Of Play In DEI And ESG 1 Year After Harvard Ruling

    Author Photo

    Almost a year after the U.S. Supreme Court decided Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard, attorney general scrutiny of environmental, social and governance-related efforts indicates a potential path for corporate diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives to be targeted, say attorneys at Crowell & Moring.

  • Compliance Considerations For New Data Protection Law

    Author Photo

    Sam Castic at Hintze Law discusses how to determine if your organization is covered by the newly enacted Protecting Americans' Data from Foreign Adversaries Act, the scope of the law's restrictions, and how to go about compliance as its June 23 effective date approaches.

  • Proposed Semiconductor Buy Ban May Rattle Supply Chains

    Author Photo

    The Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council's recent proposed rulemaking clarifies plans to ban government purchases of semiconductors from certain Chinese companies, creating uncertainty around how contractors will be able to adjust supply chains that are already burdened and contracted to capacity, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • CFPB Poised To Up The Ante After Supreme Court Victory

    Author Photo

    When the U.S. Supreme Court emphatically ruled last week that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's funding structure did not violate the Constitution, the agency boasted that it was "here to stay," signaling that it is moving full steam ahead with its regulatory, enforcement and supervisory agenda, says Jim Sandy at McGlinchey Stafford.

  • Opinion

    NEPA Final Rule Unlikely To Speed Clean Energy Projects

    Author Photo

    A recent final rule from the White House Council on Environmental Quality purports to streamline federal environmental reviews to accelerate the construction of renewable energy infrastructure — but it also expands consideration of climate change and environmental justice, creating vast new opportunities for litigation and delay, says Thomas Prevas at Saul Ewing.

  • Diving Deep Into Sweeping NY Financing Bill — And Its Pitfalls

    Author Photo

    A New York bill seeking to impose state usury limits onto a broader variety of financing arrangements and apply lender licensing requirements to more diverse entities would present near-insurmountable compliance challenges for lenders and retailers, say Kate Fisher and Tom Quinn at Hudson Cook.

  • Opinion

    USPTO's Proposed Disclaimer Rule Would Harm Inventors

    Author Photo

    The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s recently proposed rule on terminal disclaimers will make the patent system less available to inventors and will unfairly favor defendants in litigation, say Stephen Schreiner at Carmichael IP and Sarah Tsou at Omni Bridgeway.

  • What The FTC Report On AG Collabs Means For Cos.

    Author Photo

    The Federal Trade Commission's April report on working with state attorneys general shows collaboration can increase efficiency and consistency in how statutes are interpreted and enforced, which can minimize the likelihood of requests for inconsistent injunctive relief that can create operational problems for businesses, say attorneys at Kelley Drye.

  • New Crypto Reporting Will Require Rigorous Recordkeeping

    Author Photo

    The release of a form for reporting digital asset transactions is a pivotal moment in the Internal Revenue Service's efforts to track cryptocurrency activities that increases oversight by requiring brokers to report investor sales and exchanges, say Shaina Kamen and Max Angel at Holland & Knight.

  • A Comparison Of FDIC, OCC Proposed Merger Approaches

    Author Photo

    Max Bonici and Connor Webb at Venable take a closer look at the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.'s and Office of the Comptroller of the Currency's respective bank merger proposals and highlight certain common themes and important differences, in light of regulators continually rethinking their approaches to bank mergers.

  • Series

    Being An EMT Makes Me A Better Lawyer

    Author Photo

    While some of my experiences as an emergency medical technician have been unusually painful and searing, the skills I’ve learned — such as triage, empathy and preparedness — are just as useful in my work as a restructuring lawyer, says Marshall Huebner at Davis Polk.

  • Behind Court Challenges To The FTC's Final Noncompete Rule

    Author Photo

    The Federal Trade Commission's recent final rule banning noncompetes may not go into effect any time soon amid a couple of Texas federal court challenges seeking to bar the rule's implementation, which will likely see appeals all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, says Michael Elkins at MLE Law.

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!