Public Policy

  • 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    The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has seemingly withdrawn its artificial intelligence strategy issued in the last days of the Biden administration, scrubbing from the internet a report that emphasized the safe and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 Biz Groups Say Water Regs Rule Likely To Be Repealed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challenge to a decision that established water quality standards for the Evergreen State, saying the rule is set to be repealed under the new federal administration.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. 

  • March 06, 2025

    FCC Wants To Change 911 Vertical Location Accuracy Rules

    The Federal Communications Commission wants to strengthen its vertical accuracy requirements when it comes to 911 location accuracy, a move that the agency's new head says will make it easier for first responders to know exactly what floor a call is coming from.

  • March 06, 2025

    9th Circ. Nixes Challenge To Wash. Abortion Coverage Law

    A split Ninth Circuit panel on Thursday rejected a Christian church's challenge to a Washington state law requiring employer health plans to cover abortion services, saying the church could invoke its religious beliefs to skirt the challenged obligations.

  • March 06, 2025

    Wyoming Creates Partial Property Tax Break For Homeowners

    Wyoming established a tax exemption for a portion of homeowners' properties under a bill signed by the governor.

  • March 06, 2025

    Kroenke Seeks Denver Special District For Ball Arena Plan

    Billionaire Stan Kroenke has filed petitions in state court to establish a special district as part of a plan to develop 64 acres of parking lots near Denver's Ball Arena into a $685 million development that would aim to build a new downtown neighborhood through 2050.

  • March 06, 2025

    Senate Dems Press Citibank To Thaw Frozen EPA Grant Funds

    A group of Democratic U.S. senators on Thursday urged Citibank to immediately release federal funding that's been frozen as the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency investigates how a climate change grant program was run.

  • March 06, 2025

    Mich. Supreme Court Preview: Sex Offender Tracking, Rentals

    The Michigan Supreme Court is gearing up to hear arguments next week on the constitutionality of making sex offenders wear location-tracking devices for life, whether short-term vacation rentals fit into the definition of residential use of a property and whether political parties have standing to sue when a community's election workers are overwhelmingly from the same political party.

  • March 06, 2025

    Refugee Orgs. Move To Revive Axed Resettlement Contracts

    Two refugee resettlement agencies called on a Washington federal judge to issue another injunction after the Trump administration terminated all cooperative agreements with resettlement agencies just days after being barred from freezing funds for refugee services.

  • March 06, 2025

    Apple Tells DC Circ. Google Search Fixes Change Incentives

    Apple has told the D.C. Circuit that it did not know the U.S. Department of Justice would go as far as it did with its proposed fixes in the Google search antitrust case, and it moved to intervene as soon as it became clear the two companies have opposing interests under the government's proposal.

  • March 06, 2025

    Trump Tells Admin To Yank Perkins Coie Security Clearance

    Perkins Coie LLP is the latest law firm to face the ire of President Donald Trump, with Trump ordering on Thursday the immediate suspension of the firm's security clearances over its diverse hiring efforts and its representation of certain political figures, including former presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.

  • March 06, 2025

    Adams Accuser's Bankruptcy Unlikely To End Sex Assault Suit

    A state judge on Thursday heaped skepticism on New York City's bid to dismiss a sexual harassment lawsuit against Mayor Eric Adams based on the accuser filing for bankruptcy, noting a federal judge has now directed a trustee to pursue the claims.

  • March 06, 2025

    Trump Gives Mexico A Break Until April From New Tariffs

    President Donald Trump announced Thursday an almost monthlong exemption for most Mexican imports to tariffs he had placed on the country over drug trafficking concerns, as Mexico President Claudia Sheinbaum pointed to data showing border seizures of fentanyl dropped 70% since she took office.

Expert Analysis

  • Opinion

    Legal Personhood Can Give Natural Entities Their Day In Court

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    Granting legal personhood to natural entities like the River Thames, or vulnerable species like the Pacific bearded seal and Arctic ringed seal, could protect them from ecological threats and the vagaries of politics, and help us transform our relationship with nature, says Sachin Nandha at the International Centre for Sustainability.

  • 5 Factors From Biden's Final Worker Antitrust Guidelines

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    The recent Federal Trade Commission and the U.S. Department of Justice's joint antitrust guidelines for business activities affecting workers cap a flurry of final announcements from the Biden administration, but it's unclear whether the agencies will maintain their support for these measures in the Trump administration, say attorneys at Simpson Thacher.

  • Calif. Cannabis Decision Deepens Commerce Clause Divide

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    In Peridot Tree v. Sacramento, the Eastern District of California joined a growing minority of courts that have found the dormant commerce clause inapplicable to state-regulated marijuana, and the Ninth Circuit will soon provide important guidance on this issue, say attorneys at Perkins Coie.

  • Takeaways From DOJ Fraud Section's 2024 Year In Review

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    Attorneys at Paul Weiss highlight notable developments in the U.S. Department of Justice Fraud Section’s recently released annual report, and discuss what the second Trump administration could mean for enforcement in the year to come.

  • 4 Employment Law Areas Set To Change Under Trump

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    President Donald Trump's second term is expected to bring significant changes to the U.S. employment law landscape, including the potential for updated worker classification regulations, and challenges to diversity, equity and inclusion that are already taking shape, say attorneys at Debevoise.

  • Recent Suits Show Antitrust Agencies' Focus On HSR Review

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    The U.S. Department of Justice's suit this month against KKR for inaccurate and incomplete premerger filings, along with other recent cases, highlights the agency's increasing scrutiny of Hart-Scott-Rodino Act compliance for private equity firms, say attorneys at Willkie.

  • The 7th Circ.'s Top 10 Civil Opinions Of 2024

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    Attorneys at Jenner & Block examine the most significant decisions issued by the Seventh Circuit in 2024, and explain how they may affect issues related to mass arbitration, consumer fraud, class certification and more.

  • Insurance Considerations For LA Wildfire Recovery

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    Businesses and homeowners affected by the destructive Southern California wildfires must act swiftly and strategically to navigate the complexities of the insurance recovery process, including by identifying all applicable policies, documenting damage thoroughly and keeping abreast of relevant state law, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • Opinion

    Congress Should Pass Sex Abuse Settlement Tax Exemptions

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    The proposed Survivor Justice Tax Prevention Act would expand tax exemptions more clearly for sexual abuse cases, and finally remove the stigma around compensation for emotional and psychological damage, says Rocco Strangio at Milestone & Co.

  • Kansas Bank's Suit Could Upend FDIC Enforcement Authority

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    ​​​​​​​Should CBW Bank's federal lawsuit in Kansas challenging the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.'s enforcement authority gain traction with a post-Chevron U.S. Supreme Court, it could have profound implications for the FDIC and the banking industry at large, says Jack Harrington at Bradley Arant.

  • 10 Key Worker-Friendly California Employment Law Updates

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    New employment laws in California expand employee rights, transparency and enforcement mechanisms, and failing to educate department managers on these changes could put employers at risk, says Melanie Ronen at Stradley Ronon.

  • FTC Report On AI Sector Illuminates Future Enforcement

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    The Federal Trade Commission's report on cloud service providers and their partnerships with developers of artificial intelligence's large language models suggests that the agency will move to rein in Big Tech with antitrust enforcement to protect startups, say attorneys at Squire Patton.

  • FCA Enforcement Would Make Trump's Tariffs More Effective

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    In implementing its trade policies, the Trump administration is likely to employ the False Claims Act, a powerful enforcement tool that would give tariffs and customs duties teeth, help raise promised revenue and prevent evaders from gaining a competitive advantage, says Sam Buffone at Buffone Law.

  • End-Of-Year FCPA Enforcement Surge Holds Clues For 2025

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    The last three months of 2024 saw more Foreign Corrupt Practices Act enforcement actions than any quarter in the previous four years, providing lessons for companies — even as a new administration raises doubts about whether this momentum will continue, say attorneys at Norton Rose.

  • What's Next For Accounting Enforcement After SEC's Big 2024

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    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission under the Trump administration will likely continue to focus enforcement efforts on many of the same accounting and auditing issues that it pursued over the past year — but other areas, such as ESG, internal controls and cryptocurrency cases, may fall out of focus, say attorneys at Debevoise.

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