Public Policy

  • July 16, 2025

    Hawley Accuses AI Cos. Of Largest IP Theft In US History

    U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley condemned artificial intelligence developers accused of using pirating sites to obtain training material for their AI models, calling the claims part of "the largest intellectual property theft in American history" during a hearing Wednesday.

  • July 16, 2025

    Ga. Prosecutor Resigns Amid DUI Handling Feud With Judge

    A Georgia prosecutor announced his resignation from a county solicitor's post Wednesday amid a public feud with a state court judge and dueling allegations of prosecutorial and judicial misconduct.

  • July 16, 2025

    Mass. Judges To Mull Dismissals Amid Defender Pay Standoff

    Nearly two months after many court-appointed attorneys in Massachusetts stopped accepting new cases over what they say is poor pay, a solution still appears elusive, even as judges will soon start hearing motions to dismiss cases under an emergency order issued by a state high court justice.

  • July 16, 2025

    Dominion Exec Settles Defamation Suit With Election Denier

    A former Dominion Voting Systems Inc. executive reached a settlement on Wednesday in Colorado federal court with a right-wing podcast and speaking tour that he said were spreading defamatory statements surrounding the 2020 election.

  • July 16, 2025

    Justice Kavanaugh Pauses 8th Circ.'s Voting Rights Ruling

    Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh on Wednesday administratively paused an Eighth Circuit decision to vacate two North Dakota tribes' challenge to two of the state's voting laws, pending the outcome of a forthcoming petition to the full high court.

  • July 16, 2025

    FCC Looks To Streamline Regs For Enviro Reviews

    The Federal Communications Commission expects to move a plan forward in August that would overhaul its rules for scrutinizing telecom and broadband projects under the National Environmental Policy Act.

  • July 16, 2025

    House Panel Urged To Modernize Tax Rules For Digital Assets

    Congress needs to create tax rules for digital assets such as cryptocurrency and nonfungible tokens because the current regime is burdensome for businesses and pushing development out of the U.S., industry representatives told a House Ways and Means Committee subcommittee Wednesday.

  • July 16, 2025

    DOJ Tells 9th Circ. TPS Cancellation Delay Can't Stand

    The U.S. Department of Justice maintained that the Ninth Circuit should vacate a California federal judge's order postponing its termination of temporary protected status for Venezuelans, based on the U.S. Supreme Court's recent ruling curtailing nationwide injunctions.

  • July 16, 2025

    9th Circ. Tosses Atty-Farmer's Suit Over USDA Organic Label

    The Ninth Circuit on Tuesday upheld a U.S. Department of Agriculture rule allowing farm collectives in the U.S. and other countries to be certified as "organic" under one certificate and not inspected annually, tossing an attorney-turned-Oregon hazelnut farmer's suit alleging Turkish growers were defrauding the system.

  • July 16, 2025

    States Push To Keep Nationwide Block On Birthright Order

    A coalition of states told a Massachusetts federal court Tuesday that nothing less than a nationwide injunction can provide complete relief in the states' case against President Donald Trump's executive order targeting birthright citizenship.

  • July 16, 2025

    Flowers Foods Pushes Justices To Take Up Arbitration Case

    Flowers Foods pressed the U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday to take up a case in which the Tenth Circuit decided to keep a distributor's overtime suit out of arbitration, urging the justices to cure a deep circuit split once and for all.

  • July 16, 2025

    Charter, Cox Ask FCC To Approve $34.5B Combination

    Charter Communications and Cox Communications asked federal telecom regulators this week to approve their $34.5 billion megadeal to combine into a broadband, video and mobile services behemoth.

  • July 16, 2025

    FEMA Targeted In 20-State Suit Over Pre-Disaster Grant Cuts

    A coalition of 20 states led by Washington and Massachusetts sued the Federal Emergency Management Agency in Boston federal court Wednesday, accusing the Trump administration of illegally cutting off billions of dollars in grants for proactive disaster mitigation projects across the country.

  • July 16, 2025

    US Fights NY's Bid To Move Climate Superfund Suit Upstate

    The federal government is urging a Southern District of New York judge not to transfer its lawsuit challenging the state's climate change Superfund law to the Northern District, where it would join similar litigation filed by several Republican-led states.

  • July 16, 2025

    Booz Allen Hit With Retaliation, Wrongful Firing Suit

    Booz Allen Hamilton has been sued for race discrimination and retaliation in Georgia federal court by the Black former chief technologist of its global converged resilience practice, who said he was discriminated against and then fired for raising concerns about fraudulent billing.

  • July 16, 2025

    DOJ Tells FCC Terminals Critical To Undersea Cable Security

    The U.S. Department of Justice is calling for new Federal Communications Commission rules to better protect undersea cable systems from foreign adversaries, saying cable licensees should have to report information about nonlicensee entities that operate equipment on submarine cables landing in the U.S.

  • July 16, 2025

    Dems Ask FCC To Drop CBS Probe, Cite Fox 'Double Standard'

    U.S. Senate Democrats are calling on the Federal Communications Commission to drop its probe into alleged news distortion at CBS, claiming there's a "double standard" based on a Fox News interview with President Donald Trump last year about the Jeffrey Epstein case.

  • July 16, 2025

    Judge Sets Execution Date In Shaken Baby Syndrome Case

    A Texas judge on Wednesday granted the state's request to set an execution date for a man convicted of killing his daughter based on a diagnosis of shaken baby syndrome despite his pending appeal before the state's highest criminal court.

  • July 16, 2025

    NC Rec Center Immune In Overheating Wrongful Death Suit

    A North Carolina state appeals panel on Wednesday cleared a Scotland County recreational center in a suit alleging that its negligence led to the death from overheating of a basketball player, finding that the center is entitled to governmental immunity.

  • July 16, 2025

    Charity Care Is Not Unconstitutional Taking, NJ Justices Rule

    The New Jersey Supreme Court on Wednesday held that a state requirement to treat patients regardless of the patient's ability to pay does not amount to unconstitutional per se or regulatory taking, backing a lower court's decision that dismissed a group of Garden State hospitals' challenge to the requirement.

  • July 16, 2025

    Florida AG Faces Pushback On Out-Of-State Atty Proposal

    A proposal from Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier to allow out-of-state attorneys to work for the state government without having to take the state's bar exam is facing criticism within the Florida bar, with its board of governors set to consider whether to formally oppose the rule change.

  • July 16, 2025

    Jeanine Pirro Scrutinized On Jan. 6, Ex-Husband's Pardon

    Former Fox News host and New York state judge Jeanine Pirro, nominated to be U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, fielded questions from senators Wednesday on the Jan. 6 Capitol riot and President Donald Trump's pardon of her ex-husband, ahead of the anticipated committee vote on her nomination.

  • July 16, 2025

    Calif. Senate Won't Tackle Consumer Internet Cap

    State legislation to limit how much companies can charge consumers for internet service in California has been pulled from consideration in the state's Senate, for now, the bill's sponsor told Law360 Wednesday.

  • July 16, 2025

    Speaker's Aide Won't Rule Out 'Secure 3.0' Retirement Bill

    An aide to House Speaker Mike Johnson told tax attorneys in Washington, D.C., Wednesday that he's not ruling out Congress passing a retirement policy overhaul that's known informally as Secure 3.0, though exact timing on such an effort remains unclear because of the busy year-end schedule.

  • July 16, 2025

    USTR To Probe Brazil's Trade Practices For Possible Tariffs

    The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative announced Tuesday evening it will launch an investigation into Brazil's trade practices to determine whether tariff actions could be necessary after a request by President Donald Trump and prior tariff threats.

Expert Analysis

  • At 'SEC Speaks,' Leaders Frame New Views

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    At the Practising Law Institute's recent SEC Speaks conference, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission leadership highlighted the agency's significant priority changes, including in enforcement, crypto and artificial intelligence, say attorneys at Perkins Coie.

  • The Ins And Outs Of Consensual Judicial References

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    As parties consider the possibility of judicial reference to resolve complex disputes, it is critical to understand how the process works, why it's gaining traction, and why carefully crafted agreements make all the difference, say attorneys at Pillsbury.

  • Opinion

    Congress Must Restore IP Protection To Drive US Innovation

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    Congress should pass the RESTORE Patent Rights Act to enforce patent holders' exclusive rights and encourage American innovation, and undo the decades of patent rights erosion caused by the U.S. Supreme Court's 2006 decision in eBay v. MercExchange, says former Chief U.S. Circuit Judge Paul Michel.

  • How Focus On Menopause Care Is Fueling Innovation, Access

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    Recent legislative developments concerning the growing field of menopause care are creating opportunities for increased investment and innovation in the space as they increase access to education and coverage, say attorneys at Kirkland.

  • Calif. Digital Assets Proposal Provides Only Partial Clarity

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    Recently proposed regulations under California's Digital Financial Assets Law answer some important questions about the new regime, particularly regarding its interaction with the state's money transmission law, but many key compliance questions remain, say attorneys at Stinson.

  • Staying The Course Amid Seismic DOJ White Collar Changes

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    While some of the big changes at the U.S. Department of Justice during the second Trump administration — like an embrace of cryptocurrency and more politicized prosecutions — were expected, there have also been surprises, so practitioners should advise clients to stay focused on white collar compliance in this unpredictable environment, say attorneys at Keker.

  • Opinion

    The BigLaw Settlements Are About Risk, Not Profit

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    The nine Am Law 100 firms that settled with the Trump administration likely did so because of the personal risk faced by equity partners in today's billion‑dollar national practices, enabled by an ethics rule primed for modernization, says Adam Forest at Scale.

  • DOJ Could Target Journalists Under Media Policy Reversion

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    The U.S. Department of Justice's recently announced media policy largely mirrors policies in effect from 2014 to 2020, but ambiguities in key statutory terms could allow the administration to apply it to journalists in new ways and expand investigations beyond leaks of classified information, says Julie Edelstein at Wiggin.

  • Current Antitrust Zeitgeist May Transcend Political Parties

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    The Trump administration's "America First" antitrust policy initially suggests a different approach than the Biden administration's, but closer examination reveals key parallels, including a broad focus on anticompetitive harm beyond consumer welfare and aggressive enforcement of existing laws, say attorneys at Arnold & Porter.

  • House Bill Tax Tweaks Would Hinder Renewable Projects

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    Provisions in the budget reconciliation bill recently passed by the U.S. House of Representatives would rapidly phase out clean energy tax credits, constrain renewable energy financing arrangements and impose sweeping restrictions on projects with foreign ties, which may create compliance and supply chain issues for many developers, say attorneys at Paul Hastings.

  • Neb.'s Cannabis Regulatory Void Poses Operational Risks

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    With the Nebraska Legislature recently declining to advance any cannabis legislation, leaving the state without a regulatory framework for voter-passed initiatives, the risks of operating without clear rules will likely affect patients, providers and caregivers, says John Cartier at Omnus Law.

  • Fla. Bill May Curb Suits Over Late-Night Collections Emails

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    A recently passed Florida bill exempting email communications from the Florida Consumer Collection Practices Act's quiet hours ban may significantly reduce frivolous lawsuits aimed at creditors and debt collectors who use email communications to collect outstanding balances from consumers, say attorneys at Holland & Knight.

  • State Tort Claims May Help Deter Bribes During FCPA Pause

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    As the U.S. pauses Foreign Corrupt Practices Act enforcement, companies that lose business due to competitors' bribery should consider using state tortious interference suits to expose corruption, deter illegal practices and obtain compensation for commercial losses, says Jason Manning at Levy Firestone.

  • 4 States' Enforcement Actions Illustrate Data Privacy Priorities

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    Attorneys at Wilson Elser examine recent enforcement actions based on new consumer data privacy laws by regulators in California, Connecticut, Oregon and Texas, centered around key themes, including crackdowns on dark patterns, misuse of sensitive data and failure to honor consumer rights.

  • Google Ad Tech Ruling Creates Antitrust Uncertainty

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    A Virginia federal court’s recent decision in the Justice Department’s ad tech antitrust case against Google includes two unusual aspects in that it narrowly construed U.S. Supreme Court precedent when rejecting Google's two-sided market argument, and it found the company liable for unlawful tying, say attorneys at Ballard Spahr.

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