Public Policy

  • February 14, 2025

    Judge Allows Grower's 4th Amendment Claim In Hemp Crop Suit

    A California federal judge has partially reconsidered her prior order denying Kern County and its police officers' bid to dismiss claims by a hemp grower alleging they wrongly bulldozed 500 acres of crops, allowing the company's Fourth Amendment excessive destruction claim to proceed, but dismissing its due process claims.

  • February 14, 2025

    DC Judge Orders Feds To Restore Foreign Funding

    A D.C. federal judge ordered the Trump administration to restore foreign funding in connection with any grants or programs in place before the inauguration, saying aid organizations have made a sufficient showing that the pause threatens their very existence.

  • February 14, 2025

    Tariffs On Drugs And Chips May Not Bring Makers Stateside

    The White House's planned tariffs on semiconductors, computer chips and pharmaceuticals are likely to raise prices for consumers and businesses, but won't necessarily lead to the president's stated goal of growing domestic manufacturing, attorneys and others told Law360.

  • February 14, 2025

    Ohio Aircraft Parts Co., Workers Indicted Over Russia Exports

    An Ohio-based arm of a Russian aircraft parts supplier has been indicted along with three of its employees for allegedly dodging trade restrictions on exporting parts to Russia and Russian airlines without proper permission and licenses from the U.S. Department of Commerce.

  • February 14, 2025

    Adams Case Careens Toward 'Messy' Hearing, Experts Say

    The Manhattan federal judge overseeing the corruption case against New York City Mayor Eric Adams is unlikely to rubber stamp a request from the U.S. Department of Justice to toss the case and may instead hold a hearing on the matter, which could get "messy" and "embarrassing," experts say.

  • February 14, 2025

    Adams Case Fiasco 'Unparalleled' In Modern US History

    The mass resignation of federal prosecutors refusing to obey a Trump administration directive to drop corruption charges against New York City Mayor Eric Adams is "unprecedented," "crazy" and "very troubling," according to law professors and former prosecutors.

  • February 14, 2025

    Mich. Panel Decides Where The Sidewalk Begins In Fall Suit

    The city of Detroit must face a premises liability case from a resident who fell on a portion of crumbled curb, a Michigan state appeals court has said, finding the curb should be considered part of the sidewalk and therefore under the city's jurisdiction to maintain.

  • February 14, 2025

    Off The Bench: Trans EO, Cards Arbitration, NASCAR Revs Up

    In this week's Off The Bench, litigation begins over President Donald Trump's executive order banning transgender individuals from competing in women's sports, a former Arizona Cardinals executive's defamation suit against the team is shuffled to arbitration, and NASCAR asks an appeals panel to reverse wins handed to two teams in their antitrust suit.

  • February 14, 2025

    Boston Reemerges As Immigration 'Obstruction' Battleground

    Recent comments by newly installed Boston U.S. Attorney Leah Foley in which she declined to rule out bringing obstruction of justice charges against those who actively thwart immigration enforcement raises the specter of another high-profile case like the controversial prosecution of a state judge during the first Trump administration, experts say.

  • February 14, 2025

    DOJ Files Motion To Drop Adams Case After Prosecutors Exit

    The U.S. Department of Justice filed a motion to dismiss the corruption case against New York City Mayor Eric Adams, following a flood of resignations by government lawyers who defied a top DOJ official's orders to drop the charges for political reasons.

  • February 14, 2025

    Acting NLRB GC Pulls Back Biden-Era Guidance Memos

    Acting National Labor Relations Board general counsel William Cowen rescinded a series of memos Friday issued by ousted general counsel Jennifer Abruzzo that laid out her view of federal labor law, setting up a new path for the agency during the Trump administration.

  • February 14, 2025

    Melgren Takes Senior Status, Opening Kansas Seat For Trump

    Chief U.S. District Judge Eric Melgren of the District of Kansas will take senior status later this year, bringing the total of current and upcoming judicial vacancies President Donald Trump has available to fill to 53.

  • February 14, 2025

    2nd Judge Blocks Trump Trans Health Order, Chides DOJ Atty

    A Washington federal judge put a second temporary block on President Donald Trump's executive order targeting funding for gender-affirming care for people younger than 19, at a Seattle hearing where the judge said she was extremely frustrated with a federal government attorney's inability to answer questions about the order's discriminatory impact on transgender youth.

  • February 14, 2025

    CFPB's Vought Agrees To Pause Layoffs Amid Union Litigation

    The Trump administration agreed to a temporary reprieve for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, promising to preserve data and hold off for now on any more broad firings of employees pending a challenge by the agency's union.

  • February 14, 2025

    Trump Illegally Fired FLRA Chair, Suit Says

    The former chair of the Federal Labor Relations Authority is the latest government official to sue President Donald Trump, saying in a complaint filed in D.C. federal court that she was fired illegally.

  • February 14, 2025

    DOJ Takes Military Bias Dispute With Nev. To 9th Circ.

    The U.S. Department of Justice said it will appeal to the Ninth Circuit after a federal judge tossed its suit accusing the state of Nevada and its public employees retirement system of overcharging service members for pension credits.

  • February 14, 2025

    Judge Leaves Curbs On DOGE Treasury Access After Hearing

    A Manhattan federal judge left in place temporary curbs on sweeping powers handed by President Donald Trump to Elon Musk's government-slashing U.S. DOGE Service Temporary Organization, after 19 states challenged the organization's access to U.S. Treasury payment systems.

  • February 13, 2025

    House Dems Push Against GOP's Proposed Tax Cuts

    House Budget Committee Republicans on Thursday passed a resolution that would allow for the passage of up to $4.5 trillion in tax cuts and the repeal of the Inflation Reduction Act.

  • February 13, 2025

    More CFPB Employees Axed As Union Presses For Injunction

    The Trump administration moved late Thursday to slash more of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's workforce, initiating another round of layoffs shortly after lawyers for the agency's union petitioned a D.C. federal court for an emergency injunction to prevent it.

  • February 13, 2025

    9th Circ. Panel Doubts SEC's 'Gag Rule' Violates Free Speech

    A Ninth Circuit panel on Thursday appeared to doubt a First Amendment challenge to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's "gag rule" that settling parties cannot deny allegations against them, as each judge noted that the agreements are voluntary.

  • February 13, 2025

    DeepSeek's Rapid Rise Adds Fuel To AI Policy Push

    Chinese startup DeepSeek has made waves globally with an artificial intelligence chatbot app that it claims to have made more efficiently than its competitors, but experts say its quick ascent is likely to accelerate efforts to broadly regulate data privacy and national security risks presented by the emerging technology. 

  • February 13, 2025

    Fed. Unions' New Suit Fights Layoffs, Resignation Incentive

    A second group of unions representing federal workers has challenged the Trump administration's attempt to shrink the federal workforce through layoffs and a resignation incentive program, telling a D.C. federal judge that the executive branch's actions violate separation-of-powers principles because Congress largely controls federal agencies.

  • February 13, 2025

    DOD Says Injunction Isn't Needed In Transgender Ban Suit

    The U.S. Department of Defense has urged a D.C. federal judge to deny a preliminary injunction in a challenge to an executive order effectively barring transgender troops from serving in the military, saying the motion is premature and unlikely to succeed.

  • February 13, 2025

    Wash. Justices Wary Of Pay Transparency Law Stances

    Washington's highest court grilled attorneys on both sides of a debate over state pay transparency law on Thursday, with some justices suggesting the employer's stance put too much onus on workers while another expressed doubt the protections should extend to people who apply for jobs they have no chance to get.

  • February 13, 2025

    Bus Co. Sues NYC For 'Frivolous' Migrant Busing Suit

    Roadrunner Charters told the Southern District of New York that New York City's complaint seeking $708 million from it and 16 other charter bus companies for transporting migrants from Texas to New York was "unprecedented and frivolous," and violated its constitutional rights. 

Expert Analysis

  • Navigating The Potential End Of GLP-1 Drug Shortages

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    The U.S. Food and Drug Administration's determination of whether GLP-1 products are in shortage may affect how compounders provide these products and spur a range of litigation including patent disputes and unfair competition suits, say attorneys at Goodwin.

  • High Court Could Further Limit Deference With TCPA Fax Case

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    The Supreme Court's decision to hear McLaughlin Chiropractic Associates v. McKesson, a case involving alleged junk faxes that centers whether district courts are bound by Federal Communications Commission rules, offers the court a chance to possibly further limit the judicial deference afforded to federal agency interpretations of statutes, says Samantha Duke at Rumberger Kirk.

  • Politicized OIGs Could Target Federal Employees, Contractors

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    After President Donald Trump fired nearly 20 inspectors general last week, it’s worth exploring how the administration could use Offices of Inspectors General to target federal employees and contractors, why it would be difficult to fight this effort, and one possible bulwark against the politicization of these watchdogs, says Sara Kropf at Kropf Moseley.

  • Future Of Crypto-Asset Classification Is In 2nd Circ.'s Hands

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    A definitive ruling from the Second Circuit in a rare interlocutory appeal in the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's ongoing court battle with Coinbase could finally establish clear guidelines on the classification of digital assets, influencing how they are regulated and traded in the U.S., say attorneys at Manatt.

  • 5 Ways To Create Effective Mock Assignments For Associates

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    In order to effectively develop associates’ critical thinking skills, firms should design mock assignments that contain a few key ingredients, from messy fact patterns to actionable feedback, says Abdi Shayesteh at AltaClaro.

  • Overseas Investment Rule Calls For Compliance Caution

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    Investors should be leery of who and what they are investing in now that the federal outbound investment regime, effective Jan. 2, has extended the governement's regulatory reach to businesses and parties not previously subject to trade restrictions, says Thaddeus McBride at Bass Berry.

  • Opinion

    Revised Fla. Rules Of Civil Procedure Will Modernize Litigation

    Excerpt from Practical Guidance
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    The landmark amendments to the Florida Rules of Civil Procedure that took effect on Jan. 1 may require significant adjustments to practice and case management approaches, but the changes should ultimately reduce the cost and burden of modern litigation, and foster a more efficient and equitable justice system, says retired Florida state judge Ralph Artigliere.

  • Assessing Gary Gensler's Legacy At The SEC

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    Gary Gensler's tenure as U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission chair is defined by a record of commonsense regulation in some areas and social activism in others, and by increasing judicial skepticism about the SEC's authority to fulfill its regulatory, enforcement, administrative law and adjudicatory functions, say attorneys at Arnold & Porter.

  • 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.

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