Public Policy

  • February 14, 2025

    Enviro Groups Back EPA On Challenged PFAS Superfund Rule

    Conservation groups are urging the D.C. Circuit to deny a string of industry challenges to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's decision to designate two "forever chemicals" as hazardous substances under the federal government's Superfund law, arguing that they have no merit.

  • February 14, 2025

    Trump Fires Opening Salvos In Rematch With Sanctuary Cities

    Facing dozens of lawsuits looking to check the power of his administration, President Donald Trump has fired back recently with suits targeting so-called sanctuary cities, setting up a legal battle over the federal government's ability to induce state and local cooperation on immigration enforcement.

  • February 14, 2025

    State Lawmakers Eye Tighter Restrictions On Hemp Products

    Legislators in multiple states have introduced legislation aimed at regulating or restricting the manufacture and sale of products containing intoxicating cannabinoids derived or synthesized from federally lawful hemp.

  • February 14, 2025

    Judge Upholds Pay-For-Delay Ban Law, But Only In Calif.

    A California federal judge has upheld part of a new state law that the Association for Accessible Medicines alleged unlawfully restricted "reverse payment" settlements between makers of brand-name and generic drugs, finding that the law's attempt to regulate deals outside of California runs afoul of the Constitution, but is otherwise valid.

  • February 14, 2025

    Tulsa County 'On Notice' In Jurisdiction Dispute, Suit Says

    The Muscogee (Creek) Nation is asking a federal district court to block Tulsa County, Oklahoma, its sheriff and a district attorney from asserting criminal jurisdiction on its reservation, arguing they continue to defy a 2020 Supreme Court ruling that held that they lack such authority.

  • February 14, 2025

    Texas 911 Agencies Back GPS Alternative At FCC

    A coalition of emergency response agencies in Texas is urging the Federal Communications Commission to look beyond traditional GPS technology and explore ways to improve indoor location signaling for emergency calls, supporting a tech company's bid for an exclusive spectrum license to roll out next-generation navigation and positioning technology.

  • February 14, 2025

    NC Panel Speeds Up Appeal In Contested High Court Race

    North Carolina's intermediate appellate court has agreed to expedite an appeal by a Republican judge challenging the validity of tens of thousands of ballots cast in his state Supreme Court race that remains unresolved four months after the election.

  • February 14, 2025

    House Judiciary Courts Chair Previews 'Rogue' Judges Bill

    The chair of the House Judiciary Committee's courts panel is working on legislation to prevent "rogue rulings" by federal judges, which he plans to introduce on Tuesday, following adverse rulings for the Trump administration and Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency.

  • February 14, 2025

    Calif. Insurance Chief Backs Wildfire Mitigation, Recovery Bills

    California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara announced his support Friday for a slew of bills aimed at addressing wildfire mitigation and recovery, including measures to maximize insurance claim payouts and stabilize the state's insurer of last resort.

  • February 14, 2025

    Michigan Pot Co. Can't Intervene In Rival's Licensing Suit

    A Michigan federal judge won't let a Pontiac cannabis company intervene in a competitor's suit aiming to stop the city from issuing cannabis licenses.

  • February 14, 2025

    Judges Suggest Withdrawal Was Optional In Dam Permit Spat

    D.C. Circuit judges Friday pressed a California water district on whether it was partly to blame for delays in recertifying two hydroelectric dams, suggesting it voluntarily agreed to the state board's requests that it refile the applications in order to avoid the Clean Water Act's certification time limit.

  • 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.

Expert Analysis

  • AI Will Soon Transform The E-Discovery Industrial Complex

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    Todd Itami at Covington discusses how generative artificial intelligence will reshape the current e-discovery paradigm, replacing the blunt instrument of data handling with a laser scalpel of fully integrated enterprise solutions — after first making e-discovery processes technically and legally harder.

  • What To Do When ICE Shows Up At The Hospital

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    In light of recent executive orders and changes to enforcement directives permitting U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to enter sensitive locations like hospitals, healthcare providers should understand how to balance compliance with existing health laws and patient care obligations, say attorneys at Davis Wright.

  • Unpacking The Legal Foundation Of Trump's New Trade War

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    President Donald Trump's recent executive orders and proclamations regarding emergencies at the U.S. border are based on statutory powers enabling a president to address extraordinary external threats — and could be used to fend off legal challenges to the tariffs levied on Mexican and Canadian goods, says Chris Zona at Mandelbaum Barrett.

  • A View Of The Shifting Insurance Regulatory Landscape

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    Attorneys at Eversheds Sutherland explore how the Federal Insurance Office's climate report, the new presidential administration and the California wildfires might affect the insurance regulatory landscape.

  • Trump's Energy Plans: Funding, Permits And Nuclear Power

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    In the wake of President Donald Trump's flurry of first-day executive orders focusing on the energy sector, attorneys at Gibson Dunn analyze what this presidency will mean for energy-related grants and loans, changes to permitting processes and developments in nuclear power.

  • When Innovation Overwhelms The Rule Of Law

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    In an era where technology is rapidly evolving and artificial intelligence is seemingly everywhere, it’s worth asking if the law — both substantive precedent and procedural rules — can keep up with the light speed of innovation, says Reuben Guttman at Guttman Buschner.

  • FTC Focus: Avoiding 'Gun Jumping' Violations

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    The Federal Trade Commission's recent record $5.6 million "gun jumping" enforcement action against XCL Resources, EP Energy and Verdun Oil sends a clear message about the seriousness of violations of the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act's premerger requirements, and highlights compliance tips such as avoiding premature integration of operations, say attorneys at Proskauer.

  • What Compensation Committees Must Keep In Mind In 2025

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    New disclosure obligations, an evolving discussion on the analysis of executive perks and updated proxy adviser policies — on top of a new presidential administration — are all important things compensation committees must pay close attention to in 2025, say attorneys at Simpson Thacher.

  • Likely Doomed CFPB Contract Rule Still Has Industry Pointers

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    While the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's January proposal on consumer financial contract provisions is unlikely to be finalized under the new administration, its provisions are important for industry to recognize, particularly if state attorneys general decide to take up the enforcement mantle, say attorneys at Saul Ewing.

  • Preparing For A Possible End To The Subminimum Wage

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    The U.S. Department of Labor's proposed rule to end the subminimum wage for employees with disabilities may significantly affect the community-based rehabilitation and training programs that employ these workers, so certified programs should be especially vigilant about compliance during this period of evaluation and scrutiny, say attorneys at Jackson Lewis.

  • Engaging With Feds On Threats To Executives, Employees

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    In an increasingly polarized environment, where companies face serious concerns about how to protect executives and employees, counsel should consider working with federal law enforcement soon after the discovery of threats or harassment, says Jordan Estes at Gibson Dunn.

  • The Risk And Reward Of Federal Approach To AI Regulation

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    The government has struggled to keep up with artificial intelligence's furious pace, but while an overbroad federal attempt to adopt a more unified approach to regulating AI poses its own risks, so does the current environment of regulatory uncertainty, say attorneys at Covington.

  • Losing A Motion To Dismiss Ruling Isn't Necessarily The End

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    A recent Delaware Court of Chancery ruling, that the Manti Group had not demonstrated any conflicts of interest favoring private equity fund operator The Carlyle Group, serves as an important reminder that a decision on a pleading motion is not the end of the story, say attorneys at Sidley.

  • Anticipating Direction Of Cosmetics Regulation Under Trump

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    It is unclear how cosmetics regulation reform from the last few years will fare under President Donald Trump, but the new administration's emphasis on deregulation and Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s views on product safety provide some insight, say attorneys at Crowell & Moring.

  • Drug Pricing Policy Trends To Expect In 2025 And Beyond

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    Though 2025 may bring more of the same in the realm of drug pricing policy, business as usual entails a sustained, high level of legal and policy developments across at least six major areas, say attorneys at Ropes & Gray.

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