Public Policy

  • November 12, 2024

    Tempur Sealy Merger 'Surprisingly Bold,' Competitor Testifies

    The CEO of a Utah-based mattress company told a Houston federal judge Tuesday that Tempur Sealy's proposed remedies under its $4 billion planned Mattress Firm purchase were "surprisingly bold" as the Federal Trade Commission began its case in opposition of the merger.

  • November 12, 2024

    GOP Reps. Propose Another Bill On TRIPS Waivers

    A new bill from Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives seeks to force the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative to file a report "before the negotiation of any international agreement relating to an intellectual property right."

  • November 12, 2024

    Gorsuch Says Feds Fleeing Regs Like Vampire Facing Garlic

    U.S. Supreme Court justices on Tuesday rapped the Biden administration's inflexibility on a 60-day deadline for individuals on a self-deportation order, with Justice Neil Gorsuch saying the government is trying to ditch its own regulations like a vampire escaping garlic.

  • November 12, 2024

    University Of Washington Scores Worker Vax Suit Dismissal

    A Washington federal judge has thrown out a lawsuit by a group of healthcare workers who alleged the University of Washington denied their religious exemptions from a COVID-19 vaccination requirement, saying the university was justified in firing the workers to prevent patients and employees from being exposed to the virus.

  • November 12, 2024

    After Bribery Conviction, Insurance Mogul Cops To $2B Fraud

    An insurance mogul convicted on bribery and wire fraud charges turned himself into the U.S. Marshals Service on Tuesday in North Carolina after pleading guilty to separate charges stemming from a $2 billion scheme to defraud insurance companies, regulators and policyholders.

  • November 12, 2024

    Arkansas Fights Bid To Block Cherokee Casino Amendment

    Arkansas is looking to dismiss a challenge by two Cherokee Nation businesses that seeks to block an amendment revoking one of the tribal entities' casino gaming license, arguing that "the glaring obstacle" of the Eleventh Amendment bars lawsuits against states in federal court.

  • November 12, 2024

    Stop Bank Impersonation Scams 'Without Delay,' FCC Told

    Several banking organizations and a consumer rights group urged the Federal Communications Commission to forge ahead on rules aimed at stamping out scam texts that fraudsters use to impersonate banks.

  • November 12, 2024

    Kentucky Plunges Into 2nd Challenge To Waters Of US Rule

    Kentucky has refiled its lawsuit challenging the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's rule defining the scope of the federal government's jurisdiction under the Clean Water Act, after the Sixth Circuit found that a federal district judge improperly dismissed the case.

  • November 12, 2024

    2nd Circ. Wary Of Ex-Yale Student's Bid For Asylum Evidence

    A Second Circuit panel on Tuesday seemed skeptical of an emergency bid by an acquitted onetime Yale University student to transmit a trial transcript containing his sexual assault accuser's name to immigration authorities despite a magistrate judge's ban on revealing the woman's identity, hinting that more litigation might be necessary.

  • November 12, 2024

    Ga. Health Board Fired Worker For Reporting Bias, Suit Says

    The Fulton County Board of Health has been sued in Georgia federal court by a white former employee who alleges she was suspended from her job and then fired for reporting racial discrimination.

  • November 12, 2024

    EPA Finalizes Waste Emissions Charge For Oil, Gas Facilities

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Tuesday issued a final rule implementing a waste emissions charge aimed at slashing methane emissions from high-emitting oil and gas facilities by 1.2 million metric tons through 2035.

  • November 12, 2024

    Trump's 'Pro-Business' Agenda Could Be A Boon For M&A

    President-elect Donald Trump's "pro-business" priorities and an anticipated relaxation of antitrust scrutiny are expected to boost mergers and acquisitions activity, but his tariff plan may have mixed results across sectors — and select deals could be subject to his "unpredictability," attorneys told Law360.

  • November 12, 2024

    Nuke Discharge Law Doesn't Usurp Feds, NY Says

    A New York state law banning discharges of radioactive material into the Hudson River is aimed at protecting the local economy as the Indian Point nuclear power plant is decommissioned and therefore isn't federally preempted, the Empire State told a federal judge Friday.

  • November 12, 2024

    Palin, NYT Set For April Retrial In Defamation Case

    Sarah Palin's retrial against The New York Times over defamation claims will start April 14, a New York federal judge ruled Tuesday after calling the parties' requests for a July date "out of the question."

  • November 12, 2024

    Freshfields Adds Ex-DOJ Atty To Co-Lead Investigations Team

    Freshfields has added the former associate deputy attorney general at the U.S. Department of Justice as the firm's new co-chair of its congressional investigations team, according to an announcement Tuesday.

  • November 12, 2024

    Pennsylvania Atty Text Solicitation Ban Stands, For Now

    A Pennsylvania federal judge on Tuesday declined to temporarily halt the state's prohibition on attorneys soliciting potential clients using text messages while litigation filed by a legal marketer over the legality of the ban plays out, reasoning that there was no threat of irreparable harm to the company.

  • November 12, 2024

    Vidal To Leave USPTO For Private Sector

    U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Director Kathi Vidal is stepping down from her role at the agency and will be heading back to the private sector in mid-December, she said in a Tuesday letter.

  • November 12, 2024

    Ohio Judge Reverses Senior Status Plans Post-Election

    Following last week's election, a federal judge for the Southern District of Ohio has reversed his decision to take semi-retired status, leaving President-elect Donald Trump with one fewer judicial vacancy to fill. 

  • November 12, 2024

    10th Circ. Backs Arbitration Denial In Distributor's OT Suit

    The Tenth Circuit declined Tuesday to disturb a ruling that a baking company can't boot to arbitration a distributor's lawsuit alleging he was denied overtime pay, finding the worker is exempt from arbitration because he's engaged in interstate commerce even though he doesn't cross state lines.

  • November 12, 2024

    Justice Alito Calls Bid To Unfreeze Spousal Parole Rule Moot

    Justice Samuel Alito denied as moot Tuesday an immigrant rights group's bid to withdraw a Texas court order freezing a new program that would have allowed certain noncitizen spouses and stepchildren of U.S. citizens to stay in the United States while applying for legal status.

  • November 12, 2024

    Missouri Appeals Court Quashes County Cannabis Taxes

    The Missouri Constitution bars counties from levying taxes on cannabis sales made inside incorporated municipalities that can impose their own taxes, a state appeals court held Tuesday in ruling in favor of a dispensary that challenged two counties' taxes.

  • November 12, 2024

    Jury Holds CACI Liable For $42M Over Abu Ghraib Torture

    A Virginia federal jury ruled Tuesday that defense contractor CACI must pay $42 million to former prisoners at Iraq's Abu Ghraib military prison, finding it conspired in their torture by the U.S. military.

  • November 12, 2024

    Trump's NY Case Paused As DA Weighs Impact Of Election

    A New York state judge agreed to a joint motion to freeze the proceedings in Donald Trump's hush money case following his electoral victory last week, allowing the Manhattan district attorney time to brief the court on "appropriate steps going forward."

  • November 12, 2024

    High Court Declines Remaining NY Rent Stabilization Suits

    The U.S. Supreme Court will not probe a Second Circuit decision upholding a lower court's dismissal of two suits challenging distinct provisions of New York's Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act of 2019, a contentious tenant-friendly change to state rental regulations.

  • November 12, 2024

    Supreme Court Won't Revive Youth Climate Suit

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday said it will not undo the Ninth Circuit's order allowing the dismissal of a lawsuit filed by youth plaintiffs who accuse the federal government of endangering their futures with policies that exacerbate climate change.

Expert Analysis

  • Series

    Being An Artist Makes Me A Better Lawyer

    Author Photo

    My work as an artist has highlighted how using creativity and precision together — qualities that are equally essential in both art and law — not only improves outcomes, but also leads to more innovative and thoughtful work, says Sarah La Pearl at Segal McCambridge.

  • Election Outcome Could Reshape Financial Industry

    Author Photo

    The policies of the next presidential administration and Congress will shape the landscape of financial services in the U.S. — including banking, mortgage, investment and credit services — for years to come, affecting Wall Street investors and aspiring homeowners alike, say Alexander Hecht and Frank Guinta at Mintz.

  • How Judiciary Can Minimize AI Risks In Secondary Sources

    Author Photo

    Because courts’ standing orders on generative artificial intelligence and other safeguards do not address the risk of hallucinations in secondary source materials, the judiciary should consider enlisting legal publishers and database hosts to protect against AI-generated inaccuracies, say attorneys at Lankler Siffert & Wohl.

  • 3 Steps For Companies To Combat Task Scams

    Author Photo

    On the rise in the U.S., the task scam — when scammers offer a victim a fake work-from-home job — hurts impersonated businesses by tarnishing their name and brand, but companies have a few ways to fight back against these cons, says Chris Wlach at Huge.

  • NY Tax Talk: Questions In Corporate Franchise Tax Regs Case

    Author Photo

    In the first challenge to New York's Corporate Franchise Tax regulations — Paychex v. Department of Taxation and Finance — the court has an important opportunity to provide clarity on a major retroactive application issue, say attorneys at Eversheds Sutherland.

  • Bitnomial Suit Highlights Crypto Turf War Between SEC, CFTC

    Author Photo

    An outcome favoring Bitnomial in its recent lawsuit against the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission could reinforce the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission's authority and limit the SEC's reach in the crypto arena, illustrating the need for Congress to delineate boundaries between the agencies, says Tonya Evans at Penn State Dickinson Law.

  • False Patent Marking Claims Find New Home In Lanham Act

    Author Photo

    While the Patent Act may have closed the courthouse doors for many false patent marking claims, the Federal Circuit, in its recent decision in Crocs v. Effervescent, may be opening a window to these types of claims under the Lanham Act, says John Cordani at Robinson & Cole.

  • Jarkesy May Short-Circuit FERC Enforcement Cases

    Author Photo

    As a result of the U.S. Supreme Court's June decision in U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission v. Jarkesy, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission recently suspended an enforcement proceeding under the Natural Gas Act — and the commission's customary use of administrative hearings in such proceedings could face major changes, say attorneys at Willkie.

  • Digging Into CFPB's Overdraft Fee Consent Guidance

    Author Photo

    Although a recent Consumer Financial Protection Bureau circular may seem unassuming, a closer read reveals the bureau is escalating its clampdown on nonconsensual debit card overdraft fees by expanding financial institutions' record-retention obligations beyond a two-year statutory requirement, say attorneys at Cooley.

  • Justices Face Tough Question On HHS Hospital Pay Formula

    Author Photo

    In Advocate Christ Medical Center v. Becerra, the U.S. Supreme Court will determine whether the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services properly applied certain Medicare reimbursement adjustments to hospitals — a decision that could significantly affect hospitals' ability to seek higher Medicare reimbursement for low-income patients, say attorneys at Sheppard Mullin.

  • How Attorneys Can Break Free From Career Enmeshment

    Author Photo

    Ambitious attorneys can sometimes experience career enmeshment — when your sense of self-worth becomes unhealthily tangled up in your legal vocation — but taking the time to discover and realign with your core personal values can help you recover your identity, says Janna Koretz at Azimuth Psychological.

  • A Look At Insurance Coverage For Government Investigations

    Author Photo

    Attorneys at Jenner & Block discuss the quirks and potential pitfalls of insurance coverage for government claims and investigations, including those likely to arise from the U.S. Department of Justice's recently announced whistleblower program.

  • Key Healthcare Issues That Hinge On The Election Outcome

    Author Photo

    The 2024 presidential race, while not heavily dominated by healthcare issues compared to past elections, holds significant implications for the direction of healthcare policy in a potential Harris or Trump administration, encompassing issues ranging from Medicare to artificial intelligence, says Miranda Franco at Holland & Knight.

  • Ex-Chicago Politician's Case May Further Curb Fraud Theories

    Author Photo

    The U.S. Supreme Court recently agreed to hear Thompson v. U.S. to determine whether a statement that is misleading but not false still violates federal law, potentially heralding the court’s largest check yet on prosecutors’ expansive fraud theories, with significant implications for sentencing, say attorneys at the Law Offices of Alan Ellis.

  • Lawyers With Disabilities Are Seeking Equity, Not Pity

    Author Photo

    Attorneys living with disabilities face extra challenges — including the need for special accommodations, the fear of stigmatization and the risk of being tokenized — but if given equitable opportunities, they can still rise to the top of their field, says Kate Reder Sheikh, a former attorney and legal recruiter at Major Lindsey & Africa.

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!