Public Policy

  • July 24, 2025

    Trump Says AI Needs Free Content For Global Competition

    President Donald Trump has expressed support for letting large language model developers use copyrighted material for training their systems without payment, saying during the unveiling of his artificial intelligence action plan that licensing requirements would impede the technology's progress and give China an unfair advantage.

  • July 24, 2025

    High Court Hits Pause On 8th Circ. Voting Rights Order

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday paused an Eighth Circuit order to vacate two North Dakota tribes' challenge to two of the state's voting laws that they allege will silence the state's Indigenous voters and disenfranchise millions across seven Midwestern states.

  • July 24, 2025

    DOL Relaunches Employer Self-Audit FLSA Program

    The U.S. Department of Labor relaunched an employer self-audit program Thursday that supports employers that seek to resolve potential wage violations and avoid litigation — an initiative from the first Trump administration that was popular among employers.

  • July 24, 2025

    Jeanine Pirro's Nomination Advances To Full Senate

    The Senate Judiciary Committee voted out seven U.S. attorney nominations Thursday, which include Jeanine Pirro, former Fox News host and New York state judge, and four others who had to be revoted on after Democrats walked out of last week's meeting over objections to how the consideration of controversial Third Circuit nominee Emil Bove was being handled.

  • July 24, 2025

    3rd Circ. Rules Philly Injection Site Equals Religious 'Person'

    A nonprofit battling government resistance to its planned safe drug injection site in Philadelphia can qualify for religious freedom protections, the Third Circuit said in a precedential opinion on Thursday, reasoning the organization meets the definition of a "person" practicing religion.

  • July 24, 2025

    NC Urges 4th Circ. Not To Block Vape Regs During Appeal

    North Carolina officials are urging the Fourth Circuit to deny a bid by vape interests to block enforcement of a new state vaping regulation while they appeal their case, saying the plaintiffs have already tried, and failed, three times to show they deserve an injunction.

  • July 23, 2025

    9th Circ. Upholds Birthright Citizenship EO Injunction

    The Ninth Circuit on Wednesday affirmed a lower court's preliminary injunction blocking President Donald Trump's executive order limiting birthright citizenship in a legal challenge by four states, ruling in a published opinion that Trump's order contradicts the "plain language" of the 14th Amendment's citizenship clause.

  • July 23, 2025

    Columbia Says It'll Pay $200M To Put To Rest Beef With Trump

    Columbia University said Wednesday that it has agreed to pay a $200 million settlement to the federal government to resolve the Trump administration's allegations the institution didn't do enough to protect Jewish students, a move Columbia said means the "vast majority" of federal funding will be restored.

  • July 23, 2025

    FTC Wants PE Firm's Medical Device Coating Deal Put On Ice

    Private equity firm GTCR BC Holdings' $627 million merger with Surmodics will bring the previously fierce competition for medical device coatings to a grinding halt, the FTC says, which is all the more reason a federal court should block the deal while an agency challenge plays out.

  • July 23, 2025

    Diversity Visa Winners Challenge New Travel Ban, Visa Policy

    More than 100 nationals of countries hit by President Donald Trump's latest travel ban filed suit Tuesday in D.C. federal court, accusing the Trump administration of unlawfully suspending visa processing under a program aimed at diversifying the immigrant community of the United States.

  • July 23, 2025

    CFPB Sued Over Retreat From Biden-Era Small-Biz Loan Rule

    The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau was sued Wednesday in Washington, D.C., federal court over claims it is illegally dismantling a data-collection rule meant to expose discrimination in small-business lending, the latest twist in multi-front litigation over the Biden-era measure.

  • July 23, 2025

    911 Call Centers Face Cybersecurity Risks, Mich. Says

    As the Federal Communications Commission moves to transition the country to next-generation 911 services, it should take a closer look at cybersecurity, a Michigan emergency response panel told the agency.

  • July 23, 2025

    Epstein Grand Jury Files To Remain Sealed In Fla.

    A Florida federal judge on Wednesday rejected the U.S. Department of Justice's request to unseal grand jury transcripts from an investigation into the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, as President Donald Trump faces a growing number of Republicans asking for more transparency about the case.

  • July 23, 2025

    Red Wolf Survival Relies On Redesignation, Judge Told

    A conservation lawyer told a North Carolina federal judge in a dueling motions hearing Wednesday the state's experimental population of red wolves is still imperiled, arguing in federal court that the government needs to take another look at a petition to grant the wolves tighter protections.

  • July 23, 2025

    Trump Admin Appeals Ruling On NCUA Board Member Firings

    The Trump administration has asked a Washington, D.C., federal judge to pause a ruling reinstating two ousted Democratic members of the National Credit Union Administration board, arguing the decision represents an "extraordinary intrusion" into presidential power and is being swiftly appealed.

  • July 23, 2025

    Enviro Groups Slam FAA For SpaceX Review Shortcuts

    The Federal Aviation Administration knew SpaceX's plans to restore migratory birds' coastal habitats in the event of an explosion at its Boca Chica, Texas, launch site were inadequate, but allowed the company to bypass a full environmental impact statement nonetheless, environmental groups said Wednesday in D.C. federal court.

  • July 23, 2025

    North Carolina AG Defends Power To Pursue PFAS Suit

    North Carolina Attorney General Jeff Jackson on Wednesday urged a state court judge not to dismiss his long-running lawsuit against DuPont spinoffs over groundwater contamination from forever chemicals, saying lawmakers have not revoked his power to continue pursuing the case.

  • July 23, 2025

    Pa. Justices Will Weigh Rollover For Other States' Pensions

    The Pennsylvania Supreme Court will weigh whether a teacher's years of service in another state can count toward her Pennsylvania retirement benefits after she had already cashed out her retirement account from her previous state.

  • July 23, 2025

    Ex-Copyright Chief Suggests Trump Fired Her Over AI Report

    An attorney for the fired leader of the U.S. Copyright Office suggested Wednesday that President Donald Trump "sought to sideline her" to stop her from advising Congress on issues related to the use of copyrighted material for training artificial intelligence models, noting her dismissal occurred shortly after she released a pivotal report on the subject.

  • July 23, 2025

    ICJ Puts Reparations On The Table In Climate Change Case

    The International Court of Justice on Wednesday delivered its long-awaited advisory opinion on governments' obligations with respect to climate change, issuing a rare, unanimous decision that opens the door for nations harmed by human-caused greenhouse gas emissions to seek reparations.

  • July 23, 2025

    8th Circ. Tosses FCC Dems' Local Media Ownership Rule

    The Eighth Circuit on Wednesday threw out local media ownership rules passed a year and a half ago by Democrats on a split Federal Communications Commission vote.

  • July 23, 2025

    Trump Wins 9th Circ. Block On Order Providing Reorg Plans

    The Ninth Circuit greenlighted the Trump administration's request to pause a lower court ruling requiring the government to turn over its layoff and reorganization plans in the case disputing whether the president can lawfully reshape federal agencies without congressional approval.

  • July 23, 2025

    False Ad Ruling Expanded Patent Law, Crocs Tells Justices

    Shoemaker Crocs Inc. has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to look at a Federal Circuit decision reviving false advertising claims that its shoes were made with "patented, proprietary, and exclusive" materials that weren't actually patented, arguing that the ruling would allow an "end run" around Congress' limitations on false marking suits.

  • July 23, 2025

    6th Circ. Questions Officials On Search: 'Pretty Darn Obvious'

    Sixth Circuit judges on Wednesday grilled Michigan zoning and building officials seeking immunity from an improper-search lawsuit, repeatedly suggesting it was "obvious" the officials should have known they were crossing property lines to look at dwellings and areas protected by the Fourth Amendment.

  • July 23, 2025

    FWS Wrongly Approved Bird-Harming Pesticide, Judge Says

    A North Carolina judge on Wednesday revoked the federal government's approval of a pesticide that is toxic to birds for use as an algal bloom control measure at a lake in a wildlife refuge, saying regulators bungled the environmental review.

Expert Analysis

  • Congress Crypto Movement Could Bring CFTC 'Clarity' At Last

    Author Photo

    The Clarity Act's arrival at the House floor during "Crypto Week" in Congress demonstrates enduring bipartisan support for legislation addressing digital assets and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission's important role in a future regulatory structure, say attorneys at DLA Piper.

  • What Employers Can Learn From Axed Mo. Sick Leave Law

    Author Photo

    Missouri's recent passage and brisk repeal of Proposition A, which would have created a paid sick time benefit for employees, serves as a case study for employers, highlighting the steps they can take to adapt as paid sick leave laws are increasingly debated across the country, say attorneys at Foley & Lardner.

  • Preparing For Trump Pushback Against State Climate Laws

    Author Photo

    An April executive order from President Donald Trump mandated a report from the U.S. attorney general on countering so-called state overreach in climate policy, and while that report has yet to appear, companies can expect that it will likely call for using litigation, legislation and funding to actively reshape energy policy, say attorneys at Bracewell.

  • Practical Implications Of SEC's New Crypto Staking Guidance

    Author Photo

    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's recent staff guidance that protocol staking does not constitute securities offerings provides a workable compliance blueprint for crypto developers, validators and custodial platforms willing to keep staking strictly limited to protocol-driven rewards, say attorneys at Cahill.

  • Stablecoin Bills Present Opportunities, Challenges For Banks

    Author Photo

    Stablecoin legislation that Congress is expected to adopt in the coming weeks — the GENIUS and STABLE Acts — would create openings for banks to engage in digital asset activities, but it also creates a platform for certain tech-savvy nonbanks to directly compete, say attorneys at Arnold & Porter.

  • How Attys Can Use AI To Surface Narratives In E-Discovery

    Author Photo

    E-discovery has reached a turning point where document review is no longer just about procedural tasks like identifying relevance and redacting privilege — rather, generative artificial intelligence tools now allow attorneys to draw connections, extract meaning and tell a coherent story, says Rose Jones at Hilgers Graben.

  • New FCPA Guidance May Flip The Whistleblowing Script

    Author Photo

    The U.S. Department of Justice’s updated Foreign Corrupt Practices Act guidelines lay out a new incentive structure that may put multinational U.S.-based companies in an unusual offensive whistleblowing position, potentially spurring them to conduct external investigations of their foreign rivals, says Markus Funk at Perkins Coie.

  • Opinion

    GENIUS Act Could Muck Up Insolvency Proceedings

    Author Photo

    While some of the so-called GENIUS Act's insolvency provisions are straightforward, others run the risk of jeopardizing the success of stablecoin issuers' insolvency proceedings and warrant another look from Congress, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • How McKesson Ruling Will Inform Interpretations Of The TCPA

    Author Photo

    Amid the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in McLaughlin Chiropractic Associates v. McKesson, we can expect to see both plaintiffs and defendants utilizing the decision to revisit the Federal Communications Commission's past Telephone Consumer Protection Act interpretations and decisions they did not like, says Jason McElroy at Saul Ewing.

  • A Look At Florida's New Protected Series LLC Legislation

    Author Photo

    A new law in Florida enhances the flexibility of using limited liability companies as the entities of choice for most privately held businesses, moving Florida into a small group of states with reliable uniform protected series legislation for series LLCs, says Louis Conti at Holland & Knight.

  • Series

    Calif. Banking Brief: All The Notable Legal Updates In Q2

    Author Photo

    The second quarter saw California become a more active protector of consumers in response to federal regulatory pullback, with regulators proposing a licensing framework for digital asset businesses, ending an enforcement exemption and otherwise signaling further expansions of oversight and enforcement, say attorneys at Stinson.

  • Justices Rethink Minimum Contacts For Foreign Entities

    Author Photo

    Two recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions, Devas v. Antrix and Fuld v. Palestine Liberation Organization, suggest that federal statutes may confer personal jurisdiction over foreign entities that have little to no contact with the U.S. — a significant departure from traditional due process principles, says Gary Shaw at Pillsbury.

  • Opinion

    New USPTO Leadership Must Address Low-Quality Patents

    Author Photo

    With John Squires in line to become the new director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, the agency has an opportunity to refocus its mission on prioritizing quality in patent examination and taking a harsher stance against low-quality patents and patent trolls, says Jill Crosby at Engine Advocacy & Foundation.

  • Harmonized Int'l Framework May Boost Advanced Aircraft

    Author Photo

    International differences in the certification process for advanced air mobility aircraft make the current framework insufficient — but U.S. Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy's recent announcement of a standards harmonization effort may help promote these innovative aviation technologies, while maintaining safety, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • Capital One Deal Approval Lights Up Path For Bank M&A

    Author Photo

    The federal banking regulators' recent approval of Capital One's acquisition of Discover signals the agencies' willingness to approve large transactions and a more favorable environment generally for bank mergers under the Trump administration, say attorneys at Arnold & Porter.

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.