Public Policy

  • December 09, 2024

    Nadine Menendez Trial Date Set After Jan. 6 Delay Bid Nixed

    The trial of Nadine Menendez on corruption charges is set to start in January, a Manhattan federal judge said Monday, after hearing that a potential defense scheduling conflict over a U.S. Capitol insurrection-related case will likely "evaporate" when Donald Trump takes office.

  • December 09, 2024

    Beveridge & Diamond Picks Up Longtime DOJ Enviro Litigator

    Beveridge & Diamond PC has hired the former chief of the law and policy section at the U.S. Department of Justice's Environment and Natural Resources Division, who is bringing his more-than 26-year government experience in environmental law to the D.C. team, the firm announced Friday.

  • December 09, 2024

    1st Circ. Lets Rhode Island Reinstate Truck Tolls

    Rhode Island may reinstate a toll on tractor-trailers using highways and bridges in the Ocean State, but not a $40-per-day cap, the First Circuit has ruled.

  • December 09, 2024

    Menendez Verdict Wasn't Tainted By Evidence Error, Feds Say

    Prosecutors told a Manhattan federal judge that evidence that was mistakenly loaded onto a laptop given to the jury that convicted former Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., of bribery charges most likely wasn't seen by the jurors and didn't impact their verdict in a way that would merit a new trial.

  • December 09, 2024

    NC Hemp Store Owners Say Raids Targeted Their Race

    North Carolina sheriff's deputies allegedly "ransacked" and robbed two hemp stores and harassed their Middle Eastern owners in an effort to run them out of their community despite the businesses being legal, according to a new complaint filed in federal court.

  • December 09, 2024

    Asylum Limits Suit May Remain On Ice Past Inauguration

    The Biden administration and attorneys for a group of asylum-seekers challenging a rule restricting asylum on the southern border told a D.C. federal judge that settlement talks are ongoing but may not conclude before President-elect Donald Trump takes office next month.

  • December 09, 2024

    NYC Council Sues Mayor For Not Enforcing Jail Abuse Ban

    The New York City Council sued Mayor Eric Adams on Monday for failing to end the use of solitary confinement in city jails after the lawmaking body passed a bill banning the practice earlier this year, arguing that his "emergency" order violated the separation of powers.

  • December 09, 2024

    Skipping Diversity Suits Lets Error 'Metastasize,' Alito Says

    The U.S. Supreme Court declined Monday to review Boston's allegedly discriminatory COVID-19 pandemic-era admissions policy for three elite public schools, turning away the second case to challenge the use of race-neutral diversity initiatives in a decision Justice Samuel Alito claims ignores a "glaring constitutional error" and undermines the court's affirmative action decision.

  • December 08, 2024

    Trump Names His Personal Atty As Counselor

    The New Jersey-based litigator who represented Donald Trump in suits that saddled him with multimillion-dollar civil judgments will serve as his counselor when he returns to the White House, the president-elect said Sunday in announcing a new round of picks for his upcoming administration.

  • December 07, 2024

    Up Next: Environmental Reviews, Wire Fraud & TM Awards

    The U.S. Supreme Court will hear its final set of oral arguments for the 2024 calendar year starting Monday, including disputes over the proper scope of federal environmental reviews and whether corporate affiliates can be ordered to pay disgorgement awards in trademark infringement disputes.

  • December 06, 2024

    USDA Orders Raw Milk Be Tested For Bird Flu

    The U.S. Department of Agriculture on Friday issued a federal order requiring raw milk across the country to be tested as part of an effort to control and stop the spread of bird flu.

  • December 06, 2024

    CFPB Loses Bid To Unfreeze Credit Card Late Fee Rule

    A Texas federal judge Friday refused to lift a preliminary injunction blocking the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's $8 credit card late fee rule from taking effect, ruling that the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and other trade groups are likely to succeed in their challenge to the rule.

  • December 06, 2024

    DC Circ. Ruling Far From Last Word On Looming TikTok Ban

    The D.C. Circuit's decision Friday paving the way for a U.S. ban on TikTok to take effect next month sparked immediate concerns about the loss of a social platform that millions rely on to freely express themselves, but a likely appeal and upcoming administration change could end up flipping the script.

  • December 06, 2024

    Ga. Man Freed After 26 Years Sues Over Bogus Murder Charge

    A Georgia man who spent more than a quarter-century in prison for murder before his name was cleared with the help of two true crime podcasters has sued the county and cops behind his arrest and prosecution alleging he was framed for the accidental death of a friend during a game of Russian roulette.

  • December 06, 2024

    Billionaires Show New Interest In Texas' Intermediate Courts

    Billionaire-backed funding in Texas helped push a wave of Republican judges who swept races for intermediate appellate courts across the state, representing a new level of corporate spending in judicial races often marked by underfunded campaigns and low voter awareness.

  • December 06, 2024

    Wash. City Says Tribe's ER Shelter Sidesteps Safety Concerns

    The city of Toppenish has told a Washington federal judge that the Yakama Nation has no right to use a local property within reservation boundaries to operate a 24-hour emergency cold weather shelter, arguing that building health and safety issues can't be sidestepped.

  • December 06, 2024

    Neb. Tribe Asks US High Court To Undo Tobacco Sales Ruling

    A Nebraska tribe's tobacco companies are asking the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn an Eighth Circuit ruling that held the state can regulate a tribally owned manufacturer's sales of cigarettes to Indigenous-owned distributors, arguing that Native American nations' ability to conduct their own affairs within their own borders is at stake.

  • December 06, 2024

    US Ukrainian Group Wants FCC SpaceX Approvals Halted

    The FCC needs to put any decisions related to SpaceX on ice until an ethics committee can decide how to handle them now that the company's billionaire owner Elon Musk has been tapped for an oversight role in the upcoming Trump administration, the agency has been told.

  • December 06, 2024

    How Paul Atkins' Last SEC Term Might Shape Agency's Future

    President-elect Donald Trump's choice to lead the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission next year is no stranger to the agency, and Paul Atkins' past speeches, statements and actions as a commissioner may offer a road map for how he would lead the agency in areas such as private funds, shareholder activism and multibillion-dollar enforcement sweeps.

  • December 06, 2024

    High Court To Weigh $47M TM Award Liability For Non-Parties

    A trademark case before the U.S. Supreme Court Wednesday will delve into whether corporate affiliates of a real estate development company should be liable for an infringement judgment of nearly $47 million, even though they were not named defendants in the litigation.

  • December 06, 2024

    GEO Tells 9th Circ. Recent Ruling Backs It In Wage Fight

    Private prison contractor The GEO Group Inc. told the Ninth Circuit on Friday that a recent ruling in the same court underscores its assertion that only the federal government can say whether a minimum wage must be paid to detained immigrants participating in a voluntary work program in Tacoma, Washington. 

  • December 06, 2024

    Mich. Pot Cos. Get A Shot At Undoing Rivals' Licenses

    Two Detroit-area companies that largely lost their bids challenging a municipality's award of marijuana retail licenses to competing enterprises will get an opportunity to invalidate those permits in court, a Michigan state appeals court has ruled, finding the city violated the state's open meetings law.

  • December 06, 2024

    5th Circ. Judge Notes Inconsistencies In Medicare Rate Policy

    A Fifth Circuit judge called out inconsistencies in a new Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services policy, asking the government to explain apparent discrepancies that four Texas anesthesia practices say will cost them $4 million in reduced reimbursements.

  • December 06, 2024

    DC Circ. Mulls If EPA Can Set Rules Based On Predicted Tech

    At least one member of the D.C. Circuit did not seem to be picking up what the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency was putting down in defense of a rule that would give coal-fired power plants until 2032 to meet certain emissions standards that critics claim are impossible.

  • December 06, 2024

    Calif. Judge Revives H-1B Application For Biz With Pot Ties

    A California federal judge has revived a software company's application for a foreign employee's H-1B visa amendment, ruling the government was not justified in denying the application because of the company's clientele in the cannabis industry.

Expert Analysis

  • Use The Right Kind Of Feedback To Help Gen Z Attorneys

    Author Photo

    Generation Z associates bring unique perspectives and expectations to the workplace, so it’s imperative that supervising attorneys adapt their feedback approach in order to help young lawyers learn and grow — which is good for law firms, too, says Rachael Bosch at Fringe Professional Development.

  • Opinion

    Congress Can And Must Enact A Supreme Court Ethics Code

    Author Photo

    As public confidence in the U.S. Supreme Court dips to historic lows following reports raising conflict of interest concerns, Congress must exercise its constitutional power to enact a mandatory and enforceable code of ethics for the high court, says Muhammad Faridi, president of the New York City Bar Association.

  • What To Make Of Dueling Corporate Transparency Act Rulings

    Author Photo

    Although challenges to the Corporate Transparency Act abound — as highlighted by recent federal court decisions from Alabama and Oregon taking opposite positions on its constitutionality — the act is still law, so companies should comply with their filing requirements or face the potential consequences, say attorneys at Lowenstein Sandler.

  • Series

    The Pop Culture Docket: Justice Lebovits On Gilbert And Sullivan

    Author Photo

    Characters in the 19th century comic operas of Gilbert and Sullivan break the rules of good lawyering by shamelessly throwing responsible critical thought to the wind, providing hilarious lessons for lawyers and judges on how to avoid a surfeit of traps and tribulations, say acting New York Supreme Court Justice Gerald Lebovits and law student Tara Scown.

  • California's AI Safety Bill Veto: The Path Forward

    Author Photo

    California Gov. Gavin Newsom's veto of a bill that sought to impose stringent regulations on advanced artificial intelligence model development has sparked a renewed debate on how best to balance innovation with safety in the rapidly evolving AI landscape, say Bobby Malhotra and Carson Swope at Winston & Strawn.

  • Staying Off The CFPB's Financial Services Offender Registry

    Author Photo

    The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's soon-to-launch registry of financial services companies that have faced public enforcement orders is designed to ratchet up long-term scrutiny of entities that could become repeat offenders, so companies should take their new compliance and filing requirements seriously, say Andrea Mitchell and Chris Napier at Mitchell Sandler.

  • New TCPA Rule Faces Uncertain Future Post-Loper Bright

    Author Photo

    The Federal Communications Commission's new rule aiming to eliminate lead generators' use of unlawful robocalls is now in doubt with the U.S. Supreme Court's Loper Bright decision, and the Eleventh Circuit's Insurance Marketing Coalition v. FCC is poised to be a test case of the agency's ability to enforce the Telephone Consumer Protection Act post-Chevron, say attorneys at Baker McKenzie.

  • A Look At Calif.'s New AI Law For Health Insurers

    Author Photo

    A newly enacted California law prohibits artificial intelligence tools from making medical necessity determinations for healthcare service plans or disability insurers, addressing core questions that have arisen around AI's role in coverage decisions, say attorneys at DLA Piper.

  • New HHS Research Misconduct Rules Bring Seismic Changes

    Author Photo

    The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' new rule regarding research misconduct investigations brings significant changes that focus on remediation, appeals and confidentiality, while other changes could result in institutions causing undue harm to scientists accused of such misconduct, say attorneys at Cohen Seglias.

  • To Report Or Not To Report Others' Export Control Violations

    Author Photo

    A recent Bureau of Industry and Security enforcement policy change grants cooperation credit to those that report violations of the Export Administration Regulations committed by others, but the benefits of doing so must be weighed against significant drawbacks, including the costs of preparing and submitting a report, says Megan Lew at Cravath.

  • Earned Wage Access Laws Form A Prickly Policy Patchwork

    Author Photo

    Conflicting earned wage access laws across the country, including the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's recently issued rule, mean providers must adopt a proactive compliance approach and adjust business models where needed, say attorneys at Sheppard Mullin.

  • What FDIC Expansion Of Change In Bank Control Could Mean

    Author Photo

    A recent Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. proposal pertaining to the Change in Bank Control Act has the potential to create uncertainty around investments by mutual fund complexes in banking organizations, which represent a stable source of capital for the banking industry, say attorneys at Sullivan & Cromwell.

  • HSR Amendments Intensify Merger Filing Burdens, Data Risk

    Author Photo

    The antitrust agencies' long-awaited changes to premerger notification rules under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act stand to significantly increase the time and cost involved in preparing an initial HSR notification, and will require more proactive attention to data issues, says Andrew Szwez at FTI Technology.

  • Deadline Extension Highlights PFAS Reporting Complexities

    Author Photo

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's recent extension of reporting and recordkeeping timelines for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances under the Toxic Substances Control Act offers relief to the regulated community, but the unprecedented volume of data required means that businesses must remain diligent in their data collection efforts, say attorneys at Alston & Bird.

  • Can SEC's Consolidated Audit Trail Survive Post-Chevron?

    Author Photo

    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is currently in a showdown at the Eleventh Circuit over its authority to maintain a national market system and require that the industry spend billions to maintain its consolidated audit trail, a case that is further complicated by the Loper Bright decision, says Daniel Hawke 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.
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!