Public Policy

  • September 12, 2024

    Senate Preps Vote On 6th Circ. Nom Opposed By Tenn. GOP

    The U.S. Senate is set to vote Monday on the nomination of Kevin Ritz to join the Sixth Circuit bench despite strong objection from the senior senator from Tennessee, one of the circuit's four states.

  • September 12, 2024

    Mass. Pot Regulator Gets Acting Head, Fired Chair To Appeal

    The Massachusetts cannabis regulator has a new acting chair, as state Treasurer Deborah B. Goldberg on Thursday appointed a temporary replacement after her decision to fire Shannon O'Brien, who intends to appeal the termination.

  • September 12, 2024

    Kids Ask Supreme Court To Revive Long-Running Climate Suit

    A group of children accusing the federal government of creating policies that worsen climate change asked the U.S. Supreme Court to revive their case, arguing in a petition filed Thursday that the Ninth Circuit overstepped when it ordered the trial court to dismiss the case this spring.

  • September 12, 2024

    Dem Lawmakers Target Predatory Sports Betting With New Bill

    Two Democratic lawmakers on Thursday proposed federal sports betting legislation aimed at addressing what they called a "public health crisis," saying it will force operators to comply with federal standards in three areas: advertising, affordability and artificial intelligence.

  • September 12, 2024

    Ga. Republicans Sue Over Trump-Friendly Election Rules

    Georgia's state assembly shouldn't have allowed the appointed state election board to issue a set of rules that are widely seen as advantageous to former President Donald Trump, a former Peach State legislator and his conservative think tank said in a suit on Thursday.

  • September 12, 2024

    Ex-Mass. State Sen. Tran Convicted Of Pandemic Aid Fraud

    Former Massachusetts State Sen. Dean Tran was convicted Wednesday of fraudulently collecting pandemic unemployment benefits after he was voted out of office and of cheating on his taxes.

  • September 12, 2024

    House OKs Tightening Restrictions On Tax Credit For EVs

    The U.S. House of Representatives voted in favor of a bill Thursday that would place further restrictions on qualifications for a tax credit for new electric vehicles amid concerns that current limits don't do enough to keep the benefits from flowing to foreign adversaries, including China.

  • September 12, 2024

    NY Top Court Rejects Trump's Latest Challenge To Gag Order

    New York's highest court on Thursday rebuffed Donald Trump's latest effort to strike down a gag order in his hush money case, saying the appeal didn't involve a "substantial constitutional question."

  • September 12, 2024

    CFTC Can't Pause Decision To Allow Election Betting

    A D.C. federal judge on Thursday refused to stay a ruling that found the Commodity Futures Trading Commission overstepped its bounds by blocking an online trading platform from allowing users to place bets on the outcome of U.S. congressional elections.

  • September 12, 2024

    IRS Lacked Way To Track CAMT Comments, TIGTA Finds

    The IRS Office of Chief Counsel did not always track comments it received in response to guidance issued on the corporate alternative minimum tax and did not have detailed procedures in place for the pre-rulemaking guidance process, the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration reported Thursday.

  • September 12, 2024

    Treasury Floats Long-Awaited Rules For Corp. Minimum Tax

    Treasury and the IRS released eagerly awaited rules Thursday on the new 15% corporate alternative minimum tax on corporations with reported profits of $1 billion or more, taking a step toward implementing a key provision of President Joe Biden's signature 2022 tax and climate law.

  • September 11, 2024

    Litigation Spending To Rise As Cases Grow More Aggressive

    A substantial number of large companies are expecting to increase their litigation spending by double digits next year in the face of more complex and hard-fought cases — and they are more open to bringing in new legal talent to navigate the matters, according to a report released Thursday. 

  • September 11, 2024

    Utah Social Media Law Blocked Amid 1st Amendment Fight

    A Utah federal judge has blocked the state from enforcing a new law requiring social media companies to verify the ages of minor users and impose restrictions on their accounts, saying the state law likely violates tech companies' First Amendment rights.

  • September 11, 2024

    Atlanta Fed Chief Violated Trading Blackout Rule, OIG Says

    The president and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, Raphael Bostic, violated internal rules and policies covering trading during blackout periods, financial disclosures, holding limits, and trading preclearances, but did not trade based on confidential information, according to a report issued by the Fed's internal watchdog.

  • September 11, 2024

    Top DC Real Estate News From Summer 2024

    Catch up on the hottest real estate news out of Washington, D.C., this summer, including shifting office footprints and building conversion incentives.

  • September 11, 2024

    FTC Fights Pa. Noncompete Ban Challenger's Pause Bid

    The Federal Trade Commission on Wednesday urged a Pennsylvania federal judge to reject a tree service company's bid to pause its challenge of the agency's noncompete ban, arguing that another district court's decision to set the ban aside nationwide doesn't justify a stay because the agency is mulling an appeal.

  • September 11, 2024

    Gender Care Hearing Centers On Ohio Bill Of Rights

    Questions about potential conflicts between an Ohio gender care ban and a right to healthcare "freedom" enshrined in the state constitution dominated much of a Wednesday hearing in a state appellate court.

  • September 11, 2024

    Gov't Spent $236B In Fraud And Improper Payments In 2023

    Federal agencies made $236 billion in improper payments in fiscal 2023, a drop of about $11 billion from the prior year, according to a report released Tuesday by the U.S. Government Accountability Office.

  • September 11, 2024

    Wisconsin Town Urges Court to Block Tribe's Road Barricades

    The town of Lac Du Flambeau, Wisconsin, says it will continue suffering irreparable harm when temporary right-of-way permits expire Thursday if a neighboring Native American band again barricades four roadways that cut across tribal land.

  • September 11, 2024

    Top Calif. Biz Bills Sitting On Gov. Newsom's Desk

    Among the hundreds of bills awaiting California Governor Gavin Newsom's signature are a number that would create new guidelines for Golden State employers, healthcare industry players, as well as artificial intelligence labeling, textile recycling and increasing criminal penalties for corporate malfeasance by tens of millions of dollars.

  • September 11, 2024

    Split 6th Circ. Backs SEC Win In Proxy Adviser Rule Change

    A divided Sixth Circuit has upheld the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's decision to partially undo Trump-era rules governing proxy advisers, creating an apparent split with the Fifth Circuit on whether the agency's regulatory actions violated the Administrative Procedure Act.

  • September 11, 2024

    Watchdog Sues DOD Alleging 'Abbey Gate' FOIA Violations

    Nonprofit watchdog Judicial Watch Inc. has asked a D.C. federal court to compel the U.S. Department of Defense to comply with a Freedom of Information Act request pertaining to communications among top officials about the 2021 suicide bombing at Kabul airport in Afghanistan known as "Abbey Gate."

  • September 11, 2024

    Department Of Homeland Security's Top Lawyer Steps Down

    The Department of Homeland Security's top lawyer has resigned from his position in the administration, according to a LinkedIn post.

  • September 11, 2024

    House Tax Panel OKs Repeal Of $600 Reporting Threshold

    The House Ways and Means Committee advanced several bills Wednesday, including one that would repeal a law requiring peer-to-peer payment platforms such as Venmo and PayPal to report aggregate payments of $600 or more.

  • September 11, 2024

    Mass. Jury Weighs Raft Of Fraud Charges Against Ex-Pol

    A Boston federal jury resumed deliberations Wednesday in a criminal case alleging a former Massachusetts state senator lied on his taxes and an application for pandemic unemployment aid, after the ex-politico testified in his own defense.

Expert Analysis

  • Assessing Whether Jarkesy May Limit FINRA Prosecutions

    Author Photo

    The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision in Jarkesy v. U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, holding that civil securities fraud defendants are entitled to jury trials, may cause unpredictable results when applied to Financial Industry Regulatory Authority prosecutions, say Barry Temkin and Kate DiGeronimo at Mound Cotton.

  • The Bank Preemption Ripple Effects After Cantero, Flagstar

    Author Photo

    The importance of federal preemption for financial institutions will only increase as technology-driven innovations evolve, which is why the U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision in Cantero v. Bank of America and vacatur of Kivett v. Flagstar Bank have real modern-day significance for national banks, say attorneys at WilmerHale.

  • Examining Patent Subject Matter Eligibility Of AI Inventions

    Author Photo

    In light of U.S. Patent and Trademark Office data showing that patent applications for artificial intelligence inventions are likelier to get rejected based on patent-ineligible subject matter, inventors seeking protection should be aware of the difficulties and challenges pertaining to patent eligibility, say Georgios Effraimidis at NERA and Joel Lehrer at Goodwin.

  • Series

    Being An Opera Singer Made Me A Better Lawyer

    Author Photo

    My journey from the stage to the courtroom has shown that the skills I honed as an opera singer – punctuality, memorization, creativity and more – have all played a vital role in my success as an attorney, says Gerard D'Emilio at GableGotwals.

  • What Cos. Need to Know About Battery Labeling Law

    Author Photo

    With new labeling requirements for button cell battery packaging taking effect in September, manufacturers and importers must review compliance, testing procedures, and necessary paperwork as the consequences of noncompliance can lead to costly penalties and supply chain woes, says Aasheesh Shravah at CM Law.

  • What Drug Cos. Must Know About NY Price Transparency Law

    Author Photo

    Drug manufacturers must understand the contours of New York's recently implemented law requiring self-reporting of drug price increases, as well as best practices for compliance and challenges against similar laws in other states, say Elizabeth Bierut and Angie Garcia at Friedman Kaplan.

  • Navigating The Uncertain Landscape Of Solar Tariffs

    Author Photo

    Solar cell and module manufacturers, exporters and importers must navigate an uncertain compliance landscape, given ongoing challenges to U.S. Department of Commerce antidumping and countervailing duty determinations, which have been mounted both by U.S. and non-U.S. manufacturers, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • Amid SEC Rule Limbo, US Cos. Subject To ESG Regs In EU

    Author Photo

    Though the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is facing legal challenges to its climate-disclosure rulemaking, the implementation of the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive in the European Union will force U.S. companies to comply with exactly the kinds of ESG disclosures that are not yet mandated in the U.S., say attorneys at Squire Patton.

  • Pros, Cons Of Disclosing Improper Employee Retention Credit

    Author Photo

    Employers considering the Internal Revenue Service’s second voluntary disclosure program, which allows companies to avoid penalties for erroneously claiming employee retention credits for the 2021 tax year by repaying the credits and naming the tax advisers who encouraged these abusive practices, should carefully weigh the program’s benefits against its potential drawbacks, say attorneys at Winston & Strawn.

  • Until Congress Acts, EDNY 'Insider Betting' Case Is Premature

    Author Photo

    The Eastern District of New York’s novel wire fraud conspiracy indictment in U.S. v. Pham may have prematurely heralded a new era in federal gambling enforcement, but in the absence of an “insider betting” statute, sportsbooks — not prosecutors — should be responsible for enforcing their terms of use, says attorney Jonathan Savella.

  • How Law Firms Can Avoid 'Collaboration Drag'

    Author Photo

    Law firm decision making can be stifled by “collaboration drag” — characterized by too many pointless meetings, too much peer feedback and too little dissent — but a few strategies can help stakeholders improve decision-making processes and build consensus, says Steve Groom at Miles Mediation.

  • Election Outlook: A Precedent Primer On Content Moderation

    Author Photo

    With the 2024 election season now in full swing, online platforms will face difficult and politically sensitive decisions about content moderation, but U.S. Supreme Court decisions from last term offer much-needed certainty about their rights, say Jonathan Blavin and Helen White at Munger Tolles.

  • Banking Compliance Takeaways From Joint Agency Statement

    Author Photo

    Federal bank regulatory agencies’ recent joint statement warning of risks associated with third-party fintech deposit services spotlights a fundamental problem that may arise with bank deposit products that are made through increasingly complex customer relationships, says Tom Witherspoon at Stinson.

  • Workday AI Bias Suit Suggests Hiring Lessons For Employers

    Author Photo

    As state laws and a federal agency increasingly focus on employment bias introduced by artificial intelligence systems, a California federal court's recent decision to allow a discrimination suit to proceed against Workday's AI-driven recruitment software, shows companies should promptly assess these tools' risks, say attorneys at Williams & Connolly.

  • What BIPA Reform Law Means For Biometrics Litigation

    Author Photo

    A recently signed Illinois law amending the Biometric Information Privacy Act limits defendants' liability exposure on a per-scan basis and clarifies that electronic signatures constitute a valid written release, establishing additional issues that courts will need to address in future BIPA litigation, say attorneys at Faegre Drinker.

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!