Public Policy

  • February 05, 2025

    GOP Lawmakers Move To Scrap Methane Emissions Fee

    Republican lawmakers revived legislation seeking to block implementation of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's methane emissions fee, as part of a broader effort to bolster the Trump administration's U.S. energy dominance policy.

  • February 05, 2025

    Pa. Dept.'s Switch On Abortion Funding Leaves Court Unsure

    A Pennsylvania appellate court struggled Wednesday with how to handle a challenge to the state's ban on using Medicaid funding for abortions, after the state's health regulator switched sides to agree with the suing providers and the commonwealth's justices stopped Republican lawmakers from defending the ban.

  • February 05, 2025

    Cleveland-Cliffs Wants 'Un-American' US Steel Suit Tossed

    Cleveland-Cliffs and its CEO have asked a Pennsylvania judge to toss a lawsuit filed against them by Nippon Steel and U.S. Steel, calling the suit "un-American" while claiming that the plaintiffs' "sputtering disapproval" of the defendants' statements doesn't hold up in court.

  • February 05, 2025

    Meta Can't Ask Mass. AG To Dig Up Docs From State Agencies

    The Massachusetts Attorney General's Office is not obligated to search for and turn over documents held by other state agencies that Meta Platforms is seeking in the state's lawsuit alleging Instagram is harming children and teens, a judge ordered.

  • February 05, 2025

    NY Mayor Adams Can't Get More Indictment Info, Judge Rules

    A Manhattan federal judge denied a request from New York City Mayor Eric Adams to get more details about the government's bribery and corruption case against him, saying his indictment suffices for now.

  • February 05, 2025

    Maryland Judge Blocks Trump Birthright Citizenship Order

    A Maryland federal judge on Wednesday issued a nationwide injunction blocking President Donald Trump's executive order ending birthright citizenship.

  • February 05, 2025

    Lawmakers Vote To Advance Commerce Nominee Lutnick

    Senate lawmakers on Wednesday morning voted to advance Wall Street financier Howard Lutnick's nomination as secretary of commerce, moving the Cantor Fitzgerald CEO one step closer to helming the department that oversees international trade, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and other agencies.

  • February 05, 2025

    Women's Soccer League Will Pay $5M To Abused Players

    The National Women's Soccer League on Wednesday agreed to a $5 million settlement with a trio of attorneys general that had been investigating the league's widespread mistreatment of its players.

  • February 05, 2025

    Fired NLRB Member Sues In Test Of President's Power

    Fired NLRB member Gwynne Wilcox challenged her removal in federal court Wednesday, arguing in a test of 90-year-old Supreme Court precedent that the National Labor Relations Act blocked her ouster.

  • February 04, 2025

    Wheeling & Appealing: The Latest Must-Know Appellate Action

    February is off to a rip-roaring start in several circuits, and there's plenty more action ahead, including a moment of truth for judiciary policymaking that has managed to anger both the defense and plaintiffs bars. We'll explore all that in this edition of Wheeling & Appealing, which also includes an appellate quiz pegged to recent presidential news.

  • February 04, 2025

    McKesson, Others Beat Indirect Drug Reseller Price-Fix Suit

    A Pennsylvania federal judge permanently tossed antitrust claims from indirect generic-drug resellers who alleged distributors like McKesson Corp. and AmerisourceBergen colluded with manufacturers to fix prices of many medications, writing Monday the plaintiffs fail to show the existence of such an agreement between drugmakers and distributors.

  • February 04, 2025

    Tribe's IHS Debt Suit Cut But Overcollection Claims Remain

    A Nebraska federal judge partly tossed a tribe's amended suit challenging the Indian Health Service's contention that it overpaid the tribe by $3.2 million due to an administrative oversight, finding the tribe waited too long to sue, but he allowed claims alleging overcollection of the debt to continue.

  • February 04, 2025

    Calif. Partly Beats Challenge To Climate Disclosure Laws

    A California federal judge has trimmed a lawsuit brought by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and other business groups over the state's corporate climate disclosure rules, finding the groups failed to state a claim with respect to two causes of action.

  • February 04, 2025

    Wells Fargo Clears 2 More Consent Orders Amid Rehab Efforts

    The Federal Reserve said Tuesday that Wells Fargo & Co. has exited a pair of mortgage-related consent orders from more than a decade ago, another step forward in the banking giant's regulatory rehabilitation efforts.

  • February 04, 2025

    Sen. Banking Chair Sets 100-Day Dash For Crypto Legislation

    Senate Banking Committee Chair Tim Scott, R-S.C., said Tuesday that he intends to pass crypto legislation out of his chamber in the first 100 days of the new administration with the help of a working group composed of committee chairs in both chambers of Congress.

  • February 04, 2025

    OpenAI Judge Rips Musk's 'Broad' Bid To Block For-Profit

    A California federal judge indicated Tuesday she'll likely deny Elon Musk's bid to preliminarily block OpenAI Inc. from transitioning into a for-profit enterprise, criticizing Musk's filings for being vague and broad and saying she'll toss some claims, while adding "something is going to trial in this case."

  • February 04, 2025

    Baltimore, Advocacy Groups Sue Trump Over Anti-DEI Orders

    The city of Baltimore and a coalition of academic and restaurant advocacy groups hit the Trump administration with a suit Monday in Maryland federal court over the president's push to curtail diversity, equity and inclusion programs, saying his executive orders are unlawfully vague and block Congress' constitutional power of the purse.

  • February 04, 2025

    FCC Floats $4.4M Robocall Fine Against Telecom Network

    The Federal Communications Commission on Tuesday proposed a fine of more than $4.4 million against a Chicago-based telecom that the agency accused of allowing government impostor calls on its network.

  • February 04, 2025

    UC System Accused Of Racial Discrimination In Admissions

    A group of students seeking to apply for admission to University of California campuses sued the state university system on Monday, claiming in California federal court that UC schools, especially its law schools, were discriminating against Asian American and white applicants by preferring Hispanic and Black students.

  • February 04, 2025

    FCC Drops 5th Circ. Defense Of Nonbinary Gender Category

    The Federal Communications Commission will no longer defend a nonbinary gender category on its employment diversity forms amid challenges brought by religious broadcasters in the Fifth Circuit, where judges grilled the FCC on Tuesday about its authority to collect and publish industry data on employee diversity.

  • February 04, 2025

    Dems Call For Another Hearing For Patel Over FBI Upheaval

    Kash Patel had his nomination hearing to be FBI director less than a week ago, but Democrats and outside groups want him to appear before lawmakers again due to the agency officials fired and sidelined in recent days, and questions raised about Patel's past consulting work, according to letters written to the Senate Judiciary Committee.

  • February 04, 2025

    5th Circ. Mulls If Green Orgs. Have Injury In Injection Well Case

    A Fifth Circuit panel pondered whether environmental groups will suffer an injury adequate to challenge underground injection wells in Louisiana, asking during oral arguments Tuesday whether the groups can bring a legal claim for an event 50 years down the road.

  • February 04, 2025

    Watchdog Says Site Selection For New FBI Building Flawed

    A U.S. General Services Administration watchdog found that the GSA's contentious process for determining the site for a new FBI headquarters involved several flaws that made it difficult for site selection officials to accurately decide between proposed locations.

  • February 04, 2025

    EPA, Interior Leaders Unveil Focus On US Energy Production

    The heads of the U.S. Department of the Interior and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency unveiled plans for their agencies that largely focus on bolstering President Donald Trump's U.S. energy dominance policy. 

  • February 04, 2025

    Sens. Hawley, Sanders Pitch 10% Cap On Credit Card Rate

    Sens. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., and Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., introduced bipartisan legislation Tuesday that would hold President Donald Trump to his campaign promise of a 10% credit card interest rate cap.

Expert Analysis

  • Inside New Commerce Tech Restrictions: Key Risk Takeaways

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    While there are a few limitations on the scope of a new final rule restricting certain foreign adversary products and technologies, the Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security retains sweeping authority to regulate an array of risk areas, says Peter Jeydel at Troutman.

  • The Most Important Schedule I Drug Regulatory Shifts Of 2024

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    In 2024, psychedelics and cannabis emerged as focal points in medical research, marking a pivotal year in their legal and regulatory journey, but these developments presented both opportunities and challenges within this evolving field, say Kimberly Chew at Husch Blackwell and Stephen Kim at Avicanna.

  • California's New Homeowner Law Could Hamper Foreclosures

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    While A.B. 2424, which took effect this month in California, gives homeowners in default additional protections, it also provides loopholes that can be used to delay foreclosure auctions, and the cost of these delays will likely be passed on to the borrower, says Stephen Britt at Severson & Werson.

  • Series

    Coaching Little League Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    While coaching poorly played Little League Baseball early in the morning doesn't sound like a good time, I love it — and the experience has taught me valuable lessons about imperfection, compassion and acceptance that have helped me grow as a person and as a lawyer, says Alex Barnett at DiCello Levitt.

  • How Fintechs Can Respond To New CFPB Supervisory Rule

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    Even though a new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau rule pulling large payment apps into supervision faces an uncertain fate in the new administration, providers should still examine the rule's definitions and prepare for increased compliance costs and more consumer-friendly practices, say attorneys at DLA Piper.

  • Ruling Shows High Court Willing To Limit Immigration Review

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision in Bouarfa v. Mayorkas is the latest demonstration of the court’s readiness to limit judicial review in the immigration space, a notable break from other recent decisions that expanded judicial review of agency decisions in other areas, says Mark Fleming at WilmerHale.

  • 5 Litigation Funding Trends To Note In 2025

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    Lawyers and their clients must be prepared to navigate an evolving litigation funding market in 2025, made more complicated by a new administration and the increasing overall cost of litigation, says Jeffery Lula at GLS Capital.

  • Despite Political Divide, FEC Found Common Ground In '24

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    The Federal Election Commission, although evenly split between Republicans and Democrats, reached consensus in consequential advisory opinions, enforcement actions and regulations last year, offering welcome clarity on some key questions facing campaigns, PACs and parties, say attorneys at Covington.

  • How FTC Sent A $5.6M Warning Against Jumping The Gun

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    The Federal Trade Commission's recent record $5.6 million "gun jumping" action against Verdun Oil, for allegedly exerting control over EP Energy before the mandatory waiting period under U.S. antitrust law expired, warns companies that they must continue to operate independently during review, say attorneys at Ballard Spahr.

  • How Deregulation Could Undermine Trump's Anti-DEI Agenda

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    While rolling back federal agency power benefited conservative policies during the Biden administration, it will likely undermine President Donald Trump's ability to wield agencies like the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to dismantle diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives beyond the federal workforce and into the private sector, says Ally Coll at the Purple Method.

  • Managing Litigation Side-Switching During 2nd Trump Admin

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    Now that the new presidential administration is in place, the government will likely switch positions in a number of pending cases, and stakeholders should employ strategies to protect their interests, say attorneys at Covington.

  • A Look At Sweepstakes Casinos' Legal Issues In Fla., Beyond

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    Scheduled for trial in Florida federal court this fall, the VGW sweepstakes case underscores the growing urgency for gambling states to clarify and enforce their laws in response to emerging online gaming models, as the expansion of sweepstakes casinos challenges traditional interpretations of gambling regulations, say attorneys at Holland & Knight.

  • 3 Noteworthy Effects Of The 2025 NDAA

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    The 2025 defense budget includes further restrictions on semiconductor sales to Huawei, requiring companies to rethink customer-base oversight, but other provisions are likely to broaden procurement contract opportunities, say attorneys at Miles & Stockbridge.

  • The Blueprint For A National Bitcoin Reserve

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    The new administration has the opportunity to pave the way for a U.S.-backed crypto reserve, which could conceptually function as a strategic asset akin to traditional reserves like gold markets, hedge against economic instability, and influence global crypto adoption, say attorneys at Duane Morris.

  • Student Loan Entities In Hot Seat After CFPB Goes To College

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    While the direction of student loan servicer oversight in the new presidential administration is unclear, recent Consumer Financial Protection Bureau actions still signal heightened regulatory scrutiny at both the federal and state levels of college institutional loan programs, along with their service providers, says attorney Jonathan Joshua.

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